The NewsRoom Syndicate

Local News You Can Use And Share

Category Archive : Virginia

Police Seeking Identities of Robbery Suspects from Wednesday Night Robbery In Danville, Virginia

The Danville Police Department is seeking the identities of two suspects from a convenience store robbery that occurred Wednesday evening, Feb. 15.

Around 8:40 p.m. Wednesday, the Sunrise convenience store in the 500 block of Memorial Drive reported two black males entered the store.

One of the males, described as six feet tall in a gray jacket was masked and armed with a machete. The other male, described as five foot, six inches tall wearing a multicolored jacket, was armed with a handgun and demanded the cashier open the register.

Both men left the store with an undisclosed amount of cash and cigarettes. They were last seen leaving the store on foot.

No one was injured during the incident.

Anyone who has information is asked to please contact the Danville Police Department through any platform, including patrol at 434-799-6510, investigations at 434-799-6508, calling 911, contacting Crime Stoppers at 434-793-0000, approach any officer you see, through social media, via email crimetips@danvilleva.gov, or use our crime tips app CARE at https://www.p3tips.com/tipform.aspx?ID=818#.

Sunrise Robbery Suspect Photos (2)
Sunrise Robbery Suspect Photos (3)
Sunrise Robbery Suspect Photos (4)
Sunrise Robbery Suspect Photos (5)

SOURCE

Danville Police Department Seeking Public Comment for CALEA Accreditation

The Danville Police Department is participating in its first year of review after being awarded CALEA Accreditation in March 2022. CALEA, Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, will be collecting public comment on the department through April 21.

The purpose of this public portal is to receive comments regarding an agency’s compliance with CALEA standards, engagement in the service community, delivery of public safety services, and overall candidacy for accredited status. These comments can be in the form of commendations or concerns. The overall intent of the accreditation process is to provide the participating agency with information to support continuous improvement, as well as foster the pursuit of professional excellence.

IMPORTANT: CALEA is not an investigatory body and subsequently the public portal should not be used to submit information for such purposes.  Additionally, there will be no response other than acknowledgement to submissions; however, the information will be considered in context to its relevancy to compliance with standards and the tenets of CALEA® Accreditation.

To submit a comment about the Danville Police Department, click here.

SOURCE

City of Danville launches new real estate sales dashboard

The City of Danville’s Information Technology Department has launched a new real estate dashboard that shows valid residential sales in the city over a rolling three-year period.

The Sales Analysis Dashboard was developed in conjunction with the Finance Department’s real estate division.

“The ArcGIS dashboards enable us to convey information by presenting location-based analytics using intuitive and interactive data on a single screen,” said Scott Longerbeam, geographic information systems (GIS) coordinator for the Information Technology Department. “These dashboards are used to help make decisions, visualize trends, monitor status in real time, and inform our community.”

The Sales Analysis Dashboard displays the following information:

  • Total sales amount.
  • Average sale price.
  • Total number of sales.

“This sales data can further be filtered by predetermined areas, such as the northern or southern parts of the city, or by the tax grids, with the values directly reflecting the areas chosen,” Longerbeam said.

Users can select multiple tax grid areas at once, filter the selection by price or by date, as well as select via a user defined rectangle, circle, or custom polygon area.

“Users can also click on individual sale points to access a pop-up containing some basic information about the parcel, a picture of the house, and a direct link to our Parcel Viewer application for a more in-depth look,” he added.

The GIS division of the Department of Information Technology oversees the Parcel Viewer application, as well as the use and development of other location-based information systems.

SOURCE

Bill proposes requiring all Virginia motorists to have insurance – Source – Virginia Mercury

Bill proposes requiring all Virginia motorists to have insurance

by Nathaniel Cline, Virginia Mercury
February 16, 2023

Virginia drivers may soon be required to have car insurance to drive in the commonwealth after bipartisan support sent legislation to the governor for approval.

Senate Bill 951, which is being carried by Republican Sen. Frank Ruff of Mecklenburg, would repeal an option in state law for drivers to register an uninsured motor vehicle by paying a $500 fee. The registration does not provide vehicle insurance to drivers.

Virginia and New Hampshire are the only two states in the U.S. to not require car insurance, according to AAA.

Macaulay Porter, a spokeswoman for Gov. Glenn Youngkin, said the governor will review the legislation.

“Most uninsured drivers have limited assets to either pay for their repairs at the time of the accident or assets for others to attach,” said Ruff in an email to the Mercury. “Therefore, they are doing the repairs partially themselves or junking the vehicle.”

Under the legislation, all registrations of uninsured vehicles would expire prior to July 1, 2024.

Insured motorists generally have to pay for their own damages if hit by an uninsured driver. Ruff said he hopes the focus on the issue will help drivers understand the need for insurance. 

The law allowing vehicle owners to register an uninsured motor vehicle and still comply with Virginia’s insurance laws was enacted in 1958, according to Jessica Cowardin, a spokeswoman with the Department of Motor Vehicles. The fee was originally set at $15. 

Fees are deposited into the Uninsured Motorist Fund, which aims to reduce the cost of insurance coverage for accidents involving uninsured motorists. 

The fund also receives revenues from penalties and fees for noncompliance with Virginia’s financial responsibility laws.  

Today, approximately 5,000 of Virginia’s 7.5 million registered vehicles are uninsured, according to fiscal year 2022 data collected by the DMV. Of the $5.3 million transferred by DMV to the fund that year, approximately $650,000 was from the uninsured motor vehicle fee. 

In January 1995, the DMV convened a task force to study issues related to liability insurance. The group recommended that Virginia continue to offer motorists the option to pay an uninsured motorist fee rather than requiring mandatory insurance. 

“Compulsory insurance appears at first glance to be the right answer,” says a 1996 report on the task force. However, it concluded, “compulsory insurance is not the solution to the problem of uninsured motorists. Instead of reducing the number of uninsured motorists, compulsory insurance requirements have prompted citizens, who are trying to circumvent the state’s insurance requirements, to acquire short term policies that are canceled as soon as the vehicle is registered or, obtain a fraudulent insurance card that is shown at the time of registration.”

Ron Jenkins, executive director of the Virginia Loggers Association, said the group reached out to Ruff about addressing the issue of uninsured motorists after logging truck drivers began installing dash cameras to document “some of the crazy things we see on the highway these days” and protect themselves in a potential court case. 

“We think it’s a good policy,” said Jenkins. “We think it’s a perfect time to change policy, and we hope the governor signs it.”

Matt Overturf, a regional vice president with the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, said it’s difficult to predict how drivers of uninsured vehicles might respond to the proposed elimination of the fee option. 

“Some may continue to obey state laws and obtain coverage despite the likely higher costs, some may opt to continue driving but without coverage, and some may simply stop driving,” Overturf said. “But what remains certain is that having insurance coverage is a positive for both the driver and others on the road and a financial lifeline in the wake of an accident.”

Ruff admitted he had had no expectation of the legislation passing since the law allowing drivers to pay the fee had been in place for decades.

He said drivers would also illegally use a “farm use” placard to avoid insuring vehicles. Last year, lawmakers passed legislation that requires vehicle owners using the farm use exemption to obtain a nontransferable permanent farm use placard from the DMV for $15 and certify that the vehicle is insured.

Lawmakers last year also passed Ruff’s legislation to automatically fine drivers $600 every time a car was stopped if a driver could not show proof of insurance within a couple of weeks. He said a no-frills liability policy can often be purchased for less than the fine.

GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX

SUBSCRIBE

Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sarah Vogelsong for questions: info@virginiamercury.com. Follow Virginia Mercury on Facebook and Twitter.