Governor-elect Bob McDonnell will be stopping in Harrisonburg tomorrow (Saturday) morning. The event, billed as a “thank you” meet-and-greet for election volunteers, begins at 10 A.M. at Cally’s on Court Square.
[...]
Supporters of national health care reform that includes a “public option” huddled on the steps of the Harrisonburg court house yesterday evening, holding a candlelight vigil just as word leaked from Capitol Hill that the Democrats had compromised/caved on the government-run public option.
Today’s DNR [...]
The Harrisonburg City Council tonight considered a plan to allow urban archery within city limits. The draft ordinance (on pages 160-162 of the Council Agenda Packet) would allow deer hunters to discharge archery equipment from private property, but requires hunters to be licensed, to only hunt during [...]
As most people have been cleaning up their gardens this fall, about 30 people have been participating in a 5-week course to learn how to create gardens and how to eat sustainably titled “Greening Your Thumb: Wholistic Gardening from Seed to Table.” The course is being taught by Beth Schermerhorn, Adam Campbell, and Soula Pefkaros of New Community [...]
Virgina has some of the richest counties in the U.S. The Huffington Post reports that, “among the fifteen most affluent communities, nearly half were located in Virginia and Maryland and were located in the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Area.”
While not among the top in the country, Rockingham County came out [...]
Senators Mark Obenshain and Emmett Hanger, and Del. Matt Lohr met with local officials and school administrators yesterday about the likelihood of state budget cuts for K – 12 education in January. The probability is high.
Jenny Jones reports in today’s DNR:
Representatives gave the school boards a forecast of the [...]
From the HPD: Around 4:30 p.m. HPD responded to 1300 S. Main Street for the report of a bank robbery at SunTrust bank. The suspect also left a package and claimed it had an explosive device in it.
The suspect is described as a white male approximately 40-50 years [...]
JMU’s recently publicized virtual campus, launched in the online virtual world of Second Life, is hosting a virtual fashion show and open house “in an effort to introduce local and global community members to JMU’s virtual campus.” The show will [...]
The law banning smoking in Virginia restaurants (that don’t have non-smoking rooms with separate ventilation systems) goes into effect tomorrow. There are two stories about the smoking ban in the DNR today. Finnigan’s Cove already has a non-smoking room with separate ventilation, so their smoking policy will remain unchanged. [...]
Nature is trying to reclaim this building along South Main Street in Harrisonburg, and teenagers with brightly colored paint tried to get it first. The construction of the Erickson Avenue Extension will finally take it before anything else can. The highway will be the building’s conclusion, [...]
Guest blogger Kirsten reports on her recent stop in Winchester’s recently opened Alamo Drafthouse Cinema.
“Who’s business plan was this?” I wondered after downing a pint of Guinness Stout and a festive Dogfish Punkin Ale. Half of me really was in awe about the idea of eating and drinking while [...]
Why carpool? Well, it all starts with the environmental and monetary costs of transportation. Close to 30% of greenhouse gases released in the U.S. come from transportation. The less gasoline we burn, the better it is for our atmosphere.
Driving also costs money. Nationally, the average daily commute to work [...]
City council could vote tonight to make Harrisonburg a little more bike friendly. Council will consider a recommendation from the Dept. Of Public Works to replace storm grates that pose a hazard to cyclists. Some city grates run parallel to the direction of [...]
TV3 reports that the teacher who helped Maria Martinez through the process of postponing her voluntary deportation, was recently recognized by The Promise Group for her work.
Sandra Mercer, a teacher at Harrisonburg High accepted the teaching excellence award for her efforts in supporting student Maria Martinez Diez.
“I [...]
The Roanoke Times reported yesterday that “The Associated Press discharged an undisclosed number of news employees Tuesday, and their ranks included Sue Lindsey, a veteran journalist who has been the correspondent for the AP’s Roanoke bureau since 2005.” Lindsey covered the greater Roanoke/Shenandoah Valley area.
