Sandy Hausman

In 2008, Democrat Tom Perriello surprised Virginia’s fifth congressional district with his victory in a largely Republican area. He ran a strong and creative campaign, advertising, for example, on Christian Radio – quoting scripture, and he probably got a bump from Black voters who turned out in big numbers to cast a ballot for Barack Obama. Now, Perriello is back – hoping to unseat Congressman John McGuire. The news prompted three other candidates to drop out of the race – but three remain.

Each year, thousands of people visit family members in state prisons, but critics say there are fewer of them than in previous years. They complain that staff is sometimes rude and arbitrary in deciding who is allowed in. Meanwhile, more prisons offer video visits, but those don’t always go well.

Communities all over Virginia are now using automatic license plate readers to fight crime and speed access to parking. But many residents are raising concerns, and some cities have now canceled their contracts.

The forced resignation of UVA’s former president and the selection of a new leader has prompted complaints from Democrats in Richmond. On Monday, lawmakers had a chance to quiz the new president and the head of the board that selected him, but the exchange raised more questions than it answered.

The weekend saw protests in Richmond, Roanoke, Hampton Roads and other communities in Virginia against the agency known as ICE. We spoke with demonstrators in Charlottesville Sunday.

Electronic keyboard sales outnumber acoustics ten to one. They are cheaper and easier to maintain. But one man in Virginia says he still keeps busy ensuring existing instruments – which can last a hundred years or more – stay in tune.

Friends and family members have been fighting for 30 years to get Dusty Turner out of prison here in Virginia. The former Navy Seal was convicted of a murder to which another man confessed. This week, Virginia’s parole board is expected to free him.

Virginia’s eagle population has been growing – no longer poisoned by the pesticide DDT, but new dangers are putting more of them at risk.

Democrats hoping to represent a Virginia district stretching from liberal Charlottesville to conservative Southside were preparing for what could have been an expensive and damaging primary. Now three candidates are out, and momentum is building for a man who has served in Congress before.

On January first, the Dean of UVA’s graduate school of business will be sworn in as the 10th president of the university, but some say Scott Beardsley's tenure will not last long.