Latest Virginia Headlines
All the headlines from our Virginia Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Ratings: Safety Group, Virginia Farm, New Mexico Casualty, Mennonite Mutual
Mar 27 2014 // A.M. Best has upgraded the issuer credit ratings (ICR) to “a+” from “a” and affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A’ (Excellent) for the subsidiaries of Safety Insurance Group,...
West Virginia Enacts Bill Protecting Pregnant Women in Workplace
Mar 27 2014 // West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin has approved a measure to help accommodate pregnant women in the workplace. The Pregnant Workers’ Fairness Act allows employees to request modified duties and other accommodations...
West Virginia Landlord Sued Over Fire That Killed 9
Mar 27 2014 // Relatives of three victims have filed lawsuits against the owner of a property where a house fire killed seven children and two adults in 2012. The lawsuits allege that the property’s owner, Delores Shamblin of...
In Virginia, Over 20K People May See Flood Insurance Rate Hikes of Up to 25%
Mar 26 2014 // More than 20,000 Virginia homeowners and businesses could see their rates for flood insurance rise up to 25 percent as part of an attempt to put the troubled National Flood Insurance Program back on sound financial...
Could ‘Missing Number 1321’ on Subsidies Derail Affordable Care Act?
Mar 25 2014 // If President Barack Obama’s signature health-care law unravels, it could be for want of a single number in crucial passages of the 2,409-page statute. The missing number, 1321, refers to a section of the Patient...
Virginia Police Responded to More Than 350 Wrecks After Latest Winter Storm
Mar 19 2014 // Virginia State Police say troopers have responded to more than 350 wrecks since a winter storm hit the state. State police spokeswoman Corinne Geller says troopers also responded to 228 disabled vehicles between 12:01 a.m....
West Virginia Spill Firm CEO Seeks Paycheck, Insurance Cover for Legal Fees
Mar 19 2014 // The president of the company that spilled chemicals into 300,000 West Virginians’ water supply wants to get paid for work during bankruptcy proceedings. In court documents Saturday, Freedom Industries President Gary...
West Virginia Pipeline Blast in 2012 Blamed on Corrosion
Mar 12 2014 // Severe corrosion caused a 2012 natural gas pipeline rupture and explosion in West Virginia that destroyed three houses and cooked a stretch of Interstate 77, and the incident likely could have been prevented if the...
West Virginia Lawmakers OK Chemical Spill Bill As Session Ends
Mar 11 2014 // Leading up to a midnight deadline, West Virginia lawmakers scrambled Saturday to give teachers raises and hike the minimum wage. A Jan. 9 chemical spill into the water supply loomed over the session, which began three days...
West Virginia Private Flood Insurance Bill Awaits Governor’s OK
Mar 10 2014 // The West Virginia House last Friday in a 86-8 vote passed a bill authorizing private insurers to sell flood insurance and setting out guidelines for regulation of the policies. The bill, SB 621, had previously passed the...
Judge OKs Settlement in Deadly 2010 West Virginia Plant Explosion
Mar 7 2014 // A judge has approved a settlement that resolves federal workplace and environmental civil charges at a plant in Hancock County where an explosion killed three workers in 2010. Under the settlement, metal recycler AL...
West Virginia Supreme Court to Hear Appeal of $91M Nursing Home Verdict
Mar 5 2014 // The West Virginia Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in a $91 million verdict against a Charleston nursing home. The Charleston Gazette reported that the justices will hear Heartland of Charleston’s appeal...
West Virginia Lawmakers Amend Chemical Spill Bill As Session Nears End
Mar 3 2014 // As time ticks away, West Virginia lawmakers are suggesting another face-lift for a bill that would tighten aboveground storage tank regulations and safeguard water systems against chemical spills. The House of Delegates...
Private Flood Insurance Bill Passes West Virginia Senate
Feb 24 2014 // A bill to create a private flood insurance option in West Virginia has passed unanimously in the Senate. Sen. Rocky Fitzsimmons said his bill provides residents with more flood insurance options and would help lower...
Damages Allowed Over Insurer’s Refusal to Defend West Virginia Man
Feb 24 2014 // A former Wyoming County (West Virginia) Council on Aging director can recover damages for aggravation and inconvenience from an insurance company that refused to represent him when the state sued him, a federal appeals...
Gay Marriage Battle Headed to Federal Courts
Feb 18 2014 // The overturning of Virginia’s gay marriage ban places the legal fight over same-sex unions increasingly in the hands of federal appeals courts shaped by President Barack Obama’s two election...
West Virginia Bill Would Authorize Sale of Private Flood Insurance
Feb 18 2014 // West Virginia state Senator Rocky Fitzsimmons (D-Ohio) has introduced a bill that would authorize private insurers to offer flood insurance in West Virginia. Since federal law changes in 2012, some West Virginians have...
In Virginia, 74,000-Plus Enrolled in Health Plans Through Insurance Marketplace
Feb 18 2014 // More than 74,000 Virginians have enrolled in health plans through the federal insurance marketplace. Figures from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services show that from Oct. 1 through Feb. 1, 28 percent of those...
Federal Judge: Virginia’s Gay-Marriage Ban Unconstitutional
Feb 14 2014 // Virginia’s ban on gay marriage was ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge who said it violated the equal-protection rights of the state’s residents including couples married legally in other states. The...
West Virginia Denied FEMA Grant for Chemical Spill
Feb 14 2014 // Federal officials have denied West Virginia’s request for emergency grants to reimburse first responders, nonprofits and public agencies that assisted during last month’s chemical spill. FEMA said in a letter...
