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Virginia panel sidelines bill to ban childhood tanning
RICHMOND It may not be a good idea for a 5-, 10- or 15-year-old to tan, but that decision should be left up to parents, a House committee ruled this afternoon.
Va. activists pledge to keep pushing for gay marriage
RICHMOND At noon Thursday, the Rev. Robin Gorsline and Jonathan Lebolt paid a visit to the Richmond Circuit Court clerk’s office, just as they have done each Valentine’s Day for the past nine years. The clerk knows to expect them by now, and he knows what they’re there for: a marriage license. He also knows what his answer must be: He can’t help them.
Gay couple, foiled again in Richmond, keep heart
RICHMOND At noon Thursday, the Rev. Robin Gorsline and Jonathan Lebolt paid a visit to the Richmond Circuit Court clerk's office, just as they have done each Valentine's Day for the past nine years. The clerk knows to expect them by now, and he knows what they're there for: a marriage license. He also knows what his answer must be: He can't help them.
Va. Senate panel protects post-Labor Day school law
RICHMOND To the relief of tourist destinations like Virginia Beach, state law specifying a post-Labor Day start to the school year appears safe for another year. The Senate Education and Health Committee Thursday rejected two House of Delegates bills that would have allowed school divisions to determine when the school calendar can commence.
Group thanks lawmakers for curbing payday lending
RICHMOND A group of activists dedicated to curbing predatory lending thanked lawmakers today for their efforts over the past few years to curtail those practices.
General Assembly OKs handgun permit secrecy bill
RICHMOND Legislation keeping the names of concealed handgun permit holders secret is headed to Gov. Bob McDonnell's desk. Sen. Mark Obenshain's bill originally just shielded the names of permit applicants protected by a protective order. The House of Delegates expanded the bill to cover all permit holders. Obenshain, a Republican from Harrisonburg, welcomed the change.
‘Tebow’ home school sports bill sacked in Va. Senate
RICHMOND Down goes Tebow. The bill, that is. Legislation to let home schooled students join public school sports teams was defeated today in the Senate Education and Health Committee, where similar bills have failed in previous years.
Va., N.C., S.C. govs: Reconsider offshore oil, gas
RICHMOND The Republican governors of Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina are appealing to the Obama administration's choice for interior secretary to open up waters off their states' coasts to gas and oil exploration.
Va., N.C., S.C. govs.: Reconsider offshore oil, gas
RICHMOND The Republican governors of Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina are appealing to the Obama administration's choice for interior secretary to open up waters off their states' coasts to gas and oil exploration.
Bill to widen eligibility for war memorial is nearly law
RICHMOND After five years of frustration as a citizen lobbyist, Rick Schumann sat in stunned wonder Thursday in the gallery of the Virginia House of Delegates.
Millionaires club includes three local politicians
RICHMOND Fifteen of the General Assembly's 140 members - three of them from Hampton Roads and the vicinity - are in the millionaires club, according to an analysis of legislators' investment portfolios. The local trio, all Republicans, are two senators - Jeff McWaters of Virginia Beach and Tommy Norment of James City County - and Virginia Beach Del. Bob Purkey.
Schools struggle to match Virginia for teacher raises
It looked pretty good, at first. The governor announced in December he would back a 2 percent raise for school employees - the first state funds for a teacher pay raise in five years. But now leaders of South Hampton Roads are eyeing that increase warily. They say the state would indeed fund a portion of it, but to get those funds, some cash-strapped localities would have to pay much more.
