FLAG LOWERED TO HALF-STAFF IN HONOR OF WALKER

Gov. James Gilmore ordered Virginia state flags lowered to half-staff in honor of former state Sen. Stanley C. Walker who died Monday and was buried Thursday. The Old Dominion University flag also has been lowered.

Walker, 77, represented his native Norfolk and other Hampton Roads localities for 36 years, beginning with his election to the House of Delegates in 1963. He moved to the Senate in 1972 and lost his bid for re-election in 1999 to Republican D. Nick Rerras.

"He was a classic moderate," said University of Virginia political scientist Larry J. Sabato in an Associated Press article. "Liberals loved him, moderates loved him and even some conservatives accepted him."

His primary legislative concern was expanding funding for public schools, colleges and teacher salaries.

A graduate of Norfolk Business College and an Army veteran, Walker was a member of the Norfolk School Board before being elected to the House. He also had served on the Old Dominion University Research Foundation, the Board of Trustees of Medical Center Hospital and the Planning Council of Hampton Roads.