Latest Virginia Headlines
All the headlines from our Virginia Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Court Says Facebook ‘Like’ Is Protected Speech for Employees
Sep 18 2013 // Using Facebook Inc.’s “Like” feature to show support for a candidate in an election is speech protected under the U.S. Constitution, a federal appeals court said, handing a victory to the social...
Officials Defend Safety of West Virginia Bridges After AP Report
Sep 17 2013 // State highway officials say West Virginia’s bridges are safe despite dozens that are both in disrepair and at risk of collapse if hit hard enough in the wrong place. An Associated Press review of federal records...
West Virginia Supreme Court Upholds Dismissal of Massey Investor Suit
Sep 16 2013 // The state Supreme Court has denied a bid by institutional shareholders in the former Massey Energy Co. to revive a lawsuit they filed two weeks after the Upper Big Branch mine disaster. In an order released Friday, the...
West Virginia’s $50M Insurance Costs Driven by Storm, Prisoner Settlements
Sep 13 2013 // A major storm and settlements of inmate lawsuits contributed to a nearly $20 million increase in the West Virginia Board of Risk and Insurance Management’s claims expenses. The agency’s annual report shows that...
West Virginia Municipalities Eye Lien on Insurance Payments to Combat Blight
Sep 10 2013 // Municipalities in West Virginia are asking lawmakers for help in their battle against blight. A resolution endorsed by the West Virginia Municipal League earlier this year at its annual conference seeks an amendment to the...
9/11 Responders Far From NYC Seek Compensation
Sep 9 2013 // They weren’t exposed to anywhere near the same level of ash, grit and fumes, but emergency workers who rushed to the Pentagon and the Pennsylvania countryside on 9/11 are signing up for the same compensation and...
West Virginia Supreme Court Weighs Municipal Liability for Dog Attack Death
Sep 9 2013 // The state Supreme Court has been asked to decide whether the Monroe County Commission and a dog warden are responsible for the 2009 death of a man who was attacked by neighborhood dogs. The justices heard arguments last...
West Virginia Court Caseload Drop Tied to Workers’ Comp Reform
Sep 9 2013 // The number of filings in the state Supreme Court was the lowest in more than 25 years in 2012, according to a report presented to West Virginia lawmakers. The report by court clerk Rory Perry says there were 1,524 cases...
Google Tests Self-Driving Car at Virginia Tech
Sep 5 2013 // Google is working with Virginia Tech researchers to bring its vision of cars that can drive themselves one step closer to reality. The technology company spent the past month in Blacksburg testing one of its self-driving...
West Virginia Family Sues Over Accident Photo
Sep 4 2013 // The family of a Rainelle, West Virginia man who died in a traffic accident is suing an ambulance company and an emergency medical technician for allegedly circulating photos of the victim’s corpse. The lawsuit in...
Investors Ask West Virginia Supreme Court to Reopen Case Against Massey
Sep 4 2013 // Institutional shareholders in the former Massey Energy Co. want the state Supreme Court to revive a lawsuit they filed two weeks after the Upper Big Branch mine disaster. Lawyers for the California State Teachers’...
West Virginia Says Resort Owner’s Illegal Dam Is Flood Hazard
Aug 29 2013 // Billionaire coal company and resort owner Jim Justice is in a war of words with the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection over an illegally built dam at a gated golf course community, a 17-foot-high...
West Virginia Coal Contractor Charged in Workers’ Comp Scheme
Aug 23 2013 // A southern West Virginia coal company contractor has been charged with conspiring to defraud the federal government. Aracoma Contracting LLC of Williamson is accused of structuring cash withdrawals in increments of $10,000...
Former Virginia Agency Owner Pleads Guilty to Insurance Fraud
Aug 22 2013 // A former Virginia insurance agent, who also owned her own insurance agency in Cumberland County, Va., will spend the next five years on supervised probation after pleading guilty to felony charges. She will also pay more...
West Virginia Report Says Fracking No Threat to Air Quality
Aug 22 2013 // A state study says no new rules are needed to protect West Virginia’s air quality from natural gas drilling. State lawmakers were presented with the study’s results during an interim committee meeting this...
West Virginia High Court Caseload Drop Tied to Workers’ Comp Reform
Aug 21 2013 // The number of filings in the state Supreme Court reached its lowest level in more than 25 years in 2012, according to a report presented to West Virginia lawmakers. The report by court clerk Rory Perry says there were...
Markel Ventures Acquires Eagle Construction in Virginia
Aug 16 2013 // Markel Ventures Inc. and Eagle Construction of VA LLC announced that Markel has acquired Eagle Construction and its affiliated entities. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Markel Ventures is a Markel Corp....
Travelers, Virginia Tech Transportation Institute Discuss Top Trends in Trucking
Aug 15 2013 // The Travelers Companies Inc. and the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) recently co-hosted a symposium where research on some of the top concerns of the trucking industry was discussed with fleet managers and...
West Virginia Pays $75K to Settle Single-Sex Classroom Complaint
Aug 9 2013 // The West Virginia Board of Risk and Insurance Management paid $75,000 to resolve a lawsuit that challenged single-sex classrooms in Wood County. Board executive director Chuck Jones revealed the amount in response to a...
West Virginia University Initiative Cuts Workers’ Comp Costs
Aug 6 2013 // West Virginia University has reduced its workers’ compensation costs by about $600,000 and is looking for more ways to save money. WVU Office of Risk Management head Mike Ganso tells The Dominion Post that the effort...
