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Decision put off on VA bill calling for free inmate communications
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Decision put off on VA bill calling for free inmate communications

Virginia inmates will not get free telephone call, video calls, or messages this year if Senate Bill 378 has to deliver it. SB 378, presented by Senator Jennifer Boysko of Herndon, called for the Department of Corrections to provide telephone systems and web-based or electronic communications systems free of charge.  And the bill barred DOC from receiving any commission from telephone systems, “so prisons don’t profit from the calls or videos,” Boysko told members of the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee. With Boysko’s bill, each inmate would have been allowed to have at least 20 phone numbers of their approved call list. SB 378 also required correctional facilities to have at least one phone for every 10 inmates in a housing unit. Senator Boysko presents the cas...
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Traffic detoured on Rt. 602 on Eastern Shore until 2025
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Traffic detoured on Rt. 602 on Eastern Shore until 2025

Eastern Shore drivers should be aware that, as of Monday, January 29, the portion of Rt. 602 between Belle Haven Road and east of Darby’s Wharf Lane is closed to through traffic. There is a detour in place that will direct motorists traveling from Accomack County to follow Route 178 (Belle Haven Road) to Route 13 (Lankford Highway) to Route 183 (Occohannock Neck Road) to Route 602 (Cemetery Road). The route is reversed for those traveling from Northampton County. Rt. 602 detour between Accomack and Northampton counties According to VDOT, the detour is expected to remain in place until late spring 2025. During the closure, access to all private property and the two cemeteries on Route 602 (Lee Street) will be maintained at all times, VDOT stated. Additionally, the road “ma...
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VA Senate bill calls for penalty if handgun left in sight in a car
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VA Senate bill calls for penalty if handgun left in sight in a car

The Virginia Senate passed a bill, SB 447, that will allow gun owners to be charged a $500 civil penalty for leaving a handgun in view in an unattended vehicle that’s parked on public property. Further, the offense allows the police to deem the vehicle illegally parked, allowing it to be towed when there’s a visible handgun. “This is a minimalist approach to dealing with a huge problem,” said Senator David Marsden, who represents a portion of Fairfax. Marsden explains the 'epidemic' Guns being stolen from cars is “an epidemic,” Marsden said when presenting the bill in the Courts of Justice committee. “It's happening pretty much everywhere,” he said, claiming the situation of unattended guns being stolen from cars is “aisle 6 at Walmart.” “One of the current trends seems to b...
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Emergency landing on Friday is second in Loudoun in a week
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Emergency landing on Friday is second in Loudoun in a week

Friday, January 26, marked the second emergency landing in Loudoun County within in a week. The latest incident occurred shortly after 5 p.m. at Leesburg Executive Airport. A Pilatus PC12 was coming in to the airport when the landing gear failed to fully extend, according to Leesburg Police Department. The pilot was able to safely land the plane in the grass just off the tarmac. Leesburg PD said six passengers were onboard, and no injuries were reported. (Photo: Leesburg Police Department) Virginia State Police responded to the scene, and the NTSB and FAA were also notified. The investigation kept the runway shut down for hours. Leesburg PD announced the reopening at 10:45 p.m. The previous incident involved a small plane that departed Dulles International Airport on J...
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Lane closure scheduled on Coleman Bridge Sunday
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Lane closure scheduled on Coleman Bridge Sunday

This weekend, VDOT contractors are scheduled to work on the George P. Coleman Memorial Bridge, which carries Rt. 17 between Gloucester and York counties. Drivers may want to factor in additional travel time on Sunday, Jan. 28. There will be a single-lane closure scheduled on from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., weather permitting. Marine traffic that requires bridge openings will also be impacted. Between 8 a.m. and as late as 8 p.m., all bridge openings will be restricted. Work and successful testing will need to be completed before the reopenings resume, noted VDOT. Vessels that don’t require a bridge open can continue using the channel as usual. According to VDOT, the contractors are working on the bridge’s wedge drive motors, and that requires 12-hour periods of daylight to perform the w...
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Alexandria police asking for tips on abandoned baby
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Alexandria police asking for tips on abandoned baby

