A state law that takes effect July 1 makes it a crime to point a laser at an aircraft. Laser strikes are dangerous because they can temporarily blind the pilot and cause a crash. There were 98 laser strikes in Virginia last year.

Beginning July 1, women getting mammograms will learn whether they have dense breast tissue that could hide cancer. A new law addresses the test’s failure to detect certain cancers in women with dense breast tissue.

Thousands of Virginians were “fired up” to see Barack and Michelle Obama at the Democratic presidential campaign’s “Ready to Go Rally” on Saturday. Many people who packed Virginia Commonwealth University’s Siegel Center on Saturday were college students and local supporters. Others came from across the state.

More than half of the protesters arrested during Saturday’s women’s rights rally at the Capitol will receive free legal representation from Wayne Powell; an attorney and Democrat who plans to challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Eric Cantor. The first group of about 30 arrested activists were arraigned Monday and charged with trespassing and unlawful assembly.

Thirty-three demonstrators were arrested Saturday afternoon at the state Capitol during a protest against legislation they said would violate women’s reproductive rights. At 2:17 p.m., Capitol Police officers declared that the demonstration was unlawful because many of the protesters were on the Capitol steps without a permit.

A bill to help Virginians in appealing property assessments on wetlands is awaiting the governor’s signature. Property owners are already allowed to appeal assessments to their local board of assessors, but House Bill 80 would require that the National Wetlands Inventory Map be considered in the appeal. The Senate last week joined the House in unanimously approving the measure.

A proposal inspired by Isle of Wight County to study the benefits of consolidating certain administrative functions of school districts and local governments died in the House this week. Delegate Rick Morris, the sponsor of House Joint Resolution 110, said the goal was to “look for cost savings and apply those cost savings to the classroom.”

It would be routine for women in Virginia to learn their breast density whenever they get a mammogram under legislation moving through the General Assembly. That information would help women with dense breasts detect and get treatment for cancer.

Some Caroline County residents might be paying too much in property taxes because of inaccurate assessment of land values, a state legislator has suggested. Delegate Robert Orrock, R-Thornburg, said he has heard reports that wetlands, which should be assessed at $500 an acre, are being recorded on Caroline County’s tax rolls as productive farmland and valued at $750 an acre.

The crowd included doctors in white coats and soldiers in fatigues. They were among a few hundred anxious admirers who flocked to see first lady Michelle Obama during her visit to Virginia Commonwealth University on Wednesday.