AP
Timothy Sands
BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) — Virginia Tech President Timothy Sands wants to double the school’s $800 million endowment and make the university one of the top 100 world research institutions. The Roanoke Times reports Sands made the comments Friday at his official installation, four months after taking the job. Sands also wants to make a Virginia Tech degree affordable for any Virginia student who can qualify for admission. The comments come as Virginia grapples with a $2.4 billion budget shortfall that has already led to $45 million in cuts to higher education. Sands is the school’s first president since James McComas to have no previous ties to Virginia Tech. He has spent much of his time in office meeting with students, faculty, staff and state and local leaders to listen to their concerns.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Senate candidate Ed Gillespie is behind in the polls and campaign cash with little more than two weeks before Election Day in Virginia. But the former high-powered Washington political operative says he’s enjoying his underdog campaign and feels that momentum is in his favor. The Republican Gillespie is trying to unseat Democratic incumbent Sen. Mark Warner, a popular former governor seeking a second term. Gillespie says the media and pundits are missing what’s happening on the ground, and that people unhappy with President Barack Obama’s energy, health care and tax policies — and Warner’s support for them — will help Gillespie win in November.
Gov. Terry McAuliffe
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe is embarking on his second international trade trip with scheduled stops in Japan, China and South Korea. McAuliffe’s office announced Friday that McAuliffe would attend a welcome dinner Sunday hosted by Caroline Bouvier Kennedy, the U.S. ambassador to Japan. Other planned stops on the week-and-a-half-long trip include a University of Virginia alumni breakfast in Japan, a Virginia wine event in China, and meetings with the president and prime minister of South Korea. McAuliffe went to China and England in July and has made luring international businesses to locate Virginia one of his top priorities.
Undated file image from the
Centers for Disease Control
(CDC) shows Ebola virus
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Gov. Terry McAuliffe is organizing multiple state agencies into a unified command group as part of an effort to safeguard against any spread of the Ebola virus in Virginia. McAuliffe announced Friday that the group will work to make sure first responders have adequate training to treat Ebola patients and that state hospitals are able to coordinate potential care. State Health Commissioner Marissa J. Levine said Ebola prevention efforts are based on the same principles and approaches Virginia’s health system uses every day, but the unique aspects of the virus required the state to make sure its plans are up to date. The agencies involved include the Department of Health, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Education, the state police, and the Virginia National Guard.
Bob and Maureen McDonnell
(Associated Press photo)
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A federal judge has delayed the 2015 sentencing of former first lady Maureen McDonnell on nine public corruption convictions. Judge James R. Spencer granted a request Friday to push back McDonnell’s sentencing to sometime after Feb. 16. One of her attorneys had requested the change. The attorney said he had a conflict with the original Jan. 6 sentencing date. Former Gov. Bob McDonnell and his wife were convicted in September of performing “official acts” to promote former Star Scientific Inc. CEO Jonnie Williams’ dietary supplement products in exchange for more than $165,000 in gifts, trips and loans. Bob McDonnell was convicted on 11 public corruption counts. His sentencing remains set for Jan. 6.
Undated file image from the
Centers for Disease Control
(CDC) shows Ebola virus
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine are asking Virginia hospital and health officials how prepared the state is to deal with any patients who have symptoms of Ebola. The Virginia Democrats expressed their concerns in a letter to Virginia Secretary of Health and Human Services William Hazel and the CEO of the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association, Sean Connaughton. In the letter released Friday, Kaine and Warner ask Hazel and Connaughton what is being done to ensure that Virginia hospitals and health care professionals have the supplies and training to deal with the deadly virus. They also ask whether additional resources are needed with preparedness efforts. The letter cites potential resources from the Centers for Disease Control and the National Institutes of Health, among other federal agencies.
Updated: Fri 10/17/14 7:23 a.m.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Virginia Republican Senate candidate Ed Gillespie is temporarily ditching television ads in the state with less than three weeks before Election Day. Records posted on federal websites show Gillespie canceling or sharply reducing ad buys in multiple markets this week. A Gillespie campaign spokesman said Thursday that the campaign will launch a new $300,000 ad buy statewide starting on Saturday. Polls show Gillespie trailing his first-term Democratic rival, Sen. Mark Warner, who is blanketing the state with ads. Gillespie is the former chairman of the Republican National Committee and one of its best fund raisers.
STAUNTON, Va. (AP) _ Virginia State Police are investigating what led to a fatal officer-involved shooting that occurred during a traffic stop on Interstate 64. Officials say the incident took place after a Virginia State Police trooper stopped a Ford Windstar minivan along I-64 in Augusta County at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. As the officer approached the vehicle, the driver displayed a firearm. Just as the trooper retreated to his patrol car to take cover, a female juvenile passenger jumped out of the minivan screaming. Shots were then fired by both the driver and the trooper. The adult male driver died at the scene. Neither the officer nor the juvenile was injured. Officials say the driver’s name, as well as additional details are expected to be released Friday.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ The Virginia Department of Transportation says an environmentally friendly pavement used to rebuild a section of Interstate 81 is holding up to the test of time and tires. VDOT says the $10.2 million project was conducted in Augusta County three years ago. The department used three pavement recycling processes to rehabilitate a 3.6-mile portion of the southbound lane of the interstate. VDOT Commissioner Charlie Kilpatrick says the I-81 project demonstrates that pavement recycling is viable on high-volume, high-priority routes. VDOT says the process also saved millions of dollars by recycling existing road material. A report says VDOT should use the pavement recycling method “where it is most suitable.”
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Gov. Terry McAuliffe is stressing energy efficiency throughout Virginia state government. The Democrat signed an executive order on Thursday to reduce the energy footprint of state government, and named a chief energy officer to oversee the effort. McAuliffe has made energy efficiency a cornerstone of his four-year energy plan released this month. The executive order instructs executive branch agencies, authorities and departments to actively pursue energy efficiencies. The order extends to higher education, as well. In issuing the order, McAuliffe singled out the Department of Motor Vehicles as an example. He said the DMV has achieved annual energy savings of $284,000 through a program that partners state agencies with private sector vendors to reduce energy use.