Suicide 'epidemic' alarms
senator
Suicide is the third leading
cause of death among young Virginians, state officials said. "The
time has come for Virginia citizens, with assistance from our state
government, to combat this epidemic," said Sen. William Mims,
R-Loudoun, who has sponsored a bill to increase suicide prevent efforts.
[Full story by Elana Simms]
House speaker focuses
on environment
If House Speaker Vance
Wilkins has his way, there could be a great increase in the number
of farms, forests and historic sites in rapidly developing areas across
Virginia, according to the Lynchburg News
& Advance. Those areas are critical to preserving a high quality
of life and a healthy environment, Wilkins said. The protection of
non-tidal wetlands, such as bogs, marshes and swamps, is also on the
legislator's agenda.
State employees would
get 12 holidays
Gov. Jim Gilmore's proposal
for a separate holiday for Martin Luther King Jr. could give state
employees a reason to celebrate. As reported in The
Daily Press, the measure would increase the number of paid holidays
to 12. Most private sector employees have just nine paid holidays
per year. "That's just one of the differences between the private
sector and the public sector," said Ken McDonnell, a researcher at
the Employee Benefit Research Institute in Washington, D.C. "The public
sector just tends to be more generous with time off," he said. Gilmore
has proposed celebrating King's birthday on the third Monday of January,
while Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee would be honored the previous
Friday. The three currently share a holiday.
Abortion waiting period
sparks debate
Two lawmakers were involved
in a heated battle Friday over a proposed 24-hour waiting period for
women considering abortion. On the anniversary of the Roe vs. Wade
decision, Delegates Viola O. Baskerville, D-Richmond, and M. Kirkland
Cox, R-Colonial Heights, took opposite sides of the issue. Virginians
should not "turn back the clock" on reproductive rights of women,
Baskerville said. Cox, who distributed a handout listing all the delegates'
children, said, "A woman's right to choose is a right to kill someone."
