AP
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Elementary and middle school students who fail this spring’s Standards of Learning tests by narrow margins or because of extenuating circumstances can retake the exams before the end of the school year. The Board of Education approved a resolution Thursday allowing the expedited retesting in grades three through eight, with the exception of the eight-grade writing test. Board president Christian Braunlich says these aren’t high-stakes tests, but the board wants to be responsive to students who want a second chance before the end of the year. Expedited retakes have been allowed since 2000 for high school students who barely fail end-of-course exams linked to diploma requirements.
Gov. Terry McAuliffe
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe wants a $100 aggregate gift cap for state lawmakers and is vetoing several pro-gun bills. McAuliffe told reporters at a Capitol news conference Friday that he was amending a last-minute ethics package lawmakers passed last month. The governor said he wants lawmakers to be barred from accepting repeated gifts from lobbyists. Lawmakers wanted gifts capped a $100 per gift rather than an aggregate limit. The Democratic governor said he’s also vetoing a handful of pro-gun bills. The Republican-controlled General Assembly defeated several gun-control bills the governor supported in this year’s legislative session, which ended in February. State lawmakers are due back in Richmond to consider McAuliffe’s vetoes and amendments on April 15.
Jesse Matthew, Jr.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) _ One charge filed against the suspect in the slaying of a University of Virginia student has been dropped in Charlottesville because the same charge is being pursued in Albemarle County, where the woman’s body was found. Jesse Leroy Matthew Jr. appeared by way of video feed into Charlottesville General District Court on Thursday as a charge of abduction with intent to defile was dropped. He is being held for trial, which is scheduled for June. The 33-year-old Charlottesville man has been charged in Albemarle County with first degree murder in the death of 18-year-old Hannah Graham. He also is charged with abduction with intent to defile. Graham disappeared Sept. 13 after a night out with friends. The remains of the northern Virginia woman were found Oct. 18.
Mark Herring
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring is launching an effort aimed at combatting predatory lending. Herring announced the move Thursday at a field hearing of the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in Richmond. The agency announced proposed rules to set standards for the industry. Herring’s office is aiming to develop a plan to revitalize consumer protection efforts by May 1. Critics of payday lending say short-term, high-interest loans prey on the poor. Defenders counter that they offer an option for people who find themselves in a desperate financial fix. Virginia’s efforts in regard to predatory lending will focus on enforcement actions, education and prevention, strengthening and expanding partnerships with other groups and examining new laws. Herring’s strategy also will include alternative lending solutions for consumers.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ State education officials are developing regulations to limit the use of restraint and seclusion to discipline unruly students. Signed into law by Gov. Terry McAuliffe, the Virginia legislation requires the state Board of Education to develop the statewide regulations governing the use of those disciplinary practices. Critics say such techniques are almost always unnecessary to keep order in the classroom. The law was passed over the objections of lobbyists for school boards and principals who said it would allow school administrators too little discretion. The regulations will be drafted by November. Then they will be presented for public comment at a minimum of two hearings. Virginia is the 33rd state to govern the use of seclusion and restraint in schools by law or regulation.
Noah Thomas
DUBLIN, Va. (AP) _ Authorities say the body of a 5-year-old boy who had been missing since Sunday has been found in a septic tank near his home. Pulaski County Sheriff Jim Davis announced the discovery Thursday during a brief news conference. Noah Thomas was last seen by his mother on Sunday morning at the family’s home in Dublin. Several hundred law enforcement officers and volunteers had been searching for him since then. Police had received more than 100 tips from around the country. Davis said earlier Thursday that the tips included sightings of boys and reports of suspicious vehicles in the child’s neighborhood. Davis stressed after Noah’s discovery that no one is in custody and an investigation is continuing. He said the boy’s family is cooperating with investigators.
UPDATE: ELLISTON, Va. (AP) _ Police say a 3-year-old child has died from injuries suffered in a collision between a train and a vehicle in Montgomery County. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office tells media outlets that the child’s father and two other children remained hospitalized on Thursday. The injured children are in serious condition. The father’s condition wasn’t available. All four victims were in the vehicle. Police say the vehicle was hit by a Norfolk Southern train at a crossing in the Elliston area around 6 p.m. Wednesday. The crossing is marked with signs but there are no lights or a gate. Police and Norfolk Southern are investigating the accident.
Gov. Terry McAuliffe
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe has signed a new state budget that includes a pay increases for state employees, boosts cash benefits for welfare recipients and has more money for the governor to spend on economic development. The Democratic governor signed the budget Thursday at the Capitol while touting his good working relationship with Republican leaders on the state’s spending plan. McAuliffe did not try and amend the budget that state lawmakers approved last month. The GOP-controlled General Assembly did not include expanding Medicaid in its budget, a top priority for state Democrats. Virginia’s budget situation has brightened in recent months due to higher-than-projected revenues and other factors, which gave lawmakers more money to spend this year’s legislative session. The new budget raises state employees’ pay by 2 percent.
Former Virginia
Gov. Bob McDonnell
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Federal prosecutors say there is plenty of evidence to support former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell’s public corruption convictions. In court filings Thursday, prosecutors told the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that it’s clear McDonnell took steps to benefit a wealthy vitamin executive who lavished the former governor and his wife with low-interest loans and expensive gifts. The brief filed Thursday disputes McDonnell’s claim that his convictions were based on an overly broad definition of what constitutes an “official act” by an elected official. The appeals court has scheduled arguments in the case for May 12. A jury in September found McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, guilty of doing favors for former Star Scientific CEO Jonnie Williams in exchange for more than $165,000 in gifts and loans.
Gov. Terry McAuliffe
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe has vetoed six redistricting bills he says may be unconstitutional and are overly partisan. The Democratic governor says he doesn’t support the legislation because he believes the General Assembly should only make substantive changes to legislative boundaries once a decade. All six bills were sponsored by GOP lawmakers. Republicans said the bills were minor technical adjustments to current boundaries. Redistricting has been a contentious issue in Virginia. A lawsuit filed in December by a law firm with ties to the Democratic Party argues that state Republicans illegally packed black voters into a dozen House districts when it drew new district lines in 2011.