March 21, 2005
Governor Mark Warner (D-VA) spent his day in town Monday, March 21st.
The first stop for the Governor was the unveiling of what he dubbed, "the third generation of the Internet."
The system, called 'Vortex', connects all the state's universities to national and international research networks. One of the fastest networks in the country, Warner told CBS19/ABC16 News that it has great economic promise for the entire state.
"I believe [it will] help us create the intellectual capital that will directly translate into jobs," he said. "And with the excess capacity that's being created, hopefully we can sell that off, or sublet it to rural economic development opportunities as well."
Next, the jacket came off, as Warner headed to Professor Larry Sabato's American Politics class in Wilson Hall.
There he spoke to over five hundred students, answering questions ranging from hometown concerns to how did he, a Democrat, win in a predominantly Republican state.
His answer to this one was to stay in the middle, because that's where he thinks most Virginians lie.
"How do you try to bring people along?" he rhetorically asked. "If you got an idea, you lay it out and try to be straight with people about where you want to head, and don't dismiss folks with an idea just because it has an 'R' or 'D' attached to it."
