Virginia’s suicide rate is the highest it’s been in 13 years, according to the state’s chief medical examiner. Experts say the causes may include the poor economy and lack of mental health services.

This map and data set show the 2011 suicide rate for each Virginia locality. They also show the unemployment rate for that year.

Suicide rates are on the rise in Virginia — and higher than they’ve been in 13 years. Whites are far more likely than other racial and ethnic groups to commit suicide. And men commit suicide far more often than women.

Gov. Bob McDonnell has approved at least six bills and proposed revisions to at least three others aimed at improving school security and creating a safe campus environment.

Like a bicyclist who’s taken a tumble but stays in the race, Virginia bicycling advocates say they’ll push on despite disappointments they suffered during the 2013 legislative session.

The Virginia House of Delegates on Monday passed the Movable Soccer Goal Safety Act with an amendment so that it wouldn’t take effect unless re-enacted by the General Assembly next year.

The House Health, Welfare and Institutions Committee will consider a proposal to approve, but delay implementation of, a bill seeking to prevent injury or death from falling soccer goals.

Gov. Bob McDonnell is urging state legislators to approve recommendations from his School and Campus Safety Task Force that would increase sentences for illegally buying guns, require mandatory lockdown drills at schools and establish more comprehensive suicide prevention programs.

Brantley Tyndall, a Richmond bicyclist since 2007, used his only form of transportation to show up in support of Bicycle Action Day at the Capitol. This session, Virginia legislators have introduced bills that would make biking safer for both cyclists and drivers across the Commonwealth.

A bill that aims to prevent death or injury from falling soccer goals has cleared the Senate and is now being considered by the House.

Members of Gov. Bob McDonnell’s School and Campus Safety Task Force vowed Monday that their recommendations on keeping Virginia’s schools safe would be based on fact and not emotion.