If you’ve been saving photos, notes and videos to your favorite social media sites and are counting on them to be there indefinitely, think again.  As Sondra Woodward explains, the Web may not the best place for storing the record of your life.

In the rural beach community of Accomack County on the Eastern Shore, state and federal investigators are searching for clues in the ashes of what is now the 73rd arson since last November.

Many of the old farmhouses being targeted are used only during the summer by visitors or migrant workers who harvest and pack produce.

State Police spokeswoman Sgt. Michelle Anaya said the arsons happen at night and neighbors live a mile or more away from each other making it difficult to see anyone suspicious.

Much of the evidence is either burned or washed away by fire hoses. But investigators do have the beginnings of a profile.
Sgt. Anaya says this person or persons are very familiar with the territory; they are very familiar with the abandoned buildings.

The youngest and the oldest people in our communities sometimes find themselves marginalized.  Often they are seen in terms of what they take from society, because of what they cannot yet do, or what they can no longer do.  Robbie Harris has this report on what these book end generations are doing together.

Safaris in Africa remain a popular choice for travelers in search of adventure, but they’re expensive and often require vaccinations and medications to guard against life-threatening disease.  Now, a British company is offering something it believes will sell just as well – setting up headquarters in Virginia and selling trans-Atlantic travelers on an American Safari.  Sandy Hausman has more.

Several northern Virginia communities are the healthiest in the state.

The annual County Health Rankings & Roadmaps lists Fairfax County as number 1, followed by Loudoun, Arlington, Albemarle, and York Counties.  Meanwhile, Henry, Dickenson, Buchanan, and Tazewell Counties were at the bottom followed by the city of Petersburg, which had the least healthy residents.

All 133 Virginia localities listed in the report were measured on the length and quality of life as well as health factors.  Bob Hicks from the Virginia Department of Health, says the rankings haven’t changed much over the four years the study has been conducted.

“Between the social and economic factors and the access, I think we keep seeing the same sort of problems in Southwest and Southside Virginia that we need to get more facilities out there that people have access to.”

But money for more clinics can be a challenge, no matter where in the Commonwealth they would be located.

“Some of our poor areas want to attract more economic development.  And they find the corporations, the companies that want to come to these areas are looking for a healthy workforce.  So there’s a willingness to maybe sometimes invest in some of these changes that can be made to try to change and improve the health of the workforce.”

Hicks says the report is a tool to spur dialog in the communities and to create or continue programs for promoting good health.

–Beverly Amsler

Producing a book in the 21st century is no easy job, unless you decide to publish yourself, but a Waynesboro woman has found her niche and is now writing the fourth of seven books commissioned by a prominent publishing house.   What’s more, she’s up for a national award as Sandy Hausman reports.audio https://virginiapublicradio.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/prerollaggie.mp3%5D

You can hear more from Molly Bryan during the Virginia Festival of the Book.  She’s on panels meeting this week  in Charlottesville.

Stock Photo

Virginia’s Department of Game and Inland Fisheries is investigating the mysterious deaths of four bald eagles found on the Eastern Shore.

Like a detective eliminating suspects Dr. Megan Kirchgessner, the vet investigating the deaths said one autopsy shows no smoking gun, literally.

“The one eagle that I necropsied I did not see any evidence of gunshot or trauma. I sent two intact eagles to one laboratory and we still have a fourth one in the freezer in case we need any extra samples,” she said.

A fifth immature eagle was recovered alive. The Wildlife Center of Virginia found the bird had ingested metal fragments and treated it for lead poisoning.

“He’s doing quite well. He arrived at the Wildlife Center a little bit depressed, dehydrated a little bit thin. But eating really well, and has been moved to an outside cage,” said Kirchgessner.

Kirchgessner said the bird offers no clues as to what happened. But the answer may be in lab results.

–Pamela D’Angelo

A Virginia Republican is getting some heat for supporting a bipartisan bill to stop gun trafficking.

Scott Rigell was one of the first Republican lawmakers to sign onto gun control legislation. The bill he supports increases penalties on people caught trafficking guns. That did not sit well with the National Association for Gun Rights which put up ads in Rigell’s district saying the Republican wants to “pass Obama’s gun control.” Rigell says that’s an utter distortion.

