Latest Virginia Headlines
All the headlines from our Virginia Topic Page, ordered by recency.
3 Executives Charged in West Virginia Chemical Spill Plead Not Guilty
Jan 14 2015 // Three executives charged in last January’s West Virginia chemical spill have pleaded not guilty in federal court. The pleas came a day after an FBI affidavit was unsealed, saying Freedom Industries knew about...
Report: West Virginia Chemical Spill Company Aware of Defects
Jan 12 2015 // A West Virginia attorney general report says the company behind last January’s chemical spill knew of its facility’s defects for years. The report by Attorney General Patrick Morrisey office says that a 2010...
West Virginia Chemical Spill Posed Inhalation Risk: Study
Jan 9 2015 // Federal health officials overlooked risks of inhaling the licorice-scented fumes of a chemical that spilled into West Virginia’s biggest water supply last January, according to a study. The research by a Purdue...
Massey CEO Wins Delay of Criminal Trial Until April
Jan 6 2015 // Ex-Massey Energy chief Donald Blankenship won an almost three-month delay of his trial, scheduled to begin later this month, on federal charges tied to a fatal 2010 mine explosion that was the worst U.S. coal industry...
Andrew Agency Acquires Assurance Associates, Bradshaw Agency in Va.
Jan 5 2015 // The Andrew Agency, an independent insurance agency in Richmond, Virginia, announced it has acquired Assurance Associates and The Bradshaw Agency, two retail agencies also based in Richmond. Terms of the transactions were...
West Virginia Schedules Storage Tank Regulation Hearing
Jan 5 2015 // West Virginia regulators are taking public comment and holding a hearing on a proposed rule that regulates aboveground storage tanks. The Department of Environmental Protection has opened comment on the proposed rule...
West Virginia Resident Sues DuPont Over Drinking Water
Jan 1 2015 // A West Virginia man has filed suit against chemical company DuPont for contaminating his home’s drinking water. Fifty-two-year-old Scott Chapman of Letart sued DuPont in West Virginia federal court last...
West Virginia Insurance Board Director Jones Retires
Dec 30 2014 // The executive director of the West Virginia Board of Risk and Insurance Management is stepping down this week. Chuck Jones will retire on Wednesday, which will be his 68th birthday. Jones has served as executive director...
More Inspections, Fewer Mines Result in Lowest Number of Miner Deaths
Dec 30 2014 // Less than five years after an explosion fueled by excess coal dust killed 29 men deep inside a West Virginia underground mine, the nation’s coal mines are on pace for an all-time low in work-related deaths. Federal...
West Virginia Fire Commission Appoints New State Fire Marshal
Dec 23 2014 // The West Virginia Fire Commission has appointed a Charleston firefighter as state fire marshal. Charleston Fire Department Capt. Ken Tyree will replace Tony Carrico, who is leaving the position at the end of the...
AssuredPartners Acquires Sheehan Insurance in Virginia
Dec 23 2014 // AssuredPartners Inc. has acquired the business and assets of Sheehan Insurance Group. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. As part of the acquisition 22 employees will join AssuredPartners. Sheehan Insurance Group...
All Risks Hires Branson as Personal Line VP in Virginia
Dec 22 2014 // All Risks Ltd., an independent wholesaler based in Hunt Valley, Maryland, has hired Lee Branson as vice president of Personal Lines division. Branson will be responsible for All Risks’ nationwide personal insurance...
West Virginia Jury Awards $325K in Elder Abuse Case
Dec 21 2014 // A Monroe County, West Virginia jury has ordered a woman to pay $325,000 in damages in an elder abuse case. The circuit court jury found Betty B. Brown liable for fraud, conversion, unjust enrichment and breach of fiduciary...
Executives in West Virginia Chemical Spill Facing Criminal Charges
Dec 19 2014 // When state inspectors arrived at Freedom Industries asking about a licorice smell enveloping West Virginia’s capital city, the point person at the tank farm, Dennis P. Farrell, told them he knew nothing about a...
West Virginia Meatloaf Deaths Lawsuit Goes to Federal Court
Dec 16 2014 // A lawsuit blaming a restaurant’s meatloaf for the deaths of a former West Virginia state lawmaker and her husband is moving to federal court. In October, former Delegate Virginia Starcher’s family filed the...
Virginia Joins Whistle-Blower Suit Against Guardrail Maker
Dec 11 2014 // Virginia joined a whistle-blower lawsuit against Trinity Industries Inc. over an allegedly defective guardrail system, becoming the first state to say it will seek to claw back money spent on the company’s roadside...
Fewer Workers Hurt on the Job Last Year in Virginia
Dec 10 2014 // A federal study shows the rate of workplace injuries dropped last year in Virginia and remained below the national average. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Dec. 4 that for every 100 full-time workers in private...
Exec in West Virginia Chemical Spill Charged with Lying About Role
Dec 10 2014 // A West Virginia executive faces charges of lying to protect his personal wealth from lawsuits after his company spilled chemicals into 300,000 people’s water supply in January, according to a criminal complaint...
West Virginia Fire Marshal Resigns
Dec 10 2014 // West Virginia State Fire Marshal Anthony Wayne Carrico will be leaving his post at the end of the year. The West Virginia Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety said Carrico has accepted a position as a...
University of Virginia Fraternities to Be Reinstated Jan. 9
Dec 9 2014 // The University of Virginia will lift a ban on its more than 30 fraternities and related activities, in place since Nov. 22, on Jan. 9, President Teresa A. Sullivan said. The reinstatement will be in conjunction with a new...
