Brian Banks is a former NFL linebacker whose career was derailed by a wrongful conviction for rape.  After he spent five years in prison, the woman who accused him admitted she had lied.   Now, Banks is coming to Virginia to help the Innocence Project – an organization that helps inmates prove they are not criminals. Sandy Hausman reports.

Photo Courtesy of The Montpelier Foundation

There’s an unusual reunion planned this weekend at the home of James and Dolley Madison.  Sandy Hausman reports that about forty descendents of slaves will visit from around the nation to help administrators tell the story of enslaved families at Montpelier.

Teachers from New York to West Virginia are taking their classrooms to a remote island in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay. Students get hands-on environmental learning while experiencing some Lord of the Flies moments. Pamela D’Angelo went along, and has this conclusion to our 3-part look at life on the Eastern Shore.

Photo: Lindsay Renick Mayer via WAMU

Virginia’s Eastern Shore, a narrow finger of land separating the Chesapeake Bay from the Atlantic Ocean, is the longest expanse of coastal wilderness left on the eastern seaboard. As Rebecca Sheir tells us, in part two of this series– scientists have been working to restore the unique ecosystem of the area – especially its 23 barrier islands: dynamic, shifting land masses that buffer the mainland from storms… and provide a home for sea grasses, birds and shellfish.

Much is made of Maryland’s Eastern Shore… but what about our own Eastern Shore, right here in Virginia?  As Rebecca Sheir tells us in Part 1 of a series, the area has a rich and storied past… especially when it comes to a special chain of islands between the Virginia peninsula and the Atlantic Ocean.

Josh Hardy/Family Photo

It’s not often that the public hears of a positive outcome from a mass social media movement, but a Fredericksburg boy battling cancer has been given a second chance after his community issued a call for help. Virginia Public Radio’s Tommie McNeil spoke with Josh Hardy’s school principal, who describes how their community rallied to support the family and convince a pharmaceutical company to answer that call.

The president’s newly unveiled budget is rekindling a debate at the U-S Capitol over the role of the government in people’s lives. Matt Laslo checked in with Virginia lawmakers and has this report about how it would impact the commonwealth.

Gregory Holt

A Virginia lawyer is on his way to the U.S. Supreme Court to defend the right of a man to grow a beard.  Sandy Hausman reports on why seven states will be watching that case closely.  

A Capitol Hill reporter has just launched a new project that aims to get lawmakers away from their usual scripts.  Connie Stevens reports it all starts with a cold craft beer and a little distance from the hallowed halls of Congress.

Senate Bill 51 sounded like a no brainer – a way to help farmers and promote agritourism, but it turns out that measure and a similar one approved by the House could make life miserable for people who live near farms that invite people to pick their own fruit, wander through corn mazes or take part in pumpkin carving competitions.  As Sandy Hausman reports, Senate Bill 51 prevents counties from regulating the noise and traffic generated by such events.

It’s well documented that the American banjo has its origins in instruments brought to the colonies by enslaved Africans.  Reporter Allison Quantz has the story of three musicians, two from Virginia and one hailing from Mali, who came together to explore their shared musical traditions.

Lawmakers in the region are upset a bill to expand veterans benefits was defeated in the U-S Senate.  Capitol Hill reporter Matt Laslo has more…

Many federal lawmakers are echoing Attorney General Eric Holder’s call to restore voting rights to felons in Virginia. Matt Laslo has the story.

Deer hunting season in Virginia has passed, but there’s another season underway – one that involves a powerful living weapon.  Sandy Hausman has that story.

It’s been over a year since the publication of a new book about Thomas Jefferson and his slaves.  It won rave reviews from many parts of the country, but in Charlottesville the author is still attacked in certain circles.  Sandy Hausman reports on why Henry Wiencek’s work remains extremely controversial.

Presidents from six institutions discussed the issue of sexual misconduct and heard advice from students during a panel discussion Monday.
(Photo: Dan Addison)

It’s been nearly three years since the federal government issued legal guidelines for universities facing an epidemic of sexual misconduct on campus.  This week, the University of Virginia hosts the first conference of its kind – a two-day program for college presidents and other administrators struggling to understand and manage students in the age of hooking up.  Sandy Hausman has that story.

Reports that House Republican leaders are dropping efforts to tie legislation to the debt ceiling increase is being met with cheers from lawmakers in the region. Capitol Hill reporter Matt Laslo has the story…

Tim Bostic & Tony London

It’s now up to a U. S. District Court judge to decide if gay and lesbian couples living in Virginia will be able to marry legally.  Beverly Amsler reports on a hearing before the court on the marriage equality case of Bostic v. Rainey-a lawsuit that could have far-reaching consequences.

