October 2024 Issue

Up Close with a Raptor

Virginia offers several places to see birds of prey in flight and even interact with them. Read on for details on three: BOAR’S HEAD RESORT, Charlottesville: Interact with a variety of captive-bred, trained birds, including owls, falcons, and hawks. Falconry at the Boar’s Head includes both beginner and introductory levels where participants learn about the […]

by Larry Bleiberg

Everything You Want to Know About Laughter

“A day without laughter is a day wasted.” —Charlie Chaplin Industry comes to an abrupt halt when a new cat video or Jimmy Fallon clip hits the internet. Millions of viewers stop whatever they’re doing at the moment—work, shopping, exercising—and glue themselves to a screen. When Charlie bit his big brother’s finger, more than 886 […]

by Dawn Klavon

App Ditches Public Dog Parks for Private Yards

SniffSpot found a solution for unruly ruffians of the canine variety—and their oblivious humans—who wreak havoc in public dog parks. A true community for dog owners, the app is a platform to access private dog parks hosted by locals, who agree that SniffSpot has surged in popularity for one main reason: safety. Catawba-based host Dawn […]

by Gabriela de Camargo Gonçalves

Discover Virginia’s Most Dangerous Plants with The Socrates Project

Picture the pale pink blooms of mountain laurel. Or perhaps the vibrant yellow-orange of the native flame azalea. Maybe the delicate white bells of American lily of the valley. Or the ephemeral springtime jack-in-the-pulpit and mayapple. These native plants are praised and prized. You would welcome them into your garden. And yet, as the leading […]

by caroline kettlewell

Rubber Duck Research at Virginia Tech

VT’s Fralin team hopes ocean current models may inform cancer treatments. Remember that story that made international news, where thousands and thousands of rubber ducks got dumped into the Pacific Ocean? In 1992, the container ship they were traveling on was caught in a storm, which toppled the ship’s cargo and sent nearly 30,000 of […]

by Madeline Mayhood

DispatchHealth’s House Calls are Changing Medicine.

— By Lily Perkinson Mark Prather, emergency room physician, and Kevin Riddleberger, physician assistant, pooled their brain power to launch DispatchHealth, which delivers medical services directly to patients in the comfort of their own homes. The model is a game-changer in the delivery of healthcare. DispatchHealth’s medical teams now serve NoVa communities around Fairfax and […]

by Staff

UVA Health Researchers Explore Gene-Driven Diets

Could there be any better source of information for your health than your own genes? A team of researchers at UVA Health doesn’t think so, which explains why they are exploring nutrigenomics for precision health. The UVA team is composed of Sibylle Kranz, Susanna Keller, Heather Ferris, and Mete Civelek. Their goals are to test […]

by Gabriela de Camargo Gonçalves

Memories of a Father and Son’s Epic Quail Hunt

A certain smell can retrieve the oldest of memories, ones tucked away in the mind’s basement in a filing cabinet labeled “Childhood,” seldom recalled but especially vivid when they are. One of mine that instantly returns me to age 8 is an autumn bouquet of cool outdoors, earthy woods, and eau de dog that clung […]

by George Tisdale

Exploring Virginia’s Most Curious Destinations

“Where to go and what to see and do?” Such is the dilemma for Virginia’s modern-day explorers. The state is chock-full of A-list attractions like the big three: Mt. Vernon, Monticello, and Colonial Williamsburg. But if you stick to the usuals, which are indeed worthy of their notable status, you’ll miss out on all kinds […]

by Elizabeth Cogar

The Virginia House-Wife Celebrates 200 Years

From the nuances of frying veals’ feet to how to dress a lamb’s head, Mary Randolph was the 19th-century’s answer to Ina Garten. Generally considered the country’s first cookbook author, she wrote the wildly popular The Virginia House-Wife in 1824, which enjoyed brisk sales and 19 printings until the outbreak of the Civil War. To […]

by Madeline Mayhood

VCU Maternity is Tops

Newsweek awards hospital five ribbons. VCU Medical Center achieved Newsweek’s highest ranking—five ribbons—on its list of “America’s Best Maternity Hospitals 2024,” one of only 15 hospitals in Virginia and among the state’s top six maternity hospitals to make the list. “We are proud to be recognized as one of the Commonwealth’s top hospitals for maternity […]

by Madeline Mayhood

New ER Standards Start

Physicians required to be on-site in all emergency departments across Virginia by summer 2025.

