Free Republic

RICHMOND-The State Corporation Commission has scheduled a public hearing for June 24 to receive comments on a request by Dominion Virginia Power to increase the company’s fuel rate on July 1. Dominion says the increase is necessary to cover the higher costs of fuel used to generate electricity. The company is seeking to raise its current fuel factor from 2.232 cents per kilowatt-hour to 3.893 cents. An average residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours in a month would see an increase of $16.61 on a monthly bill, or 18.3 percent. A public hearing on the request is scheduled for 10...

RICHMOND (AP) — Gov. Tim Kaine is expected today to announce a tax package to pay for highway construction and the upkeep and repair of state roads and bridges. Mr. Kaine scheduled a news conference at the state capitol to outline details of the bill that he will ask legislators to consider next month. He has called the General Assembly to Richmond beginning June 23 for the second special session on transportation funding in two years. Mr. Kaine, a Democrat, wants regional funding plans to pay for new projects in Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia, the state's most populous, fastest-growing...

The patrons at Champps in Reston, an upscale restaurant and bar chain, were eating ribs and drinking beer on a recent Saturday when customer Bruce Jackson stood up and made an announcement: He was armed, and so were dozens of other patrons. The armed customers stood up in unison, showing off holstered pistols. Mr. Jackson said a word or two about the rights of gun owners to carry firearms in Virginia, then thanked everyone for his or her attention and sat down. And the diners returned to their burgers and Budweisers. The Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL) organized the dinner...

KUDOS TO THE firearms debate at Bridgewater College ("Bridgewater College to Host Firearms Debate," April 9). This debate was excellent, informative, thought provoking. I publicly thank the college for bringing two such outstanding individuals in their fields to our community. The auditorium was filled largely with students. Prior to the debate, my companion and I expected the audience to be strongly biased against Second Amendment rights, handgun ownership, concealed-carry permits, etc. At no time could we detect any bias, either pro or con, by the level of courteous, enthusiastic applause given to both gentlemen after each of their statements and...

Tornado Warning TORNADO WARNING MDC017-033-VAC059-153-179-090415- /O.NEW.KLWX.TO.W.0007.080509T0333Z-080509T0415Z/ BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC 1133 PM EDT THU MAY 8 2008 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STERLING VIRGINIA HAS ISSUED A * TORNADO WARNING FOR... PRINCE GEORGES COUNTY IN CENTRAL MARYLAND FAIRFAX COUNTY IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA STAFFORD COUNTY IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA CHARLES COUNTY IN SOUTHERN MARYLAND * UNTIL 1215 AM EDT * AT 1132 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A DEVELOPING TORNADO NEAR TRIANGLE...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 27 MPH. * LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE... WOODBRIDGE... INDIAN HEAD... LORTON... FORT...

A Giles County man paroled from prison after serving 14 years for killing two hikers on the Appalachian Trail in 1981 now is suspected of shooting two campers just off the trail in Giles on Tuesday. Randall Lee Smith, 54, was in a Roanoke hospital yesterday after crashing a pickup truck in Giles, Sgt. Michael Conroy of the Virginia State Police said.

My friend who works at the University says they are in lockdown mode because there is a gunman on the loose in the library. Anyone have more info?

    ~The FReeper Canteen Presents~ Road Trip: Langley Air Force Base, Virginia Langley Air Force Base (IATA: LFI, ICAO: KLFI) is the home of the United States Air Force's 1st Fighter Wing (1 FW) and the 480th Intelligence Wing (480 IW). It also hosts Headquarters, Air Combat Command (ACC).As the host unit at Langley Air Force Base, Va., the 1st Fighter Wing operates and maintains one of the largest fighter bases in Air Combat Command. Throughout its history, the 1st FW has led the way, wherever and whenever called upon. The 192nd Fighter Wing is an Air National...

The race for the Virginia 8th District congressional seat has seen two candidates vying for the Republican nomination and the opportunity to unseat nine-term Democratic Congressman Jim Moran. This week, I interview one of the candidates, Mark Ellmore. My interview with his opponent, Amit Singh, was published last Monday. The primary is on June 10. Paul Ibrahim (P.I.): Mr. Ellmore, thank you for doing this interview. Can you, in one sentence, explain why you are running for Congress? Mark Ellmore (M.E.): I am running for Congress because our community is in desperate need for new invigorated leadership, and I feel...

