Virginia News Archives

A Danville teenager received a 50-year prison sentence Monday for ferociously stabbing his mother 19 times - seven times in the head - during a brutal 2008 killing.

It will cost parents about 4 percent more than it did last year to prepay a year of tuition and fees at a four-year state university, according to officials at the Virginia College Savings Plan.

The Virginia Department of Transportation has upgraded the fog lights on Afton Mountain and a stretch of Interstate 64 to a system of LED lamps that have a longer life, require less maintenance and are 75 percent more energy-efficient. VDOT officials say the $1.3 million project on the roadway edge replaces an incandescent light system installed in ...

Photo credit: Police Times Magazine A federal grand jury returned an indictment on Tuesday charging three MS-13 associates with murdering Claros Luna, 40, of Maryland, during an armed robbery in Alexandria, Virginia committed by the suspects on July 29, 2009.

Browse> Home / News , Top Story , twitter / Minor 2.7 Earthquake Rattles Nelson & Parts Of Central Virginia : 11.26.09 Earthquake Graphic Courtesy of USGS : Click to enlarge.

Officials say a Washington Metro subway train crashed into the back of another at a rail yard, injuring three workers.

Bernard Hampton and his daughter Jasent, 4, in their Newport News home. Bernard Hampton knows what it's like to pay for his family's medical care.

Alexandria schools Superintendent Morton Sherman is working to expand minority enrollment in elementary gifted programs as the Virginia Department of Education tackles the same issues.

For gay and lesbian Virginians, the election results earlier this month must have seemed dismal.

The Eastern District of Virginia has a new U.S. Attorney. Neil MacBride was formally sworn in at a ceremony in Alexandria yesterday.

Virginia health officials on Friday announced confirmation of two more swine-flu-related deaths, one of which was a Virginia Beach man.

The bluish haze that has hung over the Third Street Diner's bar and booths for decades finally lifts next month as a new anti-smoking law takes hold in Virginia, a huge shift for a state whose tobacco habit dates to the Jamestown settlement some 400 years ago.

AAA estimates that 1.5 million Virginians will travel 50 miles or more during the Thanksgiving holiday, according to a news release from the Virginia Trucking Association.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released reports Monday projecting how many people could be without health insurance in a decade.

A senior from the College of William and Mary has been crowned Miss Virginia USA 2010.

Virginia reports recycling rate of 38.5 percent in 2008. Recent figures from the Commonwealth of Virginia find that the recycling rate in the state held firm last year.

Crashing a state dinner at the White House apparently takes a security breakdown as well as some kind of nerve.

As the World Trade Center and Pentagon were ablaze on September 11, 2001, the U.S. Secret Service's presidential protective detail was informed that a "Korean airliner has been hijacked" en route to San Francisco, prompting already-skittish agents to worry about another wave of terrorist attacks.

Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine and first lady Anne Holton stood outside the Executive Mansion today to preside over a Thanksgiving tradition that dates to the late 1600s - Virginia's Indian tribes paying tribute to the governor with an offering of wild game.

A Tazewell dentist pleaded guilty Tuesday to writing bogus prescriptions for hydrocodone to feed his own addiction for more than a decade.

Virginia health officials are urging people to be especially vigilant in protecting themselves and others against the so-called swine flu this Thanksgiving.

When the Defense Intelligence Agency brings an estimated 800 employees to Rivanna Station in September, it will join the nearly $110 million defense-related industry already headquartered in Central Virginia.

Columbia Gas of Virginia is lowering rates for its customers. Below is a press release on the price reduction: Winter Natural Gas Bills for Columbia Gas of Virginia Customers Will Be 12 Percent Lower Than Last Year Columbia Gas of Virginia customers will pay 12 percent less this year than a year ago for their winter natural gas bills.

The results stayed the same, but the turnout grew after a certification of the Nov.

The governors of Virginia and Maryland say it would be wrong for the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington to quit providing social services if the District of Columbia approves gay marriage.

