AP
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Virginia Democratic Attorney General Mark Herring says new strict building standards should not be applied retroactively to existing abortion clinics, contradicting advice given by his Republican predecessor. Herring issued an opinion Monday to the state health commissioner. The standards would treat abortion clinics as hospitals and cover issues such as hallway widths and closet sizes. Herring says applying them would essentially shut down abortion services in the state. Republican Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s office said the opposite in 2012. State officials say that of the 18 clinics operating in Virginia, five meet the code for new hospitals and 13 are operating under a variance. Abortion rights supporters say the building requirements were designed to put existing clinics out of business. Abortion opponents say they are intended to protect women’s health.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ A new Virginia Lottery game offers a top prize of $1,000 a day for the rest of the winner’s life. The Cash4Life draw game debuts this week with 9 p.m. drawings on Monday and Thursday. A ticket costs $2 and must be purchased by 8:45 p.m. on the day of the drawing. Players try to match five out of 60 numbers, along with one out of four CashBall numbers. Matching all six numbers wins the top prize. A top prize winner can opt for a one-time cash option of $7 million. A player who matches the first five numbers but not the Cashball number will win $1,000 a week for the rest of his or her life. The one-time cash option is $1 million. Cash4Life replaces Decades of Dollars.
Hannah Graham
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) _ The University of Virginia has created an award in honor of a student who was slain last fall. The university announced the creation of the Hannah Graham Award on Friday. A student selected for the award will travel during the summer to a developing Francophone country to assist in public health work. Graham had a passion for public health in developing nations and the French language. The student who is chosen will be selected during the fall semester and must take intensive preparatory courses during the before the trip and follow it with a capstone project. Jesse L. Matthew Jr. was the last person seen with Graham and faces multiple charges in her abduction and death. His trial is set to begin in June.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ A panel appointed by Virginia’s governor to examine the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Department’s law enforcement activities is set to conduct its first meeting. The 20-member review panel chaired by Secretary of Public Safety Brian Moran convenes Monday afternoon at the state Capitol. Gov. Terry McAuliffe created the panel after a public uproar over an ABC agent’s arrest of a University of Virginia student last month. The student, Martese Johnson, needed 10 stitches to close a gash on his head. Photos and video of the arrest were widely distributed on social media. Along with establishing the review panel, McAuliffe ordered a state police investigation and retraining of ABC agents.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ For the better part of three decades, Virginia operated one of the busiest execution chambers in the nation. Not anymore. Statistics compiled by the Death Penalty Information Center show that Virginia has sent only six people to death row in the last nine years after sending 40 over the previous eight years. As a result, the state only has eight inmates awaiting execution _ down from a high of 57 in 1995. Virginia has slipped from second to third nationally _ behind Texas and Oklahoma _ with 110 executions since the Supreme Court reinstated capital punishment in 1976. Experts say a big reason for the decline is the establishment in 2004 of four regional capital defender offices to improve legal representation of people facing a possible death sentence.
Gov. Terry McAuliffe
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe has vetoed legislation aimed at limiting police storage of automatic license plate reader data. The governor said Friday he was vetoing the legislation because it could jeopardize public safety. Earlier this year, the General Assembly passed several measures with support from lawmakers across the political spectrum aiming to rein in police surveillance on citizens. The vetoed bill would have limited to seven days how long police could keep data collected by automatic license plate readers, as long as the information is not part of an investigation. McAuliffe tried to amend the bill last month to make it 60 days, but lawmakers rejected those efforts. The Virginia Sheriffs’ Association cheered McAuliffe’s veto, while civil liberty advocates blasted the move.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Will Wade will be paid $1 million per season as the men’s basketball coach at VCU, and his five-year contract has bonus opportunities that could significantly boost his annual compensation. The 32-year-old Wade, hired earlier this month after Shaka Smart left for Texas, will draw a base salary of $450,000 and make $550,000 in supplemental compensation such as radio and television programs and participation in events affiliated with the university. Wade and the university had agreed in principle to terms when he was hired, but the paperwork was not completed and executed until April 24. Among the bonuses available are $50,000 for making the NCAA tournament, $75,000 for each victory in the first three rounds and $100,000 for making the Final Four and winning the national championship.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ A federal program has helped Virginia collect more than $54 million in delinquent debts. A report released Thursday shows Virginia’s collections for fiscal 2014 included about $42 million in child support obligations and about $10 million in state income taxes. Virginia collected the debts through the Treasury Offset Program. Overall, the report shows states collected more than $3 billion in delinquent debts through the program in fiscal 2014. States submit debts to the program. It’s then used to intercept eligible federal and state payments to the debtors. The program is administered by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service, which released the annual report.
Noah Thomas
PULASKI, Va. (AP) _ A Pulaski County man whose son was found dead in a septic tank has lost another bid for bond. Pulaski County Circuit Court Judge Bradley Finch denied bond for 32-year-old Paul Thomas on Wednesday. Finch’s decision came on Thomas’ appeal of a bond denial by a Juvenile and Domestic Court judge. Thomas is charged with felony child abuse and neglect. One count is related to the death of Thomas’ 5-year-old son, Noah, and the other is linked to his infant daughter, Abigail. Paul Thomas and the children’s mother, Ashley White, are accused of leaving the children home alone on March 22. The boy’s body was found on March 26. White also is charged with felony child abuse and neglect. She was denied bond last week.
BEDFORD, Va. (AP) _ A judge has barred Sweet Briar College from selling any assets for six months. But Bedford County Circuit Court Judge James W. Updike Jr. declined to grant a temporary injunction requiring the private women’s college to remain open. Updike’s decision came Wednesday in a lawsuit filed by students, parents and alumnae seeking to block Sweet Briar’s closure. Also Wednesday, Amherst County Attorney Ellen Bowyer asked the Virginia Supreme Court to stop the college’s closure. Bowyer appealed an earlier ruling by Updike that she doesn’t have standing to challenge the closure as a violation of trust law. Sweet Briar is scheduled to close Aug. 25. The college’s board announced the closing on March 3.