Southwestern Virginia

Loudoun County has the world’s largest concentration of data centers. But what about Southwest Virginia?

One new economic development effort hopes to bring data centers to coal country.

People seeking lawful asylum in this country face overwhelming obstacles.  Nonetheless, they choose to come here.  But that’s far from the end of their journey. Sponsored by family or friends, many travel hundreds of miles by bus to join them all over the country. 

In Roanoke, where they change buses, tired, often hungry and frightened, two women are there to greet them at the station and to remind them that people here care about them.          

The first comprehensive study on the effect of invasive plants on indigenous wildlife is sobering.

Researchers at Virginia Tech have confirmed that when invasive plants take over an area, they actually alter the ecosystem and deplete the native animals’ natural food sources.  It’s a major driver of wildlife extinction, the researchers say. And it’s even worse than they thought.

For the last several years, science and technology have increasingly dominated the scene at most universities, while the humanities took a back seat.  If you wanted to get a good job, you had to major in one of the STEM subjects: science, technology, engineering, or  mathematics.

Now, the Virginia university known as Tech, that is Virginia Tech, is elevating the role of the humanities as part of a university-wide initiative, giving it a seat at the technology table. 

In parts of Virginia, there’s no medical care facility for miles. And if there are any, too often, people can’t afford to go. For decades, the “Wise Health Wagon” has traveled Virginia's Appalachian Mountains, treating patients free of charge.