Hits and misses

HIT Death row visits

Virginia's Department of Corrections had proposed ending face-to-face visits between inmates on death row and their family members, a move that would have punished not only the condemned but also their innocent loved ones. The policy change would have allowed visits only by video conference, further restricting Virginia's already strict policy of no-contact visits for death row inmates, who number fewer than a dozen. Fortunately, corrections officials reversed course last week. Taking away the inmates' contact with visitors was unlikely to help security - or pass muster as humane.

MISS Down and out

The steady decline of the organization that has run Norfolk's annual Afr'Am Fest came to a sorry - if not unexpected - end last month. The Southeastern Virginia Arts Association dissolved, putting the popular festival's future in doubt. Worse, the move means that police officers and sheriff's deputies who worked at this year's festival are unlikely to get the pay they were promised for the private security work. That's a stain on an organization that otherwise will be remembered for its commitment to young scholars and African American culture and music.

MISS Lai's exit

Barbara Lai, the former head of Project Focus, submitted her resignation this week. After giving a cell phone to a young man subsequently accused of seven felonies, her position had become untenable. Her departure will please members of Norfolk's City Council. More worrisome, however, is the lack of oversight that allowed Lai to make such a gift in the first place.

HIT First woman chief

Cynthia D. Kinser, a state Supreme Court justice since 1997, will assume the top spot on Virginia's high court after a vote by her peers. In February, Kinser will replace Chief Justice Leroy Hassell Sr., a Norfolk native and the first African American chief justice. Hassell is stepping down as chief but will remain one of the court's seven members. Kinser, a U.S. magistrate in the Western District before Gov. George Allen appointed her to the court, is a former commonwealth's attorney in Lee County.

MISS No smiling, no crying

Not crazy about the photo on your driver's license? Then the meltdown of state computers this week may end up being good news. Officials with the Department of Motor Vehicles say they're having trouble locating data containing thousands of licenses and ID photos now that their computers are back up. The obvious downside is that the motorists will have to sit for another unflattering photo the next time they need to renew their license. The new state policy that prohibits motorists from smiling in their ID photos seems pretty superfluous, doesn't it?

HIT Clear water

If the charge for a utility service - say, municipal water - rises on July 1, customers usually aren't billed at the higher rate for May or June. But Portsmouth officials did exactly that this summer, relying on an antiquated ordinance that allowed the higher rates to be applied to bills without pro-rating them. When sharp-eyed residents pointed out the problem, the City Council wisely chose to issue refunds. The change will amount to only a few dollars in many cases, but it's a fairer method, and it matches what other cities in the region do when they raise rates.