The Virginia House of Delegates passed two bills on Monday changing current laws regarding human trafficking.
The Virginia State Senate passed a bill Tuesday to repeal a law requiring women seeking an abortion to receive a transabdominal ultrasound before undergoing the procedure. The bill is expected to fail in the House of Delegates.
The Albemarle County School Board voted 6-1 last Tuesday to proceed with Superintendent Pam Moran’s $164.28 million funding request. Board members convened to determine if the budget request needed adjustments before sending the proposal to the Board of Supervisors for approval, ultimately deciding to pass Moran’s request in its initial form.
The Virginia Senate passed an ethics reform bill in a 39-1 vote Monday. The bill will limit donations and increase oversight of lobbyists and special interest groups. The bill comes in the wake of a national scandal surrounding former Gov. Bob McDonnell, who was indicted on federal corruption charges Jan. 21.
Charlottesville City Council adopted a “complete streets” resolution earlier this month to ensure future roads will accommodate pedestrians, cyclists and tree-lined roadways. “[The new policy will] ensure that transportation infrastructure investments support the making of an attractive, healthy, and safe, walkable and bike-able Charlottesville,” according to Council’s agenda.
The Virginia Senate unanimously passed a bill titled SB 260 Monday which will reform the mental health system in Virginia. The bill was introduced last month by Senator Creigh Deeds following the tragic incident in which his son, Gus Deeds, attacked and stabbed the senator, before taking his own life.
Third-year College student Elizabeth Minneman, the former chair of the University College Republicans, was elected state chair of the College Republican Federation of Virginia at a convention last Saturday.
The Virginia state senate voted 21 to 19 this week to table a bill allowing electrocution to be used for executions in the event that lethal injection is not available.
Charlottesville Fire Department Spokesperson Richard Jones said the Department responded to a call about a fire in Little Johns on The Corner at 2:18 PM on Friday.
HackCville, a Charlottesville-based entrepreneurial “clubhouse,” launched a new student-run online publication Monday called HackCville Media.
Several pieces of legislation aimed at scaling back Standards of Learning test requirements for Virginia public schools have been gaining traction in Richmond recently.
Charlottesville public defender James Hingeley appeared before City Council this week to advocate for local subsidies to the salaries of public defenders, who earn significantly less than their state prosecutor counterparts.
City Council discussed a contentious proposal to adopt a Strategic Investment Area plan Monday night. The body voted 4-1 to adopt the plan, which outlines goals to redevelop a large plot of land just south of the Downtown Mall.
Neoantigenics LLC, an oncology biotechnology company established in 2012 and grown out of University research partners, has secured patents on technology to better target and eliminate certain types of cancer using natural human proteins.
Monday marked the deadline for second-year College students to apply for the Commerce School’s undergraduate program. The McIntire Undergraduate Admissions Committee will consider applications and expects to notify students of their decision sometime in mid-March.
The Governor’s Task Force on Improving Mental Health Services and Crisis Response recommended new regulations Tuesday regarding the treatment of emergency mental health patients in Virginia.
A bill allowing public officials to be removed from office after being convicted of a sex crime passed unanimously in the Virginia House of Delegates earlier this week. Del. Rob Bell, R-Albemarle, introduced the bill in response to the Christopher Dumler case last year.
A City of Charlottesville and Charlottesville School District joint commission presented a report Tuesday about the status of public education funding in Charlottesville and potential ways to combat funding gaps.
At a press conference Tuesday morning, Virginia lawmakers voiced opposition to the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed controls on coal power plants in a letter to President Barack Obama.
Attorney General Mark Herring announced last Thursday he does not intend to defend the state’s current ban on same-sex marriage in federal court. Herring is pushing to have the ban declared unconstitutional.