“There’s no infringement whatsoever. The bill is very narrow in scope. It’s good legislation, so I’m glad I sponsored it.”

But the attack ads show how much pressure is on Republicans, and even Democrats, to keep the nation’s gun laws unchanged. But Rigell says he has no regrets.

“Well I certainly knew that there was some risk in standing next to my Democratic colleagues as a Republican on this issue, but there’s risk in doing what one thinks is right.”

Rigell also notes that he opposes universal background checks and banning assault weapons.

-by Matt Laslo

The Virginia Festival of the Book gets underway Wednesday, and this year the program features a remarkable writer who, with the help of his Virginia lawyers, saved a mountain.

Jay Leutze got his law degree from the University of North Carolina, but he decided not to practice.  Instead, he moved to his family’s cabin on Yellow Mountain in the Roan Highlands – an area famous in geological circles for its grassy balds.

“They’re open pastures.  We believe that they were kept open by wooly mammoths, then bison and elk, and then when European settlers came in, they were kept open by grazing cattle.”

He planned to hike, fish and write novels, but a real life story caught his ear when crews began cutting down trees across the valley to make way for  a massive surface gravel mine – a facility that would blast and crush stone 24 hours a day.  A permit had been issued without a single public hearing, but Leutze wasn’t sure anything could be done, until he got a call from a neighbor.

“She informed me that she had evidence that the mine owner was violating the Mining Act of 1971, and  she asked me to meet her the next day, and that’s when I learned that she was a 14-year-old child.  She was being raised by her Aunt Ollie and her Uncle Curly, and her Uncle Curley had given her a dial-up Internet connection for her birthday, and what she uncovered led to one of the great cases in regulatory history.”

Leutze also got help from Southern Environmental Law Center, based in Charlottesville, and because the mine could be seen and heard from the Appalachian Trail, its superintendant stepped in.

“When the Department of the Interior sent Pam Underhill into Avery County at one of these public meetings, it’s like time stood still in our little county.  That the federal government was in the house to urge the state of North Carolina to revoke the permit — it was incredibly powerful!”

Opponents of the mine also used the Internet to reach hikers around the world.

“The most public comments that had ever been received in writing by this department on a mining permit was twelve.  We submitted 3,650 public comments, and we basically shut down the state of North Carolina division for about three months.”

During a four-year battle to save their mountain, Leutze got to know and respect his neighbors – in particular Ashley’s aunt.  He was so taken with her intelligence and humor, that he began his book with a description of Ollie Cox.

“The story of the Southern Mountains is told in her face.  The crepe soft skin is laid over stone hard bone.  She is as white as February snow, but her  blue eyes smoulder.

I ask her, ‘Where did they come from-your father’s people?” I want to hear about her ancestors – the Cherokee side and the Scotch-Irish kin, the old timers who came here to hide or scratch dirt or seek a wage felling timber.  I want to hear about her wire thin Appalachian grandmothers who walked these steep ridges, these wildflower slopes, but she can’t call it up.  Either she can’t remember or she won’t.”

“She only shakes her head softly.  ‘Son, you ain’t mountain.  I’m mountain.  That’s all the hell I am, and you wouldn’t never understand.’  She is right, but I will try.”

He succeeded so well that a publishers’ bidding war broke out over his book – Stand Up That Mountain, a memoir that ends with a victory in court.  In 2004, the Putnam mine was closed, and when its owners asked to mine gravel at a site six miles away – beside the Blue Ridge Parkway – the state told them to take a hike.  

About 1.7 million Virginians rely on wells, springs and cisterns for their drinking water.  While municipal water supplies are tested daily under the Safe Drinking Water Act, people who rely on wells and springs are completely responsible for the care and maintenance of their water supplies.

The Montgomery County Water Clinic is Tuesday March 19)  at the Blacksburg Recreation center.

Here is a list of the counties where water clinics are happening over the next 6 months: New Kent, Pittsylvania, Goochland, Hanover, Floyd, Montgomery, Shenandoah, Halifax, Mecklenburg, Roanoke, Pulaski, Powhatan, Albemarle, Charlotte, Frederick, Lunenburg, Nottoway, Warren, Charles City, Franklin, Rappahannock, Botetourt, and Clarke.

