Latest Virginia Headlines
All the headlines from our Virginia Topic Page, ordered by recency.
West Virginia One Step Closer to Legalizing Medical Marijuana
Apr 6 2017 // West Virginia’s House voted Tuesday to legalize doctor-prescribed marijuana to treat certain medical conditions following Senate passage of a similar measure last week. The bills approved 76-24 by the House and 28-6...
Virginia Bureau Names Blauvelt Deputy Commissioner of Life and Health Division
Apr 4 2017 // The State Corporation Commission’s Bureau of Insurance (Bureau) in Virginia has named Julie S. Blauvelt deputy commissioner of its Life and Health Division. In this capacity, she oversees a staff that reviews...
West Virginia House Passes Bill to Aid Opioid Addiction Treatment Facilities
Mar 31 2017 // The number of beds available at state-run substance abuse treatment facilities would increase in drug-ravaged West Virginia under a bill passed Wednesday by the House. The bill passed on a 99-0 vote. It now moves to the...
Virginia Governor Signs Bill Giving $1.55M to Exonerated Man
Mar 22 2017 // Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe has signed a bill to provide $1.55 million to a man who spent more than three decades in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. Keith Allen Harward was released from prison in April 2016...
Police Investigate Alabama Mosque Burglaries
Mar 21 2017 // Authorities are trying to determine whether a series of break-ins at mosques in Alabama might be linked to a similar case in Virginia based partly on similarities shown in surveillance photos, officials said Friday. Images...
Insurance Agency Manager McVey Named West Virginia Insurance Commissioner
Mar 20 2017 // West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, who was elected this past November, has appointed BB&T Insurance Agency Manager Allan L. McVey to serve as West Virginia’s Insurance Commissioner, effective April 1. McVey has been...
West Virginia Overdose Deaths Up 13% in 2016
Mar 17 2017 // Fatal drug overdoses in West Virginia continued to rise last year and its overdose death rate still far outpaces any other state in the country. A Feb. 13 analysis by the West Virginia Health Statistics Center shows at...
Dummies Taking Hits for Drone Safety
Mar 16 2017 // Hank sat impassively on a Virginia Tech athletic field, ready to take it on the chin for the future of drone commerce. About 30 yards away, an eight-rotor unmanned copter hovered, buzzing like a swarm of bees. The 21-pound...
Parts of West Virginia Under Winter Storm Warning
Mar 14 2017 // Warnings have been posted in much of West Virginia for up to a foot of snow from a late-season storm. The National Weather Service said snow was expected to start Monday night and last in some places through early...
Six Arrested in $900K Insurance Fraud Scheme Involving 30 Virginia Fires
Mar 13 2017 // Virginia prosecutors say six people have been arrested for their alleged roles in an insurance fraud scheme that involved setting 30 fires. Federal prosecutors say the defendants over the course of 16 years set fire to...
West Virginia Attorney General Settles with Car Dealer
Mar 13 2017 // West Virginia’s attorney general has reached a court settlement with a Cabell County used car dealer requiring he stand behind warranties, post unaltered buyer’s guides and ensure each vehicle sold will pass...
Eight Accused of Staging Accidents in Northern West Virginia
Mar 13 2017 // Eight northern West Virginia residents have been indicted on charges that they staged vehicle accidents in order to file false insurance claims. Prosecutors say the eight were indicted Tuesday on mail fraud charges in...
New DEA Program Targets West Virginia Opioid Traffickers
Mar 6 2017 // The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will spend $500,000 on a program that aims to curb prescription drug and heroin abuse across the state. DEA special Agent Karl Colder tells the Charleston Gazette-Mail the project,...
Death of West Virginia Miner Under Investigation
Mar 3 2017 // Authorities are investigating a miner’s death in McDowell County, W. Va., at an operation owned by Gov. Jim Justice. Patrick Graham, vice president for Southern Coal Corp., says a worker at its Bishop Preparation...
Insurance Agency Manager McVey Named West Virginia Insurance Commissioner
Mar 2 2017 // West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, who was elected this past November, has appointed BB&T Insurance Agency Manager Allan L. McVey to serve as West Virginia’s Insurance Commissioner, effective April 1. McVey has been...
Federal Appeals Court Rejects Blankenship Appeal Over West Virginia Mine Blast
Mar 1 2017 // A federal appeals court has refused to rehear the case of former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship in the deadliest U.S. mine disaster in four decades. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals handed down the order Friday. In...
Wrongfully Imprisoned Man Could Get $1.55M from Virginia
Feb 24 2017 // A man who spent more than three decades in prison for a crime he didn’t commit could be getting $1.55 million from the state of Virginia. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that a bill to provide compensation to...
Markel Corporation Names Dillon Underwriting Assurance Director in Virginia
Feb 21 2017 // Markel Corporation, a financial holding company headquartered in Richmond, Va., has named Ashley Dillon underwriting assurance director on the product line leadership team. Dillon is located in Markel’s headquarters...
Virginia Assembly Passes Bill to Prevent Identity Theft
Feb 21 2017 // A bill that seeks to protect Virginians from losing their income tax refunds to identity thieves won final approval Wednesday in the General Assembly. The bill’s sponsor, Del. Mark Keam, D-Vienna, said thieves can...
New West Virginia Town Files Suit Against Drug Wholesalers Over Opioid Abuse
Feb 17 2017 // A southern West Virginia town has joined other communities in seeking to recoup the costs of dealing with opioid abuse. The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports the McDowell County town of Welch filed a lawsuit Monday against...