A joint investigation between Alexandria Police and Child Protective Services is underway after a little girl was reportedly “abandoned” on South Van Dorn Street Wednesday night. It was approximately 9:45 p.m. when police responded to witness reports that a man left a child in front of 8 South Van Dorn Street, says APD. Officers found a little girl that they estimated was between 1 to 2 years old. She was “dressed in warm clothing and in apparent good health,” but no one in the area claimed to know the child or who she belonged to, the department statement. Alexandria Child Protective Services was notified and took the little girl into custody. Meanwhile, shortly before midnight, police issued an urgent public appeal asking anyone with information about the child or the parents to ca...
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VA General Assembly update: HB 721, an anti-rent gouging bill, moves forward
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VA General Assembly update: HB 721, an anti-rent gouging bill, moves forward

HB 721 “aims to protect Virginians against rent gouging practices,” said Delegate Nadarius Clark, who introduced the bill. If passed, HB 721 will give localities the ability to adopt anti-rent gouging provisions and an anti-rent gouging board. Notice would have to be provided and a public hearing held before a locality adopted its measures. The bill also requires landlords to provide at least two months written notice of a rent increase. Additionally, a rent increase couldn’t exceed the locality calculated allowance. And the allowance would be set at equal to the annual increase in the Consumer Price Index or 7%, whichever is less. An allowance would remain in place for a 12-month period. “Changing economies, inflation, and gentrified neighborhoods have provided the environment...
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80-year-old Emporia woman killed by Greensville County crash
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80-year-old Emporia woman killed by Greensville County crash

An 80-year-old Emporia woman was killed in a single-vehicle crash on Tuesday, Virginia State Police reported. The incident occurred on Low Ground Rd. just south of Little Low Ground Rd. in Greensville County. According to VSP, the investigation revealed Merle Marie Thorpe, was traveling southbound and, for an undisclosed reason, she crossed into the northbound lanes. The woman then ran off the road, and the 2005 Chevy Impala she was driving crashed into a tree stump before flipped over leaving, said VSP. Thorpe, the sole occupant, was entrapped in the vehicle and was suffering from "serious life-threatening injuries," accord to VSP. When she was freed from the vehicle, she was first taken to Southern Virginia Regional Medical Center in Emporia. Then, she was flown to Chippenham...
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Threats lead to evacuation of Alexandria, VA elementary school
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Threats lead to evacuation of Alexandria, VA elementary school

Wednesday, an Alexandria, VA elementary school was evacuated amid a series of “false threats” that are now being investigated as swatting incidents, according to the police department. After receiving a call “of someone going to the school with guns” APD said it responded to Charles Barrett Elementary at 12:04 p.m. with officers, K9s, and SWAT and began searching the school. In a letter to families, the Charles Barrett principal, Loren Brody, said the school first went into “secure the building” status. But by 12:20, it was determined students and staff would be evacuated “due to additional information received regarding a bomb threat that was in the vicinity of the school.” APD said school administrators made the decision to evacuate and move students to Cora Kelly School on Comm...
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Woman wanted for fatal Norfolk crash now in custody
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Woman wanted for fatal Norfolk crash now in custody

Dominique Goodwin, the Chesapeake woman wanted for the fatal wrong-way tunnel crash in Norfolk, turned herself in Monday morning, VSP reported. Goodwin was wanted for aggravated involuntary manslaughter after an incident in the early hours of December 30. According to VSP, she was driving her Volkswagen eastbound in the westbound lanes of the Downtown Tunnel when she crashed head-on with a Chevy Equinox driven by Shelby Riddick Walker of Portsmouth. Riddick, 43, was killed instantly, authorities say. Virginia State Police had been looking for Goodwin for weeks to no avail. They had even issued a public appeal for information on her whereabouts. According to 3WTKR, VSP said Goodwin wasn’t immediately arrested after the incident because she was taken to the hospital and ...
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