AP
George Huguely V
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ A former lacrosse player at the University of Virginia is seeking anew a hearing before the state Supreme Court of his conviction of killing his former girlfriend. Last month, the state’s highest court refused to hear the appeal of George W. Huguely V of his 2012 conviction of second-degree murder of fellow U.Va. student and lacrosse player Yeardley Love. Huguely’s slaying of the suburban Baltimore woman occurred in May 2010 in Charlottesville. The two had had an on-again, off-again relationship. A legal analyst told WVIR-TV that the request for a rehearing is a longshot. The Chevy Chase, Md., defendant is serving a 23-year prison term in Virginia on the second-degree murder charge and for a grand larceny conviction, which he did not appeal. Love was from suburban Baltimore.
ROANOKE, Va. (AP) _ The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the death of an employee at an Elizabeth Arden distribution center in Roanoke. Roanoke Police Department spokesman Scott Leamon says authorities were called about the workplace fatality Sunday night. A 44-year-old man from Roanoke died in the incident. His name is not being released. Leamon didn’t provide details on how the man died but said police don’t suspect criminal activity.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ The Virginia Lottery’s New Year’s Millionaire Raffle is a sellout. The lottery’s website shows no tickets are left for sale. Sales of the $20 tickets began Nov. 4. Winners will be announced on Thursday. Three ticket holders will each win the $1 million top prize. The odds of winning are 1 in 110,000. Six ticket holders will each win $250,000. The odds of winning are 1 in 55,0. Another 300 ticket holders will each win $500.The odds of winning are 1 in 1,100.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) _ Alumni from the University of Virginia are raising money to provide an attorney to sexual assault survivors at the Charlottesville school. The Sexual Assault Advocacy Fund has raised $31,280 from about 360 people since November through the website CrowdRise.com. Lisa Richey launched the fund after a Rolling Stone article describing 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. The Daily Progress reports that Richey has been working with Palma Pustilnik, an attorney at the Central Virginia Legal Aid Society. One idea is to hire an aide to do intake interviews, provide legal information and help with paperwork. Pustilnik represents Jackie, the now third-year student at the heart of the Rolling Stone story.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia officials are using a new campaign to raise awareness about human trafficking. Earlier this month, billboards and signs were put up on major highways across the state, along with signage at Virginia rest areas. It’s estimated that more than 1 million drivers will see billboards each week. The signs raise awareness about the realities of human trafficking and encouraging victims or those with information about possible human trafficking to contact the National Human Trafficking Resource Center’s hotline. Attorney General Mark Herring’s office says Virginia has had the fifth-highest number of human trafficking cases referenced on the hotline this year. Herring’s office says that experts believe human trafficking occurs in Virginia because of its location on the east coast, international air and sea ports, and large number of major interstates.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Virginia drivers can expect to see a 5 cents-per-gallon increase in the cost of gas starting Jan. 1. The increase on wholesale gas, which will likely be passed on to consumers at the pump, will help pay for a $6 billion transportation funding package passed under former Gov. Bob McDonnell last year. The transportation package originally relied on passage of a federal bill that would allow Virginia to collect sales taxes from out-of-state online merchants. But U.S. House Rep. Bob Goodlatte, who represents the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia’s 6th Congressional District, opposes the sales tax legislation and has bottled up the bill in his House committee. Goodlatte says it was foolish of state lawmakers to count on revenues from a federal bill before it became law.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ A flag related to the movie “Unbroken” directed by Angelina Jolie is on display in Virginia. The film portrays the early life of Louis Zamperini, from his troubled youth to an Olympic medal and amazing survival at sea and in a brutal Japanese prison camp during World War II. A makeshift American flag hoisted when the Omori Prison Camp was liberated in August 1945, is on display at the Virginia War Memorial in Richmond. It was one of the camps at which Zamperini was interned. A group of prisoners made the flag out of a bed sheet and whatever other materials they could find. Officials say the flag is one of 15,000 Navy-owned historical artifacts on loan from the Naval History and Heritage Command displayed around the world.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ The Virginia State Parks system is participating in a national program to start Americans down on a healthy path in 2015. It’s called First Day Hikes and it begins New Year’s Day. All 36 state parks in Virginia are participating. Last year, more than 27,000 people hiked around 66,000 miles on 885 hikes in state parks across the country. Massachusetts began offering First Day Hikes in its parks more than 20 years ago, and the National Association of State Park Directors has issued a challenge to other states. Officials say 50 state parks across the country are set to participate.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ The latest estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau show Virginia’s population growth in 2014 was the 10th-largest in the country. According to the numbers released this week, Virginia gained 55,944 residents between July 2013 and July 2014. The state’s total population is estimated at more than 8.32 million. California remained the nation’s most populous state in 2014 with 38.8 million residents, followed by Texas at 27 million. The U.S. population increased by 2.4 million to 318.9 million. North Dakota was the fastest-growing state with a 2.2 percent increase. The state remains one of the least-populated but has seen a boom in the oil and gas industry. Six states lost population. Those were Illinois, West Virginia, Connecticut, New Mexico, Alaska and Vermont.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ The Virginia House of Delegates has scheduled five regional public hearings on the state’s biennial budget. A notice posted on the House’s website says hearings will be held Jan. 7 at the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center in Abingdon, the Hylton Performing Arts Center in Manassas, the College of William & Mary School of Education’s Professional Development Center in Williamsburg, the New College Institute in Martinsville and House Room D at the General Assembly Building in Richmond. The hearings in Abingdon and Manassas will begin at 10 a.m. The other hearings will begin at noon.