AP
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ A new report says Virginia students earned a record 54,2888 undergraduate degrees during the 2013-2014 academic year. The total includes 47,383 associate and baccalaureate degrees awarded by public institutions and 6,905 degrees awarded by private non-profit institutions. The report says Virginia’s goal for awarding additional degrees by 2025 is attainable. But it says the latest figures show the goal becoming slightly more challenging. According to the report, growth rates have slowed. A 2011 law calls for public institutions to award an additional 100,000 undergraduate degrees, along with a comparable increase from private institutions. The report was prepared for the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. Council members are expected to discuss the findings at their Jan. 12 meeting
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Donald W. Lemons has been sworn in as the new chief justice of the Virginia Supreme Court. A veteran of the Supreme Court bench, Lemons’ investiture occurred Thursday in Richmond. He succeeds Chief Justice Cynthia Kinser, who retired Dec. 31. Gov. Terry McAuliffe and House Speaker William J. Howell spoke at the investiture. Lemons’ four-year term began with the start of the new year. The General Assembly elected Lemons twice as a justice, in 2000 and 2012. He previously served as judge of the Court of Appeals of Virginia and as a Richmond Circuit Court judge. Lemons received his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Richmond.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Virginia officials say retailers continue to ensure they’re not selling tobacco to minors. An annual statewide survey indicates that 91 percent of retailers inspected did not sell tobacco products to youth under the age of 18 during the latest survey. The inspection program is a federal mandate requiring each state to document that the rate of tobacco sales to minors is no more than 20 percent at the risk losing millions in federal funds for alcohol and other drug abuse prevention and treatment services. It is named for late U.S. Rep. Mike Synar of Oklahoma. The Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services says it has been compliant with the federal inspection program soon after the program was enacted in the mid-1990s.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ One day after Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe outlined his education priorities, Republican leaders in the General Assembly are rolling out their K-to-12 agenda. They’ll outline their priorities for the upcoming session of the General Assembly at a news conference Thursday in Richmond. The Republicans scheduled to attend include House Majority Leader Kirk Cox and the chairman of the House Education Committee, Steve Landes. Wednesday, McAuliffe used a stop in Norfolk to outline his vision. One includes an increase in the number of licensed home day care facilities. That would be achieved by requiring providers that receive a state subsidy to obtain an operating license. The proposal was among several others put forth by McAuliffe.
WINDSOR, Va. (AP) _ The Virginia Department of Transportation is working to turn highway carcasses into plant food. The state agency is testing the practice of turning roadkill into compost at four sites across the state, using a special system that accelerates decomposition and suppresses odors. The Virginian-Pilot reports that the system costs $140,000 and can break down animals in as little as six weeks in concrete bins. The compost is then used to control erosion and help establish grass after construction. Officials say roadkill collected by the agency is traditionally buried or driven to landfills at a cost of $4 million per year for disposal. Several other states already have widespread programs to compost roadkill.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Gun sales in Virginia have declined for the first time since 2010. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that Virginia State Police recorded background checks for 405,838 gun transactions in 2014. That’s down 15 percent from 479,253 transactions in 2013. The decline followed three years’ of growth. Gun sales logged by state police increased by 16 percent in 2011, 35 percent in 2012 and 11 percent in 2013. Virginia Commonwealth University assistant professor and criminologist Thomas R. Baker says the decline isn’t surprising. He tells the newspaper that the previous sales jumps were fueled by fears of increased gun control. State police began doing criminal background checks in late 1989.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) _ University of Virginia President Teresa A. Sullivan says fraternities and sororities are being allowed to reinstate social activities, provided they agree to new safety practices. The Greek system at U.Va. came under scrutiny after Rolling Stone magazine reported on an alleged gang rape at a fraternity house in 2012. The magazine has since apologized for what it calls discrepancies in details of the account. In a statement issued Tuesday, Sullivan said she approved additions to the university’s Fraternal Organization Agreement. Sullivan said the changes will enhance the safety of fraternity and sorority members, as well as guests. One change: no pre-mixed drinks at fraternity parties and all fraternity functions must have security monitoring the front door. Sullivan suspended social activities until Jan. 9 after the Rolling Stone article was published.
ROANOKE, Va. (AP) _ The Blue Ridge Parkway drew more than 13.9 million visitors in 2014, an increase of about 1 million from the previous year. Last year’s increase was the first since 2011. Despite the improvement, last year’s parkway visitation total was the second-lowest since 1981. The lowest total during this period was in 2013, when fewer than 12.9 million tourists visited the parkway. Visitation dropped in 2013 when National Park Service attractions closed because of the federal government shutdown and sequester cuts. Many of these sites reopened last year.
FOREST, Va. (AP) _ Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest is offering a new portal into the former president’s past in Bedford County. The attraction has introduced an iPad application that offers several options for visitors to learn about the original landscape at Jefferson’s private retreat at the close of his presidency. The new app allows the user to stroll through a digital reconstruction of the ornamental grounds, as Jefferson may have experienced them. Users can also change the vegetation or simply learn more about its history. In the fall of 2013, Poplar Forest launched virtual tours using Google Street View technology. When his presidency ended in 1809, Jefferson visited the retreat three or four times a year.
Bob and Maureen McDonnell
(Associated Press photo)
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell has been sentenced to two years in prison for taking money and gifts in exchange for promoting a dietary supplement while he was in office. McDonnell, a Republican, was once on the short list to be Mitt Romney’s vice presidential running mate. He was sentenced Tuesday after being convicted of 11 counts of corruption. The former governor and his wife, Maureen, were found guilty in September. She was convicted of eight counts and will be sentenced in February. Lawyers for the former governor asked a judge to order three years of community service. Prosecutors recommended a sentence of at least 10 years in prison. The six-week jury trial exposed details of the former first couple’s strained marriage and shaky finances.