Two major lobbyists – the American Farm Bureau Federation and the Fertilizer Institute — have some new allies in their legal fight against a plan to clean up the Chesapeake Bay, and environmentalists here are furious.   Sandy Hausman reports.

A new study from Virginia Tech shows football helmets can be designed to reduce the risk of concussions.  Beverly Amsler reports.

Photo: NPR

The vision President Obama laid out in his state of the union address this week is being met with suspicion by Virginia Republicans. But Matt Laslo reports Democrats in the commonwealth say his agenda would spur job creation.

Photo: Washington & Lee University

Plenty of people spend at least part of their time at college sleeping through class, but at Washington and Lee University, students have the chance to enroll in a course where they’ll learn why.  Sandy Hausman reports on Clocks and Rhythms – a study of human biology and time.

Photo: NPR

In his State of the Union address President Obama said he’s prepared to bypass Congress when necessary, which made Virginia Republicans bristle. Matt Laslo has the story.

Credit: NPR

There was a lot in President Obama’s State of the Union address that would impact the commonwealth, but he’s already meeting resistance from Virginia Republicans.  Matt Laslo has the story.

The most recent figures indicate population growth in the state has slowed– but the Commonwealth still outpaces the nation.  Connie Stevens reports on the annual population estimate from the Weldon Cooper Center at the University of Virginia.

New enrollment data on the number of Virginians signing up on the federal health exchange is raising concerns the Affordable Care Act is unworkable – and the concerns aren’t just coming from Republicans. Capitol Hill reporter Matt Laslo has the story.

Numerous state Republicans are turning to Governor Terry McAuliffe for help in defending Virginia’s same-sex marriage ban.

The request follows last week’s decision by Attorney General Mark Herring, not to defend the constitutional amendment, that makes same sex marriages illegal in the state.

32 delegates, including one Democrat, drafted and signed the letter delivered to McAuliffe’s office last Friday, although according to the Washington Post, the governor was not in his office and has yet to read the letter.

McAuliffe had been a supporter of same-sex unions during his campaign, but has yet to formally respond to Herring’s decision. A McAuliffe spokesman says the governor will continue “to uphold his responsibility to execute the laws on the books.”

In a separate attempt to fight Herring’s decision, Republicans in the House Courts of Justice Committee, approved a bill giving the General Assembly the right to intervene and hire counsel when the governor or attorney general declines to defend Virginia law.

According to the Post, it is unclear whether the proposal could become law quickly enough for lawmakers to hire counsel for the federal case.

That hearing is scheduled in a Norfolk Federal Court on January 30th.

Photo Credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images via NPR

Former Governor Bob McDonnell and his wife Maureen were released on their own recognizance in court today—and now await a July trial on federal corruption charges.

At today’s bond hearing, a federal magistrate ordered them not to leave the country, and not to try the case in the media.

They were indicted earlier this week on 14 counts, following an investigation of their relationship with wealthy businessman, Jonnie Williams.  Prosecutors allege the McDonnells accepted gifts and loans from Williams, and in return, helped him promote his company.

McDonnell has repeatedly denied wrongdoing.

Tommie McNeil reports.

Photo Credit: Rebecca Sheir

If you’re tuned in to this station right now, we can probably assume you’re a fan of radio. Listening to radio, that is.
But for the 800 or so members of the Mid-Atlantic Antique Radio Club, or MAARC …when it comes to radios, it’s all about fixing them, cleaning them, restoring them, and collecting them.   Rebecca Sheir has the story.

Rebecca Sheir is the host of “Metro Connection” on WAMU 88-5 in Washington, D-C.

Just weeks after leaving the Governor’s mansion, former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell and his wife Maureen have been indicted for illegally accepting gifts and loans during his tenure.

The 14-count, 43-page  federal indictment details how the couple accepted more than $135,000  in gifts, loans and trips from the former CEO of Star Scientific, Jonnie Williams, also a political donor.

In exchange, the indictment claims the Governor and his office were helping promote the company’s struggling dietary supplement business and attempted to conceal the scheme.

The indictment also asserts the McDonnells lied on loan applications about their debts.

In a statement, McDonnell maintains he did nothing illegal,  and returned gifts and loans to Williams.  McDonnell says he will use every available resource to  fight false allegations.

If the charges do result in convictions and maximum sentences, it could mean fines in excess of a million dollars, and decades behind bars.

McDonnell is the first governor in Virginia to face criminal charges.