The linked video attempts to portray the dire consequences of Prince William County's anti-illegal immigration ordinance, and it includes pans of the inside of two empty restaurants in the area. I'm trying to "bust" the filmmakers; see my earlier discussion of the video here. Note that they've been promoted by both the Washington Post and Youtube. Could someone in the area look into whether these restaurants are really as empty as claimed, or whether this was a setup, and then post their findings here? The restaurants are El Portal Restaurant in Woodbridge and the Casablanca restaurant/dance club on Route 28...

RICHMOND, Va. -- Officials at Richmond International Raceway announced Saturday afternoon that all tickets for that night's Crown Royal 400 have been sold. It is the track's 33rd consecutive sellout. "Ticket sales were steady and we remained optimistic leading into this weekend," Richmond track president Doug Fritz said. "The hard work of our staff and our continued effort to provide a first-class experience for our fans continues to pay off." (SNIP) "NASCAR fans are the first people affected by the economy and the last people to recover from the economy, so it definitely has affected the industry as a whole....

Virginia Man Killed In Civil War Cannonball Blast May 02, 2008 CHESTER, Va. — Like many boys in the South, Sam White got hooked on the Civil War early, digging up rusting bullets and military buttons in the battle-scarred earth of his hometown. As an adult, he crisscrossed the Virginia countryside in search of wartime relics — weapons, battle flags, even artillery shells buried in the red clay. He sometimes put on diving gear to feel for treasures hidden in the black muck of river bottoms. But in February, White's hobby cost him his life: A cannonball he was restoring...

*** WELCOME - FREE REPUBLIC NASCAR RACING FANS Blue Angels to do the fly-by after the anthem at Richmond International Raceway Saturday, May 3. *** Cup Series practice [Speed TV] Live: 11 a.m. ET Friday TV Delay: 1:30 p.m. ET Cup Series qualifying 5:30 p.m. ET Friday Race begins at 7 p.m. ET Saturday on FOX In memory of Lt Cmdr Kevin Davis Nationwide Series race at Richmond International Raceway on Friday, May 2, 2008 - ESPN2/7 p.m. MRN/7:30 p.m. THIS IS AN IMPOUND RACE - YOUR FANTASY PICKS SHOULD STILL BE LOCKED IN THURSDAY NIGHT. Yesterday was Dale...

Federal transportation officials today told Congress and Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) that they have approved the proposed 23-mile extension of Metrorail to Dulles International Airport, reversing their announcement in January that the project was unfit for federal funding. In a letter to Kaine and in a 10 a.m. conference call with the governor and Virginia congressional leaders, U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said the $5 billion project had finally met the Federal Transit Administration's standards for cost efficiency, construction and expected ridership. The project will now move into the final design phase, a major step toward receiving $900...

PORTSMOUTH -- Police are investigating the shooting death of a pizza delivery driver in Portsmouth. It happened around 11:00 Friday night at the 5600 block of Craneybrook Lane in the Churchland section of the city. Police have identified the victim as Robert Edward Kiesewetter, a 50 year old resident of Yaupon Street in Portsmouth. He was delivering pizza for Papa John's.

WASHINGTON -- Prince William County's illegal immigration crackdown appears to be spurring some families to send their children to schools elsewhere in northern Virginia. According to the Prince William school system, enrollment in English as a Second Language classes dropped by 759 students from September through March. During that same period, 623 ESOL students from Prince William enrolled in Fairfax County schools, compared with 241 in the same period the previous year. Eighty-three enrolled in Arlington County, 75 enrolled in the city of Alexandria and 23 signed up in Loudoun County. Prince William Board of County Supervisors Chairman Corey Stewart...

The race for the Virginia 8th District congressional seat has seen two candidates vying for the Republican nomination and the opportunity to unseat nine-term Democratic Congressman Jim Moran. This week, I interview one of the candidates, Amit Singh. My interview with his opponent, Mark Ellmore, will be published next Monday. The primary is on June 10. Paul Ibrahim (P.I.): Mr. Singh, thank you for doing this interview. Can you, in one sentence, explain why you are running for Congress? Amit Singh (A.S.): I am running for Congress because our politicians are leading America in the wrong direction and those who...

DAMASCUS, Va. – With anti-liquor signs going up and a prayer march through town last Thursday night, opposition is heating up to the liquor-by-the-drink question, which is up for a referendum vote on May 6. "Most of the churches in the area just believe that the Bible teachers against the drinking of alcohol of any kind," said Wayne Baker, preacher at Laurel Avenue Church of Christ that put up a sign in opposition as soon as they learned of the referendum. "It [alcohol] has always caused problems, and physical damage, but also spiritual damage. They’re relying upon the alcohol to...

