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‘Chalk Up the Town 2012’ invited anyone to draw on Carytown sidewalks this past Saturday with chalk provided by the Carytown Merchants Association.

Local & VCU National & International Virginia investigates voter fraud

Results of an ongoing Virginia State Police investigation of voter registration irregularities from the 2008 general election may signal a more significant voter fraud issue than some state lawmakers realized.

As Virginia legislators hotly debated a voter ID bill that narrowly passed the General Assembly, many were unaware of a state police investigation that, so far, has resulted in charges against 38 people statewide for voter fraud. Warrants have been obtained for a 39th person who can't be located.

A majority of those cases already have resulted in convictions, and 26 additional cases are still being actively investigated nearly three and a half years after the state Board of Elections forwarded more than 400 voter and election fraud allegations from 62 cities and counties to Virginia State Police for individual investigation.

Many opponents of the voter ID law maintained that there was no evidence of widespread election fraud in Virginia, and the law would suppress the vote of minorities and others who don't have adequate identification. About 3.7 million Virginians voted in the 2008 election.

Richmond had by far the largest number of voter-fraud cases opened by state police – 124 – followed by Fairfax County with 37, Chesterfield and Prince William counties with 20 each, Alexandria with 19, Henrico with 17 and Petersburg with 13, according to state police data requested by the Richmond TimesDispatch.

Brief by the Richmond Times-Dispatch

Richmond proposal would restrict firing guns in city

The Richmond City Council will vote Monday on a measure that would ban discharging firearms within the city limits, with a few exceptions.

The ordinance, proposed by Councilman Charles Samuels of the 2nd District, would change city code to prohibit discharging firearms “anywhere within the city limits.” That language would replace the existing code, which restricts shooting a firearm in “any street in the city or in any place of public business or place of public gathering.”

Samuels said the request to tighten the language came from Richmond police and the commonwealth's attorney's office. Though a state statute prohibits reckless handling of firearms, the new ordinance would ensure police have an additional tool to charge offenders, Samuels said.

Richmond Commonwealth's Attorney Michael Herring said he has reviewed a draft of the amended ordinance and agrees with the wording.

Violators would be charged with a Class 1 misdemeanor, punishable by up to 12 months in jail and a fine of up to $2,500.

Brief by the Richmond Times-Dispatch

Fort Lee bans metal detectors

Fort Lee is banning the use of metal detectors on the Petersburg Army base.

The new policy announced this week is intended to protect archaeological resources on the sprawling base that date to before the American Revolution.

Fort Lee's cultural resources manager, Amy Wood, says the policy is intended to safeguard those historic resources. Archaeological finds at Fort Lee have included Confederate cannonballs and 20th-century hand grenades.

At a nearby Civil War battlefield, a Petersburg man was convicted in December of taking more than 9,000 artifacts. He was sentenced to a prison term.

A Fort Lee spokesman said the new policy stems from incidents like that.

Brief by the Associated Press

Hearing results in surprise Zimmerman apology

A routine bail hearing for George Zimmerman took a surprising turn into remorse and explanation Friday when the neighborhood watch volunteer got on the witness stand and told Trayvon Martin's parents: “I am sorry for the loss of your son.” “I did not know how old he was. I thought he was a little bit younger than I am. I did not know if he was armed or not,” Zimmerman said, marking the first time he has spoken publicly about the Feb. 26 shooting of the unarmed black 17-year-old.

The hearing wrapped up with a judge ruling Zimmerman can be released from jail on $150,000 bail while he awaits trial on second-degree murder charges. Zimmerman, who has been in jail for more than a week, could be out within days and may be allowed to live outside Florida for his own safety once arrangements are made to monitor him electronically.

Brief by the Associated Press

One in two new graduates are jobless or underemployed

The college class of 2012 is in for a rude welcome to the world of work.

A weak labor market already has left half of young college graduates either jobless or underemployed in positions that don't fully use their skills and knowledge.

Young adults with bachelor's degrees are increasingly scraping by in lower-wage jobs – waiter or waitress, bartender, retail clerk or receptionist, for example – and that's confounding their hopes a degree would pay off despite higher tuition and mounting student loans.

An analysis of government data conducted for The Associated Press lays bare the highly uneven prospects for holders of bachelor's degrees.

Opportunities for college graduates vary widely.

While there's strong demand in science, education and health fields, arts and humanities flounder. Median wages for those with bachelor's degrees are down from 2000, hit by technological changes that are eliminating midlevel jobs such as bank tellers. Most future job openings are projected to be in lower-skilled positions such as home health aides, who can provide personalized attention as the U.S. population ages.

Brief by the Associated Press

UN threatens sanctions against Guinea-Bissau

The U.N. Security Council threatened sanctions against the perpetrators and supporters of the military coup in GuineaBissau on Saturday if the legitimate government isn't restored.

A presidential statement adopted by the council and read at a formal meeting reiterated the council's “strong condemnation of the military coup by the military leadership and political elements” on April 12.

The Security Council rejected “the unconstitutional establishment of a Transitional National Council by the military leadership and its supporters.”

It demanded the immediate restoration of constitutional order, reinstatement of the legitimate government, and unconditional release of the interim president, prime minister and other officials who were detained during the coup.

Brief by the Associated Press

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