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The Sherando Times
Stephens City • Middletown • Kernstown
April 20 – 26, 2011Volume III, Issue 16
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PBS gets unding
McDonnell launchesmerit initiative
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New tools orabuse victims
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New local insuranceofce opens
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Page • Te Sherando imes • April 0 – 6, 011Read all issues in their entirety FREE on www.Sherandoimes.com
By Fletcher BabbCapital News ServiceRICHMOND – Te state Senatehas ensured that Virginians willstill ask that age-old question: “Can you tell me how to get to SesameStreet?”Te Senate on Wednesday nightoverturned Gov. Bob McDonnell’sproposal to eliminate state undingor public broadcasting over thenext two years.Te Senate’s 7-13 vote doesn’talter the 10 percent cut in undingor public broadcasting approvedby the General Assembly during itsregular session in February.However, senators rebued Mc-Donnell’s call to eliminate ully hal o the money that public radio andtelevision stations would receiveduring the coming scal year – andthe remaining hal the ollowing year. Te governor’s oce said hisplan would save taxpayers $4. mil-lion.Te House o Delegates upheldMcDonnell’s budget amendment tophase out state unding or publicbroadcasting. However, the amend-ment dies i one chamber rejects it– as the Senate did.Te votes came during the Gen-eral Assembly’s “reconvened ses-sion,” a one-day meeting to consider vetoes, changes to legislation andbudget amendments made by thegovernor.In all, the House and Senate up-held 66 o the governor’s 86 amend-ments to the budget. Te other 0were nixed.
Abortion Rights
Te General Assembly also votedon one o the most controversialamendments – a provision thatwould block insurance coverage orabortion, except in cases o rape,incest or lie-threatening healthconcerns.Te Republican-controlled Houseeasily passed McDonnell’s abor-tion-restricting measure on a 61-36 vote. But the issue was the subject o heated debate in the Senate, whereDemocrats hold a slim majority.wo Democratic senators votedwith the Republican minority inavor o the restriction. Te resultwas a tie vote that was broken by Republican Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling,allowing the restriction to pass.Bolling also cast a tie-breaking vote in avor o McDonnell’s amend-ment to allocate $380,000 or anabstinence education und.
Environmental Fines
wo o the governor’s our vetoesthis year dealt with the environment– and the General Assembly upheldboth o them.One bill would have allowed thestate Department o Environmen-tal Quality to impose civil penaltieso up to $30,000. he other billwould have authorized the StateWater Control Board to imposea civil penalty o up to $1,000 onpeople who ail to report certainwater withdrawal inormation.Since the General Assembly sus-tained the governor’s vetoes, bothbills are dead.
Autism Insurance
Both houses approved our o the ive amendments that Mc-Donnell made to a bill requiringgovernments and large employersto include autism services in theiremployee health insurance plans.Legislators upheld McDonnell’sproposals to create a licensing boardor autism therapists and to requireprior authorization or services.Lawmakers rejected McDonnell’samendment that would have guttedthe entire law i part is “invalidatedby state or ederal law or a court o competent jurisdiction”For more than a decade, parentso autistic children in Virginiapushed or a state law requiringinsurers to cover autism services.Te legislation will require healthinsurers to pay or a set o therapies,known as applied behavior analysis,or children age to 6 with autism.Te new law will apply to busi-nesses with more than 50 em-ployees; it also will cover publicemployees. Te statute won’t apply to individual or small group insur-ance policies. Under the law, annualbenets will be limited at $35,000.
Physical Education
Te Senate upheld McDonnell’s veto o a bill that would have re-quired 150 minutes o physicaleducation in elementary and middleschools.Te measure was widely criticizedas an ununded burden on localschool systems.In a letter to the governor, severaleducators and school board associa-tions wrote that “Many elementary schools throughout the Common-wealth do not have gymnasiums orother acilities sucient to meet therequirements o this bill.”
U.Va. Renovations
Both the House and Senate votedto give the University o Virginiaalmost $.7 million in state bondunds to repair its landmark Ro-tunda. he House voted 98-1 inavor o the measure. Te Senate voted 40-1.
Medical Malpractice
Both the chambers o the GeneralAssembly shot down McDonnell’s veto o a bill to raise the amountthat can be awarded in medicalmalpractice lawsuits. Te bill willraise the existing $ million cap by $50,000 a year – until it reaches $3million in the year 031.o overturn the governor’s veto,both houses must achieve a majority o two-thirds.
