AP
ASHLAND, Va. (AP) _ Republican U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky is campaigning in Virginia for Senate candidate Ed Gillespie and House candidate Dave Brat. Paul headlined a rally Wednesday at a small auditorium in Ashland. He told his supporters that Gillespie and Brat would help repeal the Affordable Care Act and rein in federal spending. Paul has been weighing a potential 2016 presidential bid and campaigning for other Republican candidates across the country. Gillespie is the former chairman of the Republican National Committee and is considered an underdog in his bid to unseat Democrat Mark Warner in the senate election. Brat became an overnight political sensation when he defeated former U.S. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in the GOP primary in June.
The Colonial Downs horse race track is closing November 1st. The closure also involving off-track betting sites in Virginia, including the one in Vinton. The Downs never really opened this year, the result of a dispute between the track and horse owners that was never resolved. Continue reading
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe is planning to lay off 565 state workers and raise the prices of distilled spirits at state-owned liquor stores as he aims to close a state budget shortfall. McAuliffe detailed his plans Wednesday as part of an effort by state officials to bridge a $2.4 billion budget gap. McAuliffe said most of the layoffs would come from the Department of Corrections, which will close multiple facilities. It also will delay the opening of a women’s correctional center. The governor said he also plans to sell one of the Virginia State Police’s planes and not fill 27 out of 68 vacant state trooper positions. McAuliffe said the budget cuts were the most difficult experience of his term so far but called the plan a sensible approach.
Related story: Booze price hike irks Va. consumers, restaurants
U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) _ Sens. Angus King and Tim Kaine are back in Washington after wrapping up a nine-day swing through the Middle East and south-central Asia with a visit to Qatar. The senators met Tuesday with Qatar’s prime minister and visited an air base that functions as the nerve center for the air campaign in Afghanistan and against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria. At the base, the independent from Maine and Democrat from Virginia received a briefing from the deputy commander of U.S. Air Forces Central Command. The senators’ trip through the region has included stops in India, Afghanistan and Pakistan. They completed the trip Tuesday and were back home on U.S. soil on Wednesday.
ASHLAND, Va. (AP) _ Tickets are available for the Oct. 28 debate between the candidates seeking to succeed Republican Eric Cantor in Virginia’s 7th District congressional race. The public can start picking up their tickets on Wednesday. The debate will feature Democrat Jack Trammell and Republican Dave Brat, who stunned Cantor in the party primary. The debate will be at the Ashland campus of Randolph-Macon College, where both candidates are faculty members. Libertarian candidate James Carr was not invited to participate. Tickets are available starting at noon at the college’s website: http://www.rmc.edu.
Updated: Wed., 10/14/14 7:53 a.m.
ROANOKE, Va. (AP) _ Authorities have identified a man’s body that was found in the Roanoke River near a Blue Ridge Parkway overlook. The Roanoke Times (http://bit.ly/1pbnoVv) says an autopsy determined that 46-year-old Charles Dolby of Roanoke died of injuries suffered in a fall from a bridge. The bridge spans the river near an overlook on the parkway. Parkway supervisory ranger Steve Burton tells the newspaper that it appears Dolby jumped from the bridge. But he says the possibility of an accidental fall can’t be ruled out. Dolby’s family reported him missing on Oct. 7. His truck was later found at the overlook’s parking lot. Buxton says kayakers saw the body in the river on Sunday afternoon.
BEDFORD, Va. (AP) _ Tuberculosis screenings are scheduled for more than two dozen students potentially exposed to the disease at a Bedford school. Bedford County Public Schools announced last Friday that a person affiliated with Thaxton Elementary tested positive for TB. The district said TB screenings were recommended for 28 students. School district spokesman Ryan Edwards tells WSET-TV (http://bit.ly/1njETri) that state health officials will conduct the screenings at the school on Wednesday. Edwards says less than 10 students stayed home on Monday due concerns about the disease. He says the Virginia Department of Health determined that it was safe to resume classes at the school.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Virginia agriculture officials say the state’s pumpkin growers are reporting an abundant crop this year. To promote the important crop, Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services says Gov. Terry McAuliffe has proclaimed October as “Virginia Pumpkin Month.” According to the Virginia Pumpkin Growers’ Association, the state is home to about 200 pumpkin growers with about 3,000 acres of wholesale pumpkins valued at more than $6 million. Pumpkins are grown across the state, with most of the commercial pumpkin production in southwest Virginia. Officials say consumers should find plenty of pie pumpkins, squash, gourds, mini pumpkins and other specialty varieties at grocery stores, markets, pick-your-own farms and roadside stands.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Virginia is getting $9.3 million in federal funding to help residents sign up for health insurance. Gov. Terry McAuliffe said the money will help hire more than 100 people to help with enrollment that runs from Nov. 15 through Feb. 15. The governor’s office says the grant will play a large role in helping McAuliffe implement his plan to expand health care to more than 200,000 Virginians. More than 216,000 Virginians purchased health plans during the initial 2013-2014 sign-up period. Yet state officials say about 300,000 Virginians who are qualified for tax credits if they purchase insurance on the Federal Marketplace remain uninsured. The grant awarded by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services allows Virginia to partner with the Virginia Community Healthcare Association and the Virginia Poverty Law Center.
Bob and Maureen McDonnell
(Associated Press photo)
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Federal prosecutors are opposing a request from former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, for a new trial on public corruption charges. Prosecutors filed a motion Tuesday with U.S. District Judge James Spencer, saying the request is “without merit.” Spencer presided over the nearly six-week trial that ended Sept. 4 when the jury convicted Bob McDonnell on 11 counts and his wife on nine. Following the trial, the McDonnells asked to be acquitted or granted a new trial because they contended prosecutors failed to prove they performed any “official acts” for former Star Scientific Inc. CEO Jonnie Williams. The McDonnells were convicted of accepting more than $165,000 in gifts and loans from Williams in exchange for promoting his company’s dietary supplements.