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~Man solicited minor via text and Facebook after meeting victim at church~ Matthew James Gray, age 30, of Hopewell pled guilty today to five counts of solicitation of a minor and was sentenced to ten years in prison with four years suspended by Hopewell Circuit Court Judge, Hon. Nathan Curtis Lee. Attorney General Mark R. Herring made the announcement after a successful prosecution by Assistant Attorney General Brittany Jones with cooperation from the Hopewell Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office. “Justice has been served and a dangerous criminal is behind bars where he cannot harm children,” said Attorney General Mark R. Herring. “This…

A new report detailing affordability and plan choice in the Health Insurance Marketplace finds that with applicable tax credits, 70 percent of Virginia enrollees could find plans for $75 in premiums per month or less after tax credits; and 76 percent could find plans for $100 in premiums per month or less after tax credits. Virginia consumers who return to the Marketplace to comparison shop could save money. According to today’s report, 72 percent of returning Virginia Marketplace consumers could save an average of $326 annually in premiums before tax credits for a plan in the same level of coverage…

The Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) operations returned a record $152 million in profits to the commonwealth in fiscal year 2015, an increase of 8.6 percent over the previous year’s $140 million in profits. In its 17th consecutive record-setting year Virginia ABC realized $848.1 million in gross sales, $47.6 million higher than last year. Retail sales to individuals in stores and online were $694,898,880, an increase of six percent over the previous year. Licensee sales (sales to restaurants) increased 4.4 percent to total $151,564,627 in fiscal year 2015. Virginia ABC’s profits combined with state taxes, sales tax, and…

On October 22, 2015 Tranlin, Inc. officially broke ground on its first U.S. operation, a $2 billion advanced manufacturing facility. Tranlin’s investment is located in Chesterfield County and will generate more than 2,000 direct jobs in Virginia by 2020. “The Tranlin facility in Chesterfield will create thousands of jobs and millions in new agriculture revenues, all of which will support our shared vision for a stronger new Virginia economy. I am thrilled to help break ground on a project that will have enormous economic development implications for our entire Commonwealth,” said Governor McAuliffe about the project.   Gov. McAuliffe and…

In a surprise 2-1 decision, the three judge panel upheld the constitutionality of the challenged House of Delegates districts in the Bethune-Hill case.  In a 176 page opinion with a strong dissent by 4th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Keenan, the panel approved of the 55% black voting age population threshold.  This same threshold was ruled a racial gerrymander when it applied to the Third Congressional District case earlier this year. Brian Cannon, the Executive Director of OneVirginia2021: Virginians for Fair Redistricting said, “the court had to decide whether this was a racial gerrymander or a political gerrymander.  It called…