Politics
By Samantha Mazzotta
Mulching Is Riteof Spring
It’s mid-April as I write this, and myneighborhood is awash in the aromaof freshly laid bark mulch. Where Ilive, surrounded by professional land-scapers, the tall shrubs are unwrappedwell ahead of the first spring bloomsand mulch covers the edges of lawnsas far as the eye can see.What’s the point of mulch, you ask — other than as decoration? Mulch provides protection for both soil and plants, preventing dirt from wash-ing away in spring rains and expos-ing plant roots, while simultaneouslyrepelling insects and rodents and dis-couraging weeds from taking root.So, what’s the best mulch to use? Itdepends. The term “mulch” is prettygeneric; it basically describes anymaterial spread around or over plantsto enrich or insulate the soil. Here aresome common mulches and their use.Inorganic mulch: Rocks or gravel,recycled rubber tires, landscape fab-ric and plastic sheeting are typical of inorganic products used to preventerosion and weeds.Organic mulch: Commerciallyavailable mulch tends to be com- prised of tree bark or wood chips.But other mulches can be created athome, including compost, grass clip- pings, dried leaves and pine needles.Dried straw is another type of organicmulch.Bark mulch is excellent for pro-tecting the surface roots of trees andshrubs, but not so good for gardens,as its high carbon-to-nitrogen ratiocan hinder growth of vegetables andflowers.Gravel or rocks work as decorativelandscaping, but don’t place themdirectly over tree or shrub roots asthey can heat up in the sun, damagingthe roots beneath.Using compost? Check for a “sour mulch” condition — a strong vin-egary or silage odor — before spread-ing in the garden. If the compostseems sour, turn the pile well to intro-duce oxygen and make sure it hasgood drainage, and wait until the sour smell goes away before using.How deep should bark mulch go?Three inches is a good depth, as it protects roots while allowing air andwater to penetrate.What shouldn’t mulch touch? Keepit six inches or more away from your home’s foundation and siding, as wellas from the base of tree trunks.
Send your questions or commentsto ask@thisisahammer.com, or writeThis Is a Hammer, c/o King FeaturesWeekly Service, P.O. Box 536475,Orlando, FL 32853-6475.
© 2011 King Features Synd., Inc.
Need to dis- pose of oldorganic mulch?Find out if your municipal-ity has a yardwaste collec-tion program before dumping the old mulch inthe regular garbage.
o advertise in Te Sherando imes please contactAngie Buterakos: angie@sherandotimes.com • 540-683-9197or Alison Duvall: alisond@sherandotimes.com • 540-551-07
The Annual NewtownHeritage Festival
The Annual Newtown Heritage Festival
willbe held at the Commons on Main Street inStephens City, on
Saturday May 28th
.Opening at 10 AM it will feature Artisans, Craftand Food Vendors, Live Music, Free Tractor Rides to tour Town, Shops, Museums andNewtown Local Market. A Parade on MainStreet starting at 2 PM.
www.stephenscity.vi.virginia.gov
Free Admission and Parking
Sherando H.S. BandConcert at the CommonsThurs. May 26th at 7 p.m.Battle of the Bandsat the Commons Fri. May27th at 6 p.m.-9 p.m.
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Assembly continues unding or PBS
Photo by CDBerrios on
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April 0 – 6, 011 • Te Sherando imes • Page 3Read all issues in their entirety FREE on www.Sherandoimes.com
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RICHMOND – GovernorBob McDonnell announcedtoday that those aected by the severe storms that struckVirginia on April 8 and April16 will be granted a 30-day extension or ling returns andmaking payments on their statetaxes.his extension will apply to taxpayers located in thecities o Charlottesville andWaynesboro, and in the ollow-ing counties: Albemarle, Bath,Carroll, Dinwiddie, Gloucester,Haliax, Isle o Wight, JamesCity, Lunenburg, Middlesex,Pulaski, Page, Rockbridge,Shenandoah, Surry, and War-ren. axpayers outside o theseareas who sustained severedamage rom the storms may also request an extension.I the Governor declares any additional localities as disasterareas, they will also qualiy orthis tax relie. Check the axDepartment’s website at www.tax.virginia.gov or updates.o qualiy or this specialiling extension, taxpayersmust be unable to meet theirling obligations because theinancial books and recordsthey need to le their taxes arelocated in the aected areasor are otherwise unavailablebecause o severe storm dam-age.Individuals and businessesin these areas automatically get 30 additional days to leall returns and make all taxpayments that had a due date,or an extended due date, onor ater April 16, 011, and onor beore May , 011. Teseinclude Sales and Use axreturns, Withholding ax re-turns, Income ax returns, andestimated tax payments. Tisextension does not apply toederal taxes, the ling dead-line or which was yesterday.o receive the special lingextension, taxpayers aectedby the severe storm damageshould write “Severe StormRelie” at the top o their paperreturns. Te Virginia Depart-ment o axation will abateinterest and any late-ling orlate-payment penalties thatwould otherwise apply.axpayers with additionalquestions should contact axat (804) 367-8031 or individualincome tax questions or (804)367-8037 or business tax ques-tions
.
McDonnell announces state tax relie granted or victims o severe storms
Not much trafc at 6th St. & Virginia Ave. in Front Royal, Va. following ash oods Saturday, April 16, 2011.Photo by Roger Bianchini/The Sherando Times
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