Government

    Retail merchants in the city of Bedford going out of business won't be required any longer to pay a fee to run a “going-out-of-business” sale.
    But they still will have to obtain a permit for that sale.
    At last week's City Council meeting, council voted 6-0 to eliminate a $65 fee that had previously been charged to file the permit. Last month Vice Mayor Robert Wandrei brought up the issue—after being approached by a local business that was closing—about the fee.

    A hearing before Bedford’s Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) last week was historic. It’s the first time Bedford’s BZA has convened in 10 years. The result was that the BZA unanimously upheld the property owner’s appeal.

Virginia should retain its current AAA bond rating, according to Delegate Lacey Putney.

    Putney, who chairs the House Appropriations Committee, accompanied Governor Bob McDonnell to New York to talk to the three bond rating agencies—Fitch Ratings, Moody’s  and Standard and Poor’s. All three of them give Virginia’s bonds a AAA rating. Standard and Poor’s downgraded U. S. sovereign debt last year.

    There's a need for more foster families in the Bedford area. And there's a need for more families willing to adopt foster children.
    According to Andy Crawford, director of Bedford County Department of Social Services, the county is constantly recruiting new families to help in those areas.
    “We really need foster parents and adoptive parents,” Crawford stated.