Latest Virginia Headlines

All the headlines from our Virginia Topic Page, ordered by recency.

W. Va. Woman Pleads Guilty to Committing Insurance Fraud

Jun 20 2007 // West Virginia Insurance Commissioner, Jane L. Cline, announced that Kelly Cain pleaded guilty earlier this month to one felony count and one misdemeanor count of insurance fraud. Cain, 27, of Shinnston, admitted June 14...

W. Va. Woman Jailed for Committing Workers’ Compensation Fraud

Jun 13 2007 // An Upshur County woman was sentenced to serve time in a West Virgina correctional facility after pleading guilty to worker’s compensation insurance fraud. Stacie L. McLean, age 34 of Buckhannon, W. Va., pleaded...

W. Va. Judge Seals Records in Medical Malpractice Case

Jun 13 2007 // Legal documents in the numerous lawsuits filed against a former Putnam County General Hospital osteopath have been placed off limits by a West Virginia judge overseeing the cases. Putnam County Circuit Judge O.C. Spaulding...

State Farm to Send $16.5 Million Back to W.Va. Auto Policyholders

Jun 11 2007 // West Virginia Auto owners insured through State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. will get a break on their premiums again this year. The amount of the reduction will vary, but the average savings equals $47. State...

Today is ‘Distracted Driving Awareness Day’ in Virginia

Jun 6 2007 // AAA Mid-Atlantic and Drive Smart Virginia, along with the insurance industry and other partners, are calling on Virginians to take action today on Distracted Driving Awareness Day and make a pledge to pay attention while...

W. Va. Mine Safety Chief Worries About Shortage of Inspectors

Jun 5 2007 // West Virginia is looking for a few good mine inspectors, but the state’s safety chief doesn’t know where they’ll come from. Ron Wooten, director of the state Office of Miners’ Health Safety and...

W. Va. Woman Pleads Guilty to Insurance Fraud Charges

Jun 5 2007 // Andrea R. Renquest pleaded guilty in Harrison County, W. Va. to one felony count and one misdemeanor count of insurance fraud. Renquest, 23, of Clarksburg, W. Va., admitted May 29 that she obtained a controlled substance...

Marshall Joins Iroquois Group as Md.-Va.-D.C. Regional Manager

May 30 2007 // The Iroquois Group reported that Erin M. Marshall has joined Iroquois as a regional manager to serve member agents in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. Marshall has almost 20 years experience in property and...

Deputy Marshal in W.Va. Sues Zicam Maker Over Loss of Smell

May 23 2007 // A deputy U.S. marshal from Putnam County is suing the maker of a popular cold remedy, saying it caused him to lose his sense of smell, which is critical to his line of work. William L. Seckman, 42, who works in and around...

County Indicts West Virginia Woman on Workers’ Comp Fraud

May 22 2007 // The Raleigh County, W. Va. Prosecutor’s Office indicted a Raleigh County resident on one felony count of wrongfully seeking workers’ compensation benefits. Angel M. Delung, 34, of Shady Springs, allegedly filed...

West Va.’s Summit Financial Acquires Kelley Agencies of Va.

May 21 2007 // West Virginia-based Summit Financial Group, Inc. has agreed to acquire Kelly Insurance Agency, Inc. and Kelly Property and Casualty Inc. headquartered in Leesburg, Virginia for $6.2 million in stock. The acquisition of the...

Security Again in Focus After 2nd Vehicle Mars W. Va. Capitol Complex

May 21 2007 // The second vehicle crash on the pedestrian-only campus of the West Virginia Capitol Complex is probably not going to prove as costly to repair as one that occurred in March, state officials said. Robert Davis, 76,...

W. Va. Extends State of Emergency Due to April Floods

May 18 2007 // Gov. Joe Manchin extended the state of emergency he declared April 15 in response to flooding, landslides, mudslides, heavy rain and high winds that affected 18 West Virginia counties between April 14 and April 18. The 18...

W. Va.: Massey Energy Hit with Lawsuit, Alleging Clean Water Act Violations

May 15 2007 // West Virginia coal producer Massey Energy Co. and its subsidiaries have illegally poured pollutants into West Virginia and Kentucky waterways 4,633 times within the last six years, federal prosecutors allege in a case...

Eleven West Virginia Counties Added to Federal Disaster List

May 14 2007 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency has added 11 West Virginia counties to an earlier disaster declaration by President Bush stemming from last month’s flooding. The additional counties that can seek federal...

U.S. Officials: Lightning Likely Cause of Deadly W. Va. Sago Mine Blast

May 11 2007 // One or more lightning strikes likely caused an electrical current in a cable left deep inside the Sago Mine and touched off the methane blast blamed for the deaths of 12 coal miners last year, the federal Mine Safety and...

Auto Safety Backfires at NASCAR, Says Professor

May 11 2007 // A West Virginia University professor who examined 21 years of NASCAR accident reports and made a comparison to introductions of safety requirements, has concluded that more safety regulations in the popular sport has led...

Feds to Unveil Conclusions on W. Va. Sago Mine Disaster

May 10 2007 // Federal investigators will issue their report Wednesday on the Sago Mine disaster, which killed 12 West Virginia coal miners in a January 2006 explosion and prolonged entrapment underground. Mine Safety and Health...

W. Va. Man Arrested on Insurance Fraud Charges

May 9 2007 // A Raleigh County was arrested May 4 and charged with first degree arson and insurance fraud after allegedly setting fire to his former residence. Andrew B. Halstead, 51, and currently of Prosperity, allegedly burned down...

Audits Target W. Va. Workers Comp Writer BrickSreet’s Transition Spending

May 9 2007 // West Virginia egislators fielded two audits this week questioning $3.5 million spent by the state workers’ compensation program before it became the BrickStreet Mutual Insurance Co. last year. But BrickStreet...