Subcommittee kills Wampler train spike

An allegedly vindictive move by a southwest Virginia state senator to block Charlottesville from getting a new daily train service has died in the Virginia Senate, according to rail backer Meredith Richards. "Unless [William] Wampler elects to use his position on the Budget Conference Committee to insert the amendment into the final budget," says Richards, "it is dead." Senator Wampler was not immediately available for comment, according to the person who answered the phone in his General Assembly office.