Briefs

LOCAL & VCU

SGA to review bylaws

The Student Government Association will be having a meeting at 4 p.m. Monday. It will be voting on the bylaws for the new VCU constitution. If the bylaws pass, the new constitution will go into effect after the spring elections.

Brief by Frances Correa

VCU English professor honored

David Wojahn, chair of the creative writing program in the department of English at VCU, has received his share of accolades over the years. He was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in poetry in 2007 and has won numerous other honors for his verse, including three Pushcart Prizes. Still, some recent awards have added a new dimension to his biography.

In the fall, Wojahn received the Carole Weinstein Poetry Prize, a $10,000 annual award that recognizes poets with strong ties to Central Virginia who have contributed significantly to the art of poetry.

Brief by the VCU News Center

Virginia tallies inauguration costs

Virginia will bill the federal government for $7 million in costs associated with the inauguration of President Barack Obama.

Gov. Tim Kaine’s office said Friday the commonwealth’s largest expenditure was $3.9 million by the Virginia Department of Transportation. That includes $2.5 million for snow and ice removal on roads to speed traffic to Washington D.C.

Nearly $800,000 was spent on additional law enforcement by the Virginia State Police and $500,000 for free buses to shuttle inaugural attendees to mass transit.

Kaine spokesman Gordon Hickey said the commonwealth expects to be reimbursed by the Department of Homeland Security.

Brief by The Associated Press

Va.’s burning law goes into effect Feb.15

The Virginia Department of Forestry is reminding residents of the state’s burning law as the start of spring fire season approaches. Virginia’s burning law goes into effect Feb. 15. The law prohibits burning before 4 p.m. if a fire is in or within 300 feet of woodland, brushland or fields containing dry grass or other flammable materials.

Violation of the law is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a $500 fine. And those who allow a fire to escape are liable for the cost of suppressing the fire as well as any damage caused to others’ property. Officials say adhering to the law helps prevent wildfires. There were more than 1,320 wildfires in Virginia last year that burned more than 25,700 acres of forest land.

Brief by DailyPress.com

NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL

Government allies see gains in Iraqi elections

Allies of Iraqs US-backed prime minister appeared Sunday to have made gains in the provincial elections, rewarding groups credited with reining in insurgents and militias, according to unofficial projections.

Initial results from Saturday’s landmark voting are not expected for days. But reports by Iraqi media and interviews by The Associated Press suggest candidates backing Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had strong showings in the crucial Shiite heartland in southern Iraq.

If the indications prove true, it would strengthen al-Maliki’s hand ahead of national elections later this year and reflect a shift away from the more religious parties dominating the country.

Nationwide voter turnout was 51 percent, said Faraj al-Haidari, chairman of the election commission. It ranged from 40 percent in the Sunni-dominated Anbar province in western Iraq to 65 percent in the Salahuddin province, which includes the hometown of Saddam Hussein.

Brief by The Associated Press

Kenya Red Cross: 89 dead in oil blaze after crash

An oil spill from a crashed truck erupted into flames Saturday in Kenya, killing at least 89 people who were trying to scoop up free fuel, officials said.

Patrick Nyongesa, the regional manager for the Kenya Red Cross, said 89 people died and more than 200 were injured died after a crowd gathered around the crash in search of free fuel.

The crash was in Molo, several hours outside the capital, Nairobi.

Local newspapers have criticized the government for poor safety.

Brief by The Associated Press

Lanka military says it captures 2 Tiger camps

Sri Lanka’s military captured two camps used by the Tamil Tigers’ suicide squad, killing 12 rebels and seizing a large number of weapons, officials said Sunday amid mounting concern for civilians trapped in the war zone.

According to the Red Cross, some 250,000 noncombatants are trapped in the 115-square mile area near Mullaittivu, where advancing government troops have boxed in the separatist Tamil rebels. The government puts the number at about 120,000.

Brief by The Associated Press