AP

Sweet-Briar-College-215x300RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Virginia’s attorney general is not stepping into the pitched battle over the planned closing of Sweet Briar College. Attorney General Mark R. Herring says the decision to close lies with the private women’s college board of directors, not with the state. Unless the board acted improperly or violated its duties, it would be inappropriate for the state to step into to the fray, according to a statement issued by Herring on Thursday. In a court filing, Herring said the county attorney for Amherst lacks standing to bring action in the name of the state alleging violations of trust code. County Attorney Ellen Bowyer is seeking an injunction to stop the women’s college from shutting down in August. Only 532 students were enrolled at Sweet Briar this semester.

Virginia-Tech-LogoBLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) _ Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt will give the commencement address at Virginia Tech next month. The university’s commencement exercises will be held May 15 at Lane Stadium. Schmidt has a longtime connection to Virginia Tech and Blacksburg. His father was the head of Virginia Tech’s economics department. Schmidt’s family was neighbors with the late university President Paul Torgersen. Schmidt donated $2 million in 2006 to endow the Paul and Dorothea Torgersen Dean’s Chair in Engineering at Virginia Tech. Schmidt also delivered the spring commencement address at Virginia Tech in 1999 when he was chairman and CEO of Novell Inc. Schmidt was Google’s CEO from 2001 to 2011.

wfir-linkAPPOMATTOX, Va. (AP) _ A program commemorating the death of the lone civilian casualty at the Battle of Appomattox Court House has been pushed back to Saturday. A funeral in honor of Hannah Reynolds had been scheduled Friday at Appomattox Court House National Historical Park as part of the 150th commemoration of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee’s surrender of his Army of Northern Virginia. In delaying the program by one day, the National Park Service cited a forecast of wet weather. Called Footsteps to Freedom, the program will also include a 100-member gospel choir that will sing spirituals and 4,600 luminaries in memory of Appomattox County’s emancipated slave population. A re-enactment of Lee’s surrender to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant was the highlight of Thursday’s events at Appomattox.

Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell

Former Virginia
Gov. Bob McDonnell

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell says in court papers that the favors he did for a wealthy businessman were routine courtesies and not part of a bribery scheme. McDonnell made the argument in papers filed late Wednesday with the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond. It’s his last brief before a May 12 hearing in his appeal of his public corruption convictions. McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, were convicted in a joint trial in September of accepting more than $165,000 in gifts and loans from former Star Scientific Inc. CEO Jonnie Williams in exchange for promoting his company’s nutritional supplements. Bob McDonnell was sentenced to two years in prison and his wife to one year and one day, but they remain free while they appeal.

BRPFRICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation says it will fund $600,000 worth of high-priority projects this year. The foundation’s annual project list includes preservation of old growth Carolina hemlock trees along the parkway, a biological survey of Rock Castle Gorge in Virginia, and construction of a pedestrian bridge spanning Boone Fork Creek near Blowing Rock, North Carolina. Other high-priority projects include repairs at the Doughton Park Picnic Area in North Carolina and replacement of the roof of the historic Ramsey Cabin near Waynesboro, Virginia.

wfir-linkROANOKE, Va. (AP) _ The former president of a South Boston tobacco company is charged with contraband cigarette trafficking and evading taxes. A 47-count federal grand jury indictment against 46-year-old Kathryn Crabtree Farley was unsealed Monday. She is accused of evading or refusing to pay more than $13 million in federal cigarette excise taxes. According to the indictment, Farley was promoted from vice president to president of Cherokee Tobacco and Firebird Manufacturing in 2012. Firebird makes Cherokee brand cigarettes. Cherokee Tobacco is a wholesaler. Records in U.S. District Court in Roanoke do not list an attorney for Farley. A call to her home telephone went unanswered Tuesday.

wfir-linkAPPOMATTOX, Va. (AP) _ Pivotal battle scenes and scenic views near Appomattox Court House National Historical Park have been shielded from harm. U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell on Tuesday announced a partnership between the federal government, Virginia and the Civil War Trust to accomplish the feat. Jewell said three battlefield tracts that figured in Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee’s surrendering his army here 150 years ago Thursday are now secure. On the eve of one of the last events of the Civil War sesquicentennial, Jewell toured the park, viewing the newly preserved land from the 19th-century village. Jewell toured some of the historic site’s buildings, including the McLean House and the Clover Hill Tavern, where a Union Army field press printed parole papers for thousands of Southern troops.

Colonial Downs logoNEW KENT, Va. (AP) _ Colonial Downs is closing all of its betting venues amid a dispute with horse owners and trainers. The New Kent County thoroughbred track said on Tuesday that it also laid off its remaining employees this week. Colonial Downs attributes the moves to legislation that it says would reallocate funds to a new Northern Virginia horsemen’s coalition. The track says in a news release that it would lose about $2 million of operating funds annually under a Senate bill. The track also cited its dispute with the Virginia Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association. Colonial Downs wants fewer races with higher purses. The horsemen say they need more racing dates to cover their costs of owning, training and running horses.

DCR LogoRICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Virginia State Parks is looking to hire about 1,000 life guards, snack bar workers, cabin cleaners and other seasonal employees. The Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation says jobs are available at all 36 state parks. A list of available jobs is posted on the department’s website at www.dcr.virginia.gov/job.shtml. The park system is expected to host more than 4 million visitors between Memorial Day and Labor Day. State Parks director Craig Seaver says in a news release that seasonal workers are the backbone of the parks’ operations.

Virginia-FlagSALEM, Va. (AP) _ A safe driving message for teenagers has kicked off in Virginia. The Arrive Alive campaign focuses on the increased risk of teen driver crashes during warm weather months, including during prom and graduation season. The campaign is sponsored by the Virginia State Police and the group Youth of Virginia Speak Out. It is funded by a state Highway Safety Office grant. Students at about 60 high schools and middle schools will work in groups to develop programs and social media messages that promote safety in vehicles, including seat belt use. Youth of Virginia Speak Out program development coordinator Casey Palmer says middle schools were added this year to get students to think about the importance of being safe in a vehicle long before they get a driver’s license.