AP
vdacs.virginia.gov
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Virginia peanut and soybean growers have planted more acres this year than they did in 2014. The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services says soybean growers planted an estimated 670,000 acres, an increase of 10,000 acres from 2014. Peanut growers planted 23,000 acres, an increase of 4,000 acres. Corn acreage was unchanged at an estimated 500,000 acres. Upland cotton acreage declined by 2,000 acres to an estimated 85,000 acres. The department says an estimated 19,500 acres of flue-cured tobacco are expected to be set for harvest, down 3,000 acres from 2014. Burley tobacco acreage is expected to drop by 200 acres to 1,300 acres. Dark fire-cured tobacco acreage is expected to increase by 20 acres to an estimated 350 acres.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ More drivers in Virginia have been ticketed for passing too close to cyclists since a state law went into effect last year. The law increased the minimum passing distance from 2 feet to 3 feet. The Richmond Times-Dispatch says Supreme Court of Virginia data show police statewide wrote 12 tickets during the law’s first 12 months on the books. That’s up from two tickets during the previous 12 months. The law went into effect July 1, 2014. Lloyd “Bud” Vye with the Virginia Bicycling Federation says he has noticed an improvement. He says he hopes another law that went into effect last week will continue the improvement. That law allows drivers to cross the double yellow line while passing.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) _ More than 70 people took oaths to become U.S. citizens during an annual naturalization ceremony at Thomas Jefferson’s home. Media outlets report that 78 people from 40 countries became naturalized U.S. citizens on Saturday at the 53rd annual Independence Day Celebration and Naturalization Ceremony at Monticello. Gov. Terry McAuliffe was the event’s keynote speaker. He told the new citizens to exercise their right to vote. The Charlottesville and Albemarle Voter Registration Offices and League of Women Voters held a voter registration drive at the event.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Bald eagles are back in record numbers along the James River, decades after they almost disappeared. Aerial surveys in March and April show that 236 pairs of eagles produced 313 young this spring. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that as recently as 2000, there were just 56 eagle pairs in the James River region. In the mid-1970s, the majestic birds were nearly wiped out by pesticide pollution. Eagle expert Bryan Watts says the 236 pairs probably are the most along the James since Colonial times. He says the increase in their numbers in the past 15 years is “just mind-blowing.” Moreover, for the first time in modern history, three pairs of eagles nested this year in Richmond. The survey found 51 nests in Charles City County alone.
NORFOLK, Va. (AP) _ The Department of Interior has granted federal recognition to the Pamunkey Indian Tribe, the first in Virginia to receive the designation. The designation allows federal spending on medical care, housing and education. It also could lead to the tribe seeking a casino through a separate approval process, although the Pamunkey have say they have no plans to do so. Still, the tribe’s application was opposed by MGM Resorts, which is building a casino at the National Harbor outside the nation’s capital in Maryland. Several members of the Congressional Black Caucus also opposed recognition, saying the tribe had a history of banning interracial marriages with blacks. The tribe’s 200-acre rural reservation is about 25 miles east of Richmond. It has about 200 members.
SWEET BRIAR, Va. (AP) _ Sweet Briar College has a new president and a new board of directors. The changing of the guard occurred Thursday under terms of a mediated settlement to keep open the small liberal arts college that was scheduled to close in late August. In a statement issued by Saving Sweet Briar, the college’s new president, Phillip Stone, said the “tremendously fierce commitment” of the school’s alumnae had not been tapped when they were needed most. He also said it is not his intention to keep the school running for just one more academic year, adding that the aim is to keep Sweet Briar open for another 114 years. In early May, the now former leadership of the women’s college said Sweet Briar would have to close because of insurmountable financial challenges.
Former Virginia
U.S. Sen. Jim Webb
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb is running for president, joining a field of Democrats challenging Hillary Rodham Clinton for the nomination. Webb says in a message on his website that the nation “needs a fresh approach to solving the problems that confront us.” Webb was the first Democrat to form an exploratory committee, announcing his interest in a presidential campaign last November. A Vietnam veteran and former Navy secretary under President Ronald Reagan, Webb was elected to the Senate in 2006 and served one term.Webb has made frequent trips to the early voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire. But he faces long odds in a field dominated by Clinton that also includes Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley and former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ A man must perform 100 hours of community service after pleading guilty to defacing a Confederate monument in Richmond. Media outlets report that 39-year-old Joseph Weindl of Richmond pleaded guilty on Thursday to defacing a public monument. A Richmond General District Court judge suspended a 90-day jail sentence and ordered community service. Weindl also must pay $200 in restitution. Police say Weindl spray-painted an “L” on the base of a monument honoring Confederate President Jefferson Davis on June 28. Weindl’s attorney, Daniel Watkins, said earlier this week that his client regrets the action. Confederate symbols have been the focus of debate since the June 17 massacre at an African-American church in Charleston, South Carolina. The accused gunman had posed in photographs with the Confederate battle flag.
Mark Herring
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Attorney General Mark R. Herring and Trio Alarm LLC have settled a complaint alleging the company tricked consumers. Herring announced the settlement with the home security system company on Wednesday. Herring alleged in the complaint that Trio Alarm tricked consumers into entering long-term contracts they didn’t need or want. The complaint says Trio Alarm door-to-door sales representatives made false claims that included telling consumers their existing home security service had been switched to the company. Consumers whose homes displayed signs for competing security systems were targeted. Under the settlement, Trio Alarm will provide more than $8,200 in refunds to Virginia consumers who suffered double charges or other monetary harm. Trio also agreed to pay a $6,250 civil penalty to Virginia.
SWEET BRIAR, Va. (AP) _ Sweet Briar College is getting a change of leadership to take it into a new academic year. Under terms of a mediated settlement, the resignation of the old governing board becomes effective Thursday evening and a new board steps in. That panel is then expected to name Harrisonburg lawyer Phillip Stone as its new president. This week, Saving Sweet Briar Inc. said it had delivered a $5 million payment to the college. That sum represented twice the amount it was required to submit, and it was paid early. The college was destined to close in late August after leaders said their financial challenges were insurmountable. But a group of dedicated former students responded swiftly, launching a national fundraiser to keep the women’s school afloat.