News
Mark Peake
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) – A Republican Lynchburg attorney has defeated two challengers in a special election for a central Virginia Senate seat, ensuring that the Legislature’s upper chamber remains in GOP control.Results in Tuesday’s 22nd Senate District race were still being tallied late Tuesday, but Democrat Ryant Washington’s campaign manager said Washington has conceded to Republican Mark Peake. Unofficial results from the state Department of Elections with more than 90 percent of precincts reporting showed Peake with a commanding lead. He had around 54 percent, Washington around 38 percent and independent Joe Hines had around 8 percent. An elections official said results were delayed because too few ballots were printed in Lynchburg, and the back-up ballots had to be hand-counted.Had Washington won, it would have created a 20-20 split in the Senate and effectively handed control to Democrats because of the lieutenant governor’s tiebreaker status.
Denver Riggleman
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) – Nelson County distillery owner Denver Riggleman says he will seek the republican nomination for governor. Riggleman said in a news release late Monday that he wants to break up the “good ole boys system” in Richmond. Riggleman and his wife, Christine, own Silverback Distillery, a craft distillery in the Blue Ridge Mountains.Three candidates other candidates are running on the Republican side. Riggleman will host a campaign kickoff at Silverback Distillery on Saturday.Virginia’s governor, Democrat Terry McAuliffe, is barred from running again because of term limits.
I-81 Botetourt County (State Police photo)
UPDATED Monday AM: Virginia State Police responded to more than 770 traffic crashes and aided more than 1,230 disabled vehicles statewide during this weekend’s snow storm. State Police have only investigated one reported traffic fatality, one that occurred in Greene County , and the majority of crashes involved only damaged vehicles. State Police say they also received nearly 4,000 calls for service during that time. In the Salem Division, which covers the Roanoke and Blacksburg area, there were a total of 132 crashes and 119 disabled vehicles.
The big danger Monday is icy roadways, often in places you cannot easily see. But a warming trend begins tomorrow. WFIR’s Evan Jones has more.
(Airport photo)
Roanoke and Blacksburg Regional Airport officials say a second non-stop flight to and from New York City is part of a much larger goal to expand the area’s flights and destinations. American Airlines adds the new service today, along with new non-stop service to LaGuardia on weekends. More from WFIR’s Evan Jones.
