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Innocence petition for Terence Richardson of ‘Waverly Two’ denied by Court of Appeals of Virginia
Terence Richardson — one of the two men known as “the Waverly Two,” who were acquitted of a Waverly police officer’s 1998 murder but still sentenced to life in prison — was denied a writ of actual innocence in the Court of Appeals of Virginia on Tuesday. Richardson had spent decades there for Allen Gibson’s murder, despite a federal jury finding both him and Ferrone Claiborne, the second of the Waverly Two, not guilty. A rare legal maneuver by the federal judge allowed him to sentence them to life in prison for their federal drug convictions because of their previous state pleas and his personal certainty of their guilt.
New Virginia law requires all car passengers to wear seatbelts on highways
It's a major win for a grieving Virginia mother who says her son lost his life because he wasn't wearing a seat belt. After years of advocacy work and asking lawmakers to listen, the "Christopher King Seat Belt Law," also known as HB2475, will go into effect July 1. The law requires every adult riding in a car on a public highway to wear a seat belt, even in the back seat. Current law only requires adults in the front seat to wear a seat belt. . . . The Christopher King Seat Belt Law is still considered a secondary law, meaning police cannot stop a driver for not wearing a seat belt. Police can, however, issue a $25 fine for not wearing a seat belt if a driver is stopped for something else.
Pulaski company’s $1.3 million poultry poop proposition
A Pulaski County company stands to earn $1.3 million in a state program to keep pollution out of the Chesapeake Bay. The target: chicken poop. MOVA Technologies is one of nine Virginia businesses chosen for the Department of Environmental Quality’s $19 million grant program, called Pay-For-Outcomes Nonpoint Source Pollution Reduction, according to a DEQ news release. MOVA will begin testing its poultry air purification system later this year in Rockingham County, at a poultry house near the Shenandoah River, company spokesman Luke Allison said. Commercial demonstrations will begin next year. Ultimately, the system will help both farmers and MOVA make a profit, he said.
Richmond’s inspector general is out at City Hall, and leaders aren’t explaining why
The Richmond official in charge of investigating waste, fraud and abuse at City Hall has been quietly dismissed from his job, according to a member of the City Council who opposed the move. Councilor Reva Trammell (8th District) said she was absent from Monday’s council meeting to see her grandson graduate from college. While she was gone, the City Council held a closed meeting that Trammell says resulted in the dismissal of Inspector General Jim Osuna, who had been in that role since 2019.
Chesterfield School Board OKs weapons scanners at middle and high schools
The Chesterfield School Board approved installing weapons scanners at all middle and high schools prior to the 2025-26 school year. "It's extremely important that our children feel safe and our staff feel safe," Steven Paranto, the Matoaca District representative on the school board, said. "This is not an answer that will cure everything in regards to their safety, but it's definitely a tool that we can use." The board voted 5-0 in favor of the scanners during its monthly meeting Tuesday.
Virginia Beach board votes to keep suspension of DEI in place
The Virginia Beach School Board voted 6-5 Tuesday to move forward with its initial vote to suspend diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. This is the third vote the board has taken on the matter. “I want to thank the public for coming to the school board meetings repeatedly to voice your overwhelming support for our educational practices that support all students in our division,” District 5 board member Melinda Rogers said in a Facebook post on the vote. “While the board majority voted in favor to remove needed supports, I will continue to work to support ALL staff and students, including listening to my constituents and educating myself in the policies and data that best support our community so I can make informed decisions on the dais.”
Chesapeake’s first proposed data center already faces opposition
A Chesapeake developer has filed plans to build the first large-scale data center in Hampton Roads. Longtime developer Doug Fuller said the project is designed to handle computing for artificial intelligence applications and is made possible by tens of millions of dollars of new ultrafast internet infrastructure built by the city and region to lure tech businesses. But before Fuller’s plans were submitted to the city, opposition to the data center was already fomenting online.
Lawsuit that seeks to overturn Roanoke's gun law delayed by judge
A Roanoke judge on Monday paused through the end of this year a lawsuit filed by Second Amendment advocates who are seeking to strike down a city ordinance that bars guns from public buildings and parks. Circuit Judge David Carson granted a motion filed by the city to stay the proceedings while a federal appeals court considers a similar case in Fairfax County. Awaiting the outcome of that case would conserve judicial resources, the city argued. . . . In 2021, the Roanoke City Council passed an ordinance that makes it a misdemeanor to have a gun — whether concealed pursuant to an individual permit or carried openly — in city-owned buildings and parks. Offenses are punishable by up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine.
Virginia’s new dashboards track pregnancy risks. But advocate says data alone won’t fix disparities.
Virginia is taking a closer look at what's putting new and expectant mothers at risk, and what it will take to keep them alive. On April 17, Governor Glenn Youngkin announced the Virginia Department of Health's updated Maternal and Child Health Dashboard and two new dashboards on maternal mortality and pregnancy-associated deaths. The public dashboards track maternal health and infant outcomes across the Commonwealth, monitoring data like preterm births and low birthweight.
Green Recycle in Pittsylvania to create 28 jobs; QualiChem in Salem to add 12
A plastics recycling startup will invest $4.3 million and create 28 jobs in Pittsylvania County, the governor’s office announced Tuesday. Green Recycle USA LLC will turn industrial plastic waste into raw material to be used in new products by manufacturers in a variety of industries, Gov. Glenn Youngkin said in a news release. ... A Salem-based producer of fluids used in fabricating metal components will invest $9 million to expand in the city, creating 12 jobs, the governor’s office announced Tuesday. QualiChem Inc.’s products include oils, coolants, rust preventatives and cleaners used in the aerospace, medical and automotive industries, among others.