A nonprofit group has until Dec. 3 to identify the source of voter information it planned to use in a mass mailing to 350,000 Virginia households.

This morning's Washington Post has this fascinating and important new article headlined "Tracking sex-crime offenders gets trickier: Violator registry is growing as tech-savvy predators put a greater burden on officers." Here are excerpts: The nationwide crackdown on child pornography and other sex offenses has created severe manpower shortages and ...

Virginia's fiscal picture remained dim, as a panel of state legislators and business leaders got another look at prospects for the state's upcoming budget.

The Virginia Department of Health says about one-third of the homicides that occurred in the state between 1999 and 2007 were domestic-related. In a report released Monday, the agency says males were more likely to die in what it called the "crossfire" of intimate partner violence.

Triumph for Gov. Tim Kaine: Smoking is banned in most restaurants and bars in the Commonwealth starting December 1. It's an amazing victory for Virginia non-puffers in this state famous for those amazing tobacco auctions where auctioneers for decades held the house spellbound when they spewed a semi-intelligible auction yodel -- with the punch ...

The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts will unveil its 150-million dollar expansion at the grand opening May 1, 2010.

Housing Virginia has announced it will publish a quarterly Housing Affordability Index for the state starting in 2010.

AAA Mid-Atlantic expects more Virginians on the highways this Thanksgiving weekend.

Since the 1997 international accord to fight global warming, climate change has worsened and accelerated _ beyond some of the grimmest of warnings made back then.

This week, West Virginia celebrated one of the most significant and monumental milestones in our state and nation's history, as U.S. Sen.

Police say a married couple in southwestern Virginia has been found dead in an apparent murder-suicide. Washington County Sheriff's authorities told the Bristol Herald Courier that deputies responded to a call for help early Saturday.

Virginia's job market improved last month as the number of Virginians out of work declined.

A 30-113. Powers and duties of Panel. The powers and duties of the Panel shall be applied and used only in relation to members of the respective house of the General Assembly for which it is created.

The group that will manage Fort Monroe after the Army leaves wants sections of the post to be designated as a unit of the National Park Service.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine requested federal disaster assistance Friday for localities in Virginia that suffered damage from the Nora easter that occurred November 11 through 15.

Virginians are taking home less pay, spending less in stores and still are getting hit on their investments, new state tax-collection statistics show.

One person is dead and at least one more suffered minor injuries after Miley Cyrus ' tour bus crashed and flipped onto its side in Virginia this morning.

Sixty percent of Mexicans living in Virginia are actually American citizens. Mexicans living in Virginia also are more likely to have a job than Virginians overall.

Below is a press release from the Virginia Department of Health on the upcoming statewide smoking ban: VDH COMMISSIONER ASKS VIRGINIANS TO SUPPORT THE COMMONWEALTH BREATHE EASY CHALLENGE To celebrate the upcoming ban on smoking in restaurants, Virginia's Health Commissioner today called on Virginians to show their support for the new law and local ...

Virginia lawmakers learned today that they have a $3.5 billion hole to fill in the next two-year budget as well an estimated $209 million shortfall in the current spending plan.

A bankruptcy trustee says claims have been filed for 154 people who say they were sickened by a salmonella outbreak traced to a Virginia peanut company.

Civil rights organizations are asking Gov. Timothy M. Kaine to sign an executive order restoring the rights of nearly 300,000 felons before he leaves office in January.

On a slow Friday in March of 1980, then-Senate Majority Leader Robert C. Byrd saw his granddaughter and her schoolmates in the spectators' gallery and decided to give them a lesson with a lengthy impromptu speech on the history of the Senate.

Virginia transportation officials are moving hundreds of millions of dollars from secondary and urban road projects to higher priority Interstate and primary highways.

One of the top priorities of Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., has been to represent his fellow West Virginians to the best of his ability in Washington.

Virginia and North Carolina health officials are advising against consuming walleye fish caught in Lake Gaston because of mercury contamination.