Lindsey said she did not [...]
Do you know how much rain water can be collected off a 800 sq. ft. roof top during a 1-inch rainfall event? Answer: 500 gallons! And Harrisonburg receives an average of 36-inches per year which means the 800 sq. ft. rooftop has the potential [...]
Guest blogger (and former hburgnews contributor) Marcus shares some of his experiences in South Africa.
A wonderful story for me was working with a project called TLC. The lady that started, Colleen Pietersen is an incredibly energetic and encouraging lady. She had a beautiful mansion in South Africa which she [...]
Guest blogger (and former hburgnews contributor) Marcus shares some of his experiences in South Africa.
The dominant drug of choice among youth in Cape Town is Methamphetamine, Tik as the kids call it. They will do anything to get their hands on it, and as a Mail & Guardian [...]
As reported in the Staunton News Leader, Eastern Mennonite University is opening up their fundraising drive to the public for a new theater to be built in memory of Lee Eshleman, EMU alumnus and co-founder of Ted & Lee Theaterworks, who passed away in 2007.
From the News [...]
Guest blogger (and former hburgnews contributor) Marcus shares some of his experiences in South Africa.
Some of you may know that I spent the last year in Cape Town, South Africa. I went because I felt I had to, but I was hoping to make a difference. Cape Town is one [...]
This is an open invitation to hburgnews readers who would like to become more active on hburgnews with minimal obligation. If you’re a writer or a local “expert” on something, we invite you to join us a guest blogger for one week (an idea stolen from my favorite blog, [...]
Last night TV3 reported that criminal charges have been filed against the owners of The Pub.
Charges against the owners of the Pub are going before a Rockingham County grand jury Monday. William Royer and his business partner, Terri Life, face three felony charges of embezzlement, one misdemeanor charge [...]
There’s an emotionally evocative story in today’s Richmond Times-Dispatch about Sherry Anderson, the jogger who was killed by a drunk driver in a hit and run last January. Sherry’s friend, Sarah Jones, says that Sherry had been planning to run in tomorrow’s Richmond Marathon.
Participation in a marathon was [...]
iPhone users can rejoice. As of today, AT&T has 3G network coverage in the city and parts of Rockingham County. There has already been some buzz about it on Twitter this morning. From the official release:
AT&T today announced the availability of its third generation (3G) mobile broadband [...]
According to a report released earlier this week by Transportation for America, the Harrisonburg metro area ranks lowest in the state on the Pedestrian Danger Index.
The report takes into account pedestrian deaths from 2007 – 2008, so does not include the hit-and-run death of Sherry Anderson [...]
There’s a story in today’s DNR about the ongoing confederate flag kerfuffle/racial riot shockwaves at my alma mater, Broadway High. Jenny Jones reports that at last night’s school board meeting, two parents (flanked by a dozen supporters) raised the issues of dress code and student safety.
[Parent Keenan] Moore [...]
It seems like downtown parking is a topic that’s never quite been settled. As WSVA reports, the number of restaurants and shopping options downtown are growing, and the city and Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance are commissioning a study of downtown parking, in order to gather “data and [...]
A column in this weekend’s Washington Post makes reference to Sen. Obenshain’s (rejected) bill to privatize Virginia’s ABC, and suggests that a similar bill might have more momentum after McDonnell takes office.
The story’s author, Garrett Peck, sums up the post-Prohibition chapter of Virginia history.
The ABC system [...]
Ever since we lost our local Greyhound station, getting in and out of town without a car has been cost-prohibitive at best. Today Green Shuttle announced that on November 10, they will start “Harrisonburg-based” van shuttles between here, DC, and Charlottesville.
The service, owned by Heriberto & Elia Cortes, will [...]
Rockingham County went for the straight Republican ticket. No surprises there. After all, the county overwhelmingly voted for Gilmore over Warner last November.
