Latest Virginia Headlines

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

Former Massey CEO Requests Dismissal of Charges from West Virginia Mine Explosion

Feb 10 2015 // A former coal company executive is seeking the dismissal of charges stemming from a 2010 mine explosion that killed 29 workers in West Virginia. Don Blankenship, former chief executive officer of Massey Energy, also has...

Ex-Owner of West Virginia Chemical Co. Responsible for Spill Requests Trial Delay

Feb 6 2015 // The former owner of a chemical company that fouled drinking water used by hundreds of thousands of West Virginia residents wants his trial delayed. Attorneys for Charles Herzing cite the heft of documents they must review...

Geico Goes End-to-End with Virginia Ridesharing Product

Feb 5 2015 // In a continuation of the encouraging trend of personal insurers embracing innovation as a way to deal with the increased popularity of “sharing economy” services, auto insurance giant Geico has announced it...

GEICO Launches Ridesharing Coverage in Virginia

Feb 4 2015 // GEICO has rolled out a new product to meet the insurance coverage needs of ridesharing drivers in Virginia. The product, available now to new and existing customers, covers drivers that Uber (UberX and UberXL), Lyft,...

West Virginia Regulators Propose Fees for High-Risk Storage Tanks

Feb 2 2015 // State environmental regulators in West Virginia say the highest-risk above ground storage tanks could face a $375 annual fee in a law to protect water supplies. Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Randy...

Water Being Restored in West Virginia Town Affected by Diesel Spill

Jan 29 2015 // Officials in southeastern West Virginia began turning the water back on Monday evening for about 12,000 Lewisburg area residents who lost service after a diesel fuel spill. The Bureau of Public Health notified the city it...

Diesel Fuel Spill in West Virginia Leaves 12,000 Residents, Businesses without Water

Jan 28 2015 // Schools, restaurants and businesses in the Lewisburg, West Virginia area were closed Monday and about 12,000 people were without water following a diesel fuel spill that prompted a shutdown of the city’s treatment...

New Charge Filed for Ex-President of Company Behind West Virginia Chemical Spill

Jan 26 2015 // A former Freedom Industries executive charged in a West Virginia chemical spill is facing a new federal fraud charge stemming from the company’s bankruptcy. A federal grand jury in Beckley handed up a superseding...

Report: Storage Tanks Pose Risks to West Virginia Water

Jan 21 2015 // Drinking water sources in West Virginia are at risk of contamination from more than 20,000 aboveground storage tanks that are located beyond an area where extra safeguards are required, according to a report released last...

Storm Slickens Virginia Roads, Troopers Respond to 344 Wrecks

Jan 16 2015 // Virginia State Police report more than 300 wrecks across the state due to roads slickened by a winter storm. State police spokeswoman Corinne Geller says no injuries were reported in a majority of the wrecks. Geller says...

West Virginia Judge Dismisses Parts Suit Against Body Shop, Liberty Mutual

Jan 16 2015 // A Kanawha County, W. Va., judge has dismissed a lawsuit that accused a St. Albans body shop owner of illegally installing junkyard parts on new vehicles. Former Attorney General Darrell McGraw filed the lawsuit in 2011...

West Virginia’s City National Bank Sells Insurance Operations

Jan 15 2015 // City National Bank, headquartered in Charleston, W. Va., has sold its insurance operations, CityInsurance, to Richmond, Va.-based The Hilb Group. City National’s parent, City Holding Co., said the sale was effective...

Virginia Judge Orders New Trial on Damages in Coal Contract Dispute

Jan 14 2015 // A Virginia judge has ordered a new trial on damages in a coal contract dispute between Massey Energy and the owner of three defunct coal companies. In May 2014, a jury in Buchanan County, Virginia, awarded $4 million to...

3 Executives Charged in West Virginia Chemical Spill Plead Not Guilty

Jan 14 2015 // Three executives charged in last January’s West Virginia chemical spill have pleaded not guilty in federal court. The pleas came a day after an FBI affidavit was unsealed, saying Freedom Industries knew about...

Report: West Virginia Chemical Spill Company Aware of Defects

Jan 12 2015 // A West Virginia attorney general report says the company behind last January’s chemical spill knew of its facility’s defects for years. The report by Attorney General Patrick Morrisey office says that a 2010...

West Virginia Chemical Spill Posed Inhalation Risk: Study

Jan 9 2015 // Federal health officials overlooked risks of inhaling the licorice-scented fumes of a chemical that spilled into West Virginia’s biggest water supply last January, according to a study. The research by a Purdue...

Massey CEO Wins Delay of Criminal Trial Until April

Jan 6 2015 // Ex-Massey Energy chief Donald Blankenship won an almost three-month delay of his trial, scheduled to begin later this month, on federal charges tied to a fatal 2010 mine explosion that was the worst U.S. coal industry...

Andrew Agency Acquires Assurance Associates, Bradshaw Agency in Va.

Jan 5 2015 // The Andrew Agency, an independent insurance agency in Richmond, Virginia, announced it has acquired Assurance Associates and The Bradshaw Agency, two retail agencies also based in Richmond. Terms of the transactions were...

West Virginia Schedules Storage Tank Regulation Hearing

Jan 5 2015 // West Virginia regulators are taking public comment and holding a hearing on a proposed rule that regulates aboveground storage tanks. The Department of Environmental Protection has opened comment on the proposed rule...

West Virginia Resident Sues DuPont Over Drinking Water

Jan 1 2015 // A West Virginia man has filed suit against chemical company DuPont for contaminating his home’s drinking water. Fifty-two-year-old Scott Chapman of Letart sued DuPont in West Virginia federal court last...