The spending bill signed into law by the president last week has a lot in it for Virginia. Matt Laslo has this look at what the commonwealth stands to gain from the legislation. 

Republican Ed Gillespie – a former advisor to President George W. Bush – is challenging Virginia Democratic Senator Mark Warner. Capitol Hill reporter Matt Laslo has the story.

Some job applications have a box that asks if you’ve been convicted of a crime.  Critics say that’s one reason people coming out of prison can’t get work and end up back behind bars.  Now, there’s a move in the legislature to ban the box as Sandy Hausman reports.

A 14-acre stand of trees on the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg recently escaped destruction when the University agreed not to build an athletic practice facility on that spot.  Now a Virginia Senator wants to make protection of the parcel, known as Stadium Woods, permanent.   Robbie Harris reports.

Photo: Virginia Tech

A tiny, invasive bug is bringing down hemlock trees from Appalachia to southern Canada. And scientists fear another treasured native tree may be going the way of the American chestnut, forever changing forest ecosystems. Researchers at Virginia Tech are hoping to beat the invaders at their own game. They’re using a new invasive species to keep an old one in check, and save the American Hemlock tree. Robbie Harris has more.

Jim Moran/(D) 8th Congressional District

Northern Virginia Democratic Congressman Jim Moran says he’s retiring because he thinks he can direct more change working from outside of this Congress. Capitol Hill reporter Matt Laslo has the story…

More than 6,300 people with mental illness are locked up in Virginia jails, and a new report from the inspector general says they’re not getting the care required by law.  Sandy Hausman reports that sheriffs are now demanding more money to provide mental health services.

A recent Gallup poll shows 58% of Americans favor legalizing marijuana.  Colorado and Washington have done so, and Californians are expected to vote on the question this year.  So might the Commonwealth follow their lead?  Sandy Hausman put that question to several lawmakers and filed this report.

While it is legal for Virginia pharmacies to fill prescriptions for marijuana to treat glaucoma and the side effects of cancer, Virginia pharmacists say they have no way to get the drug.  Ophthalmologists say there are better ways to treat glaucoma, and their academy finds no compelling evidence that marijuana is effective in controlling the disease.

It’s five times more expensive to care for people with mental illness in a hospital than in the community, so it makes financial sense that the governor’s proposed budget contains more money for a model mental health program designed to keep people out of hospitals.  Sandy Hausman tells how that program works for residents of five Central Virginia counties.

In an address on school choice Virginia Republican Congressman Eric Cantor says there is an attack on vouchers.  Matt Laslo reports from Capitol Hill.

You’ve probably heard that the nation trains too few scientists, mathematicians, engineers or computer techs to compete with China or India.  Our schools are buzzing about that, and government is pouring money into teacher training, but experts are beginning to question the claim and to worry about a surplus as Sandy Hausman reports.

Patrick Carney
Photo: SPACE.com

Parents and grandparents may anguish over the amount of time kids spend playing video games or watching videos on YouTube, but a University of Virginia student offers reassurance.  His passion for those things has led to an amazing prize, as Sandy Hausman reports.

In 2013 national Democrats took note of Terry McAulife’s win in Virginia’s gubernatorial race. Matt Laslo reports they’re hoping to use that ‘Virginia model’ to win nationally in the 20-14 midterms, and they’re trying to make their case with one Virginia Republican in particular.

Virginia Tech is one of six sites that will test drones as part of push to integrate them into the nation’s airspace in the next few years.   Robbie Harris has the story.

New numbers from the U.S. Justice Department may come as a surprise to those who think prisons are the best response to crime.  Inmate populations are down, and so are criminal convictions as Sandy Hausman reports. 

This wasn’t a pretty year in Washington and Virginia lawmakers are as upset about it as voters. Matt Laslo has this look back at the highs and lows from our congressional delegation.

It is that time of year—when you just might have a Holiday Jingle Ear Worm….maybe you picked it up in a department store, or from a humming co-worker.  Maybe even from this radio station. ‘Tis the season for Christmas tunes.
Connie Stevens talks with a writer from Appomatox, who is actually an expert on American Christmas music.

A new report from the University of Virginia and the Legal Aid Justice Center shows Virginia schools suspend black boys at twice the rate of whites – often for minor offenses like being loud or disruptive in class, but another approach could solve the problem while keeping students in school.  Sandy Hausman has that story.

At Christmas time in 1969, John Lennon and Yoko Ono embarked on their famous Peace Campaign.   Soon after their ‘year of peace’ they collaborated on another song on the same theme. Robbie Harris has the story of the never before released demo recording they made.