AP
SALEM, Va. (AP) _ The Virginia Department of Transportation says it will temporarily close part of a road in Bedford County to make bridge repairs. A section of Route 602 will be closed on November 5 to traffic to make repairs to the bridge over Hunting Creek. The road will be closed between the hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Weather permitting, the road is expected to reopen the following day. Motorists will need to seek alternate routes. VDOT says a walk bridge for pedestrian traffic will be in place.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Republican Senate challenger Ed Gillespie is needling Democratic Sen. Mark Warner for not being an advocate for the Washington Redskins’ team name. Gillespie’s campaign ran an ad during the team’s game Monday evening attacking Warner for not fighting legislative efforts to force a name change. Gillespie is trailing Warner in public opinion polls, and earlier this month briefly stopped buying ads. Warner also had a 4-to-1 campaign cash advantage in the most recent disclosure reports. Opponents of the name say the term Redskin is derogatory toward Native Americans. The anti-“Redskins” movement has gained momentum and has drawn political, religious and sports figures into the debate.Warner has not joined efforts by other Senate Democrats to pressure the National Football League to have its name changed.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) Virginia transportation officials plan to remove installations of a common highway-guardrail system amid safety concerns.VDOT spokeswoman Marshall Herman tells The New York Times that the agency also plans to seek reimbursement for the removal cost from the system’s manufacturer, Trinity Industry. Trinity stopped shipments of its ET-Plus guardrails last week after a Texas jury ordered it to pay at least $175 million for misleading regulators. A whistleblower says the company changed the guardrails’ design but didn’t inform regulators for several years. Virginia banned the use of Trinity’s products on after the company missed a deadline to submit plans for additional crash testing. Trinity spokesman Jeff Eller tells the newspaper that the company is moving to begin the testing requested by Virginia and the federal government.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Virginia motorists are continuing to enjoy a drop in gasoline prices. AAA Mid-Atlantic says the average price for a gallon of gasoline was $2.81 on Tuesday. That’s 1 cent less per gallon compared to the previous week and 33 cents less compared with the same week a year ago. Average prices range from $2.70 per gallon in Richmond to $2.88 in Charlottesville. Motorists in the Norfolk area are paying on average $2.85 per gallon. The average price in Roanoke is $2.79. Nationally, gas prices average $3.03 this week.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ An agent with the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control’s Bureau of Law Enforcement has been installed as the president of the National Liquor Law Enforcement Association. Special Agent in Charge Joseph Cannon was sworn in earlier this month during the association’s annual convention. The association is made up of more than 1,100 sworn and non-sworn state, provincial, county, municipal and campus enforcement personnel tasked with enforcing liquor laws in the United States and Canada. The 16-year-old organization collects and disseminates research data, offers training to enhance the standards of liquor law enforcement, advises lawmakers on alcohol-related policy and provides technical assistance about best practices and policy development to law enforcement agencies. Cannon has been with Virginia ABC for more than 14 years, working in Chesapeake, Lynchburg and Richmond.
Jesse Matthew, Jr.
FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) _ The suspect in the abduction of University of Virginia student Hannah Graham will be making an initial court appearance Friday in Fairfax in an unrelated case. Fairfax County prosecutor Ray Morrogh said Monday that 32-year-old Jesse Matthew will appear in court via video link from a jail in the Charlottesville area, where he is currently being held. Matthew was indicted last week in Fairfax on attempted capital murder and other charges for a 2005 sexual assault in Fairfax City. Authorities have said they have forensic links between the 2005 case, Graham’s abduction, and the 2009 disappearance and death of Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington.Graham’s remains were found Oct. 18 in Albemarle County after a month long search, but Matthew has thus far been charged only with abducting Graham.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ A federal appeals court is set to hear arguments over the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors’ practice of opening meetings with a prayer. The county is appealing a judge’s ruling last year barring the board from opening meetings with prayers associated with a specific religion. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments Tuesday in Richmond. Pittsylvania resident Barbara Hudson filed the lawsuit in 2011, claiming the Christian invocations violate the Constitution’s prohibition against government establishment of a religion. According to court records, the board has a 200-year tradition of allowing members to open meetings with prayers that sometimes mention Jesus Christ. The county argues that the Supreme Court has upheld such traditions as long as prayer isn’t used to proselytize or to disparage any faith.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Time is running out for Virginia voters to cast absentee ballots for the Nov. 4 general election. Tuesday is the deadline to submit an application to receive a ballot in the mail. Saturday is the deadline to vote in-person. The Virginia Department of Elections says an application to receive a ballot in the mail must be submitted to the voter’s general registrar’s office by 5 p.m. Tuesday. Voters can mail, email, fax or hand deliver the applications. Voters must return completed absentee ballots to their voter registration office by 7 p.m. Nov. 4. In-person absentee voting is available daily through Saturday at local voter registration offices. Voters must meet one of the numerous eligibility requirements to vote absentee. Acceptable photo identification will be required for those voting in person.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Virginia health officials are now actively monitoring all travelers arriving in the state from the three West African countries affected by the Ebola outbreak. Secretary of Health and Human Resources Bill Hazel and state Health Commissioner Marissa Levine announced the enhanced precautions Monday. Airport screeners are providing contact information for travelers from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Those travelers are assessed for Ebola risks and are asked to sign an agreement to take their temperature at least twice a day. Low-risk travelers receive daily phone calls from health care workers, while those at higher risk receive personal visits and are told to stay home. Health care workers returning from West Africa are required to restrict activity based on their risk level. So far, 53 travelers have been identified for monitoring.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Nearly 800 Virginia affordable housing advocates, providers and policymakers are expected to attend an annual conference in Norfolk. The Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development says the three-day 2014 Virginia Governor’s Housing Conference begins Wednesday at the Norfolk Waterside Marriott. Gov. Terry McAuliffe will speak at a housing awards luncheon on Thursday. The conference also will feature sessions on state and federal policy issues and a keynote address by David Stevens, CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association.