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LEESBURG, Va. - A civil rights leader who served as a top lieutenant to Martin Luther King Jr. has pleaded not guilty to incest in a Virginia courtroom. Jury selection began Monday in the trial of the Rev. James Bevel.... ~~snip~~ Bevel was a leading figure in the civil rights movement and was with King when he was assassinated 40 years ago. He also is credited with helping to conceive and organize the Million Man March.

LEESBURG, Virginia (Reuters) - Million-dollar fixer-upper for sale: five bedrooms, four baths, three-car garage, cavernous living room. Big holes above fireplace where flat-screen TV used to hang. The U.S. housing crisis has come to McMansion country. Just as the foreclosure crisis has hollowed out poorer neighborhoods, "for sale" signs are sprouting in upscale developments so new they don't show up on GPS navigation screens. Poor people weren't the only ones who took out risky, high-interest loans during the housing boom. The sharp increase in housing costs -- and the desire to live in brand-new, spacious houses with modern features --...

"The Court agrees that it was major divisions such as those within the Methodist and Presbyterian churches that prompted the passage of 57-9. However, it blinks at reality to characterize the ongoing division within the Diocese, ECUSA, and the Anglican Communion as anything but a division of the first magnitude..."

ATF added another weapon to its gang-fighting arsenal Nov. 28 with the formal opening of a new facility in Northern Virginia that will house 80 intelligence analysts, agents, prosecutors and support personnel — all from different agencies — and all working together to investigate and dismantle the most violent gangs in the United States. “Coordination has brought us success in the past, and can yield even more in the future,” said ATF Acting Director Michael Sullivan, speaking during the formal opening of the new facility. The new site brings together two separate gang deterrence units — the National Gang Intelligence...

State Sen. Ken Cuccinelli II (R-Fairfax), one of Northern Virginia's few conservative elected officials with grass-roots support across the state, announced plans yesterday to run for attorney general next year. He touted his conservative credentials on such issues as illegal immigration, gun rights, the death penalty and abortion as evidence that he can court Republican votes and complete a conservative GOP ticket... He also said he would initiate a government-wide evaluation of state programs for the purpose of eliminating unnecessary or wasteful spending.

RICHMOND, April 1 -- Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine announced Tuesday that he is halting all executions until the Supreme Court decides whether lethal injection violates the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

Punch & Judy by: Malcolm A. Kline, March 26, 2008 A century-old university in the Old Dominion cashiered the last DUI suspect—William J. Frawley, not the one from I Love Lucy—to serve as president and replaced him with the first woman to hold that post. “Less than a year after firing their president for his arrest on two drunken driving charges, members of the governing board at the University of Mary Washington have named his replacement,” Eugene McCormack reported in the Chronicle of Higher Education this month. “Judy G. Hample, a longtime higher-education administrator who is chancellor of the Pennsylvania...

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- State police say a sniper wounded two people and hit at least four cars on Interstate 64 near Afton Mountain this morning. The injuries were not life-threatening and the victims were treated and released from Augusta Medical Center. More than 20 miles of I-64 was closed between Charlottesville and Waynesboro from shortly after midnight until about 6:20 a.m. State troopers, Charlottesville police and Albemarle County deputies are searching wooded areas along the interstate, but no suspect has been found.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Interstate 64 has been reopened between Charlottesville and Waynesboro, but a 20-mile section of the highway was closed Thursday morning as Virginia State Police searched for a shooting suspect. State police say at least four cars were struck by bullets along an 11-mile stretch of the highway Wednesday night

Public anger against illegal immigrants, already entrenched in parts of Northern Virginia, is seeping into Maryland. With legislators facing unprecedented demands to take action, fears of a crackdown are spreading among illegal immigrants in a state that has been more tolerant of them.A record 20 bills targeting illegal immigrants have been introduced in the state legislature this session. Although none of the bills is expected to survive, their supporters are far more vocal and organized than in the past, and the movement has gained recent support in Maryland communities that include Mount Rainier, Gaithersburg and Taneytown."If there is any doubt...

RICHMOND (AP) — Refunds of taxes and fees collected unconstitutionally for Northern Virginia road projects are on their way back to those who paid them. Gov. Timothy M. Kaine today signed a bill passed this year that sets up procedures for returning money collected by the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority. Among the refunds: — The Department of Motor Vehicles will return the 1 percent initial registration fee on new vehicles and the $10 regional registration fee. — Circuit Court clerks will work to return the grantor's tax paid on real estate sales. — The Treasury Department will return the 2...

