Rodney Rodis recharged with state charges.

If that makes sense. Richmond Times-Dispatch:

Louisa County grand jury yesterday reinstated 13 theft counts against a former Catholic priest convicted in federal court of defrauding two local churches of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Rodney L. Rodis, 51, was sentenced in February to five years in federal prison for diverting for personal use money donated to the Louisa County parishes he headed. The panel also indicted a suspended Howard University soccer coach accused of using the Internet to solicit sex from a minor, said Thomas A. Garrett, Louisa’s commonwealth’s attorney.

Louisa County authorities initially charged Rodis with 13 felony embezzlement counts last year after church officials realized he had stolen donation money. Then-prosecutor R. Don Short dropped the state counts to allow the federal case to proceed.

Garrett, subsequently elected the county’s commonwealth’s attorney, said the federal courts did a good job addressing the fraud and money laundering charges, but thought the theft should also be addressed.

Hillary Clinton to extradite OPEC leaders to the United States?

Or something? The Politico:

Clinton’s attacks on oil prices as artificially inflated, Enron-style, keep escalating, and today she appeared to threaten to break up the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

“We’re going to go right at OPEC,” she said. “They can no longer be a cartel, a monopoly that get together once every couple of months in some conference room in some plush place in the world, they decide how much oil they’re going to produce and what price they’re going to put it at,” she told a crod at a firehouse in Merrillville, IN.

“That’s not a market. That’s a monopoly,” she said, saying she’d use anti-trust law and the World Trade Organization to take on OPEC.

Let’s see: United States anti-trust law only applies in the U.S. of A. OPEC is based in Vienna, Austria. The closest countries to the United States that are members of OPEC are Venezuela, Ecuador, and Algeria.

Further, OPEC is fall from a monopoly, they only account for 41.7% of the world’s oil production. Total non OPEC counties count for more (58.2%), so let’s launch an anti-trust investigation into them.

The OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) which includes the United States, Canada, and Mexico account for 23.8% of world production. Don’t forget to investigate them.

And you know what OPEC would do if Hillary actually attempted this act of outright stupidity? Stop supplying oil to the United States.

She used to be a lawyer, right?

So much for the “world’s smartest woman”.

“Senseless act of violence” story of the day.

WTOP:

Baltimore police say a city woman was shot in the head and killed after she and her companion refused to give a man a cigarette.

The shooting happened shortly before 1 a.m. Saturday in the 500 block of Brunswick Street.

According to police. 29-year-old Dawn Shipley and the male friend were approached by a man asking for a cigarette. When he was refused, police say the man drew a gun and shot Shipley. Her friend was not hurt.

Shipley died later at an area hospital.

Weekly News Media Briefs – Week Ending May 3, 2008

From the Caroline County Sheriff’s Office: Weekly News Media Briefs – Week Ending May 3, 2008:

On April 28, 2008, Deputy G. W. Honeycutt was made aware by staff at Caroline High School of a possible sexual assault that occurred in a residence in Ruther Glen. Honeycutt notified Investigator S. L. Call. After investigating, a 42 year old male was charged with rape, 2 counts of sodomy and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The male, who was a parent of the victim, was ordered held without bond and an arraignment date of April 29, 2008 was set.

On April 28, 2008, Deputy C. M. Polliard responded to a fight in Woodford. After investigating, Betty V. White, 45, of Woodford was charged with 2 counts of assault. She was released on a personal recognizance bond and a court date of May 7, 2008 was set.

On April 28, 2008, Deputy C. S. Overman responded to a domestic in Frog Level. After investigating, Ellen R. Nash, 40, of Frog Level was charged with domestic assault. She was released on a personal recognizance bond and a court date of May 1, 2008 was set.

On April 29, 2008 Deputy T. P. Connolly responded to a domestic in Bowling Green. After investigating, Randall W. Woody, 44, of Bowling Green was charged with being drunk in public. He was released on a personal recognizance bond and a court date of May 16, 2008 was set.

On April 30, 2008, Deputy P. E. Ford responded to a reported larceny in Dawn. After investigating, Carl E. Brown, Jr. 20, of Dawn was charged with possession of a controlled substance. He was ordered held on a $2500 bond and a court date of May 7, 2008 was set.

