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Local & VCU National & International Virginia receives failing grade on government integrity

Virginia is among eight states that received failing grades for state government integrity, and its weaknesses leave the commonwealth highly vulnerable to corruption, according to a new report.

Only three states were ranked below Virginia on the “Corruption Risk Report Card” from the State Integrity Investigation, a study conducted over several months by the Center for Public Integrity, Public Radio International and the nonprofit group Global Integrity.

The study looked at 330 indicators in 14 categories. Virginia flunked nine of the categories: public access to information, political financing, executive accountability, legislative accountability, judicial accountability, state budget processes, lobbying disclosure, state pension fund management and ethics enforcement agencies.

Virginia was not alone in its overall underperformance. Not a single state earned an A, and 45 states scored a C or below.

New Jersey, not typically viewed as a bastion of government integrity, ranked first with a B-plus.

Brief by the Richmond Times-Dispatch

Louisa County schools to get additional $3.8M for quake repairs

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is giving $3.8 million to the Louisa County School Board to pay for school construction and other costs related to damage caused by an earthquake last year.

U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Jim Webb announced the grant on Monday.

FEMA previously awarded $19 million to help rebuild Louisa County High School and $3.2 million to help rebuild Thomas Jefferson Elementary School, which were both damaged severely during the Aug. 23 earthquake.

The earthquake displaced about 2,000 of Louisa's 4,500 students.

Through February, FEMA had provided $13 million in disaster aid to homeowners in the counties of Albemarle, Culpeper, Fluvanna, Goochland, King George, Louisa, Orange, Spotsylvania and the city of Fredericksburg. In January, nearly $7.7 million had been disbursed to Virginia residents.

To date, the U.S. Geological Survey has reported dozens of aftershocks with a magnitude greater than 2.0. The latest aftershock hit Friday in Cumberland County with a magnitude of 2.2. It was about 19 miles northeast of Farmville and 17 miles south of Columbia.

Brief by the Richmond Times-Dispatch

Obama leads all GOP candidates in Va., poll finds

President Barack Obama enjoys a healthy advantage over all Republican presidential candidates in Virginia, a new poll shows, with his eight-point lead over former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney the largest to date.

Obama leads Romney 50 percent to 42 percent, according to the Quinnipiac University poll. That’s double the president’s four-point lead last month.

The president holds a slightly larger edge over former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, 49 percent to 40 percent. He leads former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Texas Rep. Ron Paul by double digits.

Adding Gov. Bob McDonnell to the ticket does little to help Romney here. In a hypothetical Obama-Biden/RomneyMcDonnell match-up, Democrats win 50 percent to 43 percent.

Brief by the Richmond Times-Dispatch

‘Harry Potter’ actor jailed for joining riots

A judge has sent a cast member of the “Harry Potter” films to prison for taking part in rioting that flared across England last summer.

Judge Simon Carr sentenced Jamie Waylett, who played Hogwarts bully Vincent Crabbe in six of the films, to two years in jail.

Prosecutors said Waylett was part of a small gang that took part in the riots in north London on Aug. 8.

A jury at London's Wood Green Crown Court found Waylett guilty Tuesday of violent disorder, but acquitted him of another charge of intending to destroy or damage property with a fire bomb he was holding.

The 22-year-old had already admitted handling a bottle of stolen Champagne from a supermarket during the riots. Waylett has a previous conviction for growing marijuana.

Brief by the Associated Press

Strong 7.6 earthquake shakes Mexico City

A strong, long 7.6-magnitude earthquake with an epicenter in Guerrero state today, followed by an aftershock that shook central southernMexico, swayed buildings in Mexico City and sent frightened workers and residents into the streets.

The U.S. Geological Survey set the intensity of the first quake at 7.6 and said the epicenter was 11 miles underground and was felt strongly in Oaxaca.Mexico's National Seismological Survey said the tremblor had an epicenter southwest of Ometepec in Guerrero state.

Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard's Twitter account said the water system and other “strategic services” were not experiencing problems.

But frightened workers and residents poured into the streets of the capital just minutes after noon local time.

President Felipe Calderon said there were no immediate reports of damage through his Twitter account. Telephone service was down in the city and throughout the area where the quake was felt.

The quake was felt in southern Oaxaca state next to the epicenter in Guerrero.

Brief by the Associated Press

3 Online Date Sites Agree To Screen For Predators

Three online dating giants agreed to screen for sex offenders and take other safety steps after a woman was assaulted on a date, the California attorney general's office announced Tuesday.

Match.com, eHarmony and Spark Networks signed a joint statement of business principles intended to provide an example for the industry and help guard against sexual predators, identity theft and financial scams.

“Consumers should be able to use websites without the fear of being scammed or targeted,” Attorney General Kamala D. Harris said in a statement.

Among other things, the companies agreed Monday to check subscribers against national sex registries, supply members with online safety tips and provide a quick way to report abuses. Some of the companies already are using some of those practices.

The dating services also will provide the attorney general's office with reports of suspected criminal activity, she said.

The statement is nonbinding and carries no enforcement penalties, but it does publicly hold dating sites to account for their members' safety, said Lynda Gledhill, a spokeswoman for the attorney general's office.

Brief by the Associated Press

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