Week in review

Elephant euthanized

The Virginia Zoo in Norfolk says one of its three African elephants has died. The 38-year-old elephant Monica was euthanized Tuesday night after battling an unknown illness. She had been under observation for several months and her condition worsened in early April. Monica had experienced neurologic malfunction, loss of trunk coordination and reduced muscle mass.

Zoo officials say the elephant received vitamin supplements, treatment for possible infections and close attention to proper hydration and diet. Monica was one of three elephants at the Virginia Zoo. She came to the Virginia Zoo in July 1976 at the age of 3. She was born with only one tusk and came to be known for her artwork.

Tech appeals

Virginia Tech will appeal $55,000 in federal fines levied against the school for failing to quickly alert the campus during the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, the state announced Wednesday. State Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli said an appeal was necessary to ensure Virginia Tech was treated fairly. "The DOE's attempt to make scapegoats out of dedicated law enforcement officers and the Virginia Tech administration will not solve anything," he said.

An email alert went out more than two hours after two students were shot to death in a dormitory on April 16, 2007. Student Seung-Hui Cho was already chaining shut the doors to a classroom building where he killed 30 more students, faculty and himself.

Protestors punished

College of William and Mary officials say five students who occupied the president's office in a protest over campus employees' pay face trespassing citations.

The five were among 12 students who staged a sit-in Wednesday in President Taylor Reveley's office demanding a living wage for campus employees. A spokesman says they remained after being told to leave. Campus police escorted them out after midnight and issued them summonses.

Living Wage Coalition organizer Katie Dalby told the Richmond Times-Dispatch that about 50 students and two professors rallied outside Reveley's office and discussed labor issues. Reveley said in a statement Thursday that disrupting work at the university is not an acceptable way to advocate for issues.

No beards in prison

Virginia's prison system did not violate a Sunni Muslim inmate's religious rights when it refused to allow him to grow a 1/8-inch beard, which he believes is required by Islam, a federal judge ruled.

William Couch, a 50-year-old medium-security prisoner serving multiple life sentences for rape and other convictions, challenged the Virginia Department of Corrections' ban on long hair and beards. Couch's attorney argued a 1/8-inch beard would be too short to allow Couch to easily change his appearance if he escaped or hide weapons or other contraband, which is why the department argues the policy is needed. Virginia is among only about a dozen states that limit the length of inmates' hair and beards, according to the American Correctional Chaplains Association.

Tying the knot

Rep. Randy Forbes is preparing to take on another role.

The Virginian-Pilot reports that Forbes has applied for permission to perform a civil marriage ceremony in June. A Forbes spokesman says the Virginia Republican has been asked to perform the ceremony for a nephew.

Under Virginia law, circuit judges can grant nonclergy one-time authority to perform weddings.

Lawn mower accident

Iona McGuire, 67, was killed Monday while riding a lawn mower in an area near the road. Henry County Sheriff Lane Perry says an uneven surface and a sharp U-turn may have contributed to the Axton woman's fatal lawn mower accident.

The sheriff tells the Martinsville Bulletin that McGuire either fell off the riding mower or it rolled over onto her. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Recycled roadkill

Roadkill is more than unsightly; it's also expensive. The Virginia Department of Transportation spends $4.4 million each year removing and disposing of dead wildlife that has been run over on 57,867 miles of public roads. Now, the state is considering a "greener" alternative-- composting.

Dailypress.com reports that the VDOT may be mixing the carcasses in with wood chip piles to allow natural decomposition or storing the carcasses in large drums. If implemented, composting might save the state hundreds of thousands of dollars each year.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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