AP
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Federal authorities say travelers left behind a chunk of pocket change at Virginia airports last year. An annual report by the Transportation Security Administration shows more than $33,000 in coins went unclaimed at airport checkpoints in the state in fiscal 2014. The TSA is responsible for screening airline passengers. Typically the money is left in bins where travelers place belongings during screenings. The TSA suggests travelers store loose change in carry-on bags. Travelers departing Washington Dulles International Airport left about $22,0 behind, the eighth highest amount in the country. Nearly $9,600 was left at checkpoints at Reagan National Airport, and nearly $1,200 was forgotten at airports in Richmond, Charlottesville, Lynchburg and Roanoke. The TSA says an additional $563 was left behind at checkpoints at the Norfolk and Newport News-Williamsburg airports.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia lawmakers have approved a new $100 gift cap from lobbyists and others trying to influence state government. The General Assembly agreed Friday with Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s push for tighter gift limits. In February, lawmakers approved a $100 per gift limit during the final minutes of the regular legislative session. McAuliffe wanted a $100 per year limit, but lawmakers had to use unusual procedural motions to clarify that the governor’s amendment was per year and not a lifetime cap. Legislators have been working on Virginia’s ethics rules for two years in response to a corruption scandal involving former Gov. Bob McDonnell and his wife, Maureen.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Newly filed finance reports show Virginia Republican state lawmakers have a large cash advantage over their Democratic counterparts going into this year’s campaign season. But Democrats say they don’t have as much in the bank because they’re already spending it on efforts similar to what helped their candidates, including Gov. Terry McAuliffe, sweep all three statewide offices in 2013. Much of this year’s legislative action will be focused on a handful of competitive races in the state Senate, where Democrats need to pick up one seat in order to flip control of the chamber. Republican leaders in the Senate hold a large cash advantage over Democratic leaders. McAuliffe political aide Brian Zuzenak says his party’s made early investments in the data-driven voter research efforts that helped Democrats last election cycle.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ A Virginia alcohol-law enforcement agency that has sparked public outrage over two high-profile arrests has investigated three complaints of excessive use of force by its officers in the last five years. The Alcoholic Beverage Control Department supplied those numbers to The Associated Press in response to an open-records request. But details remain sealed. ABC declined to release the reports, citing personnel records exemptions in the state’s Freedom of Information Act. ABC’s arrest powers are under scrutiny after the March arrest of University of Virginia student Martese Johnson, who suffered a gash on his head. In 2013, another U.Va. student fled in a panic when her car was swarmed by a half-dozen agents who mistook a carton of sparkling water for beer.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Federal statistics show the number and size of Virginia farms declined in 2014. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agriculture Statistics Service estimates there were 45,900 farms in Virginia in 2014. That’s down 100 from 2013. The average farm size dropped by 1 acre to 179 acres. The total amount of land in farms fell by 100,000 acres to 8.2 million acres. The number of farms with less than $100,000 in agricultural sales dropped by 200. But the number of farms with more than $100,000 in agricultural sales increased by 100. Tony Banks with the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation says Virginia farms are trending similar to the national average regarding changes in size, number and economies.
Noah Thomas
PULASKI, Va. (AP) _ A prosecutor says the parents of a Virginia boy found dead in a septic left him at home with his infant sister on the morning he disappeared. Pulaski County Commonwealth’s Attorney Mike Fleenor says Ashley White and Paul Thomas told investigators they left 5-year-old Noah Thomas and his 6-month-old sister at home while White drove Thomas to his job on March 22. The Roanoke Times reports that Fleenor made the comments on Wednesday during a bond hearing for Paul Thomas. Thomas and White both face child abuse and neglect charges. White previously told investigators the children made the trip, and that the boy disappeared after they came home. Searchers found Noah Thomas’ body on March 26 in a septic tank on the family’s property. The father was denied bond.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Virginia state lawmakers are returning to the Capitol to vote on Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s vetoes and proposed amendments. The GOP-controlled General Assembly will reconvene for its so-called veto session Wednesday. Among the legislation lawmakers will consider are tighter gift caps proposed by McAuliffe. The governor wants $100 aggregate gift limits from lobbyists and others with financial interests in state government, rather than a $100 per gift limit that lawmakers approved in February during the final minutes of the 2015 regular legislative session. The governor has also proposed amendments that would weaken bills aimed at limiting police surveillance technology like drones and license plate readers. Law enforcement groups support McAuliffe’s amendments, but civil liberty advocates do not.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ The State Board of Elections has decertified a touchscreen voting system used in about one-fifth of Virginia’s precincts. The board’s action Tuesday means the WinVote machines can no longer be used in Virginia elections. Gov. Terry McAuliffe ordered an investigation after widespread voting irregularities during the November general election. The glitches included machines crashing or recording a vote for the wrong candidate. The Virginia Department of Elections hired a federally certified voting system test lab to assist in the investigation, and the findings raised serious security concerns about the WinVote system that is used in 30 localities. A report said the system’s wireless capability makes it susceptible to a security breach. WinVote, certified by Virginia in 2003, is the only system in the state with wireless capability.
BUENA VISTA, Va. (AP) _ The search for a man who disappeared while wading in the Maury River has been suspended until Friday. Rockbridge County Emergency Management coordinator Robert Foresman says the man and a friend were trying to reach an island in the river in Buena Vista when the man went under the water on April 10. Emergency responders and divers have searched the river since then. The search was suspended Monday evening. Foresman tells media outlets that expected rains likely will make the river rise and become murky.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ State officials are moving ahead with plans to build two new veterans health centers without waiting for federal government funding. Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced Tuesday he is amending legislation as part of a bipartisan plan so that $67 million in state funds can be used to start construction on the centers without federal help. Virginia already has two centers in Richmond and Roanoke and plans to build the new ones in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads. Officials said that by not waiting on federal funding to begin construction, they will speed up the opening of the new centers by several years. They said Virginia will eventually be reimbursed by the federal government for the construction.