There was an intriguing case in Albemarle Circuit Court last week.  It involved: a man accused of possessing a small amount of marijuana, a little-known penalty in Virginia law and a giant bill for taxpayers. Virginia Public Radio’s  Sandy Hausman heard about the case, called the public defender, and filed this report.

With some environmentalists singing its praises as a clean-burning fuel, natural gas was looking like America’s energy salvation. The second largest gas field in the world lies under Virginia and four neighboring states. Then, the New York Times began to report on the environmental damage done in Pennsylvania, using a gas extraction technology known as fracking.  Today,  Virginia Public Radio’s Sandy Hausman reports on whether it will be used in Virginia – and, if so, how that might be done safely.

The nation’s need for energy has fueled what some call a new gold rush – drilling for natural gas trapped in layers of shale deep underground.  The nation’s largest expanse of shale is in Appalachia – stretching from Virginia to New York. So far, only one firm has asked for a permit to drill in Virginia, but a Houston-based company has leased thousands of acres around Harrisonburg, and residents are getting nervous.  Virginia Public Radio’s  Sandy Hausman reports on their concerns – and why state regulators say they have nothing to fear.

With the dangers of nuclear power playing out in Japan, fighting in Libya pushing oil prices up, and climate scientists pointing an accusing finger at coal, America is desperate for some energy alternatives. One that seemed promising is natural gas – a relatively clean burning fuel. But critics now say the process of getting gas from the ground may be risky. Virginia Public Radio’s Sandy Hausman went to Southwest Virginia to find out why.

Photo by Charlie Woodroof

History is riddled with mistakes. And one of those mistakes, concerning the birthplace of a Baseball Hall of Fame player you’ve probably never heard of, was corrected recently with the unveiling of a new historical marker by the side of the road in rural, north central Virginia.  Virginia Public Radio’s Martha Woodroof reports.

High School students all around Virginia are taking classes their schools can’t provide—at least not in the traditional sense. These young people are enrolled in one or more of the 50 courses offered through “Virtual Virginia,” the state’s online public school academy.  Fred Echols visited a Virtual Virginia teacher in Roanoke to get a closer look at how online teaching works.

Prosecutors in most big cities have heard about con artists who prey on people locked out of their homes or cars.  Some have taken the worst offenders to court, but here in Virginia phony locksmiths appear to be scamming consumers and driving legitimate locksmiths out of business, while state regulators struggle to keep up.  Virginia Public Radio’s  Sandy Hausman has details:

It’s been called a “camp classic.”  It’s been called “cinematically unique.”  It’s been called a lot of things, but mostly it’s been called the worst movie ever made.  Now, as Virginia Public Radio’s Fred Echols reports, a Charlottesville-based independent filmmaker is giving it a new life.

Virginians came to know Elizabeth Taylor as the wife of their Senator– John Warner. But the rest of the world remembers her passionate marriage to actor Richard Burton. The relationship was the subject of a new book by two Virginia authors who talked with our Charlottesville Bureau Chief Sandy Hausman.

You’ve probably heard the term “carbon footprint” – a measure of how much carbon individual activities generate.  Driving an SUV or traveling by jet, for example, give you a big, fat foot.  But a professor at the University of Virginia has another way to gauge individual impact, and it’s getting a lot of attention online as Virginia Public Radio’s Sandy Hausman reports.

In just a few short weeks the Virginia General Assembly will re-draw district lines for its state House, Senate, and US Congressional seats.  But college students all over Virginia have already created dozens of possible maps for a statewide competition.  Virginia Public Radio’s Thomas Pierce reports.

For centuries, real life tragedies have been memorialized in song—as ballads tell a story, passing down history through oral tradition. And in Virginia, these musical tributes were often produced as what’s called “broadside ballads”—complete with opinion and emotion, as the writer and performers weighed in on grim events. Virginia Public Radio’s Connie Stevens has this report on “Deathly Lyrics—Songs of Virginia Tragedies.”

Last year The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond completed an 8- year, $200 million expansion.  And now, they’ve opened a well-publicized exhibit of Pablo Picasso’s art, which they say is their most important exhibit ever.  Virginia Public Radio’s Jesse Dukes reports.

As both Congress and the Virginia General Assembly take steps to end subsidies for Public Broadcasting, opponents of the funding say it’s not a core function of government.  Virginia Public Radio’s Anne Marie Morgan investigated the historical record… to get an idea of where the Founding Fathers might have stood on the question.  And while it’s impossible to say what their opinions would be today, it’s at least clear that in the context of their own time-they were ready and willing to use public money to get the news out. 

Richmond area teacher Shannon Broughton struggles to make ends meet, but she doesn't favor lower taxes.

