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Today's News

  • Major tax hikes, by default, will hit if Congress doesn't act

    If Congress fails to act, we Americans will pay the price. Unless Congress acts, the following tax increases will automatically occur for the following tax-years:

    2008:

    ...The exemption for the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) will decrease from $44,350 to $33,750 for single filers and from $66,250 to $45,000 for married couples filing jointly.

    ...Taxpayers will not be allowed to deduct their state and federal general sales taxes from their federal income tax.

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  • House of Delegates honors Rev. Jerry Falwell

    In last week’s column, I mentioned how many bills we have to process before the February 12 midpoint of the General Assembly session, commonly referred to as “crossover.” In just one day, Monday, February 11, the House will consider more than 200 bills.

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  • Are the GOP moderates back?

    With Mitt Romney’s sudden departure from the Republican presidential race, Sen. John McCain has reached “presumptive nominee” status.

    We know McCain will be the candidate, but in a party that everyone thought was dominated by right-wingers, both religious and secular, it may not be clear just yet how he got there.

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  • Bedford County educators attend annual Lobby Day in Richmond

    Several Bedford County teachers joined a cadre of professional educators at Lobby Day in Richmond on Feb. 4 to urge elected representatives to approve financial support for schools throughout the commonwealth.

    The local contingent met with Del. Lacey Putney, Del. Kathy Byron and state Sen. Steve Newman to encourage funding of teacher salary increases, protection of teacher planning time to support quality instruction for all students, and full funding of the rebenchmarking of the Standards of Quality.

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  • Perriello seeks to take Fifth District seat

    Tom Perriello is hoping to bring the values taught to him at an early age to the service of those in the Fifth District ? values which include "to those whom much is given, much is expected."

    Perriello is set to run as the Democratic candidate against Rep. Virgil Goode, who was first elected to the House from the Fifth District in 1996. He believes the seat, which has been firmly held by Goode ever since, is up for grabs this year.

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  • When the call comes in, volunteers are there to answer the call

    Volunteers make a difference.

    You didn't have to look far this week to see that truth.

    All across the county, volunteers took their place on the line to help protect homes and to help out their community as the weather caused numerous problems for the area.

    High wind, coupled with a low relative humidity, provided the spark needed to ignite fires all over the county this past weekend. On Sunday at least 11 fires had been reported, several of significant consequence. The high winds had also left some without power.

    Volunteers stepped in to stand in the gap.

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  • Letters

    I don't usually read John Barnhart's column - his use of quotes around the word Democratic leads me to believe that the only way he can get his point across is to ridicule his opponents, a poor debate tactic at best, sophomoric writing technique at worst. But for some reason, seeing the words "John McCain" and "pro-life" in his Feb. 6, 2008, column made me read it.

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  • Invest in the infrastructure to stimulate the economy

    It is imperative that Congress and the President act swiftly to prepare and implement an economic stimulus package aimed at easing the hardships that less fortunate Americans are now experiencing. These priorities—which should include funding for a heating assistance program for low-income households; an immediate, refundable rebate for low- and middle-income families; and federal assistance to the states to assist them in financing Medicaid—will help to stimulate the economy and provide aid to millions of hard working Americans

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  • Making the Do Not Call Registry permanent

    Five years ago the House and Senate came together in a bipartisan fashion to pass the Do Not Call Implementation Act. This important legislation created the Do Not Call Registry and made it illegal for commercial telemarketers to call an individual listed on the registry.

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  • County joins city in giving OK to Oakwood Villas project

    Bedford County's board of supervisors cleared the way for the controversial Oakwood Villas Townhomes project by a 4-3 vote.

    Oakwood Villas is a condominium project which, its developers say, will be aimed at retirees or empty nesters who plan to downsize to a smaller home. The development straddles the Bedford city/county line near Bedford Memorial Hospital. Most of it is in the city but 10 acres of it lies in the county. The land was zoned R-1 (low density residential).

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