On April 30, 2008, Deputy W. D. Lipscomb stopped a vehicle for a traffic infraction. After investigating, Jesus I. Tejada, 51, of Ruther Glen was charged with driving under the influence and refusal to submit to a breath test. He was released on a personal recognizance bond and a court date of May 16, 2008 was set.

On May 1, 2008, Deputy April 24, 2008, W. D. Lipscomb stopped a vehicle for a traffic infraction. After investigating, Eveline M. Terrell, 49, of Dawn was charged with driving under the influence and possession of cocaine. She was released on a personal recognizance bond and a court date of May 16, 2008 was set.

On May 2, 2008, Investigator M. M. Ellett placed additional charges against Antoine T. Johnson, 18, of no fixed address. After a follow up investigation, Johnson was charged with grand larceny and selling a firearm to a minor. He was ordered held without bond and an arraignment date of May 9, 2008 was set.

On May 2, 2008, Deputy C. A. Heywood responded to a domestic in Port Royal. After investigating, Thomas A. Herritt, 28, of Port Royal was charged with domestic assault. He was released on a personal recognizance bond and a court date of May 6, 2008 was set.

On May 3, 2008, Deputy P. E. Ford responded to a break-in located in Bowling Green. After investigating, Carol R. Queen, 48, of Bowling Green was charged with breaking and entering and assault and battery. He was ordered held on a $2500 bond and a court date of May 7, 2008 was set.

On May 3, 2008, Deputy C. A. Heywood observed a person trespassing in Port Royal. After investigating, Theodore R. Lee, 48, of Port Royal was charged with being drunk in public. He was released on a personal recognizance bond and a court date of June 11, 2008 was set.

Caroline County Sheriff’s Office Wrap Up

According to Sheriff Tony Lippa, Caroline Deputies made 4 drug arrests, 2 DUI arrests, 6 domestic violence arrests and 60 other criminal arrests during the past week. The deputies served 190 civil papers, issued 349 traffic summonses, handled 13 motor vehicle crashes, responded to 34 alarm calls, and dealt with 10 juvenile offenders. The Sheriff’s Office Communications Center dispatched 528 calls for service and handled 1,694 telephone inquiries. The CCSO also logged 32 calls assisting outside agencies and had 207 self initiated calls.

Your Sheriff’s Office will be operating Selective Enforcement in the following areas, Belmont subdivision, Carmel Church intersection Rogers Clark with Ruther Glen Rd. (Rt. 207 & Rt. 652), Ladysmith Village, Lake Caroline, Lake Land Or, Port Royal, Rt. 30.

Repeat after me: The SKS is not an assault rifle. Nor are they “high-powered”. Nor were they ever “banned”.

Philadelphia Daily News:

The mastermind of the Port Richmond bank robbery was Howard Cain, who was fatally shot by police Saturday while fleeing in a minivan minutes after he fired a once-banned high-powered Chinese assault rifle, killing Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski, police say.

[…]

The trio hopped in a blue Jeep Liberty. Hearing flash information about the Jeep, Liczbinski chased the vehicle, which stopped twice before hitting a pole. Cain jumped out and fired the high-powered SKS assault rifle five times at the officer, hitting his left trunk and leaving him in a pool of blood, at Schiller and Almond streets, police said.

First, SKS’s were never banned.

And it wasn’t just China that made the rifles. The rifle was originally developed by the Soviets. They were also made by the East Germans, the Yugoslavians, the Albanians, the North Koreans, and the Vietnamese.

Nor are SKS’s with their 7.62 x 39mm ammunition “high-powered”. Federal Ammunition’s 7.62 x 39mm has around 1520 foot-pounds (ft·lb) of force when fired. A .308 Winchester/7.62 x 51 NATO (used in the M-14 among others) has around 2648 ft·lb (74.2% more) when fired. A 30-06 Springfield (used in the M1 Garand) has around 2820 ft·lb (85.5% more) when fired.

