AP
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Twelve Virginia schools are being honored by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. Each has been named a National Blue Ribbon school, signifying academic rigor and dramatic gains in student achievement. Seven public schools and five private schools are being recognized. The public schools are Central High School in Woodstock, Cosby High in Midlothian, Crystal Spring Elementary in Roanoke, Great Neck Middle School in Virginia Beach, Patrick Henry Elementary in Arlington, Riverheads High in Staunton and Snow Creek Elementary in Penhook. The private schools are Christ the King Catholic School in Norfolk, Immanuel Christian School in Springfield, Our Lady of Hope Catholic School in Potomac Falls, St. Mark Catholic School in Vienna and Trinity Lutheran School in Newport News. They’ll be recognized at a ceremony in November in Washington, D.C.
Mark Herring
ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) _ Virginia’s attorney general is launching an initiative across the state to train police officers how to use force appropriately, de-escalate dangerous situations and recognize potential biases they may bring to the job. At a press conference Tuesday in Arlington, Attorney General Mark Herring said he was motivated to act over the last year after rioting in Ferguson, Missouri, and Baltimore. He acknowledged that Virginia has had incidents of its own that have called into question whether police have used excessive force or might be targeting minorities. Herring says the training will not be mandatory, but will be made available to police agencies across the state. And he says local agencies are eager for the opportunity. The training will highlight bias awareness, professionalism, use of force, de-escalation and impartial policing.
ROANOKE, Va. (AP) _ A 21-year-old Roanoke man admits he lied when he told the FBI his former girlfriend had made threats against the life of the president and intended to join the Islamic State group. The U.S. attorney’s office says Shane Giles Eaton waived his right to be indicted and entered the guilty plea on Tuesday. He entered the plea to willfully making a false statement in a matter within the jurisdiction of the executive branch of the government. According to evidence presented at a U.S. District Court hearing, Eaton made the false accusation in March. As a result of his false claim, his former girlfriend was questioned. A sentencing date for Eaton was not immediately available.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Most Virginia voters aren’t paying attention to upcoming legislative elections in November that will determine which political party controls the state Senate, according to a new poll. The poll released Friday from the Judy Ford Wason Center for Public Policy at Christopher Newport University shows 39 percent said they weren’t paying close attention and 27 percent said they were paying no attention. Only 34 percent of respondents said they were paying attention to the campaigns. Professor Quentin Kidd, director of the Wason Center, said the poll suggests only about 26 percent of registered voters will turn out on Election Day. Virginia is among a handful of states that have off-year legislative elections, when turnout is usually lower. “These results demonstrate a classic pattern in Virginia’s off-off-year elections,” Kidd said. “A far greater proportion of voters say they intend to vote than are actually paying attention to news about the elections or paying attention to candidates for office.”
HOUSTON (AP) _ Texas prison officials are helping Virginia carry out a scheduled execution next week by providing that state with the lethal drug pentobarbital that corrections agencies nationwide have had difficulty obtaining. The disclosure, confirmed Friday by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, has surfaced in court documents in an Oklahoma death penalty case. Lawyers for Oklahoma inmate Richard Glossi also said in a federal court filing Thursday that Texas is “compounding or producing pentobarbital within its department for use in executions.” Texas prisons spokesman Jason Clark said the Texas agency gave Virginia three vials of the drug, but said the state does not have a license to manufacture its own pharmaceuticals. He said Virginia provided Texas with a backup pentobarbital supply in 2013.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Virginia has joined a multi-state investigation into Volkswagen’s emissions scandal. Attorney General Mark Herring said Thursday that Virginia is one of 28 states participating in a probe into VW’s use of secret software to thwart diesel smog tests on nearly a half million vehicles in the U.S. Herring said in statement that he will ensure that all Virginia consumers impacted by the company’s actions will receive what they are owed. The Environmental Protection Agency has accused VW of installing a so-called “defeat device” to foil emissions inspections in 482,000 cars sold in the U.S. VW later acknowledged that similar software exists in 11 million diesel cars worldwide.
Photo credit: Roanoke Times
BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) _ A glider pilot was injured yesterday when his aircraft crashed in Blacksburg. State police say Alexander Wharton Ramsey was airlifted to a hospital and appeared to be communicating with emergency medical personnel. Ramsey has collapsed lung, two broken ribs, two broken ankles, and a broken hip. He was participating in a glider event with the Blue Ridge Soaring Society in New Castle when the aircraft struck some power lines and crashed. No structures on the ground were hit. The FAA and NTSB are investigating.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Fifty-four schools in 10 districts will share $5.3 million in state funding to develop and implement year-round instructional programs. Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced the Extended School Year Grant Program awards Thursday. The General Assembly created the program in 2012 in response to a Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission report on the effectiveness of year-round instruction in raising student achievement. School divisions receiving funding are Bristol, Charlottesville, Henrico County, Loudoun County, Lynchburg, Manassas Park, Newport News, Petersburg, Radford and Roanoke.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Attorney General Mark Herring says Virginia has joined a seven-state task force to combat heroin distribution and overdose deaths. The other states in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Heroin Task Force are New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland, and Maine. Herring says that by sharing information and collaborating on leads, authorities in the participating states will be better equipped to dismantle large-scale drug operations that are trying to profit off of addiction. According to the attorney general, Virginia’s geographic location and makeup of large cities, ports, and busy highways and transportation hubs make it vulnerable to drug trafficking.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Gov. Terry McAuliffe says the state has received a $300,0 federal grant to help implement his administration’s energy goals. One of those goals is to lower energy consumption in Virginia by 10 percent in 2020. The U.S. Department of Energy awarded the grant to the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy. The money will provide additional expert support for the work of a 12-member panel the governor appointed in May to work toward achieving the energy reduction goal.