Week in review

Off the hook

More than one-fifth of Virginia adults have given up on old-fashioned telephone lines and use only cellphones. Estimates released Wednesday by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show 21.2 percent of people 18 and older in the state have only wireless telephones. That's roughly double the number of adults with only landlines, which is estimated at 10 percent. The rate is low compared with other states. Dallas County, Texas, is highest at 43.2 percent.

Dulles Metrorail discussions

The chairman of the board that oversees the Washington area's two major airports is inviting Virginia officials to discuss the decision to build an underground Metro station for Dulles International Airport.

The decision earlier this month by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority angered state and local political leaders from both parties, who contend the underground station ignores the need to keep costs down. The airports authority is overseeing construction of the $6 billion, 23-mile Metrorail extension to Dulles Airport. An underground station was originally estimated to cost $600 million more than an aboveground station, but board members say they have taken steps to keep costs down.

Redistricting redo

Gov. Bob McDonnell vetoed the General Assembly's legislative redistricting plan last Friday, questioning the proposed Senate map's legality.

On April 25, the General Assembly will reconsider legislation that redraws district boundaries for 40 Senate and 100 House of Delegates seats. McDonnell said in a letter to lawmakers that the proposed Senate districts are not compact as required by law. The Senate plan unnecessarily divides localities and fails to preserve "communities of interest," he said, and it may violate the one person-one vote principle of the state and U.S. constitutions.

"I am concerned that the Senate plan is the kind of partisan gerrymandering that Virginians have asked that we leave in the past," McDonnell wrote.

Missile mishap

An unoccupied pickup truck in Virginia Beach was damaged when a training missile fell off a Navy fighter jet during a routine mission Thursday, the Virginian-Pilot reports. The F/A-18 Hornet was returning to Oceana Naval Air Station at 11:45 a.m. when a wing from the missile detached and hit the truck. The body of the missile, which did not contain live explosives, stayed attached to the jet. No one was injured in the encounter.

Cheated church

A former financial officer has been sentenced to four years in prison for embezzling more than $280,000 from a Virginia Beach church. Michele Moeser Roberts pleaded guilty last December to felony embezzlement. Prosecutors say the 62-year-old Roberts wrote herself checks and gave false financial statements to the treasurer at Kings Grant Baptist Church.

Media outlets report that Roberts was sentenced Wednesday in Virginia Beach Circuit Court. Judge Leslie L. Lilley sentenced Roberts to 20 years and then suspended 16 years of the term. Roberts also must make restitution.

Jail thefts

Thieves are targeting a regional jail that's being built in Madison Heights. The News & Advance reports that copper wire, plumbing fixtures, tools and other items have been stolen from the Blue Ridge Regional Jail site four times since late January. The most recent theft occurred April 1.

Wayne Wood with contractor HITT says the thefts are slowing the project's completion. The contract calls for the jail to be finished in November. Wood says he would like to see a bigger police presence near the site. Jail authority administrator Elton Blackstock says he's not responsible for security at the site until the jail is ready to open.

Postal protests

Virginia lawmakers are raising concerns about proposed postal consolidations in their states. The U.S. Postal Service has proposed closing and consolidating some postal facilities in southwestern Virginia.

Members of the state's congressional delegation sent a letter Thursday to Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe questioning the proposals. The letter says in many cases it's unreasonable to expect residents to drive to other towns for mail services. The lawmakers also say they're not convinced mail delivery service disruptions will be minimal. The letter is signed by U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Jim Webb and Representative Morgan Griffith.

Four years later

Virginia Tech honored the lives of the 32 people who were killed four years ago in the worst mass shooting in U.S. history.

Gov. Bob McDonnell declared Saturday as Virginia Tech Remembrance Day and flags were flown half-staff statewide. A moment of silence was held at 9:43 a.m., followed by the ringing of the Capitol Square bell for each of the people killed. The Blacksburg school's annual Day of Remembrance activities on Saturday included a community picnic, a scheduled evening candlelight vigil, and a university commemoration at the Drillfield memorial. The events honored the dead and injured in the shootings on April 16, 2007. Student Seung-Hui Cho fatally shot 27 students and five faculty members before killing himself.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

"Like" us on Facebook today!