Four advocacy groups for people with disabilities teamed up this week to demand that $43 million in new state funds for the Central Virginia Training Center be used instead to move the center’s 460 residents into new group homes.

At the halfway point of its yearly fundraising campaign, the United Way has raised half its goal of $4 million.

There is an engine inside Dr. Peter Houck that isn’t readily apparent from the outside.

The statewide chamber of commerce plans to take a stand with English Construction in the company’s lawsuit against the city of Lynchburg.

Surveillance video from Wal-Mart may help Lynchburg Police solve a larceny that occurred Nov. 17, as well as two larcenies that happened on Nov. 11 in Altavista.

It was so cold today that Amherst’s traffic circle fountain froze, capturing motorists’ attention enough that they frequently stopped to take pictures.

The implosion to take down the former Dan River Inc. Dye House went off about 20 minutes late this morning and had a couple of hitches.

A former Amherst County firefighter pleaded guilty Wednesday morning to embezzling money from the Monelison Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue Squad.

LYNCHBURG — The emotion on election night — young people jumping with joy, African-Americans, especially older men, touched by the moment — was enough to make some people cry.

A statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis apparently won’t stand — or be stored — at the American Civil War Center, after all.

The Virginia attorney general’s office yesterday deployed a new weapon in the ongoing war against gangs in the commonwealth: a video.

Lynchburg Police are searching for an armed man after four Lynchburg teenagers reported they had been robbed by a man with a revolver Tuesday night.

Lt. A. G. Martin said the teenagers, whose names were not released, were outside on Euclid Avenue in the area of Wadsworth Street when the incident happened at about 6:30.

In the face of a widening achievement gap and a possible budget shortfall, the Lynchburg School Board discussed Tuesday a pilot program that would extend the school day at three elementary schools and cost an estimated additional $300,000 annually.

“The idea would be we would add the time to a school’s day and we would add the time for remediation and reinforcement,” said Superintendent Paul McKendrick.

Citing “the current economic climate,” nuclear company Areva said Tuesday it would delay the start of construction on a new office building on Old Forest Road in Lynchburg.

Areva plans to continue hiring engineers and other employees to complete detailed plans for its evolutionary power reactor, which is being reviewed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, company spokeswoman Denise Woernle said.

Kinkle and Grace Campbell get heat from a wood furnace, water from a backyard well and vegetables from a garden just footsteps from U.S. 460.

AMHERST — The Department of Homeland Security has awarded Amherst County a $40,000 grant to launch a new citizen alert system.

Gary Roakes, the county’s public safety director, said the reverse 911 system would contact residents by telephone in case of emergencies such as major floods or fires.

An Appomattox County man accused of sexually abusing a young girl was cleared of all charges Tuesday morning in Lynchburg Circuit Court.

Arthur Lee Dews, 52, was charged in February with two counts of aggravated sexual battery of a child under 13. On Tuesday, however, Lynchburg Public Defender Sharon Eimer presented evidence that the alleged victim had been hospitalized for mental health problems six times in the five months leading up to the allegations.

State investigators are still looking into accusations that gas stations broke the law in September by raising their prices suddenly two months ago.

That’s when oil refineries in the Gulf Coast shut down to prepare for landfall of Hurricane Ike.

Heritage High School marching band participants have worked feverishly in recent months to raise funds for a trip to Atlanta, but they’ve come up short — and time is running out.

The school’s band has been invited to participate in college football’s Chick-Fil-A Bowl on Dec. 31, but is struggling to come up with the final payment for the trip.

Construction has begun on the first phase of the Greenview Drive widening, a major project expected to take about a year to complete.

The busy road will remain open to vehicles throughout construction, although drivers are advised by the city to expect changing traffic patterns and possible delays.

A childcare provider who pleaded guilty Tuesday to abusing two children will not spend any time in jail because of problems with the evidence in the case, a prosecutor said.

A city man accused of threatening the life of Jerry Falwell Jr. and sending threatening e-mails to a reporter for The News & Advance was released Tuesday afternoon after pleading guilty to the charges.

Berkley Carter Mills, 56, of the 600 block of Reusens Road, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of stalking reporter Chris Dumond, as well as two felony counts of making threats of death or bodily injury by letter against Jerry Falwell Jr. and Dumond.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Washington attorney Eric Holder is President-elect Barack Obama’s top choice to be the next attorney general and aides have gone so far as to ask senators whether he would be confirmed, an Obama official and people close to the matter said Tuesday.

Current economic conditions prompt Areva to delay construction of a new building on Old Forest Road in Lynchburg.

The News & Advance is making an interactive online map of local homes and businesses decked out with holiday lights and decorations, and we want to see yours!

The Amherst County Board of Supervisors is meeting tonight at the county administration office on Washington Street in Amherst.

A father said he witnessed the backup on Saturday in a drain in the children’s indoor playground area. The health department confirmed the backup Monday morning.

Subscriptions are now being taken for a new, privately run recycling service in Lynchburg offering curbside pickup to its customers.

Lynchburg Police responded to two reports of armed robberies Monday night in different parts of the city.

Whatever was left of a Lynchburg house from a Christmas Eve fire went up in smoke Monday afternoon.