Latest Virginia Headlines
All the headlines from our Virginia Topic Page, ordered by recency.
West Virginia Lawmakers’ Personal Tragedies Spur Mine Safety Bill
Jan 18 2012 // For two West Virginia lawmakers who lost fathers in coal mining accidents, preventing disasters like the 2010 Upper Big Branch explosion has taken a personal turn with Monday’s introduction of a bipartisan safety...
Virginia Gets $19M in Federal Funding to Fix Storm-Damaged Roads
Jan 13 2012 // Virginia is getting more than $19 million in federal funding to repair roads and bridges damaged by Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced the funding from the Federal...
Report Calls for More Fire Safety Education in West Virginia
Jan 12 2012 // West Virginia suffers from one of the nation’s worst fire-related death rates. That has officials calling for greater public education efforts. But the state Fire Commission has become too short-staffed to provide...
Drunk Driving Arrests Increased in West Virginia in 2011
Jan 12 2012 // The director of the West Virginia Governor’s Highway Safety Program says arrests for driving under the influence increased in the past year, contradicting earlier reports. The Charleston Gazette reported that Highway...
Digital Insurance Buys Va.-based Strategic Employee Benefits Services
Jan 11 2012 // Digital Insurance, an employee benefits agency in Atlanta, acquired Strategic Employee Benefits Services (SEBS) of Virginia. SEBS, which has offices in Richmond, Charlottesville and Roanoke, will now operate under the...
Settlements Reported in West Virginia Mine Blast That Killed 29
Jan 11 2012 // Coal company Alpha Natural Resources has reached settlements with all the families of the miners killed in the worst U.S. mining disaster in four decades, a lawyer for two of the families said on Wednesday. Mark Moreland...
Officials Announce Two Disaster Aid Centers Opening in Virginia
Jan 6 2012 // Federal and state agencies are opening a new disaster recovery center in Spotsylvania County and reopening one in Louisa County in Virginia to assist victims of last year’s earthquake. The Spotsylvania center at 3960...
West Virginia to Study Ways to Reduce $50M in Deer Collisions
Jan 6 2012 // Every year in West Virginia, motorists and insurance companies pay more than $50 million to fix damage caused when vehicles collide with deer. State wildlife and highway officials hope to reduce that total by finding out...
Attempt to Mediate West Virginia Monsanto Suit Fails
Dec 30 2011 // Another attempt to resolve a West Virginia class-action pollution lawsuit against Monsanto Co. has failed. Media outlets report that several hundred plaintiffs attended a court-ordered mediation Tuesday at a Charleston...
Report Says Virginia Drivers Wrongly Charged Under Insurance Law
Dec 27 2011 // Virginia motorists are being ticketed and convicted of a violation that is not a crime under state law: driving without proof of insurance. According to Virginia Lawyers Weekly, court records show that drivers in several...
West Virginia AG Sues Insurer, Auto Repair Shop
Dec 20 2011 // West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw said last week that his office has sued Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and an auto repair shop. The attorney general says the defendants allegedly repaired vehicles with what...
Louisa, Virginia, Quake Victims Advised to Appeal Aid Denials
Dec 19 2011 // Local and federal officials are telling Louisa County earthquake victims to not give up if they’ve been denied federal disaster assistance. Residents who registered for assistance due to the Aug. 23 earthquake can...
City of Brotherly Love Keeps Its Title of Worst ‘Judicial Hellhole’
Dec 15 2011 // The City of Brotherly Love isn’t so lovely when it comes to the civil justice system, at least according to a national tort reform advocacy group. The Washington, D.C.-based American Tort Reform Association is out...
Va.-based IT Firm CSC Launches Insurance Cybersecurity Council
Dec 14 2011 // Virginia-based IT services provider CSC is forming an advisory board to help tackle cyber security issues in the insurance industry. It’s called the Insurance Cybersecurity Advisory Council. The company says the...
Groups Voice Concern Over Virginia Nuke Plant
Dec 14 2011 // Groups concerned about the safety of Dominion’s North Anna Nuclear Power Station are asking federal regulators to reevaluate their decision to allow the plant to restart. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on...
Questions Raised About Federal Probe of West Virginia Mine Blast
Dec 13 2011 // Newly disclosed records show U.S. Labor Department officials stopped independent investigators from questioning how federal regulators handled methane leaks from the floor of the Upper Big Branch mine several times before...
Virginia Regulators Approve Changes to Workers’ Comp Premium Levels
Dec 9 2011 // The Virginia State Corporation Commission approved on Thursday revisions to the premium levels charged for workers’ comp insurance in Virginia. The changes will become effective April 1, 2012, for new and renewal...
$5M in Aid Approved for Louisa County, Virginia, Quake Victims
Dec 7 2011 // Federal disaster aid approved for earthquake-related damage in Louisa County has topped $5 million. Federal and state emergency officials say most of the aid, $5.1 million, was approved for housing expenses such as home...
Firm to Pay $209M Over West Virginia Blast That Killed 29
Dec 7 2011 // Coal miner Alpha Natural Resources has agreed to pay $1.5 million to each of the families of 29 miners killed in an explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia last year. The payments – part of a $209...
Rate of Virginia Workplace Injuries Up in 2010
Dec 5 2011 // The rate of workplace injuries increased in 2010 in Virginia, but still remains below the national rate. The Virginian-Pilot of Norfolk said a state Department of Labor and Industry report released last Thursday shows that...
