Across Virginia
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Virginia lawmakers have rejected a plan to add tolls to Interstate 81 to pay for $2 billion in upgrades that would improve safety and traffic flow. Legislators moved Thursday to shelve any immediate plans to add tolls or increase regional taxes to pay for improvements to the 325-mile highway that runs along western Virginia. Lawmakers say they need more time to study potential funding sources, including an increase to the state gas tax. Before the legislative session started, Gov. Ralph Northam and some Republican lawmakers tentatively backed a plan to add tolls that could cost as much as $50 for trucks and $25 for cars to use the entire highway. But business groups and trucking groups strongly opposed tolls, saying it would stifle commerce.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Legislation that could pose a serious threat to the bottom line of Dominion Energy’s planned Atlantic Coast Pipeline continues to advance in the Virginia General Assembly. The bill passed a key House committee Thursday with bipartisan support despite heavy lobbying by Dominion. The legislation would add new restrictions on Dominion’s ability to pass along costs of transporting gas from the ACP to its Virginia-based power stations. That could reduce the potential revenues of a project whose costs have already ballooned in the face of fierce opposition from environmentalists and land owners. Dominion said the legislation is unneeded and regulators can already protect customers from unreasonable costs. The energy company is among the most powerful forces at the General Assembly and rarely sees legislation it dislikes become law.
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) – Police departments across Virginia have been outfitted with body cameras whose recordings need review by local prosecutors, many of whom aren’t getting the state funding needed to do so.The Virginian-Pilot reported Sunday that Virginia Beach police are being outfitted with 450 cameras that could require the local commonwealth’s attorney’s office to watch more than 14,000 hours of video.The office says it will need seven additional assistant commonwealth’s attorneys to review the videos for prosecutorial evidence. But the state only pays for so many positions, and it’s been a decade since funding was increased for commonwealth’s attorney’s offices.The city of Virginia Beach has agreed to pay for these new attorneys, but the newspaper says the rest of the state might not devote such resources.
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (AP) — Police in Virginia say that a car struck a transit bus that was stopped for a pickup, injuring a dozen people. The Newport News Police Department issued a release saying the accident happened shortly before 9 a.m. while the Hampton Roads Transit bus was stopped to pick up passengers. A man driving a Chrysler car had apparently hit the stopped bus. Police say 10 passengers and the bus driver were taken to the hospital with injuries that didn’t appear to be life-threatening. So was the driver of the car. The police department’s crash team was investigating and didn’t immediately file charges.
Photo: Starship Technologies
FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) — A fleet of high-tech robots is now deployed at a northern Virginia university to serve the noble purpose of delivering pizza, doughnuts and coffee on demand to students who summon them. Starship Technologies announced Tuesday that its delivery robots are now in use at George Mason University in Fairfax. The company’s partnership with Sodexo, which holds a catering contract at George Mason, means that students can get deliveries from Blaze Pizza, Starbucks and Dunkin for a $1.99 fee. More vendors are expected to join the program later. The six-wheeled robots, shaped like a cooler, can climb curbs and hold up to 20 pounds of cargo. Starship says its rollout of more than 25 robots makes it the largest implementation of autonomous robot food-delivery services on a college campus.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A panel of federal judges has chosen a redistricting map for Virginia’s House of Delegates that could shift some districts toward Democrats and help the party regain control in this year’s election. The judges ordered a new map after ruling that lawmakers had racially gerrymandered 11 House districts by packing black voters into them. On Tuesday, the judges chose a proposal submitted by a special master. They gave all sides until Feb. 1 to file objections. An analysis by the Virginia Public Access Project says the plan could shift six Republican-held districts toward Democrats, including the district of House Speaker Kirk Cox. He called it “legally indefensible” and said it attempts to “give Democrats an advantage at every turn.” Republicans now hold a slim House majority.
For the second year in a row, a noticeable change is on the way for your vehicle’s state inspection stickers. First, they were moved from the center of the windshield to the driver’s side. Now, a new look to the stickers. State Police say they are smaller, and they use enhanced security features designed to thwart unauthorized removal, tampering and counterfeit practices.
News release: The Virginia State Police Safety Division is rolling out a newly-designed vehicle safety approval inspection sticker that now includes a traffic safety message. Effective Jan. 1, 2019, all certified Virginia inspection stations began issuing the sticker which has been reduced from 2.75 inches in height to 2 inches and from 4 inches in length to 3 inches. The year of expiration is now permanently affixed to the right side of the sticker, with the only insert being the month of expiration. Even though the overall size has been reduced, the month has been enlarged to provide better visibility.
“The change in size is in response to the feedback State Police received from Virginians following the sticker’s relocation to the bottom left corner of the windshield in 2018,” said Captain R.C. Maxey Jr., Virginia State Police Safety Division Commander. “We heard from a number of motorists who had difficulty seeing around the sticker, so we worked to reduce its size to slightly smaller than the average credit card.”
The sticker’s security features have also been enhanced in order to discourage and prevent unauthorized removal, tampering and counterfeit practices. The changes in size and design do not apply to motorcycle or trailer safety inspection stickers. Vehicle rejection stickers also remain unchanged.
The placement of the sticker was changed in 2018 from the center of the windshield to the bottom, left corner due to safety concerns related to automotive innovations in recent years. The center placement of the sticker could prevent a vehicle’s crash avoidance system from operating properly.
Supporters and opponents of a proposed toll system for Interstate 81 in Virginia are presenting their arguments as state lawmakers prepare to consider the idea. Those against tolls say they would create many unintended — and negative — consequences. More from WFIR’s Evan Jones.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam and several Republican lawmakers are tentatively backing a plan to add tolls to I-81 in western Virginia that could cost as much as $50 for trucks and $25 for cars to use the entire 325-mile highway. Northam and lawmakers said at a Tuesday news conference that the interstate is in critical need of about $2 billion in upgrades to improve safety and traffic flow. They said they support a plan advanced by the Commonwealth Transportation Board to add tolls and would allow commuters to buy an annual pass, projected to be about $30. Northam and lawmakers said they were open to discussing other funding options, like tax increases. But they said they wanted to finalize a funding source during this year’s legislative session.
AP 2014 photo
Former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell has filed for divorce from his wife Maureen. That actually happened in November but is just being reported now by WTOP radio in Washington. McDonnell was seen as a rising star in the Republican party before being convicted of public corruption in 2014 for taking gifts and loans – that conviction was later thrown out by the U.S. Supreme Court.