VIRGINIA BRIEFING

virginia tech

4,300 Students Join Campus Alert System

More than 4,300 students and employees have signed up for Virginia Tech's new emergency alert system after the campus massacre in April, university officials said.

Subscribers can choose to be alerted by phone, e-mail or instant message. The sign-up period began July 2. This week, incoming freshmen are on campus for an orientation session.

Tech spokesman Larry Hincker told the Roanoke Times that he expects more people to sign up as new students learn more about the campus and upperclassmen return from summer break.

On April 16, a student gunman killed 32 students and faculty members before shooting himself. The university began looking at an emergency alert system several months earlier, after the escape of a prisoner interrupted the start of the fall 2006 term. Classes were canceled and the campus was closed Aug. 21 while authorities searched for the escapee, who was accused of shooting and killing a deputy sheriff and a hospital security guard.

Virginia Tech is one of hundreds of U.S. colleges promoting new systems designed to notify the campus community immediately in an emergency.

-- Associated Press

STATE ECONOMY

Virginia Tops Forbes Business Ranking Again

Forbes Magazine has ranked Virginia the best state to do business in for the second year in a row.

The ranking took into account the cost of doing business, the labor supply, the regulatory and economic climate, prospects for growth and quality-of-life factors such as schools and crime.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) and Republican leaders in the General Assembly issued a joint statement yesterday saying Virginia's top ranking proves that the state's economy and prospects for job growth are strong. Utah was ranked second, followed by North Carolina, Texas and Washington state.

Maryland ranked 12th among the 50 states.

-- Tim Craig

fairfax CITY

14-Year-Old Girl Fatally Injured in Car Crash

A 14-year-old Fairfax County girl was killed early yesterday when the car she was riding in smashed into a utility pole in Fairfax City, police said. The driver was her 17-year-old sister.

The accident occurred about 4:45 a.m. on Jermantown Road, just north of Providence Elementary School. Fairfax City police said Carly Jane Aull, of the 13000 block of Point Pleasant Drive in the Chantilly area, was driving too fast and lost control of the car near Marilta Court. The car, a Nissan Ultima, slid sideways into the pole, injuring her sister, Olivia Margaret Aull.

Olivia Aull was taken to Inova Fairfax Hospital, where she died, police said. Carly Aull was admitted to the hospital with injuries not considered life-threatening, authorities said.

Officer Jeff Morrison said that both girls were wearing seat belts and that alcohol was not believed to be involved. No charges were filed.

-- Tom Jackman