The following editorial appeared in the Kansas City Star on Tuesday, Nov. 17: Historically, government has a lousy record of running businesses.

The bad economy will result in another $250 million to $300 million budget shortfall for the fiscal year ending June 30, House of Delegates money committees were told Tuesday.

The state of Virginia, which already has had to cut $6 billion from the two-year budget ending June 30, 2010, may have to cut $250 million to $300 million, the House Appropriations Committee was told today.

Virginia Sens. Jim Webb and Mark Warner are pressing federal officials to release disaster aid in the wake of last week's powerful nor'easter that rocked Hampton Roads.

Virginia inmate Larry Bill Elliott is scheduled to become the first Virginia inmate to die by electrocution since 2006.

Space shuttle Atlantis is circling Earth with two Virginia natives on board. Atlantis and its crew of six will hook up with the International Space Station on Wednesday.

The Virginia House of Delegates' Democratic caucus has elected new leadership for the 2010 General Assembly session.

Loading... Del. Phil Hamilton, R-Newport News, speaks during a House Finance Committee meeting at the Capitol in Richmond in 2004.

A former Army counterintelligence worker from Maryland who was convicted of gunning down a northern Virginia couple to win the love of a former stripper is set to become the first inmate to die of electrocution since 2006.

Does the Virginia gubernatorial victory handed Republican Robert F. McDonnell mean that voters support his education agenda? Voters and school-choice advocates won't know the answer until after the General Assembly convenes in January and the governor-elect is sworn in.

At 7:40 a.m., the Virginia Department of Transportation was reporting the following traffic issues: Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel Traffic was backed up past King Street because of a crash.

FORECAST DISCUSSION CBS 6 Meteorologist, Carrie Rose crose@wtvr.com Rain will continue to fall across central Virginia today through early Friday, as moisture from the remnants of Ida continues to move into the region.

The jury hearing the Gary Lamont Hayes II murder trial could not reach a verdict after being behind closed doors all day Friday, and it will resume deliberation at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Eighty-five solders from Richmond's 276th Engineer Battalion are due back in Virginia after serving in Afghanistan since February.

The Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center will soon unveil its $25 million renovation and expansion.

"There is one person who has, for us, an abiding place at the very heart of Newtown's character, just offstage a bit, with tapping toe, shining eyes, and a megawatt smile.

Virginia police responding to a report of a theft in progress shot and killed a suspect.

HE brought cold terror to the streets of Washington, but in the early hours of yesterday sniper John Allen Muhammad refused to utter any last words as he was executed.

Four people lost their lives in four separate weather-related traffic accidents in Virginia during this latest storm.

Dozens of soldiers from the Virginia National Guard were called to duty in Portsmouth, Gloucester and elsewhere in Virginia to help first responders during the storm.

More than 400 roads and several bridges are closed in Virginia because of high water or other weather-related problems.

State health officials have closed all tributaries to the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia to shellfish harvesting because of potential contamination from the remnants of Tropical Storm Ida.

Virginia State Police said they believe a Virginia Tech student missing for nearly a month was hitchhiking after she left a Metallica concert in Charlottesville.

More than 142,000 Dominion customers are currently without power in Virginia , with more than 137,000 of those customers centered in the coastal region.

Execution viewing by victima TMs family members became effective July 1, 1994 by Executive Memorandum 10-94 of Governor George Allen.

More than 100 roads in Hampton Roads and the Roanoke and New River valleys are closed due to flooding.

The Virginia Department of Health is reporting that the rate of flu-like illnesses in the Commonwealth is down from October.

Residentsa safety is the top priority for Virginia Department of Transportation crews as Tropical Storm Ida moves through the Commonwealth.

Sniper John Allen Muhammad refused to utter any last words before he was executed Tuesday night.

ADVISORY: Users are solely responsible for opinions they post here and for following agreed-upon rules of civility.

Areva completed the installation of six wind turbines in the North Sea off of Germany in August.

Virginia's governor declared a state of emergency Wednesday as unrelenting rain from the remnants of a tropical storm soaked the state, while officials in North Carolina braced for another day of heavy rain.

