It was harmony in the Staunton City Council reorganization which unanimously reelected Lacy King as mayor and also chose Dave Metz vice mayor with only Dickie Bell dissenting. New on the council are Ophie Kier and Andrea Oakes. While city council elections are nonpartisan, Kier got some support from city Democrats while Oakes, who had been vocal about the "porn store," garnered support from many Republicans.
Travel across the county to Waynesboro, and all the hens weren't clucking in unison. They unanimously elected Tim Williams mayor but divided sharply over selection of the vice mayor. The so-called "new majority" of Williams, Frank Lucente, and Bruce Allen elected Lucent as vice mayor with strong dissents from Lorie Smith and Nancy Dowdy. If this "new majority" coalition holds together it will mark changes in Waynesboro's direction. You'll recall that City Manager Douglas Walker was forced to resign after the "new majority" was elected. Most of the talk coming from that trio focuses on cost cutting and changing the priorities of the city. All of them are talking about building "trust," "respect," and "unity." Could be some cracked eggs until they are successful at that.
Cuppa joe? How many Starbucks in the Shenandoah Valley are on the closing list? With an economy squeezing many families in the valley, that home brewed cup looks better all the time. In some towns and cities there seems to be coffee shops everywhere. How many can a market support? Plus, even McDonald's has upscale coffee to go with that Egg McMuffin. Starbucks success brought competition, but thinking they were unstoppable, the company probably grew too fast, too far. I don't give a cluck about the big corporate roosters, but I do feel for the employees who will be losing jobs.
Peck. Peck.
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