Category: Harrisonburg Issues
Page 80/122
Out of necessity, restaurants adapt public spaces for outdoor seating. Will that spark a broader conversation for the future?
After expanding outdoor seating to the adjacent parking lot, Jack Brown’s Beer and Burger Joint and Billy Jack’s Shack have hosted more guests outside while maintaining six-feet of distance between tables. And, in the process, it’s inspiring a wider conversation about reimagining public spaces in downtown Harrisonburg through the pandemic and beyond.
Advertisement
Decriminalization of marijuana possession won’t necessarily affect those already caught up in the system
Simple possession of an ounce or less of marijuana is set to be decriminalized in Virginia on July 1. But that won’t prevent Harrisonburg resident Christopher Jones, a cook at O’Neill’s Grill, from being sent to jail later that month if it’s what the prosecutor seeks.
Advertisement
Hundreds rally for peace in the wake of George Floyd’s death
About 300 people, donning face masks and holding signs, gathered at Court Square in Harrisonburg on Friday evening to speak out against racism and police brutality following the death of George Floyd, who died Monday after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck.
Advertisement
Solace and joy during pandemic (head to the woods now if you want to see mountain laurel blossoms)
In May, I’ve had minimal part-time work, so I’ve spent hours in the mountains. It’s all been at one place, Hone Quarry Recreation Area (in the George Washington National Forest), a gem for its diversity of flora and fauna. My personal project of noticing and learning the names of plants, insects, birds, and other creatures there has provided purpose. It has also been a source of solace and joy.
Harrisonburg nonprofits see fundraising losses — and gains — during pandemic
Fundraisers have been canceled or postponed, and normal operations are but a memory this spring for nonprofit agencies serving Harrisonburg and Rockingham County. Still, leaders of several say they remain solvent and able to perform their missions as the COVID-19 pandemic lingers on.
The petit goatee, and other peculiarities of local governance during a 21st-century pandemic
It was the kind of content made for a city spokesman’s Twitter account. Early in the city council’s pandemic-induced exile to virtual meetings, Councilman George Hirschmann’s cat jumped up onto his lap and, for all we know, into local history as the first cat to participate in Harrisonburg public policy-making.
Four organizations teamed up and ‘probably saved some lives’
Alena Pardi and her husband, Tim, thought they had found a house in Virginia and could move from Tennessee. But when they arrived in the Valley, they found they had been scammed, and the “seller” had run off with their first rent payment — which amounted to much of the money they had. Stranded, they slept in their car in Walmart’s parking lot. Then the coronavirus hit.
May 27, 2020
Poultry worker advocates urge city council to act after spike in COVID-19 cases
Concern about the spread of COVID-19 in area poultry plants came to the forefront of Tuesday’s Harrisonburg City Council meeting, as 12 city residents representing a variety of grassroots organizations petitioned the council to ask Gov. Ralph Northam to dial back reopening of businesses in order to protect workers.