State

     RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - State taxation officials are warning Virginians about a phone scam related to the new refund debit cards.
 
     The Virginia Department of Taxation says it has received reports of phone calls being made to individuals telling them their "Way2Go prepaid MasterCard is locked for security reasons."
 
     Officials say the automated caller then tries to get the listener to give out personal information.
 
     The department says this is a phone scam and that it never makes automated calls or solicits personal information in this manner.
 
     For tax-related questions or information, the agency suggests calling its customer service department at 804-367-8031.

SANDSTON, Va. (AP) - Henrico County Police say eight middle school students went to the hospital after a car hit a school bus.

Police  said the students and the car's driver suffered minor injuries. The driver also was taken to the hospital.

A car hit the rear of the school bus Thursday morning as the bus was traveling to Elko Middle School in Sandston.

No charges have been filed.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Gov. Bob McDonnell's transportation funding bill has cleared its first hurdle in the General Assembly, but it still has a long way to go.

The Senate Transportation Committee on Wednesday advanced the five-year, $3.1 billion funding package to the Finance Committee.

The bill would eliminate the state's 17.5-cent per gallon gas tax and replace it with a sale tax increase of less than a penny on the dollar.

The package also includes other funding mechanisms, such as a new $100 fee on alternative fuel vehicles.

Democratic Sen. Dave Marsden of Fairfax County questioned whether Virginians would really see a 17.5-cent decrease in prices at the pump after the gas tax is eliminated.

Secretary of Transportation Sean Connaughton said the administration believes competition will drive the price down.

     RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - A man who fatally shot a Petersburg man outside a Richmond nightclub will spend 20 years in prison.
 
     Media outlets report a Richmond Circuit Court judge sentenced 23-year-old Kevin Cunningham Tuesday to 43 years with 23 suspended in the fatal shooting of Jeremy Uzzle outside Have a Nice Day Cafe in 2010.
 
     Cunningham pleaded no contest in October to second-degree murder and a related firearm charge.
 
     He was convicted of the same charges in 2010, but an appeals court reversed the convictions because prosecutors used evidence that he had illegally purchased the gun used in the crime.
 
     Cunningham testified then that he shot Uzzle in self-defense because he feared for his life. Prosecutors argued he did it out of revenge for a beating earlier that day.

ROANOKE, Va. (AP) - The National Park Service wants to convert a little-used campground along the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia to a daytime recreation area.

But the park service doesn't have funding to implement the conversion. That means the Roanoke Mountain Campground will remain as a campground until Congress appropriates funding to implement the change.

The park service estimates the conversion would cost nearly $3 million.

The  campground's conversion is part of the park service's 25-year management plan for the parkway.

Roanoke Mountain is the least-used of the parkway's nine campgrounds.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - A Republican-dominated subcommittee has again killed efforts to allow no-excuses absentee voting in Virginia and essentially put Virginia among the growing number of states that allows early voting.

On party-line votes of 4-2, the Privileges and Elections subcommittee dispatched six bills, one of them Republican-sponsored. The measures would have eliminated the need to select from among a handful of excuses to vote early in hopes of reducing long waits at some polling places on election day.

By the same vote, it also killed a bill to allow parents or legal guardians of children 4 or younger and people in areas under a presidential or gubernatorial emergency declaration to vote absentee without an excuse.

One bill advanced that would allow seniors 65 and older to vote absentee.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Education Week ranks Virginia's schools fourth in its annual rankings of the nation's school systems.

Virginia received an overall B with a score of 82.9 in the magazine's "Quality Counts 2013" report released Thursday. The national grade was a C-plus.

The annual report graded the states and the District of Columbia in six areas of policy and performance.

Virginia received an A in standards, assessments and accountability. The report gave the state a B in transitions and alignment, which includes early childhood education.

Virginia also received a B in chance for success, a B- in the teaching professions, a C-plus in school finance and a C in student achievement.

Gov. Bob McDonnell says Virginia must continue efforts to ensure that all students are prepared for the jobs of the future.

     RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Gov. Bob McDonnell wants Virginia lawmakers to eliminate the state gasoline tax and replace it with a sales tax increase of less than a penny on the dollar.
 
     The swap is part of a five-year, $3.1 billion transportation funding plan unveiled by the governor Tuesday, a day before legislators convene their 2013 session.
 
     If legislators approve, Virginia would become the first state to drop its gasoline tax. McDonnell says the 17.5 cents per gallon gas tax is no longer viable because of inflation and more fuel efficient vehicles. Replacing that tax with a 0.8 percent increase in the state sales tax and earmarking the revenue for transportation would raise $607 million over five years.
 
     McDonnell also wants to increase the portion of the sales tax already designated for transportation.

PRINCE GEORGE, Va. (AP) - A former Prince George County junior high school teacher has pleaded guilty to using a computer to solicit a former student for sex.

Lloyd Tyrell Alston of Greensboro, N.C., was sentenced to one year in prison after entering his plea Thursday. After release, he will be required to register as a sex offender.

According to the state attorney general's office, the 32-year-old Alston, who later became a preacher in North Carolina, used social networking sites and text messages to engage in sexually explicit conversations with the girl. She showed the messages to her father, who contacted Virginia State Police.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Advocates of wind power are celebrating the survival of a tax credit for research and development of renewable energy such as wind-generated electricity.

The credit survived the high-stakes debate in Washington over taxes and spending in the so-called fiscal cliff drama. Advocates argue that the tax credit is critical to support an emerging and costly energy industry.

Nancy Sopko of Oceana said the investment tax credit provides certainty to the financial sector that wind-power development is a viable job-creating industry.

Sarah Bucci of Environment Virginia said the extension of the tax credit will promote the growth of wind power in Virginia and the U.S.

More than 133 square miles of ocean off Virginia Beach is being eyed by energy companies for the development of wind farms.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Revised abortion clinic regulations that include strict building standards have been certified by Gov. Bob McDonnell.

The  McDonnell certified the regulations on Dec. 28. Following a 60-day public comment period, the regulations will go back to the state Board of Health for a final vote. The board approved the regulations in September.

The new regulations require abortion clinics to meet the same strict building standards as new hospitals.

Abortion-rights advocates argue that the strict standards could force most of Virginia's 20 clinics out of business.

McDonnell spokesman Tucker Martin says the governor believes the regulations will help ensure the safety and well-being of patients.

Existing clinics will half until the latter half of 2014 to comply with the new regulations.