General Assembly wrap up

Million-pound goal for food competition

The goal of raising one million
pounds of food for the second year of
the Virginia Legal Food Frenzy was
announced this past week at a press
conference held by the Federation of
Virginia Food Banks and Virginia Bar
Association.

The Legal Food Frenzy is a competition
held within the Virginia legal
community to raise food and funds for
Virginia’s food banks from March 31 to
April 11-a traditionally slow period
for donations.

The firm that raises the most food
in relation to its size wins the Attorney
General’s Cup, which will remain with
the winning firm until the third-annual
competition, according to a press
release.

Virginia Attorney General Bob
McDonnell will serve as chairman of
the competition for a second time. Last
year, 175 Virginia law firms collected
nearly 679,000 pounds of food.

McDonnell said the competition
is a great way to include the legal
community in raising awareness about
hunger. Usually lawyers are perceived
as competitive, he said, but their other
characteristics do not receive as much
attention.

“They’re always generous; (they’re)
involved in the business of solving
problems,” McDonnell said.

Katja H. Hill of LeClairRyan and
the Virginia Bar Association Young
Lawyer’s Division stated in a press
release that last year’s Food Frenzy
proved how competitive lawyers can
be, but it is not the prizes that matter
most.

Brief by Travis Lyle

Bills seek medical cost relief for sex-crime victim

Virginia might pay for physicalevidence
recovery kits for sexual-assault
victims, if the General Assembly
approves proposed legislation.

The examination kits, commonly
known as PERKs, are designed to assist
in the collection of evidence for analysis
by the Virginia Division of Forensic
Science. PERKs collect clothing, hair
samples, blood samples, oral swabs
and urine samples.

House Bill 956 and Senate Bill 312
would allow the Criminal Injuries Compensation
Fund to directly reimburse
a health-care provider for the costs of
performing the PERK examinations
used in cases of sexual assault.

The two similar bills were introduced
to the assembly this legislative session.
Both bills are now in each chamber’s
Courts of Justice Committee.

These legislative initiatives coincide
with Gov. Timothy M. Kaine’s sexual
and domestic violence prevention-andresponse
proposals he submitted for the
2008 assembly’s consideration.

“The legislative package includes
proposals to fund community-based
sexual- and domestic-violence prevention
programs and measures to bring
the commonwealth in compliance with
the federal Violence Against Women
Act of 2005,” states a press statement
released by the governor.

The proposals originate from the
recommendations of the governor’s
Commission on Sexual Violence, which
makes recommendations to improve
the treatment of victims and assists in
the prevention of related crimes.

“While Virginia has made progress in
the management of sexually violent offenders,”
Kaine stated in a press release,
“we have fallen behind in our efforts to
address the needs of victims.”

Brief by Michelle Antogiovanni

Va. bluegrass musician honored at General Assembly

Bluegrass musician Ralph Stanley
was honored as a 2008 Outstanding
Virginian this past Wednesday at the
General Assembly.

With his wife and son, Stanley – a
native of southwest Virginia’s Dickinson
County – attended the ceremonial
session, where he was honored by Lt.
Gov. Bill Bolling.

In 1984, the General Assembly
designated the second Saturday in May
as a day of recognition for Outstanding
Virginians.

Sen. William C. Wampler, R-Bristol,
spoke about Stanley’s accomplishments
and contributions to Virginia.

“In Virginia, we have a lot of cultural
heritage, and today we have one of our
finest citizens from Dickinson County
here,” Wampler said. “He has been
known to make a little music from
time to time.”

Stanley has performed bluegrass
music for decades and is credited
with creating the “Stanley Style” of
banjo playing. The “Stanley Style” is
characterized by a fast forward roll of
the index finger.

Stanley received an honorary Doctorate
of Music in 1976 from Lincoln
Memorial University and was inducted
into the International Bluegrass Music
Hall of Honor in 1992, said Sen. Phillip
P. Puckett, D-Tazewell.

Brief by M.K. Luther