State reportedly offers $100,000 to forestall lawsuits over massacre RICHMOND, Va. - Families of those killed in the Virginia Tech massacre would receive $100,000 each under a settlement the state is proposing to prevent lawsuits, according to a victim's relative who received a copy of the proposal. Medical and counseling expenses would be provided to the families of the 32 killed and dozens of surviving victims, said the person, who asked Monday to remain anonymous because those involved were told not to discuss the settlement. Families would also have the opportunity to question the governor and university officials about the...

RICHMOND, Va. - A relative of a Virginia Tech shooting victim says the families of those killed would receive $100,000 each under a settlement designed to prevent lawsuits. ...

How much would you be willing to pay to cut 30 minutes off your commute? A study released this week suggests adding variably-priced toll lanes to highways in the Washington region could reduce traffic tie-ups while generating funds for road improvements. The report from the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments evaluates several scenarios -- from adding new lanes and placing tolls on major and secondary highways to a more conservative plan to place tolls on existing lanes of the region's parkways. Although costs vary depending on the plan, for I-270 in Frederick County, the study suggests tolls between 30 cents...

No Bolling For Governor? Reports Say Lieutenant Governor Won't Run For Top Job By Associated Press Monday, March 24, 2008 RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling will seek re-election next year, two people familiar with his campaign said. Bolling intends to announce his plans in an early afternoon Capitol Square news conference. Bolling's decision not to run for governor combined with former Governor George Allen's announcement to sit out the governor's race leaves Attorney General Bob McDonnell uncontested for the Republican nomination. The election, still 20 months away, finds Democrats Brian Moran, a Delegate from Alexandria, and state...

Here's a grand development that should drive bonkers liberals everywhere trying to concoct sneaky ways to impose taxation without representation: The Virginia Supreme Court has ruled that the state General Assembly did not have the power to give the 13-member unelected Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) the right to raise taxes for regional road and rail projects. Now the NVTA has to figure out a way to refund the $8.3 million it has collected from the public in taxes and fees since January, reports The Washington Times. The transportation authority imposed a $10 tax on state vehicle inspections, a 5...

Getting there: Route 95 south to Washington, D.C., cross the Potomac River on the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, move to the far right lane. After crossing the bridge, take the exit for Route 1 north, marked Alexandria. Once on Route 1, make the first right turn, onto Franklin Street. Turn right again at Washington Street, which is marked for Mount Vernon. Washington Street becomes the George Washington Parkway as you leave Alexandria, and Mount Vernon is 8 miles south, at the large traffic circle at the end of the parkway. Info: 703-780-2000 or mountvernon.org. Hours: Basement is open weekends from 9...

A stack of leather-bound gardening books sat on a simple wooden desk in the middle of a small room. Two broad-brimmed hats, one for winter and one for summer, hung on pegs in the corner. In the bedroom, a pair of shoes lay at the foot of the bed, as if the gardener had just stepped out of them.  With the restoration of a two-story pine structure used by one of George Washington's gardeners, William Spence, Mount Vernon is again complete nearly 209 years after the first president died.  The gardener's house, built around the spring of 1776 and...

The student newspaper at the University of Virginia published a cartoon mocking Christians and Christianity after determining it met its own "criteria" at The Cavalier Daily, but later jerked it and has been backpedaling ever since. The illustration – and another earlier cartoon – were the subject of an alert from the American Family Association, which urged readers to take advantage of a special website procedure it set up to send an e-mail to Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, with a copy to Daniel LaVista, the executive director of the state Council of Higher Education for Virginia. "Last week, the University...

Petraeus: Al Qaida Trying to 'Come Back In' U.S. military officials said there will be no significant reduction in coalition troops in the Baghdad area as part of an effort to stop the Al Qaida offensive in northern Iraq. They said Al Qaida was trying to reenter Baghdad and reverse its losses in 2007. "Al Qaida is trying to come back in," U.S. military commander Gen. David Petraeus said. "We can feel it and see it, and what we're trying to do is rip out any roots before they can get deeply into the ground." Read More Militants Assert...

Allegedly he was causing a disturbance on the train and the conductor attempted to move him to another part of the train, that’s when he said he had a bomb and the bomb was in his bag” says Emporia Police Chief Bernard Richardson. Around 2am the bomb squad determined the threat was a hoax. The Yemeni man was taken into custody by the FBI and is facing a felony charge of making a threat on a public conveyance. The hundreds of passengers were finally able to continue on their way.

A dispute over the proper valuation of 10 acres of property in Eisenhower Valley has two of the city’s oldest families and the Sanitation Authority pitted against each other, with the sellers asking for $40 million and the city holding out for $10 million less. The Hoof-Fagelson Tract, formerly a go-kart track that now serves as a maintenance parking lot for Thrifty Rent-A-Car, is landlocked on one side by Carlyle development, and on the other side by I-495. While the tract sits next to Alexandria’s Waste Treatment facility, it also adjoins a proposed $150 million office and retail development at...

