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Local & VCU National & International House passes ‘personhood’ and ultrasound measures

After another day of fierce debate, the state�s Republicanled House of Delegates on Tuesday pushed through two abortion-related measures that opponents view as an attack on women's rights.

On a 63-36 vote, the House passed a bill requiring women to undergo an ultrasound prior to abortion. That followed a 66-32 vote approving legislation that defines life as beginning at conception.

Democrats claimed that House Bill 462, sponsored by Del. Kathy J. Byron, R-Campbell, mandates a potentially invasive procedure simply to discourage abortion.

Republicans contend that the bill merely codifies an already common procedure that offers valuable information to women ahead of a clearly invasive procedure.

Del. Joseph D. Morrissey, D-Henrico, who has called himself a �pro-life Democrat,� argued vehemently against the bill.

The second abortion-related measure, House Bill 1, sponsored by Del. Robert G. Marshall, R-Prince William, would impart the rights of �personhood� to a human embryo at the moment of conception.

Brief by the Richmond Times-Dispatch

Gay, lesbian couples apply to marry in Va.

Cameron Hunt and Keyan Herron, a gay Richmond couple, on Tuesday joined four other gay and lesbian couples in what has become a Valentine�s Day tradition – a trek to the Richmond Circuit Court clerk's office to file applications for marriage licenses.

For the eighth year, the applications by gay and lesbian couples were rejected because Virginia does not recognize samesex marriage. But Hunt and Herron followed their hearts and later were unofficially wed outside the John Marshall Courts Building.

The gay and lesbian couples who applied for marriage licenses – along with another gay man who asked for his Massachusetts marriage to be recognized in Virginia – said they were buoyed by recent events. This month, Washington state legalized same-sex marriage, making it the seventh in the nation to do so, and a federal appeals court ruled California's ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional, saying it serves no purpose other than to �lessen the status and human dignity� of gays.

The Richmond couples were part of a statewide event organized by People of Faith for Equality in Virginia and were accompanied by dozens of supporters, the largest turnout in the history of the event.

Brief by the Richmond Times-Dispatch

Newport News to be base of new discount PeoplExpress Airlines

A new PeoplExpress Airlines will start low-cost air service this summer from Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport, where the company will be based.

The new airline proposes to fly to Newark International Airport, as well as Pittsburgh, Providence, R.I., and West Palm Beach, Fla., and eventually other locations.

Starting with four aircraft, operations could begin as early as mid-July, Mike Morisi, the company�s chief operating officer, said Monday.

Lured by tickets selling for 40 percent below current market prices, the new PeoplExpress hopes to draw passengers from the Peninsula, the Richmond region, Hampton Roads and northeastern North Carolina, Morisi said.

Brief by the Richmond Times-Dispatch

6.0 quake recorded in Pacific off Ore.; no damage

The National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colo., says an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.0 off the Oregon coast caused no reported damage and only a smattering of reports from people who felt it as a weak jolt.

The shallow quake was recorded at 7:31 p.m. PST Tuesday more than 150 miles west of southern Oregon. It did not generate a tsunami.

Within about an hour, the information center�s website recorded 39 reports of people who reported feeling the quake. Most were in northern California and southern Oregon and characterized it was �weak� or �barely felt.�

U.S. Geological Survey geophysicist Dale Grant told The Associated Press in a telephone interview that the quake occurred in a seismically active area and was �not uncommon at all.�

Brief by the Associated Press

Arizona's English-only election law questioned

The case of a woman barred from running for city council in an Arizona border town because she isn�t fluent in English has raised questions about the 120-year-old law used to kick her off the ballot.

While records don�t show the exact intent of the old law, state historian Marshall Trimble said that new white settlers who came to Arizona in droves starting in 1890 with the expansion of railroads �were trying to eradicate Spanish.�

The Arizona Supreme Court last week upheld a county judge�s ruling that removed Alejandrina Cabrera from a March ballot for city council in San Luis, a small city on the U.S.Mexico border in southwestern Arizona.

Cabrera says her English is good enough for the community�s mostly Spanish-speaking constituents. Her attorney, John Minore, says the effort to stop her is politically motivated because she tried twice to recall the mayor.

If left unchallenged, he warned, the law �will become a political tool … a litmus or intelligence test� that could be �used and abused to the detriment of voters.�

In seeking her removal, San Luis Mayor Juan Carlos Escamilla and other city officials cited a 1913 Arizona law that says anyone �who is unable to speak, write and read the English language is not eligible� to hold any kind of public office in the state.

Brief by the Associated Press

Wealthy colleges enjoy banner fundraising year

For the 1 percent of super-wealthy elite, it was a much better one that catapulted them even farther ahead of the pack.

The latest annual college fundraising figures out today show donations to colleges and universities rose 8.2 percent in fiscal 2011, crossing over the $30 billion mark for just the second time ever, and improving many schools� financial footing after several lean years due to the economic downturn.

But the very richest universities accounted for nearly half the growth: Of the $30.3 billion collected by colleges and universities nationwide, $8.2 billion — or 27 percent — was raised by just the top 20 institutions. At those universities, fundraising was 15.3 percent higher than the year before, widening an already yawning wealth gap at the top of higher education.

Stanford University led with $709.4 million collected in fiscal 2011, followed by Harvard ($639.2 million) and Yale ($580.3 million).

Most campuses on the list have major medical schools and affiliated research centers, though No. 4 MIT ($534 million) is an exception.

Brief by the Associated Press

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