As lawmakers in Richmond wrestle with ways to cut Virginia’s budget, some critics say the state should be taking a whole different approach – raising more revenue by changing its tax laws.  The Commonwealth has not adjusted tax brackets for nearly a hundred years, and wealthy seniors get generous deductions.  Sandy Hausman reports on why some believe this could be the time for tax reform in Virginia.

The economic slump may have pushed more teens into part-time jobs, but a researcher at the University of Virginia is warning that too many hours of employment can spell trouble at school.  Virginia Public Radio’s Sandy Hausman has that story:

Valentine’s Day means chocolate and roses for some people – but in the gay community, it’s an opportunity to protest.  Gay marriage is illegal in 45 states – including Virginia, and federal programs like Social Security don’t recognize it.  Filmmaker Drew Emery, who began his career in the Commonwealth, plans to mark the day by giving away copies of his first movie to 400 churches nationwide.   Virginia Public Radio’s Sandy Hausman has that story.

The Tucson shootings highlighted the need to improve mental health services nationwide. Western State has long been Virginia’s “last resort” for the severely mentally ill, but thanks to new drugs therapies and recovery-focused treatment plans, today’s hospital bears little resemblance to the place once known as Western Lunatic Asylum.   Virginia Public Radio’s Martha Woodroof offers an update.

Archaeologists at the Jamestown fort have uncovered the church where Pocahontas was married more than four centuries ago– and now the find has been named as one of the top 10 discoveries of the last year.  Virginia Public Radio’s Thomas Pierce reports.

Roads are crumbling, congestion is increasing, while the state budget is shrinking.  Governor Bob McDonnell has requested permission from the federal government to toll I95 at the Virginia border to help pay for road repairs. At a recent National Transportation Planning Board meeting, tolls on Interstates 95, 295, 395 and Route 66 were suggested as part of a long-range plan.  Across the Commonwealth, tollbooths are being considered as the way to fix and improve our roads.  Virginia Public Radio’s Sondra Woodward reports on the demise of the free ride.

It was 101 years ago this week that pioneering jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt was born to a family of Romani gypsies. He would go on to invent a jazz guitar technique that is now a living musical tradition. In fact, in Virginia, devoted fans of Reinhardt are actually calling this month ‘Djangoary.’  Virginia Public Radio’s Connie Stevens has more.

Note: There are Djangoary events scheduled for January 22 at Ashland Coffee & Tea outside of Richmond, and January 29 at Kirk Avenue Music Hall in downtown Roanoke.

The Department of Fish and Wildlife reports a 20% decrease in hunting license sales in Virginia over the last decade. Those license fees support many of the state’s conservation lands.  And that means less money is available to maintain them.  Grayson Chesser is a duck decoy carver and hunting guide on Virginia’s Eastern Shore who is concerned about Virginia’s hunting heritage.  Jesse Dukes has more.

Uranium mining is potentially big business in Virginia. There’s so much uranium underneath the state’s Piedmont region that 30 years ago mining leases were granted in four counties –Orange, Madison, Culpeper and Fauquier  –  and exploration was underway all along the eastern slopes of the Blue Ridge. That got enough people upset that the General Assembly was persuaded to put a moratorium on uranium mining in 1982, a ban that’s never been lifted. A company called Virginia Uranium wants to change that so it can recover billions of dollars worth of the mineral in Pittsylvania County. As Virginia Public Radio’s Fred Echols reports, that’s something environmentalists say would open the door to mining operations across the commonwealth.

Late last year, Governor Bob McDonnell announced the formation of a new committee to help state and local law enforcement get a grip on street gangs.  McDonnell warned that gangs now threaten the safety of Virginians everywhere, but no one knows how many gang members are at large in the Commonwealth or how dangerous they really are, and Sandy Hausman reports that tough anti-gang laws may be doing more harm than good.

As services through central and western portions of the state scrambled to deal with snow, high winds, and other weather-related challenges, there’s a warning that Virginia is way behind in planning for future climate changes. Sandy Hausman has the story.

More specially-equipped Virginia police cars are using technology to read and record every license plate they pass. Officers say it’s an efficient way to find wanted vehicles. But civil liberty advocates say it’s a dangerous step toward becoming a surveillance state.  Evan Jones has more.

Governor McDonnell is offering details on the reforms he’s introducing to help Virginia maintain its retirement system…and pay back the $620-million borrowed from the VRS last year. It is a combination of the state employers increasing their contributions, as well as state employees. Virginia Public Radio’s Tommie McNeil has more from Richmond.

These are hard times for non-profit organizations, but one Richmond group is getting some help from a surprising source– a mysterious Chinese woman with ties to royalty. Sandy Hausman has that story.

This time of year gets many people thinking about family traditions like roasting a turkey, making holiday cookies, putting up a Christmas tree or shopping at one of the many great department stores that did business in cities around the nation.  WVTF’s Sandy Hausman reports on one of Richmond’s historic retail centers. It’s now the subject of a book.