Across Virginia
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) – Vice President Mike Pence is coming to central Virginia to promote President Donald Trump’s trade policies.America First Policies announced Monday that Pence would visit a manufacturing company in Louisa on Saturday. The group is a nonprofit founded to support Trump’s policy agenda.Pence is also set to headline a campaign rally Saturday in Virginia Beach to help local GOP candidates ahead of next week’s election.Virginia’s off-year legislative elections have become the marquee warmup for the 2020 election cycle. National groups are spending big in the state and several Democratic presidential candidates have made stops to bolster legislative candidates.
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — A federal judge has ordered Virginia to stop asking marriage applicants to identify themselves by race. The order issued Monday by U.S. District Judge Rossie Alston in Alexandria comes in response to a lawsuit filed by three couples challenging the requirement. Their lawyer, Victor Glasberg, said the requirement was a vestige of the state’s Jim Crow era.Alston had already ruled in favor of the couples earlier this month, but he was asked to clarify his ruling. State officials had argued that they could comply with the ruling by keeping the question in place but allowing couples to decline providing an answer. That was the solution Attorney General Mark Herring put forward after the lawsuit was filed.
Alston’s most recent ruling clarifies that the question must be struck entirely.
You wouldn’t know it our part of the state, but millions of dollars are flowing into this year’s General Assembly campaigns. The money is concentrated on a small number of House and Senate races considered most likely to determine party control of the General Assembly. Statewide, campaign spending already tops an unprecedented $55 million. WFIR’s Evan Jones has more:
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Officials in Virginia say the state has met its deadline to mail taxpayers a special refund check. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports the Virginia Department of the Treasury mailed the last of nearly 2.7 million refund checks Friday. Eligible taxpayers will receive $110 if they filed individually and $220 if they filed jointly.
A change in federal tax law led to a windfall in state taxes, leading state lawmakers to approve the refunds.
The deadline for the checks to be mailed was Tuesday.
Secretary of Finance Aubrey Layne says some checks may not arrive immediately because no mail was delivered Monday due to a federal holiday. He recommends that taxpayers contact the state Department of Taxation if they haven’t received their checks by the end of the week.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A new study says sex assault victims in Virginia must sometimes travel for hours because of a shortage of qualified nurses and hospitals that provide sexual assault examinations. The study’s author, Stephen Weiss, says that finding helps explain why less than half of such victims report attacks.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports the study was conducted at the direction of the Virginia General Assembly Joint Commission on Health Care. It was presented to the commission last month, and the author is scheduled to brief the Virginia State Crime Commission on Tuesday.
The report found that of the nearly 100,000 registered nurses in Virginia, fewer than 200 are credentialed forensic nurses. It also found that out of 122 licensed hospitals, 16 provide the sexual assault forensic examinations necessary to collect crucial evidence.
CHESTERFIELD, Va. (AP) — A Virginia man has been sentenced to eight months in prison for causing a fatal crash while texting and driving.News outlets report 58-year-old Samuel Allebaugh pleaded guilty Thursday to involuntary manslaughter as part of a deal that sentenced him to nine years in prison, with all but eight months suspended.Prosecutors say Allebaugh was driving a dump truck in February while texting his girlfriend about what to get her for Valentine’s Day. They say he veered off road and overcorrected, sending his truck directly into Karen E. Giles’ Honda Accord. The 56-year-old Giles, a volunteer rescue squad member, was killed almost instantly.
Upon Allebaugh’s release from prison, the plea deal requires him to perform 125 hours community service for organizations that teach about the dangers of distracted driving.
MGN
NEWS RELEASE: Governor Ralph Northam today announced a statewide drought watch advisory for the Commonwealth of Virginia. A drought watch is intended to increase awareness of current conditions that are likely to precede a significant drought event. Localities, water suppliers, self-supplied water users, and all citizens are encouraged begin preparations for a potential drought.
According to the Virginia Drought Monitoring Task Force, a work group coordinated by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) representing state and federal agencies, the primary factors contributing to the current drought advisory are low precipitation amounts across the state since July, low stream flows (affecting aquifers, lakes, and soils), and low groundwater levels in observation wells compared to previous October levels.
“More than half of our Commonwealth is currently experiencing a water deficit, which can have lasting agricultural, economic, environmental impacts,” said Governor Northam. “While water conservation activities during a drought watch are generally voluntary, we encourage localities and individuals across Virginia to heed this warning and take necessary steps to monitor their water usage.”
The next stage after a drought watch is a drought warning, which indicates that a significant drought event is imminent. If a drought warning is issued, water conservation and contingency plans that are already in place—or prepared during a drought watch—would begin.
