Briefs

Local and VCU

Local redistricting drawing few participants

For a decision that is locked in for 10 years, the redistricting of area localities has not prompted a lot of civic engagement.

Lawyers, registrars, politicians and government officials have been left mostly alone this spring as they have busied themselves with the business of redrawing voting boundaries in the city of Richmond and the counties of Chesterfield, Hanover and Henrico.

“Regrettably, sometimes people don’t pay attention,” said Lawrence C. Haake III, the registrar in Chesterfield County. “I think the telling thing I heard last night was the gentleman asking, ‘What difference does it make?’ ”

The night of which Haake spoke was Thursday, when Chesterfield leaders held the second of their two public meetings on redistricting. Not counting staff and media members, the two meetings combined attracted an audience of about two dozen people.

In Hanover, three meetings in recent weeks have had a combined audience of 42.

Brief by the Richmond Times-Dispatch

Richmond named nation’s ‘asthma capitol’

Richmond has won the title of “Asthma Capital” of the U.S. for the second year in a row.

The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America also ranked Virginia Beach in the top 10 most challenging places to live with asthma.

The group’s rankings are based on scoring of a variety of factors in the 100 largest U.S. metropolitan areas. The foundation has conducted the study for eight years.

Richmond ranked 14th in 2009, but jumped to the top spot last year. The group says Richmond’s ranking is based on factors including a higher than average pollen score, continued poor air quality, a lack of public smoking bans, and high poverty and uninsured rates.

Asthma is characterized by inflammation of the lungs resulting in chronic wheezing, coughing and difficulty breathing. It causes more than 4,000 deaths annually and more than 500,000 hospitalizations, as well as $18 billion in medical expenses and indirect costs each year.

Brief by The Associated Press

Va. death toll rises to 6 after Saturday storms

Tornadoes and flash flooding have left at least six people dead in Virginia, and crews are continuing to assess damage that severe weekend storms caused across several areas of the state.

Gov. Bob McDonnell declared a state of emergency, authorizing state agencies to assist local efforts in response and recovery efforts.

Virginia Department of Emergency Management spokesman Bob Spieldenner said that three people died and scores suffered injuries in Gloucester County, where a tornado cut through a 12-mile swath, uprooting trees and destroying homes. Gloucester officials said the tornado ripped the roof off Page Middle School and destroyed part of the building, as well as overturned school buses and cars.

Dominion Virginia Power said today that its Surry County power plant is using an off-site power source and backup diesel generators to provide electricity to maintain both units at its Surry Power Station. An apparent tornado touched down on the switchyard supporting the plant, cutting off the electrical connection from the power grid to the station, Dominion said.

“The apparent tornado did not strike the two nuclear units, which are designed to withstand natural events such as tornados, hurricanes and earthquakes,” the company said in a release. No injuries were reported, and Dominion reported the issue to federal nuclear regulators as well as state officials.

Brief by the Richmond Times-Dispatch

National and International

Ariz. plows controversial ground with birther bill

Arizona, a state that has shown little reluctance in bucking the federal government, is again plowing controversial political ground, this time as its Legislature passed a bill to require President Barack Obama and other presidential candidates to prove their U.S. citizenship before their names can appear on the state’s ballot.

If Gov. Jan Brewer signs the proposal into law, Arizona would be the first state to pass such a requirement – potentially forcing a court to decide whether the president’s birth certificate is enough to prove he can legally run for re-election. Hawaii officials have certified Obama was born in that state, but so-called “birthers” have demanded more proof.

Republican Rep. Carl Seel of Phoenix, the bill’s author, said the president’s birth record wouldn’t satisfy the requirements of his proposal and that Obama would have to provide other records, such as baptismal certificates and hospital records. But Seel said the measure wasn’t intended as a swipe against the president and instead was meant to maintain the integrity of elections.

Brief by The Associated Press

2012 presidential candidates ‘friend’ social media

Republican Tim Pawlenty disclosed his 2012 presidential aspirations on Facebook. Rival Mitt Romney did it with a tweet. President Barack Obama kicked off his re-election bid with a digital video emailed to the 13 million online backers who helped power his historic campaign in 2008.

Welcome to The Social Network, presidential campaign edition.

The candidates and contenders have embraced the Internet to far greater degrees than previous White House campaigns, communicating directly with voters on platforms where they work and play.

The most influential of those destinations include the video sharing website YouTube; Facebook, the giant social network with 500 million active users; and Twitter, the cacophonous conversational site where news is made and shared in tweets of 140 characters or less.

All the campaigns have a robust Facebook presence, using the site to post videos and messages and to host online discussions. In the latest indication of the site’s reach and influence, Obama plans to visit Facebook headquarters in California this coming Wednesday for a live chat with company founder Mark Zuckerberg and to take questions from users who submit questions on the site.

Brief by The Associated Press

Mass protests in Yemen over leader’s women remark

Security forces fired on anti-government protesters in Yemen’s capital Sunday as hundreds of thousands of marchers – including many women – packed cities around the country to denounce the president and remarks he made against women taking part in rallies demanding his ouster.

The massive turnout suggests opposition forces have been able to tap into fresh outrage against Ali Abdullah Saleh after his comments Friday that mingling of men and women at protests violated Islamic law.

A youth movement leading the anti-Salah protests called for mass demonstrations Sunday, dubbed a day of “honor and dignity” that brought out a strong outpouring of women.

A young woman first led anti-Saleh demonstrations on a university campus in late January, but women didn’t begin taking part in large numbers until early March. It was a startling step in a nation with deeply conservative social and Islamic traditions.

But Saleh has clung to power despite the near-daily protests and defections by key allies in the military, powerful tribes and diplomatic corps amid calls to fight poverty and open up the country’s restricted political life.

Brief by The Associated Press