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Friday, November 7, 2014
State and Local Stories
A judge said Tuesday he would consider a Washington and Lee professor’s request to unseal a rejected plea agreement offered to a former university student charged with killing another student in a crash last December. However, Judge Jay Swett is not sure whether Brian Richardson, the head of W&L’s journalism and mass communication department, has standing to make such a request. Richardson filed a letter with the Rockbridge County Circuit Court clerk after Judge Michael Irvine rejected a plea agreement reached between the commonwealth’s attorney and the defense team for Nicholas Hansel. Hansel is accused of killing Kelsey Durkin and maiming another student when the SUV he was driving struck a tree stump and overturned along Turkey Hill Road in Rockbridge County. Authorities claim Hansel was intoxicated when he and 10 W&L students left a fraternity party in his vehicle. Irvine did not say in open court why he rejected the plea or why he ordered it sealed. The document remains in a brown envelope in the case file.
Roanoke Times
People trying to check results on the Virginia Board of Elections’ Web site Tuesday night were temporarily stymied when the server became overloaded and crashed, officials said. The nonprofit Virginia Public Access Project and a few media organizations were able to access the agency’s downloadable, public files and publish results of the most-watched contests — for the Senate, House of Representatives and Arlington County Board — on their own Web sites. But for a school board or a town council race, or a countywide bond issue, those results were hard to find. Elections board officials said they did not know how many people were trying to access the site when the server crashed.
Washington Post
Virginia citizens at a public forum in front of the Governor’s Commission to Ensure Integrity and Public Confidence in State Government made it clear Thursday that they support redrawing the district lines for state and federal legislatures. About 40 people showed up at Caplin Auditorium at the University of Virginia School of Law to express their concerns. An unofficial vote at the end of the night showed near-unanimous support for redistricting. One of the recommendations presented was for the General Assembly to create an independent, transparent commission to draw new congressional districts. Scholl said it’s important that this commission has real power, such as surprise audits, and that there are strong penalties to serve as deterrents.
Daily Progress
Charlottesville Registrar Sheri Iachetta is out – almost. After months of bruising revelations about financial irregularities during her tenure, Iachetta on Thursday resigned her post of 15 years at the request of the city’s electoral board. Her last day is Dec. 31. “Unfortunately, there are times when lapses in judgment cause damage to a relationship that is irreparable, and that is where this Electoral Board finds itself today,” the board said in a handwritten statement. The decision came on the heels of a final plea to the board from several election workers who advocated on Iachetta’s behalf, describing her as an honest, faithful, dedicated public servant.
Daily Progress
BVU Authority lacks detailed written policies and procedures for employee spending and credit-card use — two areas that are part of an ongoing criminal investigation — according to a new report from the authority’s audit firm. Accountants from Blackburn Childers & Steagall presented their findings to the authority’s finance committee Thursday morning with a recommendation to formalize and document those policies. The authority board of directors retained the audit firm earlier this year when the contract of its previous auditors expired.
Bristol Herald Courier
Loudoun's Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Wednesday night to shelve the item of a pay raise for its members. While any increase in supervisors' salaries cannot, by law, take effect until the next board assumes office, the current supervisors were facing a flood of criticism for even considering a pay hike for the nine-member governing body. Supervisor Ralph Buona (R-Ashburn), a vocal critic of the salary increase, made the motion to table item.
Loudoun Times-Mirror |