AP
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ The three Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Department agents involved in an arrest that injured a University of Virginia student have returned to regular duty. The arrest of Martese Johnson caused a furor after photos and video of the bloodied 20-year-old were circulated widely on social media. Johnson, who is black, could be heard on the recordings calling the officers racist. The ABC said in a news release Monday that its review of a Virginia State Police investigation determined that the agents did not violate policy during the arrest in March. The agents were assigned to desk duty during the investigation. In June, a prosecutor in a separate criminal investigation found no evidence of malice or racism by the officers, who weren’t charged. Charges against Johnson were dismissed.
(AP photo)
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) _ Virginia Beach Lifesaving Service lifeguards say they saved 22 people Sunday at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront. The Virginia-Pilot reports that the lifeguards were on high-alert after strong rip currents led officials to set knee-deep wading restrictions the entire day. Lifeguard supervisor Jay Leach says rip currents were actually worse Saturday, but cloudy skies and scattered showers staved off would-be beachgoers that day. On Sunday, the National Weather Service issued a coastal hazard warning for high rip-current risk and dangerous shorebreak alerts along Virginia Beach, the northern Outer Banks and the Eastern Shore, including Assateague and Ocean City, Maryland. Shorebreak occurs when waves break directly on the beach, potentially causing neck and head injuries, according to the National Weather Service.
DANVILLE, Va. (AP) _ Virginia has revoked specialty license plates featuring a Confederate battle flag after a federal judge dissolved an injunction allowing the image. Attorney General Mark Herring’s office said Thursday evening that the Department of Motor Vehicles will begin replacing about 1,600 existing plates. U.S. District Judge Jackson L. Kiser says in a Thursday order that his 2001 injunction is no longer valid. The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled in a Texas case that specialty license plates represent the state’s speech, and not the driver’s speech. Virginia’s plates honor the Sons of Confederate Veterans. Department of Motor Vehicles spokeswoman Brandi Brubaker tells The Virginian-Pilot(http://bit.ly/1JQsdl6 ) that the agency will work with the organization to design new plates without the flag. Once the plates are manufactured, they’ll be sent to affected motorists.
BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) _ A former Blacksburg elementary school principal is working again after being cleared of an assault charge. The Roanoke Times reports that Carol Kahler is now assigned to administrative duties at the Montgomery County schools’ central office. School division spokeswoman says Kahler’s salary is the same as it was when she was Gilbert Linkous Elementary School principal _ $85,113.The 56-year-old Kahler was placed on administrative leave in March after she was accused of slapping a special needs student. A judge dismissed an assault charge on July 17, ruling that he could not determine exactly what happened. State law and county policy requires reinstatement of a suspended public school employee after acquittal on criminal charges. A new principal was hired before the charge was dropped.
DANVILLE, Va. (AP) _ A Danville police officer has removed a Confederate flag from a historic mansion’s flagpole after City Council members voted to limit the flying of flags on city-owned property. Multiple media outlets report that the Council voted 7-2 on Thursday night to allow only the U.S., Virginia, city of Danville and the POW/MIA flag to fly from city-maintained flagpoles. Because the city owns the Sutherlin Mansion, the Third National Confederate flag was promptly removed from the flagpole. The mansion briefly served as the final capitol of the Confederacy. Prior to the vote, Attorney General Mark Herring sent city officials an official opinion on the issue, saying the flag could come down because the granite base the flagpole sits on recognizes the “historical significance” of the building _ not a particular war or veterans.
LYNCHBURG, Va. (AP) _ Liberty University has tapped an official from Campbell University to be its next law school dean. B. Keith Faulkner will start on Oct. 1. At Campbell, Faulker most recently served as dean of the Lundy-Fetterman School of Business. In the law school, he served as interim dean, associate dean for external relations and vice dean. Prior to arriving at Campbell, Faulkner worked at a law firm in Wilmington, North Carolina. He also previously served in the Navy for eight years as a submariner, nuclear power plant operator and instructor.
ROANOKE, Va. (AP) _ Virginia Tech has sold the naming rights to the basketball court at Cassell Coliseum for $5 million to Roanoke-based health care provider Carilion Clinic. Multiple media outlets report that the university on Wednesday announced that its 10-year sponsorship agreement the health care provider will bring the Hokies $500,000 annually. The floor at Cassell will be named Carilion Court and will be adorned with two matching maroon and blue logos that read, “VTC, Virginia Tech Carilion.” University athletic director Whit Babcock says the money will be used for endowed scholarships and improvements to Cassell Coliseum and the weight-room at the basketball practice facility. Officials say Carilion, which has a partnership with Virginia Tech’s medical school, will work with the university on faculty and staff health initiatives.
ROANOKE, Va. (AP) _ A jogger who abruptly turned around in front of a cyclist on the Roanoke River Greenway has been ordered to pay $300,000. The Roanoke Times (http://bit.ly/1IJnsEG ) reports that a Roanoke Circuit Court jury last month determined that 62-year-old jogger William Bundy was negligent in causing a June 2012 collision with cyclist Ann Shepherd. In Shepherd’s complaint, the cyclist says Bundy “turned around suddenly,” causing her to fall off her bike and suffer bleeding and bruising of the brain. Bundy says he heard no approaching warning and has high-frequency hearing loss. According to court documents, Shepherd said because of the head trauma, she does not remember whether she announced she was passing Bundy. Shepherd’s lawsuit had sought $750,000. In her filings, she cited about $81,000 in medical bills and $7,600 in lost wages.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ A panel of judges has rejected Republican requests to delay an upcoming special legislative session called to draw new congressional boundaries in Virginia. The panel ruled 2-1 Wednesday that it was not going to extend a Sept. 1 deadline to correct a 2012 redistricting plan the court found used race as the predominant factor in drawing boundaries. Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe has set an Aug. 17 start date for the special session. GOP lawmakers had asked for an extension, saying they want to wait and see if the U.S. Supreme Court will hear an appeal in the case. In June, a federal court concluded for a second time that legislators in 2012 illegally packed black voters into one district in order to make adjacent districts safer for Republican incumbents.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ A mining company that wants to tap one of the richest known deposits of uranium in the world says it has filed a legal challenge to Virginia’s 33-year ban on the mining of the radioactive ore. Virginia Uranium Inc. said its attorneys filed the lawsuit Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Danville. The Chatham company abandoned its campaign to end the state moratorium on uranium mining in December 2013 after incoming Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe made it clear he would not support the lifting of the ban. The suit argues that Virginia’s ban on uranium mining pre-empts federal law. Virginia Uranium is seeking to mine a 119-million-pound deposit of uranium in Pittsylvania County known as Coles Hill. The proposal was met by fierce opposition, based primarily on environmental concerns.