A new report from the University of Virginia shows some dramatic changes in the way Americans live, with nearly half of first births occurring out of wedlock and a tendency by couples to marry in their late rather than early 20’s.  Sandy Hausman has details.

Conservatives from across the U-S are at the convention center at National Harbor for the annual Conservative Political Action Conference. Matt Laslo is there and reports that Virginia gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli kicked off the event.

Virginia is in the process of closing its state centers for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. In 2012, the commonwealth reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice on the Americans with Disabilities act.  It helped spur a movement that began decades ago to people out of institutions and into private homes, where they could receive the most compassionate, least restrictive care.  Robbie Harris has more on the story.

A female bald eagle has been released in the Northern Neck of Virginia after recovering from injuries. Onlookers came for a variety of reasons, some quite personal. Pamela D’Angelo reports.

You can watch the progress of other animals and follow the bald eagle NX at wildlifecenter.org.

The heavy snow continues to fall in parts of Virginia, downing power lines and cutting off service to thousands of Virginians.  Beverly Amsler has the latest on the winter storm.

The federal government’s role in the use of drones inside the U.S. may be expanding, but state lawmakers have put the brakes on deploying them within Virginia’s borders.  Legislation that’s now under review by Governor McDonnell would place a moratorium on state and local use of drones.  The unmanned aircraft could not be deployed for two years—while parameters and safeguards are studied.

Concerns that drones could violate rights and invade privacy prompted an alliance between the state ACLU and lawmakers to put drone deployments on hold—at least temporarily.

“I want to live in a world much more akin to that that was envisioned by our Founding Fathers than one that was envisioned by a gentleman named George Orwell. And I think we’re rapidly approaching a time in our history where this type of technology is so pervasive that we could very well lose what we think of as our privacy rights,” said Delegate Todd Gilbert, who sponsored one of the bills.

He said the initial plan was not for a moratorium.

“We were trying to develop a framework by which we could allow law enforcement and regulatory agencies to use this technology in a way that was not an invasion of privacy.  And I think a lot of the law enforcement elements did not want anything but the unfettered use of this technology, and that gave us great pause.  So we decided to go with a moratorium.”

Exceptions are made for searches and rescues, Virginia Guard training and emergencies, Amber or Senior Alerts—or Blue Alerts when police officers are in danger.  But the drones cannot be weaponized.

–Anne Marie Morgan

Each year, half a million people in this country have knee replacement surgery, and by 2030 that number is expected to reach three million. After surgery, you might expect those patients to be more active and to lose weight, but a study by Virginia Commonwealth University suggests the opposite is true – and that could spell trouble for the nation’s long-term health as Sandy Hausman reports.

Prosecutors and public defenders in Virginia are paid by the state, but on average, lawyers who work for the Commonwealth’s Attorney make 25% more than lawyers who defend the poor.  Now, Sandy Hausman reports that one public defender is asking for a raise, and others may follow suit.

Officials in Virginia are bracing for the impact of the federal budget cuts that start trickling down. Matt Laslo reports that lawmakers in the commonwealth disagree about what should be done with the sequestration.

Two new surveys from the Centers for Disease Control suggest some progress in improving the way Americans eat, but experts are not ready to celebrate yet.

From 2007 to 2010, adults – on average — got just over 11% of their daily calories from fast food – a decrease of about two percent from the period between 2003 and 2006.  That said, two demographic groups still favor fast food.

“If you were in the like the 20-39-year-old age group, you were more likely to consume fast food,”  says John Sirard, a professor at the University of Virginia, specializing in exercise and its impact on the body.  He says African-Americans also tended to consume more fast food than white or Hispanic adults.  Looking at children, the CDC found overall consumption of calories down, but childhood obesity was up three percent.

“If caloric intake is going down, but obesity is still going up, the last piece of the puzzle that we’re truly missing is  the physical activity.”

Sirard says he worries that children are still spending too much time staring at computer and TV screens when they should be exercising.  He’s cautiously optimistic about the numbers of adults eating fast food, but he’s not sure whether a decline in consumption of carbohydrates among kids is good news.