“Higher temperatures and less consistent precipitation patterns driven by climate change are making extreme weather like droughts more prevalent around the world, and Virginia is no exception,” said Secretary of Natural Resources Matthew J. Strickler. “Governor Northam and our administration are taking steps to monitor and mitigate drought impacts and address the causes and symptoms of climate change.”
Additionally, 36 localities in Virginia have issued open air burn bans. Individuals are encouraged to check the Virginia Department of Forestry’s map for the latest information on active burn bans and contact their locality for further details on outdoor burning restrictions.
“Fortunately, Virginia’s vigilant task force, ongoing monitoring program and cohesive regional water resource plans are in place for this very situation, to help raise awareness across the Commonwealth and mitigate potential impacts to citizens, water suppliers, and their customers,” said DEQ Director David Paylor.
Throughout the drought watch advisory, localities, water suppliers and self-supplied water users in all areas are strongly encouraged to take voluntary steps to protect current water supplies.
- Minimize non-essential water use.
- Review or develop new local water conservation and drought contingency plans and take actions consistent with those plans.
- Share information as broadly as possible.
- Continue monitoring the condition of public waterworks and self-supplied
water systems in partnership with the Virginia Department of Health. - Impose water restrictions when consistent with local water supply conditions.
- Aggressively pursue leak detection and repair programs.
Statewide information on current drought conditions is available on the DEQ website.
MGN
Deer mating season is just getting under way, and that happens to also mean peak season for car-deer collisions. State game officials urge extra attention behind the wheel, use of high beams when other vehicles are not in view, and if you happen to see a deer ahead of you, striking it is a better alternative to swerving into potentially greater harm. WFIR’s Evan Jones has more:
DGIF NEWS RELEASE: Autumn is here and along with colorful leaves, crisp air, and shorter days, deer are on the move. Fall is the breeding season for deer, so deer will be more active over the next couple of months than at any other time of the year.
Motorists will also be driving more often in the dark, increasing the likelihood of encountering a deer on the road. Colliding with a deer can cause considerable damage to the animal, people, and property.
The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (DGIF) recommend the following tips to avoid hitting a deer:
1. Slow down and be attentive, particularly at night (from dusk to dawn). If you see one deer, watch out for others.
2. Deer habitually travel the same areas. Use caution when you see deer crossing signs installed in these areas by the Virginia Department of Transportation.
3. Apply brakes, even stop if necessary, to avoid hitting a deer, but never swerve out of the lane to miss a deer. A collision with another vehicle, tree or other object is likely to be more serious than hitting a deer.
4. Always wear a seat belt! Even if a collision is unavoidable, you are more likely to avoid injury or death if you are wearing a seat belt.
5. If you hit or kill a deer or bear while driving, immediately report the accident to a Conservation Police Officer or other law enforcement officer in the county or city where the accident occurred.
6. If you kill a deer or bear while driving, you may keep it for your own use if you report the accident to a law enforcement officer where the accident occurred and the officer views the animal and gives you a possession certificate.
For more information, see this video PSA on deer/vehicle safety: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXdtN-pJilM
BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) – A review into a panel’s safety recommendations after the Virginia Tech mass shooting shows the state has implemented a majority of the proposals. The Roanoke Times reports Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam launched a review into the proposal adoptions after a special legislative session on gun violence was shut down by Republicans. The review found that 74 of the proposals have been fully or partially implemented. The review says three recommendations weren’t implemented, including universal background checks, which Northam intended to push during the special session in light of the Virginia Beach shooting that left 12 people and the shooter dead. The Virginia Tech Panel was setup by then-Gov. Tim Kaine three days after a shooter killed 32 students and himself. The panel mostly focused on mental health and not gun control.
The Campbell County Sheriff’s Office wants help identifying and locating suspects wanted for stealing agricultural hemp from a local farmer. Investigators say it happened last Friday. There is no official word on exactly where in the county it occurred; Campbell County is mainly south of Lynchburg
Photos: Campbell County Sheriff’s Office
NEWS RELEASE: The Campbell County Sheriff’s Office is requesting the public’s assistance in identifying and locating unidentified subjects wanted for theft of agricultural hemp from a local farmer. The unidentified subjects are wanted on suspicion of theft of agricultural hemp which occurred on Friday, October 4, 2019. The subjects are assumed to be male in gender, and while the quality is less than perfect, snapshots from the game-camera are attached. Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office at (434) 332-9574 or call Crime Stoppers at 1-888-798-5900. Enter a tip ONLINE at http://p3tips.com or use the P3 app on your mobile device.