Calvin Pynn

In Harrisonburg, James Madison University began a week-long series of events celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Monday night [Jan. 20] with a ceremony featuring former PBS Newshour host Ray Suarez. WMRA’s Calvin Pynn Reports.

Representative Ben Cline continued a series of town hall meetings across Virginia’s sixth district with a stop in Harrisonburg Monday night.  WMRA’s Calvin Pynn reports.

Rockingham and Fluvanna Counties joined a long list of Virginia localities to declare themselves "Second Amendment Sanctuaries" Wednesday night.  The board's vote in Fluvanna was close --  3 to 2 in favor of the resolution.  But the Rockingham board voted unanimously in favor.  WMRA’s Calvin Pynn was at the meeting in Rockingham County, and filed this report.

The United States Supreme Court will begin hearing arguments today on the Trump administration’s 2017 decision to terminate Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals – or DACA - and advocates in Harrisonburg held a vigil last night in support of the program. WMRA’s Calvin Pynn reports.

Harrisonburg’s International Festival brought thousands of visitors downtown on Saturday.  For the 22nd year, the festival celebrated dozens of different cultures and languages. WMRA’s Calvin Pynn was there.

As climate strikes are taking place across the globe today, protesters turned out in Harrisonburg to join the movement. WMRA’s Calvin Pynn reports.

Immigration advocates hosted an event that brought about 60 people to Asbury United Methodist Church in Harrisonburg on Saturday.  The workshop focused on immigrant rights and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency – or I.C.E. - in the Shenandoah Valley.  WMRA’s Calvin Pynn reports.

Two professors in James Madison University’s biology department are part of a team studying whether limb regeneration in animals can be duplicated in humans.  WMRA’s Calvin Pynn reports.

Freshman Republican Congressman Ben Cline is continuing to make his way around the sixth district holding town hall meetings.

Paula Youngblood has struggled with phantom limb pain since losing her hand in a car crash in 2017, but she may have found a treatment that works -- virtual reality gaming.  She’s been working with a grad student at James Madison University studying alternative therapy methods.  WMRA’s Calvin Pynn reports.

Since reporter and JMU alumna Alison Parker was fatally shot in 2015, her father, Andy Parker, has fought to reform gun laws.  He wrote a book that details that fight. Parker shared his story with JMU students Thursday night.  WMRA’s Calvin Pynn has the story.

Guitarist Mdou Moctar has been a prominent figure in the West African music scene of Agadez, Niger for the past decade. He plays a style that fuses traditional Tuareg guitar music with psychedelic blues and desert rock. Mdou Moctar is playing Tuesday, January 22 at the Golden Pony in Harrisonburg. WMRA’s Calvin Pynn spoke with Moctar about playing in Agadez, and bringing his music to the rest of the world.

“Farmers For America,” a documentary focusing on farmers across the country, screened Tuesday night [June 26] at Court Square Theater in Harrisonburg, and featured a couple of well-known growers in the Shenandoah Valley. WMRA’s Calvin Pynn was there.

Protesters rallied outside of the Harrisonburg Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, office on Monday. WMRA’s Calvin Pynn was there.

About one-third of children in Harrisonburg live in single-parent homes.  One Valley chapter of the Boy Scouts of America gathered local businesses, community members and scouting enthusiasts on Sunday to raise money, and awareness.  And as WMRA’s Calvin Pynn reports, it was a time-honored scouting event – a pinewood derby.

The mother / daughter team of tree-sitting, anti-pipeline protesters met with like-minded activists in Harrisonburg Thursday.  It’s part of their tour around the state, as WMRA’s Calvin Pynn reports.

Senator Tim Kaine is making his way around the state to kick off his bid for re-election this year.  He stopped at Pale Fire Brewing Company Saturday [April 7] to meet with voters in Harrisonburg. WMRA’s Calvin Pynn was there.

On Thursday [April 5],  CNN White House Correspondent Jim Acosta returned to James Madison University as the final Madison Vision Series Speaker this year. WMRA’s Calvin Pynn reports.

The United Way has started discussions with local nonprofits and others to come up with solutions to help those in the Harrisonburg area struggling to make ends meet. WMRA’s Calvin Pynn reports.

The second annual International Women’s Day March in Harrisonburg took place Saturday.  WMRA’s Calvin Pynn reports.

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program was at the center of this month’s “Democracy in Peril” session Tuesday, Feb. 27 at James Madison University.  WMRA’s Calvin Pynn reports.

Fans of the Rocky Horror Picture Show can see a revival of the original stage show in Staunton this weekend.  WMRA’s Calvin Pynn reports.

The return to analog sound in this digital age isn’t limited to the resurgence in popularity of turntables and vinyl LP records.  Many keyboard musicians and sound artists are returning to the analog synthesizers whose sound they grew up with, favoring them over the newer digital varieties.  WMRA’s Calvin Pynn reports.

About fifty people gathered in Harrisonburg’s Court Square Saturday afternoon supporting the local chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, or “NORML” for short.  As WMRA’s Calvin Pynn reports, organizers were hoping to take advantage of Tuesday’s election.