Nor are they “assault rifles”. The blog Rule .303 went through this junk after the Omaha mall shooting and stated the following:

The textbook definition of ‘assault rifle’ is a selective fire rifle chambered for an intermediate cartridge. ‘Selective fire’ means that it can fire full auto, like a machine gun. Bullets come out for as long as you hold down the trigger. The SKS is not selective fire. It is a semi-auto, meaning that you have to pull the trigger once for each shot. Therefore it is not an assault rifle. Just a rifle.

Four errors in seven words. New record?

Confirmed: Mildred Loving (of Loving v. Virginia) passes away at the age of 68.

The Free Lance–Star:

Mildred Loving hadn’t intended to be a trailblazer.

She simply wanted to live her life with the man she loved in a quiet part of Caroline County.

But Mildred was black, and her husband, Richard, was white. And in 1958, laws in Virginia forbade such a pairing.

Their arrest and prosecution for violating the state’s ban on interracial marriage would thrust the couple into the national spotlight, where they would ultimately change those laws for good.

Mildred Loving died Friday at the home in Central Point she fought so hard to return to. She was 68.

Read the whole story.

UPDATE: AP has a story:

In a rare interview with The Associated Press last June, Loving said she wasn’t trying to change history — she just wanted to get married.

UPDATE #2: AP has a longer story now:

Peggy Fortune said Loving, 68, died Friday at her home in rural Milford. She did not disclose the cause of death.

“I want (people) to remember her as being strong and brave yet humble — and believed in love,” Fortune told The Associated Press.

[…]

Her husband died in 1975. Shy and soft-spoken, Loving shunned publicity and in a rare interview with The Associated Press last June, insisted she never wanted to be a hero — just a bride.

“It wasn’t my doing,” Loving said. “It was God’s work.”

[…]

Richard Loving died in a car accident that also injured his wife. “They said I had to leave the state once, and I left with my wife,” he told the Star in 1965. “If necessary, I will leave Virginia again with my wife, but I am not going to divorce her.”

Mildred Loving (of Loving v. Virginia) passes away at the age of 68?

Note the question mark.

Obituary in The Free Lance–Star:

Mildred Loving, 68, of Central Point passed away Friday, May 2, 2008, at her residence. Arrangements are incomplete at Cedell Brooks Funeral Home, Port Royal.

I’m 99.9% that’s her based on this story last year:

Reporters no longer beat a path to the modest white house just over the Caroline County border — and that’s fine with its owner, a soft-spoken 67-year-old who never wanted the fame her marriage brought her.

Born Mildred Jeter, she’s known mostly by the name she took when she — a black woman living in segregated Virginia — dared break the rules by marrying a white man named Richard Loving.

Note the age.

RIP.

Caroline County news roundup

Bowling Green Town Council Election: The Free Lance–Star:

Eight candidates will vie for seven seats on the Bowling Green Town Council in Tuesday’s election.

Two current members, Susan Sili and T. Scott Haley are not running for re-election, but three new faces have joined the race.

Mayor David Storke is running for the seat again unopposed.

The full story has more along with candidate profiles.

Superintendent search: The Free Lance–Star:

Nine of Caroline County’s 26 applicants for superintendent are former or current school chiefs.

The candidates include four assistant superintendents, six central-office administrators, four principals or school administrators and three others.

Sixteen men and 10 women–10 of whom belong to racial minorities–applied for the position. Twelve of the candidates live outside Virginia.

Again, full story has more.

Watch as VRE and its 2% gas tax increase sneak in the back door.

Oh, look, there it goes.

I dun warn you all ’bout this already.

On December 10, 2007, The Free Lance–Star reported that Caroline County had received a $100,000 grant from the Virginia Department of Transportation “to study building a passenger rail station in the Carmel Church area.”

In the story, a VRE spokesman said the following about Caroline County joining VRE: “It is a doable option”.

To join VRE, the County is required by the Code of Virginia to impose a 2% gas tax (§ 58.1-1720).

On February 18, 2008, I pointed out that the county had received $490,000 from a federal earmark for a “Commuter Rail Station at Carmel Church, VA”.

Well, this week, Rob Wittman released his earmark requests and lo and behold an additional earmark for $800,000 for a “Carmel Church Multimodal TOD Commuter Rail Project”.

