On any given day, Staunton’s downtown is teeming with people dining, shopping and taking in a play, but officials there say it was not an overnight success story.

Julie Markowitz, executive director of the Staunton Downtown Development Association, said the city has been fortunate to have preserved many of its historic buildings.

Leo Tolstoy famously observed a telling distinction between happy and unhappy families. It is reversed for towns: Unhappy towns are all alike, but every happy town is each happy in its own way. Well, almost. Some ingredients are common, but less so the mixes that stir towns to life. That which rouses one community might not rouse another.

About three months ago there was a discussion on the creation of a joint Augusta County and Staunton committee that would work to get economic cooperation between the county and city.

STAUNTON — A distressed Staunton man drew a crowd of rescuers and neighbors Thursday afternoon as he yelled and wobbled atop the roof of his house for almost two hours.

In a budget that has been “significantly impacted by the downturn in the global economy,” Staunton City Manager Steve Owen presented a $94.2 million fiscal year 2010 budget with a 90-cent real estate tax rate Thursday.

Waynesboro to share $800K for housing improvements

Wyatt Hollar, formerly of Staunton, began serving 15 years behind bars Friday hours after a Henrico County jury found him guilty of second-degree murder in the shooting death of his friend, Danielle Wilson, 25, of Fredericksburg.

The mulch waits in a pile, lumber and a swing set are on the way and the future homes of flower beds are marked by white spray-painted outlines in the grass.

A routine traffic stop outside Staunton city limits turned into a lengthy foot chase by police and ended in the arrest of a man on multiple charges in the early morning hours on Sept. 1.

STAUNTON — A neighbor carried a Staunton woman to safety Thursday after a fire sparked in her microwave and intensified when she attempted to extinguish the flames with towels.

STAUNTON — Jury selection will continue today after five men and three women were tabbed Tuesday as potential jurors and 11 others were excused in a trial for a Staunton video store and an employee charged with violating obscenity laws.

For lovers of gospel music, there’s still time to get tickets to the Fourth Annual Gospel Fest on Sept. 5 at R.E. Lee High School.

Annual celebration draws crowds of young and old alike

Staunton’s America’s Birthday Celebration is back again this year and bigger than ever, featuring the annual parade, music, a car show, crafts and, of course, fireworks.

STAUNTON —Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said Thursday he hopes the Democratic Party’s healing over the presidential nomination fight will start this weekend, when he speaks to state Democrats at the convention in Hampton.