March 11, 2008 Dear xxxxxx, Your efforts paid off again. Despite efforts on the part of the House conferees to give no raises whatsoever to teachers, a small raise is included to teachers in year two of the budget. 1. First, we are glad some increase, 2%, all be it small, was included for teachers. Fortunately, the Senate prevailed in this regard. 2. We are very pleased that this budget starts the teacher raise on July 1. That reflects the teacher contract and makes a 2% raise real. The past practice of giving teachers a raise for part of the...

From Bearing Drift: Saw this in the Virginian-Pilot’s Beacon this weekend. Planned Parenthood of Southeast Virginia will offer a 10% discount to any current or new client who introduces a friend to Planned Parenthood this month… Never thought I’d see the day when abortions are treated like “double coupon” day at the grocery store.

Petersburg Police and officers from two other counties converged on Petersburg High School to help control several fights that broken out there, officials say. School officials say the incidents stem from a bomb threat that was called in to Petersburg High in the afternoon. Police were brought in to sweep the school for explosives, but reported nothing suspicious. After students were allowed back in the school, officials say several fights broke out among the student body. Police from Petersburg, Chesterfield and Prince George were on the scene trying to gain control of the situation. Petersburg Public Schools spokesman Cliff Davis...

-snip- "Sin stands for beauty, sin stands for life. Sexual sin is every man's right!! He will exalt the wicked of man: our king the Antichrist!" Self-described Satanist Lord Ahriman, lead singer for the Swedish black-metal band Dark Funeral, is scream-growling at an internal-organ-rattling volume inside Jaxx's concert hall. Thrilled fans, many of them teenagers clad in black, shoot Devil-horn hand signs into the air. A horned, fang-toothed man-beast roars from a massive banner across the stage. Most common T-shirt of the night: "The day you die is the day I smile." Most common adjective: brutal (in a good way)....

Republicans across Virginia are rallying with surprising vigor behind the U.S. Senate campaign of state Del. Robert G. Marshall, a quirky Prince William County conservative who is challenging former governor James S. Gilmore III for the GOP nomination to replace retiring Sen. John W. Warner (R). Marshall's role as the lead challenger in the lawsuit that overturned several local taxes that were part of Virginia's landmark transportation package Friday has propelled him into the spotlight. But even before then, the 63-year-old policy consultant was quietly amassing support, from county committee chairmen in rural parts of the state to Northern Virginia...

The argument one hears most often for not enforcing illegal immigration laws is that we can't deport the estimated 12 million people already in this country. It just isn't physically, tactically or politically possible, say people who think this way. Maybe not, but authorities can start with people who not only broke laws to get here, but are breaking more laws now that they are here. Virginia's Republican Attorney General, Robert McDonnell, is beginning the deportation process with a class of people not even the most vehemently pro-immigrant activist should defend. They are sex offenders and McDonnell, working in...

RICHMOND, Va. - A divided Virginia Supreme Court affirmed the nation's first felony conviction for illegal spamming on Friday, ruling that Virginia's anti-spamming law does not violate free-speech rights. Jeremy Jaynes of Raleigh, N.C., considered among the world's top 10 spammers in 2003, was convicted of massive distribution of junk e-mail and sentenced to nine years in prison. Almost all 50 states have anti-spamming laws. In the 4-3 ruling, the court rejected Jaynes' claim that the state law violates both the First Amendment and the interstate commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution. "This is a historic victory in the fight...

RICHMOND, Feb. 27 -- The Virginia Senate voted Wednesday to cut off state funding to Planned Parenthood of Virginia because it offers abortions, an action that could endanger hundreds of thousands of dollars in state aid for women's health-care programs. The decision, a major setback for the Senate's new Democratic majority, marks the first time in more than a decade that the Senate has decided against giving state aid to the organization because of its abortion-related activities.... Sen. Janet D. Howell (D-Fairfax) said that Planned Parenthood provides "contraceptive planning which prevents abortions." "The irony is, Planned Parenthood probably prevents more...

WASHINGTON - Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia was hospitalized Tuesday after complaining of back pain following a fall at his home, his spokesman said. Byrd, 90, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee and the longest-serving senator in history, was staying overnight at Walter Reed Army Medical Center for observation, said spokesman Jesse Jacobs. It was not immediately clear whether he had suffered broken bones. Jacobs said Byrd fell at his Virginia home Monday night. He came to his office Tuesday and was on the Senate floor to vote for an Indian health bill. But after noticing he...