“You know that might be a good thing if we’re getting rid of the white bread and simple sugars, but if we’re losing some high fiber, complex carbohydrate foods, then that’s not a good thing, so I’m willing to bet we’re going to be seeing some more in-depth analysis in the months to come.”

Sirard says the problem of obesity in this country is complex and will take efforts at many levels to undo – from government policy and school lunches to family meals and rules.

–Sandy Hausman

Virginia’s newest U-S senator, Tim Kaine, delivered his maiden speech on the Senate floor this week. Matt Laslo reports from the Capitol that his first address to his colleagues came much earlier than expected.

Photo: U.S. Dept of Interior/U.S. Geological Survey

Climate change is forcing some Virginians to consider a move.  Coastal areas and islands like Tangiers are losing land as the sea rises, flooding is more frequent, and hurricanes could be more dangerous than ever.  But for one Virginia couple, natural disasters are no deterrent.  They’ve chosen to live in one of the riskiest places on Earth.  Sandy Hausman has their story. 

President Obama was in Newport News, Virginia today highlighting the impact of pending budget cuts on the state’s defense industry. Virginia Republicans are glad the president is highlighting the state’s robust defense industry. But Virginia Congressman Randy Forbes says the president’s time would have been better spent in Washington negotiating with congressional leaders.

“The President instead has surrounded himself with these campaign stops where he puts people who already agree with him around to cheer and clap everything he says, but if you want to reach true compromise the best way to do that is to go into a room with people who might disagree with you,” said Forbes.

But Virginia Democrats are defending the president’s trip. Senator Tim Kaine says its good the White House is calling attention to the potentially devastating impact of the pending budget cuts, called sequestration.

“I think part of the reason the President is going is to just make sure that we’re not just talking about numbers on a page here. We’re talking about real consequences,” said Kaine.

On Capitol Hill everyone is bracing for sequestration to strike on Friday, but the two sides still don’t appear to be moving any closer to a deal, which means hundreds of thousands of workers in the Virginia could be furloughed.
–Matt Laslo

After being eclipsed by other issues for a couple of years climate change is now back in the spotlight on Capitol Hill. Matt Laslo caught up with members of the Virginia congressional delegation and has this snapshot of the debate now boiling in the nation’s capital.

Oysters were once plentiful on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, but their numbers have fallen dramatically over the last century, due to overfishing, pollution and disease.  Scientists and watermen are working to bring them back, and the partnership has led to a unique course at the University of Virginia – one taught, in part, by a man who has no PhD but could easily write a dissertation on his beloved bivalves.  Sandy Hausman reports.

Virginia could become the first state in the nation to restrict a new class of generic medications.  But drug companies want limits and some pharmacists are concerned.

Amgen is the world’s largest biotech company – a California firm that makes medicines from living cells.  These remedies, known as biologicals, are expensive and protected by patents, but the Affordable Care Act clears the way for cheaper, generic forms of these products.

John O’Bannon serves in Virginia’s House of Delegates, representing parts of Richmond and Henrico County.  He recently got a call from Amgen, asking for help in crafting a bill that would restrict the prescription of generic biologicals.

Now O’Bannon isn’t your ordinary politician.  “I’m your brain doctor.  I’m a neurologist.”

And he says there were problems in the early days of generic drugs. “Some of our seizure patients had problems with generics, and over time I think generics have gotten better and we’re more comfortable with them.”

But he’s not yet comfortable with the idea of generic biologicals.  “They’re going to be similar.  They’ll be FDA approved, but they’re not identical.”

So he sponsored a bill that would allow doctors or patients to insist on brand name drugs instead – making it illegal for pharmacists to dispense the cheaper medications.

The president of the Generic PharmaceuticalAssociation, Ralph Neas, thinks that’s a terrible idea.
“Generics have saved this country a trillion dollars according to published reports in the last decade, about $200 billion in 2011 alone. We expect that biosimilars will do the same thing,” said Neas.

The bill also requires drug stores to notify doctors  and patients if they dispense a generic biological, and keep records of doing so for two years.  Pharmacists have told the Virginia legislature that O’Bannon’s bill will make their jobs much more difficult.

“You know the CVS guy  says we’re going to have to get a whole new computer system to do this, I just don’t buy that,” said O’Bannon.