A Norfolk man whose infant daughter died from starvation will spend 15 years in prison.

The deadline to apply for Fuel Assistance through the Virginia Department of Social Services' is this Friday, Nov.

" Senator Jim Webb announced today that the Interior Appropriations Act of 2010, enacted into law on October 30, restored a funding shortfall for the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program, following Webb's request.

Despite losing more than 600 jobs and closing 19 interstate highway rest areas this summer because of Virginia's budget crisis, Virginia Department of Transportation officials say they have the manpower, materials and equipment to keep the roads clear of ice and snow this winter.

Richmond, VA ( 1140wrva.com State Police on motorcycles, along with officers from seven localities, are blanketing the interstates in the southeast part of Virginia this week, in a stepped up traffic enforcement effort called Project M.E.A.R. or Motor Enforcement Accident Reduction.

The Virginia Department of Transportation says it's ready to keep the state's roads clear of ice and snow this winter, despite cutbacks elsewhere in the agency's budget.

That old adage "No rest for the weary" could have been coined with Mark and Barbara Van Art in mind.

Virginia spent 74 percent more money overall in its most recent budget than it did 10 years earlier, the result of the economy, population growth and decisions by the General Assembly, according to the legislature's watchdog agency.

A new report says the Danville metropolitan area is the riskiest in Virginia for pedestrians.

Virginia Gov-elect Bob McDonnell said this morning that he hasn't read the entire health-care bill that narrowly passed the House of Representatives last night but that the "public option does not seem to be something that's going to help us in Virginia." "I think there [are] legitimate issues of cost and access that have got to be addressed at the ...

The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to block Tuesday's scheduled execution of sniper mastermind John Allen Muhammad.

The founder of a restaurant chain known for his religious views is lending a hand to a Virginia group's attempt to build a Christian school system.

A record number of people this year will lose their drivers licenses because they can't afford to pay driving fines.

This 2003 picture provided by the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences shows Nidal Malik Hasan in his graduation photo when he completed his M.D. degree.

As the final votes were being counted, it was possible to draw some lessons from Republican Bob McDonnell's victory in Virginia and the close, three-way governor's race in New Jersey, never mind that White House press secretary Robert Gibbs has taken to saying that the elections don't mean much.

Muhammad was the mastermind behind the 2002 Washington, DC sniper attacks. During the three-week killing spree, 10 people were killed in Maryland, Virginia, and District of Columbia.

Some ache for revenge, others simply for justice. There is frustration, too, and defiance.

Statement of House Minority Leader Ward Armstrong and Democratic Caucus Chair Ken Plum on the election of Bob McDonnell as the 71st Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia : "We congratulate Governor-elect McDonnell on his victory tonight and look forward to working with him on the important issues facing Virginia.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine has created a committee to help ensure that all Virginians are counted in the 2010 census.

U.S.Navy Cmdr. Hung Ba Le is seen in front of his ship USS Lassen, off the Tien Sa Port in Danang, Vietnam , Saturday, Nov.

Flulike illness in the state appeared to decline last week, but deaths caused by the H1N1 flu continue to rise.

Southern Democrats who watched the trouncing of their party's gubernatorial nominee in Virginia this week are starting to worry that a rising anti-Democratic tide in the South may reverse their hard-fought gains from the last two national elections.

In separate and unrelated cases, three men pled guilty today in U.S. District Court to various charges related to the transportation, receipt and possession of child pornography.

Some Democrats take a hit, but it's not necessarily a trend. November 06, 2009 6:44 AM ODESSA AMERICAN Tuesday's election results may not signal that the Republicans are back as a party capable of putting together a winning national coalition, and the result in New York's 23rd congressional district might presage a bitter intraparty squabble.

Fourteen people have been charged with illegally purchasing 77 million contraband cigarettes from undercover agents in Virginia over the last year and smuggling them to New York.

