Followups – January 2016

R.E. Lee Companies CEO dies in automobile accident
Christopher E. Lee, the CEO of Charlottesville-based R.E. Lee Companies, died in early December in a car crash on Interstate 64.

Lee appeared on the cover of November’s issue of Virginia Business. In a story looking at the major issues facing Virginia businesses, the magazine reported on Lee’s efforts to find affordable health-care coverage for his employees. A survey by the Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants identified health-care costs as their clients’ chief concern.

Lee, 49, represented the fourth generation of his family to serve at R.E. Lee, a construction company. He was a member of the board of directors at the Virginia Chamber of Commerce and was active in many community organizations, including the United Way-Thomas Jefferson Area, Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce and Shenandoah chapter of the American Red Cross.

Jury finds Blankenship guilty of misdemeanor
A federal jury in Charleston, W.Va., convicted former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship in December on a misdemeanor charge, conspiracy to violate federal mine-safety laws.

He, however, was acquitted of lying to regulators and investors in connection with a 2010 Upper Big Branch coal mine explosion that killed 29 miners.

William Taylor, Blankenship’s attorney, told reporters outside the federal courthouse that the conviction would be appealed.

After the mine disaster, Richmond-based Massey Energy was bought by Bristol-based Alpha Natural Resources.

Virginia Business has reported on the mine disaster and the acquisition of Massey Energy in a series of stories since 2010.