AP
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Virginia tax collections increased slightly in August. Gov. Terry McAuliffe said Friday that general fund revenues were up 1.7 percent from August of 2013. He says that’s an encouraging sign, but cautions that August is not a significant month for revenue collections. The governor says September collections will complete the first quarter of the fiscal year and provide a better picture of revenue growth. Last month’s increase was driven by the individual income tax and the state sales tax. Payroll withholding taxes make up nearly two-thirds of general fund revenues, and they increased by 1.7 percent. The sales tax accounts for nearly one-fifth of the general fund. It increased by 4.5 percent.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Citing grave concerns, 22 conservation and environmental groups in Virginia and West Virginia are teaming up following the announcement of a proposed $5 billion natural gas pipeline. Allegheny-Blue Ridge Alliance members are fearful the path of the 550-mile energy project will trample on some of the most ecologically sensitive areas in the Eastern United States. The coalition has not taken a stand on the pipeline. The project was announced last week by Virginia’s Dominion Resources, Duke Energy and other partners. The pipeline would connect the Southeast with rich supplies of natural gas being produced in Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania. The Atlantic Coast Pipeline would begin Harrison County, West Virginia, and stretch through Virginia and North Carolina. Before work can begin, state and federal regulators must approve the project.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Virginia is getting $1.6 million in U.S. Department of Agriculture grant money for conservation programs. USDA announced $328 million in funding nationwide on Monday. The money is intended to help landowners protect and restore key farmlands, grasslands and wetlands. Nearly 400 projects nationally were selected. The federal dollars will help protect and restore 32,000 acres of farmland, 45,000 acres of grasslands and 52,000 acres of wetlands across the U.S. The funding was made possible through the 2014 Farm Bill.
RESTON, Va. (AP) _ Democrat Mark Warner and Republican Ed Gillespie debated who would be the more independent voice in the U.S. Senate at a town hall forum. The Northern Virginia Technology Council hosted the forum Monday in Reston. The candidates discussed detailed policy questions on cybersecurity, immigration visas for skilled workers and other issues important to the tech community. More broadly, Gillespie attacked Warner’s reputation as a centrist, claiming Warner is a reliable partisan supporter of President Obama. Warner, seeking a second term, highlighted his longstanding bipartisan efforts to forge a grand bargain to erase the nation’s budget deficit. The forum was not a debate — the candidates answered questions in consecutive appearances. Northern Virginia’s business community has been a swing vote of sorts in Virginia, sometimes backing Democrats and sometimes backing Republicans.
Gov. Terry McAuliffe
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe plans to expand public health care to 20,000 mentally ill adult residents. But he will not try a large-scale unilateral expansion of the state’s Medicaid program. McAuliffe said Monday at a Capitol news conference that he wants to target his efforts to provide health care for the neediest of the state’s 1 million uninsured. The governor also plans outreach efforts to help enroll many of the state’s uninsured into existing programs and to provide dental care for about 45,000 pregnant women who already receive publicly funded health care. McAuliffe had previously promised to expand Medicaid to about 400,000 eligible low-income adults using mostly federal funds. He was blocked by the Republican-controlled General Assembly earlier this year.
RESTON, Va. (AP) _ U.S. Senate candidates Mark Warner and Ed Gillespie will be making their pitches to northern Virginia’s tech community at a town hall forum. The Northern Virginia Technology Council is hosting a town hall forum Monday morning in Reston. The forum is not a debate _ the candidates will answer questions in consecutive appearances, though they will be on stage together briefly. Northern Virginia’s business community has been a swing vote of sorts in Virginia, sometimes backing Democrats and sometimes backing Republicans. Warner, a Democrat, is seeking a second term against Gillespie, a longtime Republican political strategist.
Samantha Warden
PULASKI, Va. (AP) _ A trial date has been set for a Pulaski County woman charged with child neglect in the death of her 5-month-old son. Police arrested 30-year-old Samantha Warden in February, a couple of weeks after the boy’s body was found in a rural area of Draper. The child’s father, 32-year-old Howard Cole, is charged with capital murder and illegal disposal of a body. The Roanoke Times (http://bit.ly/1lLcGIV ) says two investigators testified at a May preliminary hearing that Warden told police she watched Howard Cole abuse the child on Jan. 26. She also told police she left the boy with Cole the next day after she and Cole argued. Her trial is scheduled to begin Jan. 8, 2015 in Pulaski County Circuit Court.
Update 9/7/14 13:37:
ROANOKE, Va. (AP) _ Police have identified a man who shot himself in the head at a Roanoke-area gun range. Roanoke police spokesman Scott Leamon tells media outlets that 29-year-old Timothy Ramsuer Jr. died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. The shooting occurred Friday morning at Roanoke Range and Training.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ The Virginia Board of Education’s leader is continuing a listening tour to hear about important issues facing the state’s public schools. Board President Christian Braunlich will travel to Bedford on Monday and Tuesday for the second stop of the tour. Braunlich kicked off the first of eight stops on the tour in Bristol last month. Officials say the tour is designed to give parents, teachers, local school board members and others an opportunity to express their views on public education. There will be a special focus on changes in the Standards of Learning assessment system.
Bob and Maureen McDonnell
(Associated Press photo)
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Prosecutors and defense attorneys aren’t through fighting over the fate of former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and his wife, Maureen. Now that the guilty verdicts on public corruption are in, attention turns to their Jan. 6 sentencing and subsequent appeal. Legal experts say a multitude of issues will determine how much prison time the McDonnells receive and whether the convictions will stand. The McDonnells were convicted Thursday 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 and loans. Experts say the definition of “official act” will likely be the major issue on appeal. And the value of the benefits received by the McDonnells and by Williams will have a big impact on the sentence.