Two Blacksburg environmental projects have won the 2008 Governor's Environmental Excellence awards.

The awards were presented last week at the Environment Virginia Conference in Lexington to businesses and government agencies that strive for environmental protection and sustainability.

The town's electronic waste recycling program, established in 2006 through a federal grant program, won a gold medal in the environmental partnerships category. According to the town's award application, through Blacksburg's partnership with the YMCA at Virginia Tech, 85,176 pounds of electronic devices and 801 pounds of batteries that would have gone into landfills have instead been reused or recycled.

Sustainability Week 2007 -- an environmental awareness campaign and celebration put on by Virginia Tech, Blacksburg and numerous businesses, agencies and residents -- won a bronze award in the government environmental programs category.

The recognition is "a source of pride" for all the individuals and groups who have worked so hard to make these projects happen, Blacksburg Public Works Director Kelly Mattingly said.

Other winners included the city of Charlottesville, the University of Virginia and the Volvo Trucks North America plant in Dublin.

-- Tonia Moxley

Blacksburg rolls out new Web site

Redesigned for the first time in eight years, the Blacksburg government Web site has gone from point-and-click to podcasts and RSS feeds.

The $50,000 makeover was done by Vision Internet of Santa Monica, Calif., and went live on April 2, according to town spokeswoman Heather Browning.

Vision Internet has also designed government portals for the cities of Lynchburg and Charlottesville, according to the company's Web site.

It's taken two years to accomplish the change, Browning said.

It was not just cosmetic. The town moved from static HTML pages with mostly text content to an automated system similar to blogging software such as Wordpress that will allow all town departments to update their information quickly and easily.

For years, updates were done basically by one person, Browning said. But the new, more dynamic system is designed to keep information more timely and relevant.

The new site also integrates the latest technologies, such as podcasting of government meetings and public access television programs and RSS feeds for meeting agendas and minutes. Online bill paying and streaming video of town council and planning commission meetings is also available.

"We really wanted to modernize our communication methods," Browning said. "We're starting to experiment with ... video and audio podcasts. If it's in demand, we'll keep doing it," she said.

The redo is also philosophical. While the old site was geared mostly toward residents of the town, the new portal has sections devoted to other audiences, such as businesses and a "living" guide for visitors and newcomers.

On the Web: blacksburg.gov

-- Tonia Moxley