The Rappahannock News was recognized with 22 awards, including a top Best in Show honor and seven first-place awards, in the Virginia Press Association’s 2020 competition for excellence in journalism and advertising. At a virtual presentation last Thursday morning,...
Local Services
Rappahannock News and Foothills Forum welcome new journalist through national service program
The Rappahannock News announced online last week that reporter Julia Shanahan will join its news team as a full-time Report for America corps member beginning in June. A 2021 graduate of the University of Iowa with bachelor’s degrees in journalism and political...
Supervisors await details, assurances on Black Kettle Commons amid worries of domino effect
County supervisors are looking for a range of new details on the envisioned Black Kettle Commons project in advance of any formal vote to accommodate the mixed-use project by allowing the town of Washington to take in a slice of land now outside its borders. More...
Black Kettle Commons overcomes first potential hurdle
Three supervisors open to the project Clarification: This story has been updated from the print edition version to more accurately represent Supervisor Debbie Donehey’s position on the project. The Black Kettle Commons Project — suspended somewhere between a vision...
Could Starlink be the ‘gamechanger’ Rappahannock needs?
‘When it’s working, it’s extremely fast,’ but there are some glitches — and industry skepticism — as Elon Musk venture expands Ted Goshorn has a handful of reasons why he’s so optimistic about the future of Starlink, the satellite broadband service now being beta...
Regional housing study lays out needs, opportunities for Rappahannock
The Rappahannock-Rapidan Regional Commission (RRRC) recently finalized the results of a year-long housing study showing the current and projected need for residences and offering strategies and recommendations for each locality to consider. In the five-county region,...
VDOT preparing for substantial snowfall in Rappahannock
All primary highways in Rappahannock County have been pretreated — some twice in two days — in anticipation of what could be the most snow we’ve seen in these mountains and foothills in two years. The brine solution motorists already see sprayed on the roads,...
Foothills Forum: A community news organization
Through a unique partnership, the Rappahannock News and Foothills Forum provide expanded local coverage Foothills Forum is a new type of community-supported journalism organization for a time of severe challenges to quality local news in Rappahannock, across Virginia...
Protecting Paradise — Rivers, streams and soil: Signs of progress, but work remains
Part 3 of 4 in a special report by Rappahannock News and Foothills Forum on preserving the unique environment of Rappahannock County. It was a report card few residents were anticipating. Ahead of its release last October, a crowd of roughly 70 buzzed around Pen Druid...
Protecting Paradise — Land and landscape: A backdrop and a business
Tax system is key to preserving farms and vistas The grain mills have rusted away, the clothing assembly lines are silent, and the apple business has mostly rolled off to North Carolina, Winchester, the Pacific Northwest and China. Rappahannock County’s surviving...
Continuing the conversation about housing
Foothills Forum and Rapp News will host a virtual discussion Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. In September, the Rappahannock News and Foothills Forum produced “Home Sweet Home?,” a year-long reporting project complemented by a survey of residents. Reporter Sara Schonhardt explored...
Rapp Realtors weigh in on housing
‘Rising prices are almost inevitable given the desirable place we’ve created’ One of the main takeaways from our special report was that housing in Rappahannock is limited and expensive, especially for lower- and middle-income households. Finding ways to address that...
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