As the 2011 General Assembly session drew to a close, leaders of the Virginia Catholic Conference celebrated their victories and prepared for next year’s fights.

Here are the stories we distributed over the past week. Headlines include: “State Budget Restores $17 Million for VCU” … “Abortion Regulations Could Close Clinics” … “Heart Attack Death Rates Plummet” … “Lawmakers Honor Football Star, Philanthropist.”

Virginia hospitals will have to offer new mothers a take-home DNA sample from their baby under a bill approved at the request of the forensic sleuth who inspired the fictional crime fighter, Dr. Kay Scarpetta.

The Emmy-winning anchor for CNN spoke to and took questions from a sold-out audience at the Richmond Forum this weekend, discussing his background, career and world events.

Several hundred Virginians rallied on the Capitol lawn in support of public employees in Wisconsin, who may lose their collective bargaining rights under legislation proposed by that state’s governor, Scott Walker.

Supporters of Planned Parenthood gathered on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University to voice opposition to abortion-clinic regulations passed by the General Assembly and recent national attacks on the organization.

Members of the Virginia General Assembly honored Henrietta Lacks’ memory and presented her family with a resolution highlighting “her amazing legacy, which has altered medical research and care and relieved the suffering of untold millions.”

Legislators and lobbyists battled it out Tuesday night during the final week of the General Assembly’s 2011 session. Except this time, differences were settled on the basketball court, not in the Capitol.

Think before you text: A bill would make it a Class 1 misdemeanor to use a cellular telephone or other wireless device to transmit a text message that contains “profane, threatening, or indecent language.”

Michele Ferrel’s fourth-grade class made history Tuesday, turning their class project to make the striped bass the state saltwater fish a reality. The House of Delegates, in an 80-16 vote, passed Senate Bill 940, which designates the striped bass as the state saltwater fish.

Here are the stories we distributed over the past week. Headlines include: “Senate Panel Is Immigration Bill Graveyard” … “Teachers Rally for Public School Funding” … “Scholarships Help High School Students SOAR” … “Brunswick Prison May Remain Vacant.”

As the 2011 legislative session enters its final week, the General Assembly has passed four measures proposed by Delegate Jim LeMunyon, R-Oak Hill, and five more of his bills are still alive.

Adults convicted of sexually violent offenses would be barred from entering school buses and would have to submit a DNA sample under two bills headed toward approval in the General Assembly.

New businesses would have an easier time getting licenses and completing other paperwork under a bill proposed by Sen. Chap Petersen, D-Fairfax, and passed by the General Assembly.

The Virginia General Assembly usually focuses on state issues. But last week, some of the attention at the statehouse was on international visitors – a delegation of Russian officials learning about American government.

About 1,400 people attended Virginia Democrats’ Jefferson-Jackson Dinner, where party stalwarts discussed their core values and criticized the state’s Republican leadership.

Republican governors are living in “Wonderland,” Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley told about 1,400 fellow Democrats at Virginia’s 2011 Jefferson-Jackson Dinner on Saturday night.

Tim Kaine needs more time to think. Virginia’s former governor and the current chairman of the Democratic National Committee spoke at the Democratic Party of Virginia’s annual Jefferson-Jackson Dinner, where he addressed speculation around a possible run for U.S. Senate.

It looks like the Brunswick Correctional Center will remain empty for a while longer. A budget amendment proposed by Gov. Bob McDonnell to repurpose the prison has stalled in the General Assembly.

Here are the stories we distributed over the past week. Headlines include: “House to Post Delegates’ Voting Records” … “License Plates Would Memorialize Tech Shootings” … “Get Flu Vaccine, Health Officials Urge” … “Bill Seeks Continuity on Franklin School Board.”

Legislation headed toward approval in the General Assembly would allow veterans to count their military health-care training and experience toward certification as nurses and other medical professionals in Virginia.

A Senate bill that would bring the state’s Coal Mine Safety Act up to current federal law and industry standards has been passed by the House.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in social work in 2007, graduating magna cum laude. She accomplished that feat in just three and a half years while working 30 hours a week. Today, she is a waitress, babysitter and sometime interpreter. She also is an undocumented immigrant.

Members of the Franklin City School Board would serve staggered terms under a House-approved bill aimed at correcting the appointed body’s “out of whack” rotation cycle.

Here are the stories we distributed over the past week. Headlines include: “Generating Interest in Renewable Energy” … “Redistricting Commission Holds First Meeting” … “Bill Mandates Autism Insurance Coverage” … “Southampton Couple Inspires Agriculture Community.”

The House of Delegates has unanimously passed a bill that could provide treatment instead of jail for veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injury and run into trouble with the law. House Bill 1691, introduced by Delegate Christopher P. Stolle, R-Virginia Beach, allows localities to establish “policies and procedures for service members who are nonviolent offenders.”

On United Methodist Day at the General Assembly, church leaders held a press conference to discuss childhood obesity and legislation to fight it.

The Senate has unanimously passed a bill setting stricter environmental requirements for above-ground fuel storage tanks at the Fairfax city “tank farm.”

As the weather warms slightly, cases of influenza in Virginia are increasing. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, between Jan. 23 and Jan. 29, Virginia was one of 30 states where flu has been widespread.