But how did the city go so Republican? As John Elledge put it, “Obama’s Stone Spring precinct gives Lohr 63-37.” Remember this? What [...]
hburgnews.com reader Anne Nielsen surveyed all the House of Delegates candidates running in any part of Rockingham County (on behalf of the Climate Action Alliance of the Valley). She compiled replies to a 3-question sustainability survey, with complete answers from three of the four Democratic Party candidates for [...]
If you haven’t been bombarded with the McDonnell – Deeds attack ads on TV, you might be surprised to learn there’s an election this coming Tuesday. All races are for state or local offices. Here’s what’s on the ballot in Harrisonburg:
Governor (surely you’ve seen at least a few [...]
Continuing your questions for Gene Hart and Matt Lohr from yesterday, hburgnews.com readers John Reeves and Dany Fleming asked questions of the candidates on Facebook relating to childcare.
Here’s Gene Hart’s response (Matt Lohr declined to participate).
Because they are related, I will [answer John's and Dany's questions] together.
John Reeves: [...]
Election day is less than a week away. In September, we solicited your questions (on this blog and on Facebook) for Matt Lohr and Gene Hart, the Republican and Democratic Party nominees running for state delegate in the 26th district. Hart responded, but Lohr’s campaign declined to participate [...]
The John Lesinski campaign is taking Del. Todd Gilbert to task for using his Facebook page to leak a Lesinski mailer before it was mailed. The Lesinski campaign wants to know how and where Gilbert got hold of the mailer.
From the Lesinski [...]
According to reports in the Breeze and a local paywalled publication, two Breeze reporters face University charges after interviewing students about a peeping tom incident. University spokespersons have been silent on the issue.
ETA: Breeze editor Tim Chapman, one of the two journalists charged, said later that the [...]
This year, 100 more local families have registered for assistance from the Salvation Army than did last year, and the registration period hasn’t ended yet. Harrisonburg Mayor Kai Degner interviewed Bucky Berry, a local business owner and volunteer, and Captain Duane Burleigh of the local Salvation Army, about the increased [...]
The HPD is looking for a man swindling money from Harrisonburg stores using one of the oldest ploys in the book: the short change scam.
On three separate occasions, this unknown male has gone into a store and purchased a drink. When paying for the drink, he gives a [...]
Earlier this week the Virginia Department of Education released the state graduation “on-time” rates for the class of 2009. The numbers for Limited English Proficiency (LEP) students in Harrisonburg was low.
In Harrisonburg, 80.9 percent of high school students in the 2009 class graduated on time. That’s a few points [...]
Leymah Gbowee — the Liberian peace activist, “sex strike” organizer, and subject of the film Pray the Devil Back to Hell — will be speaking at EMU this Thursday, about how her Christian faith informs her work of peacebuilding.
Floyd Clark, a local truck driver and Vietnam vet, is in DC today to receive recognition from President Obama for his unit’s performance in the war almost 40 years ago. The Washington Post reports:
President Obama is scheduled to pay tribute to Gutierrez and about 80 other Vietnam veterans who [...]
Your unemployed and underemployed friends will be so relieved to know that Harrisonburg’ economy is in “recovery.” According to MSNBC and Moody’s economy.com, local employment growth ranks 25 (first quintile) out of 392 (story via WSVA).
[...]Jeremiah Jenkins, GM of Clementine, is on the team opening a skate/art/clothing store on Water Street downtown. There’s a story in today’s Breeze about Wonder Skate Culture.
“The next stop downtown needs to make is retail.”
The collaboration of ideas from all three men gave birth to Wonder Skate [...]
As flu spreads in the area, many seeking or expecting seasonal flu vaccinations are hearing disappointing news: according to WHSV, most area doctors are out of stock and aren’t expected to have more until December. The CDC says that although there are six manufacturers working to produce the [...]
Jeremy Aldrich, Brent Finnegan, JGFitzgerald, Thanh, Marcus O'Malley, Kirsten Parmer, linz
