Latest Virginia Headlines
All the headlines from our Virginia Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Ex-Mine Chief Pleads Guilty in West Virginia Blast
Mar 30 2012 // The former superintendent of the West Virginia mine where 29 workers died in a 2010 explosion pleaded guilty on Thursday to a federal conspiracy charge that he tipped off employees to safety inspections. Gary May, 43, is...
Judge Won’t Dismiss Massey Shareholder Suit Over Safety
Mar 30 2012 // A federal judge refused Wednesday to dismiss a lawsuit by former Massey Energy shareholders who say they were deliberately misled about the company’s safety record before the Upper Big Branch mine disaster in West...
Regulators Say West Virginia Mines Warned of Inspectors
Mar 30 2012 // Three times in a month, regulators have caught West Virginia coal companies illegally warning miners that federal inspectors were onsite. Mine Safety and Health Administration director Joe Main says such warnings let...
Aftershocks From 2011 Quake Continue in Virginia
Mar 29 2012 // Virginia continues to experience aftershocks from last summer’s earthquake. The U.S. Geological Survey says a 3.1-magnitude aftershock occurred at 11:21 p.m. Sunday, March 25, some 8 miles south of Louisa and 8 miles...
Va. Police: Social-Media Policy Is Part of ‘Virtual Character Check’
Mar 29 2012 // Recent reports that some employers are asking job applicants for access to their social networks during the hiring process have raised questions about the legal liability of such practice. This growing controversy is also...
Virginia AG Cuccinelli Upbeat After Health Care Hearing
Mar 29 2012 // Virginia’s attorney general was in an upbeat mood Tuesday after listening to the U.S. Supreme Court’s arguments on the key provision in President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul — a requirement...
Virginia Insurance Fraud Arrests Going Up
Mar 28 2012 // The Virginia State Police insurance fraud program just released their 2011 annual report, which shows the number of arrests for insurance fraud and other related crimes, such as arson and forgery, is continuing to increase...
U.S. Supreme Court Upholds West Virginia Law on Arbitration in Nursing Home Cases
Mar 26 2012 // The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld a West Virginia law that allows nursing homes to use pre-dispute arbitration agreements with residents that prevent them from suing in medical malpractice cases. In a recent case, [Marmet...
Company Pleads Not Guilty in Virginia to $670M Fraud
Mar 20 2012 // A Costa Rican company accused of a $670 million insurance fraud scheme has pleaded not guilty in federal court in Richmond, Va. Defense attorney John Russell entered the plea Monday on behalf of Provident Capital Indemnity...
Va. Woman Faces Maximum of 303 Years in Prison for Healthcare Fraud
Mar 19 2012 // A Richmond, Virginia, woman has been convicted on 35 counts of health care fraud and other charges. Federal prosecutors say a U.S. District Court jury found 49-yar-old Veronica Sharon Cunningham guilty last Thursday after...
West Virginia Passes Mine Safety Measure
Mar 19 2012 // West Virginia will update its mine safety laws in the wake of the worst U.S. coal mining disaster in four decades. The House of Delegates sent the measure to Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin, who proposed the legislation. Delegates...
Global Warming Litigation Ruling in Favor of Insurers Vacated
Mar 19 2012 // What Does This Mean? As if times weren’t uncertain enough, the Virginia Supreme Court issued a ruling on Jan. 17, 2012, vacating its Sept. 16, 2011, opinion in Steadfast Insurance Co. v. The AES Corp. and granting a...
Marsh & McLennan Agency Acquires KSPH in Virginia
Mar 13 2012 // Marsh & McLennan Agency, a unit of Marsh Inc. acquired KSPH, a $5 million revenue employee benefits agency in Glen Allen, Va. Launched in 2000, KSPH offers employee benefits and retirement plan services to middle...
West Virginia Passes Ban on Texting While Driving
Mar 13 2012 // West Virginia lawmakers ended their 60-day legislative session over the weekend by passing agreements on fighting methamphetamine labs and targeting distracted drivers. A unanimous Senate vote and an 80-8 vote in the House...
Judge Combines West Virginia Slurry Pollution Cases
Mar 12 2012 // The claims of hundreds of Boone County residents who blame coal companies for contaminating their water supplies will be heard in a single trial, a judge ruled last week. Circuit Judge William Thompson issued an order...
Lawmaker Halts Effort to Ease West Virginia Motorcycle Helmet Law
Mar 8 2012 // Efforts to ease West Virginia’s motorcycle helmet law have been stopped short by the bill’s advocate, who pledged to fight for legislation making helmets optional next year. The Senate Transportation committee...
West Virginia Lawmakers Pass Mine Safety Measure
Mar 8 2012 // West Virginia will update its mine safety laws in the wake of the worst U.S. coal mining disaster in four decades. The House of Delegates sent the measure to Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin. Delegates approved several changes made...
Virginia Man Pleads Guilty to Faking Death for $750K Insurance Payment
Mar 7 2012 // A Lunenberg man has pleaded guilty to trying to fake his death to receive a $750,000 life insurance payment. U.S. Attorney Neil MacBride says 38-year-old Jamie Dwayne Long pleaded guilty Monday to mail fraud. Long bought...
More in West Virginia Accept Flood Property Buyouts
Mar 6 2012 // Another 33 property owners in a flood-prone Berkeley County, West Virginia community have agreed to government buyouts. The buyouts will give the county title to a total 116 parcels in Sportsman’s Paradise along the...
West Virginia Safety Bill Responds to Upper Big Branch Tragedy
Mar 1 2012 // A father crushed in a roof fall. A former schoolmate suffocated by poisoned air. Sharing stories of loved ones and friends killed in West Virginia’s coal mines, a unanimous House of Delegates passed safety...