UPDATE: Gary Wilson at the Department of Economic Development requested the $800,000 after “consultation with the Board of Supervisors” according to an email. Percy Ashcraft (the County Administrator) has yet to answer my e-mail (sent May 2nd, at 5:44 a.m.) asking if they are in the process of negotiating with VRE.

END UPDATE

Are any of use stupid enough to believe that the county is going to turn down $1,390,000? Those earmarks can only be used for what they’re specified for (hence the name “earmark”).

Right now, gas is costing $3.49 or so. $0.38 are federal and state tax. That makes the base price $3.11 ($3.49 – $0.38 = $3.11). The VRE gas tax would increase the cost of gas by $0.06 (3.11 * 0.02 (2%) = $0.0622). ON EVERY GALLON. An additional 6 cents of cost on every gallon of gasoline.

Cui bono? (Good for whom?)

According to the VRE’s 2006 Passenger Survey Results, there were only 49 people in Caroline County that rode VRE in 2006 (VRE [PDF]). That is less than two tenths of one percent (0.19%) of the population of Caroline County.

Did they request something like hand-held biometric units for the Sheriff’s Office like Spotsylvania County? No.

Did they request money to improve emergency radio communications like Stafford County? No.

Did they request money for equipment for police vehicles like Prince William County? No.

Did they request money to improve broadband service like the Eastern Shore, the Northern Neck, and the Middle Peninsula are going to get? No.

Instead of requesting money for something that would improve everyone in Caroline County, they want money for something that will help 0.19% of the population.

Meanwhile, everyone will be paying 6 cents (at $3.49 per gallon) more for every gallon of gas with the amount of tax increasing every time the price of gas goes up. This after they already raised real estate tax rates by $50/$100,000.

Hooray.

Addendum: What affect would this have on county services? Public safety organizations are not exempt from the tax.

In 2006, the Sheriff’s Office drove 1,006,997 miles in patrol. A 2008 Ford Crown Victoria gets a combined estimated 18 miles per gallon. That means the Sheriff’s Office purchased approximately 55,944 (1,006,997 / 18 = 55944.277 repeating) gallons in fuel. At current prices in gas, the new tax would increase the money they pay for fuel by $3,356. That’s just the increased cost the tax would have (i.e. it doesn’t include the cost of rising fuel prices [which would further increase the tax]).

Further, what affect would this have on fire and rescue equipment that gets even less miles per gallon?

End Addendum.

Contributor to Rob Wittman’s (R) campaign gets his organization awarded with $3,125,000 in earmark requests.

UPDATE: Total amount fixed in the title and body. Thanks D.J.

That would be Richard Pearce and Riverside Health System.

On August 29, 2007, Richard Pearce gave $500 to Rob Wittman’s House of Delegates reelection campaign despite not living in Wittman’s district (not that that is illegal or anything) (VPAP).

Missed this: On October 22, 2007, Richard Pearce gave $500 to the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) (FEC). The majority of Wittman’s money ended up coming from the NRCC (FEC).

On December 14, 2007, Richard Pearce gave $2,000 (the maximum an individual contributor can give to a candidate is $2,300 [FEC]) to Wittman’s campaign for the special election to replace the late Jo Ann Davis (Contributions to Wittman’s campaign from the FEC).

Richard Pearce is the President/CEO of Riverside Health System (Riverside Health System).

Sometime this week, Rob Wittman finally got around to posting his requested earmarks on his website and lo and behold the following (Appropriation Requests FY 2009):

Project Name: Riverside Hospital Emergency Preparedness

Requested By: Riverside Health System

Amount Requested: $1,050,000

[…]

Project Name: Riverside Health System, Patient Navigator Program

Requested By: Riverside Health System

Amount Requested: $575,000

[…]

Project Name: Riverside Radiosurgery Center Synergy Project

Requested By: Riverside Health System

Amount Requested: $1,500,000

That’s $3,125,000 in earmarks for the organization of a major contributor.

How convenient…

The only other hospital to receive funding was Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters in the amount of $1,325,000. Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters isn’t even located in his district. It’s in Bobby Scott’s (D) 3rd Congressional District.

The right-wing liberal has more, by the way.

More to come kids.