Three up; Three down

By The News Virginian Staff

Published: July 5, 2008

Three Up
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has quietly moved his country beyond the shadows of its days as a lawless haven for drug lords. Last week, soldiers rescued a politician and three American contractors who had been held hostage for five years by guerrillas. Now, if Uribe can only secure a free-trade deal with the U.S.
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John McCain shook up his campaign staff in an effort to inject badly needed life into his Republican presidential bid. His biggest support at the moment might come from veteran spoiler Ralph Nader. CNN polls show the consumer advocate holding steady at 6 percent, just enough to trim frontrunner Barack Obama’s fragile 5-percentage point lead to an even shakier 3 points.
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Struggling amid west-end growth in Waynesboro, the retail district in Staunton could be in for a jolt. The proposed Centre at Staunton and Awasaw Cultural Center could even the score. The 40-acre development planned by the Frontier Culture Museum and Petrie-Ross Ventures would create a retail and cultural mecca off U.S. 250, augmenting Staunton’s thriving downtown cultural district. The idea remains preliminary, developers say, but holds obvious promise.

Three Down
Memo from failed presidential aspirant and retired Gen. Wesley Clark to military flyboys shot down during combat missions and then held prisoner for a half-dozen years: Don’t flatter yourselves. Discussing former POW and presumed Republican presidential nominee John McCain, Clark sniffed, “I don’t think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president.” Nor, apparently, is a controversial tenure as NATO commander.
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Don’t ask if it can get worse for the floundering U.S. economy. More than 60,000 jobs were lost last month, continuing a six-month trend and pushing the year-to-date job loss total to 438,000. Meanwhile, oil and commodities prices surged to record highs, boosting inflation fears. Hey, at least the unemployment rate remained level at 5.5 percent. Hurray.
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The next infusion of city money for the Wayne Theatre is not expected for another two years, when backers hope to obtain an occupancy permit. Under an agreement between the city Economic Development Authority and the Wayne Theatre Alliance, the permit is scheduled to trigger another $200,000 in city money for the project. But conservatives on the council have expressed doubt about the deal. The project’s future appears murky.