His bill also requires pharmacies to say, on the label, when a generic biological was used as a substitute for the brand name drug.  Three trade associations representing pharmacists think that will only confuse consumers.

Federal law does not require Amgen’s Political Action Committee to report campaign contributions to state candidates, but O’Bannon admits he’s taken money from the pharmaceutical industry.

“I, yes, and I have gotten, and that’s listed.  I have fundraisers and I’ve gotten money from the folks that are pushing this and the folks who are agin’ it,” he said.

Both the House and Senate have now approved the bill in Richmond, and the Governor is expected to sign it into law.

–Sandy Hausman

While the Newtown, Connecticut shooting has gotten the most media attention of late, last night at the State of the Union address two Virginia lawmakers honored the victims of the Virginia Tech shooting.

Peter Read of Annandale, Virginia lost his daughter Mary in the Virginia Tech shooting. He says he was honored to be the guest of Congressman Gerry Connolly at the State of the Union address.

“It’s hugely meaningful to me and obviously for my daughter Mary and for the other Hokie families.”
More than twenty lawmakers invited victims of gun violence or their family members to attend the president’s annual address. Virginia

Congressman Bobby Scott gave his extra ticket to Lori Haas of Richmond. Her daughter Emily was shot twice but survived the Virginia Tech massacre. Haas says it was important for so many people impacted by gun violence to be present in the House chamber as the president called for new gun-control measures.  “It is incumbent upon all of us to raise our voices and to speak to this issue and to call on Congress to act. The President has put forth a big package, a nice set of proposals and that combined if we pass all those proposals, come into legislation and become law, we will save lives and that’s our job.”

And Peter Read says the details don’t matter as much to him as getting action.  “The art of the politically possible is for the politicians to figure out but I will work with anybody who will work with me to get the right things done.”

Before the address the guests were taken to a private event at the White House and many have been lobbying lawmakers for action while at the Capitol.

–Matt Laslo

Democrats in the region like the jobs plan President Obama laid out last evening in his State of the Union address. But Matt Laslo reports that Republicans are wary of its price tag.

Virginia is one of the first states to feel the impact of a decade-long round of  budget cuts scheduled to begin hitting  the federal government next month. Matt Laslo reports on what the Virginia congressional delegation is doing to avert those cuts from potentially crippling the state’s economy and defense industry.

The Southern Environmental Law Center is out with its list of top ten endangered places in this region, and according to the report, three parts of Virginia are threatened.   Sandy Hausman reports on why environmentalists are concerned.

In recent weeks, there has been an abundance of scientific reports documenting state and federal efforts to clean up pollution in the Chesapeake Bay. Pamela D’Angelo asked watermen for their assessment.

Like their students, Virginia’s public schools could be getting letter grades of A through F — based on how well they appear to be educating students.  The House of Delegates approved the idea Monday, and Governor Bob McDonnell, who proposed it, said he hoped the Senate would also sign on.   McDonnell has also proposed a small increase in school funding, but Sandy Hausman reports that local districts have some serious catching up to do.

The young man who made news last week for taking a loaded rifle into a supermarket in Charlottesville has apparently come forward.  He spoke with a radio talk show host on Sunday morning, explaining his motivation and expressing disappointment in those who misunderstood.  Sandy Hausman has that story.

A city in Central Virginia could become the first in the nation to ask for regulation of drones — unmanned aircraft used overseas to spy on and attack our enemies.  Sandy Hausman reports on why some feel the need to limit domestic drone use.

Virginia elects a governor in about ten months.  Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli is expected to top his party’s ticket, and he’ll soon be out with a new book.  The Washington Post offered a preview, and Democrats in Richmond were quick to attack as Sandy Hausman reports.

Increased fuel efficiency has cut into Virginia’s gasoline tax revenue, so there’s less money around to build and maintain roads. The governor wants to ditch the gas tax in favor of a higher sales tax, but he idea has proven controversial, and today opponents tried to drive their points home as Sandy Hausman reports.

Today we may sometimes take for granted our rights of self-determination, equality and public consent to the laws of our land.  But those legal tenets are relatively new and still somewhat rare throughout the world.  A kind of movement has begun here in Virginia to remind people about the origins and scope of those rights and freedoms we now see as self evident, and inalienable.  Robbie Harris prepared this report.

