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Democrats propose expanded background checks on guns
RICHMOND With the mass shooting at a Newtown, Conn., elementary school fresh on their minds, two Democratic state legislators are proposing bills to expand Virginia’s criminal background checks to cover more gun transactions and tighten restrictions on the sale of weapons to mentally ill people.
Q&A: Universal background checks are key part of plans
Universal background checks. There's a good chance you'd never heard that phrase before last month's massacre in Connecticut. Now, it's a front-runner in the search for answers to gun violence - a key prong in White House proposals expected today.
Q&A: Universal background checks are part of plans
Universal background checks. There's a good chance you'd never heard that phrase before last month's massacre in Connecticut. Now, it's a front-runner in the search for answers to gun violence - a key prong in White House proposals expected today.
Va. House panel OKs SOL waiver for some schools
RICHMOND Schools whose third-grade students are struggling in reading will qualify for a testing exemption on another subject under a bill that passed a House subcommittee Tuesday. The goal is to allow those schools - including some in Norfolk - to focus on reading instruction, said Del. Steve Landes, R-Augusta County, who sponsored the measure (HB2144).
Virginia legislators unveil bills on human trafficking
RICHMOND Holly Austin Smith had just completed middle school when she met a man at a mall who promised to introduce her to celebrities if she would leave with him. Within hours, he'd placed her for sale on the Atlantic City strip, Smith recalled Tuesday. It was late June 1992, and she was 14.
Dragas reappointment passes first hurdle in Richmond
RICHMOND Helen Dragas cleared a key legislative hurdle Tuesday in her effort to retain her seat on the University of Virginia’s governing Board of Visitors, winning a 12-3 vote of approval in a state Senate committee.
Dragas survives one test as panel votes in her favor
RICHMOND Helen Dragas cleared a key legislative hurdle Tuesday in her effort to retain her seat on the University of Virginia's governing Board of Visitors, winning a 12-3 vote in a state Senate committee.
McDonnell task force begins school safety review
RICHMOND One month after the mass shootings at a Newtown, Conn., elementary school, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell on Monday asked a new state task force to “look at all aspects of school and campus safety and see if there is something we can do better.”
McAuliffe, Cuccinelli both claim $1M-plus raised
RICHMOND The presumptive Democratic and Republican nominees in Virginia's 2013 gubernatorial race each say they raised slightly more than $1 million over the final six months of last year. Democrat Terry McAuliffe sent a fundraising email to supporters and reporters Tuesday claiming $1.1 million raised since he announced his candidacy in early November.
General Assembly weighs network bingo games
RICHMOND Struggling charities and bingo lovers alike may hit the jackpot with a new game under consideration by the General Assembly.
Dragas reappointment passes 1st test in Richmond
RICHMOND University of Virginia Rector Helen Dragas has survived her first hurdle at the General Assembly. A Senate committee voted 12-3 Tuesday to confirm her reappointment. Leading the opposition was Democratic Sen. Janet Howell of Fairfax, who said she has received more than 200 emails opposing her reappointment. Dragas' reappointment now goes to the Senate floor.
Lawmakers raise concerns about port executives’ pay
RICHMOND As they grapple with whether the state-run Port of Hampton Roads’ operations should be privatized, some state lawmakers are raising questions about the compensation earned by port executives.
