Latest Virginia Headlines
All the headlines from our Virginia Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Massey Cited for Serious Violations at West Virginia Mine
Oct 13 2010 // A surprise inspection has turned up serious safety violations that could have caused an explosion at another Massey Energy Co. coal mine in West Virginia, the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration announced last...
West Virginia Mom’s Suit Over Son’s Death Blames Bayer
Oct 7 2010 // The mother of a West Virginia State University student is suing Bayer CropScience and the school over her son’s death in 2008. Portia Gray’s lawsuit claims her 19-year-old son, Ra’Sean Gray, died as a...
West Virginia Fire Station Blaze Ruled an Accident
Oct 6 2010 // Investigators have ruled the blaze that destroyed the Sissonville (West Virginia) Volunteer Fire Department’s main station an accident. Paul Gill, from the state Fire Marshall’s Office, said the blaze started...
Minor Earthquake Hits Virginia
Oct 4 2010 // The U.S. Geological Survey says a minor earthquake has hit Virginia. Dale Grant, a geophysicist with the USGS, said the magnitude 3.0 earthquake happened at 4:17 p.m. Saturday. Its epicenter was about 20 miles north of...
Federal Regulators Taking New Steps to Identify Most Dangerous Mines
Sep 30 2010 // Federal regulators have implemented new measures for identifying the nation’s most dangerous mines, replacing what U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis had called a “badly broken” process. The Mine Health and...
Federal Court to Hear West Virginia Families’ Claims Against DuPont
Sep 29 2010 // A federal court will hear the complaints of 14 West Virginia families who blame illnesses ranging from cancer to rashes on long-term exposure to toxic waste piled up at a former DuPont zinc-smelting plant. Lead plaintiffs...
Massey CEO Accuses Feds of Lying in West Virginia Mine Probe
Sep 23 2010 // The embattled chief executive of Massey Energy has accused federal regulators of not making a genuine effort to investigate the explosion that killed 29 miners and injured two at the company’s Upper Big Branch mine...
Virginia’s Medmarc Appoints New Execs
Sep 22 2010 // Virginia-based specialty insurer Medmarc has promoted several executives as part of a corporate reorganization plan. Chief Underwriting Officer Fran Stockwell will now be responsible for underwriting policy, product...
It Figures
Sep 20 2010 // $8 Billion The cost thus far to BP of dealing with its oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico. BP said that since it capped the well on July 15, it has spent around $90 million a day — in line with the spend rate while the...
Hurricane Earl Proves Kinder, Gentler Than First Feared
Sep 20 2010 // Risk modelers say Hurricane Earl caused very minimal damage as it passed by the East Coast and agents in the hardest hit area of the United States, the Outer Banks of North Carolina, say they have been receiving few...
Declarations
Sep 20 2010 // Kentucky Test Drives “This is primarily set up for kids. There are 300 different driving scenarios we can put somebody through on this. When you put all of that together, it becomes more than a video game. It makes...
Virginia County Goes After Distracted Drivers Who Text
Sep 14 2010 // Yes, it’s illegal to text while driving in Virginia, just as it is in 29 other states. And yes, police see the same things on the roads that all motorists see: distracted drivers paying more attention to their cell...
West Virginia Disability Rate Tied to Bad Habits
Sep 9 2010 // A state lawmaker attributes West Virginia’s high rate of disabled workers to smoking and other poor health habits. Sen. Dan Foster, D-Kanawha, told the Charleston Daily Mail that the state’s high smoking and...
North Carolina Expects Little Insurance Loss from Earl
Sep 8 2010 // Risk modelers say Hurricane Earl caused extremely minimal damage as it passed by the East Coast and agents in the hardest hit area of the United States, the Outer Banks of North Carolina, are receiving few...
Virginia DMV Seeks New Photos of 4,000 Customers
Sep 7 2010 // More than 4,200 Virginians who applied for driver’s licenses or identification cards on Aug. 25 are being asked to return to the Department of Motor Vehicles for a new photograph. Aug. 25 was the day a state...
People
Sep 6 2010 // Aon Consulting has named Shelly Blackstone as vice president of business development in its Richmond, Virginia office. In her new role, Blackstone will develop new products and services clients in Central and Southern...
Business Moves
Sep 6 2010 // Synergy Benefits, Brown & Brown Florida-based Brown & Brown has acquired Virginia-based benefits firm Synergy Benefits Inc. for an undisclosed sum. Synergy, which has annual revenue of approximately $1.2 million,...
West Virginia Firefighter to Plead in Arson Case
Sep 1 2010 // A Nov. 8 plea hearing is set for a former volunteer firefighter accused of setting a blaze in Berkeley County, W. Va., that injured a firefighter from another department. Berkeley County Prosecutor Pamela Games-Neely told...
Virginia DMV Still Unable to Process Licenses
Aug 31 2010 // Virginia’s governmental computer problems aren’t fixed just yet. The Department of Motor Vehicles said yesterday it could not process driver’s licenses and identification cards. The agency is one of 26...
Surprise Inspections at Appalachian Mines Uncover Safety Violations
Aug 27 2010 // Recent surprise inspections show that increased enforcement isn’t preventing U.S. coal mines from continuing to violate safety laws, the federal Mine Safety & Health Administration said. MSHA inspectors found...