The mass shootings at Fort Hood in Texas is not prompting any immediate security changes at most military installations in Virginia .

For the first time in eight years, Virginia has a Republican governor. Bob McDonnell garnered nearly 59 percent of the votes Nov.

A tractor-trailer car carrier struck a vehicle and came apart Thursday afternoon on Interstate 64 east on the Peninsula, backing up traffic in both directions, authorities said.

The Internal Revenue Service is looking for 2,200 Virginia taxpayers whose federal income tax refund checks, totaling more than $1.9 million were returned to the IRS by the U.S. Postal Service due to mailing address errors.

About 400 members of a Lynchburg-based Virginia National Guard battalion are being mobilized for a security mission in Iraq.

Supporters of federal protection for a 19-mile stretch of the New River haven't given up, even though the National Park Service has recommended against the action.

As the final votes were being counted, it was possible to draw some lessons from Republican Bob McDonnell's victory in Virginia and the close, three-way governor's race in New Jersey, never mind that White House press secretary Robert Gibbs has taken to saying that the elections don't mean much.

As a young Army lieutenant stationed in Germany, Bob McDonnell made the Guinness Book of World Records.

Republicans gained at least four seats Tuesday to strengthen their grip on the House of Delegates, but lost an influential delegate who has been embroiled in a scandal.

On the home page ofA the Washington Post website this morning, the headline for liberal columnist Ruth Marcus is "Ignore the hype." Inside the newspaper, it's "As for Virginia goes, not so much." Marcus advises that this GOP landslide is all some meaningless fairy tale: Advice to readers about the coming orgy of analysis about the New Jersey and ...

Here is Creigh Deeds' statement on election night: "I have said from the beginning that this election is about Virginia's future, about bringing opportunity, prosperity, and hope to every corner of the Commonwealth.

Close NOVEMBER 3, 2009 Outcomes in New York, New Jersey and Virginia Are Unlikely to Forecast Much About National Races in 2010, History Shows WASHINGTON -- Republicans appear positioned for strong results in three hard-fought elections Tuesday.

Agencies Washington, Nov 3: There were tears of joy and a real sense of history in the making.

It's election day in Virginia. Voters will choose a new Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General and Virginia General Assembly members.

Virginians heading to the polls early Tuesday to elect a new governor. Also on the ballot are races for lieutenant governor, attorney general and the ...

Sarah Palin helped bring national attention to the special election in New York's 23rd congressional district earlier this month, and now the former Alaska governor is jumping into the gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia.

The new governor elected Tuesday will be brimming with ideas on how to move Virginia forward, but one of his first jobs will likely be proposing deep cuts in state spending to deal with a budget shortfall of at least $1 billion.

Sarah Palin isna t staying out of the Virginia governora s race after all. Less than 48 hours before voters head to the polls to elect a new governor, several Virginians reported receiving robocalls on Sunday from the 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee, urging them to a oevote for Saraha s principlesa on Tuesday.

Democrat R. Creigh Deeds took his campaign to Hampton Roads yesterday, while Republican Bob McDonnell flew around the state in late efforts to drive up turnout in a contest that has taken on national significance.

The parents of a Virginia Tech student missing for more than two weeks have set up a fund for contributions to help in their search for her.

Republican Bob McDonnell and Democrat R. Creigh Deeds barnstormed church services Sunday morning, then spent the afternoon urging their faithful to take voters to the polls in Tuesday's governor's election.

Pity the staff at the Washington Post. Their compatriots at the New York or Los Angeles Times luxuriate in a sea of enlightenment, with blue state voters as far as the eye can see.

More than 119 bridges across the Commonwealth will either be replaced or repaired in the coming months through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

A steady, raw drizzle descends on Petersburg as the Chevy Suburban carrying Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Creigh Deeds pulls into the parking lot of Virginia State University.

If the economy and transportation are the two top crises facing Virginia, then the question is: Which candidate for governor has the best chance of solving those intertwined problems? And the answer has to be: Bob McDonnell - although there are portions of his platform that we question.