Virginia is growing faster than the national average, and a new study shows it’s growing in some surprising places. as Sandy Hausman.

We’re now a state of 8.2 million, up 2.3 percent from the last census, and you’ll never guess the fastest growing city in the Commonwealth.

“Covington tops the list as the fastest growing locality.”

Chen Cai is with the Weldon Cooper Center at the University of Virginia.  She says it might be due to a record-keeping error, or the city of

Covington may be going through a baby boom, with 120 births recorded last year, compared with 60 in a typical year.  More people moved to cities than suburbs, and as usual, they go where the jobs are.

“More than 50% of the growth occurred in Northern Virginia, and almost all the growth occurred in the metropolitan areas.”
The arrival of people from other states and countries helped to offset a net loss in 64 communities where there were more deaths than births.  That’s a reflection of an aging population and couples having smaller families.  On average, the state is adding 100,000 people a year.

“Virginia’s still attracting people from other parts of the country, other parts of the world, and on average every year we add about 50,000 more due to natural increase – so about 100,000 births every year, and 50,000 deaths.”

Richmond is growing, along with Hampton Roads, Winchester, Charlottesville, Harrisonburg and Staunton.

— Sandy Hausman

Virginia families caring for loved ones with disabilities may now be eligible for some reimbursement, when they have to hire respite care. As we hear from Connie Stevens, the funds through the one-time voucher program are quite limited—but may make a big difference in reducing strain on full-time caregivers.

Experts say there are a million Virginians who lack health insurance, and under the Affordable Care Act, 400,000 of them could get coverage – but only if the state agrees to expand its Medicaid program.  The federal government promised to pay the full cost of expansion, but the McDonnell administration refused. Now, Sandy Hausman reports that the situation could change if Washington is willing to play Let’s Make a Deal.  

The Transportation Security Administration says it will remove most  full-body scanners from U.S. airports by June – good news for a Charlottesville man who has been fighting them for the last two years.  Aaron Tobey took the federal government to court, alleging the machines violated his constitutional rights.  Sandy Hausman has more on his story.

Charlottesville is still talking about a bizarre event that took place over the weekend.  A man walked into a grocery store with a loaded, semi-automatic rifle.  Police were called but made no arrest, since Virginia law does not prohibit carrying guns in plain sight.  Sandy Hausman has more on that story.

Photo: Bocuse d’Or Team USA
Richard Rosendale and Corey Siegel

The most prestigious cooking competition in the world takes place in France this week. It’s the Bocuse d’Or,  the Olympics of the culinary world, named for legendary French chef Paul Bocuse.  And for the first time this year, America has a very real chance of taking top honors—all because of a chef right here in our neck of the woods.  Connie Stevens introduces us to Chef Richard Rosendale of West Virginia’s  Greenbrier Resort—head of Team USA at the Bocuse d’Or.

 You can watch Team USA compete live, January 30 at 3:20 a.m. at: www.bocusedorusa.org.

The House passed bill to extend the debt ceiling still leaves in place steep budget cuts that could hurt the economy in Virginia. Matt Laslo reports on the next budget battle looming before Congress.

Photo: Virginia Tech

Plans are in the works to harness electricity from wind off the coast of Virginia.
Large scale wind power has become common place in recent years.  Now a team at Virginia Tech is looking to exploit another niche for windpower.  Robbie Harris has this report on a team designing small-scale wind turbines for rooftops around the world.
Robbie Harris has more.

Parents who home school their kids are again Asking Richmond to let their students take part in after-school activities, including sports.  Sandy Hausman reports on why some say that should not be allowed.

Democrats in the region are praising the ambitious agenda laid out by President Obama in his second inaugural address. Matt Laslo reports that the president will now be judged by the agenda he laid out.

The Virginia Department of Education spends thousands of dollars each year to develop resources for teachers, but a recent survey showed many of them didn’t know what was available.  This week, Sandy Hausman reports that the state is launching a new service to keep teachers are in the loop.

Students at the University of Virginia have jumped into the debate over whether Rector Helen Dragas should be confirmed for another term on the board of visitors.  Sandy Hausman reports on why they’re weighing in and what they had to say.