by Staff

Carilion Clinic Introduces Innovative Therapy for Stroke Survivors

Carilion Clinic is the first in Virginia to offer a new treatment for post-stroke patients to restore upper limb function. Paired with occupational therapy, vagus nerve stimulation with the Vivistim implant can improve a patient’s arm and hand function—two to three times more improvement than solely doing therapy. “The vagus nerve, when it’s stimulated, promotes […]

by Gabriela de Camargo Gonçalves

Keeping Rural Virginia Healthy

Sentara takes action to promote the spread of hospitals. —by Lily Perkinson Sentara Health is committed to maintaining hospital locations that cater to community needs, even in rural areas of Virginia. Recently, Sentara increased its investment of $70 million to more than $107 million toward the reconstruction of the Halifax Regional Hospital in South Boston. […]

by Staff

DispatchHealth’s House Calls are Changing Medicine

—by Lily Perkinson Mark Prather, emergency room physician, and Kevin Riddleberger, physician assistant, pooled their brain power to launch DispatchHealth, which delivers medical services directly to patients in the comfort of their own homes. The model is a game-changer in the delivery of healthcare. DispatchHealth’s medical teams now serve NoVa communities around Fairfax and Arlington […]

by Staff

Grassroots Efforts are Reclaiming Tazewell

In 1799, the location of Tazewell County’s courthouse was determined the old-fashioned way: a fistfight. The two opposing camps “each chose a champion, a Mr. Bailey and a Mr. Thompson,” says Amanda Killen, a Tazewell resident and owner of The Well, a coffee and dining spot. Thompson won, and the resulting placement gave Main Street […]

by Amy Brecount White

UVA Health

In a list of more than 400 hospitals, Newsweek named the University of Virginia Medical Center the number one hospital in Virginia. It scored 39th nationally. “Our goal is to become the top public academic health system in the country, and this ranking shows the great strides we are making,” says K. Craig Kent, M.D., […]

by Gabriela de Camargo Gonçalves

Virginia Breweries Bring Awards Home From World Beer Cup

Breweries from all over the globe gathered in Las Vegas in the spring for the largest beer competition in the world, the World Beer Cup. 9,300 beers, 2,060 breweries from 50 countries, and 290 judges from 37 countries turned out for the event. Nine Virginia breweries brought medals home. Caiseal Beer & Spirits Co. from […]

by Gabriela de Camargo Gonçalves

A Young Family Settles Into an Old Home, Steps From UVA

Timeless Beauty, Modern Comfort: From big city to brick Cape, a Charlottesville couple starts anew.

by Heather Bien

Pages: 1234

Events

May 30, 2025

Manassas Chorale “Princesses and Pirates” Spring Concert

Hylton Performing Arts Center

May 30, 2025

Falsettos

Keegan Theatre

May 31, 2025

Yorktown Market Days

Riverwalk Landing

A New Experience at the Virginia Scenic Railway

Virginia Scenic Railway Adds Dome Car for Spectacular Valley Views The popular Virginia Scenic Railway just upped its game with a vintage dome car offering breathtaking 360° views of the Shenandoah Valley. The “Shenandoah”—built in 1948 as the “Silver Palace” for the California Zephyr—now gives passengers an unmatched vantage point on three-hour excursions from Staunton. […]

by Gabriela de Camargo Gonçalves

The U.S. DOE Labeled These Virginia Schools Outstanding

Eight Virginia schools received the National Blue Ribbon 2024 award for their high performances. The Exemplary High Performing Schools are Spring Hill Elementary in McLean, Green Run Collegiate in Virginia Beach, Bethel Manor Elementary in Hampton, and St. Andrew the Apostle School in Clifton. The Exemplary Achievement Gap Closing Schools are Central Academy Middle […]

by Gabriela de Camargo Gonçalves

Williamsburg Archaeologists Uncover Secret Garden

In Colonial America, a grand garden was the ultimate status symbol—the 18th century equivalent of a Lamborghini. So when archaeologists at Colonial Williamsburg uncovered John Custis IV’s property, they struck horticultural gold: the remains of a football field-sized garden alongside his Jacobean manor house. Custis, a tobacco magnate and Martha Washington’s first father-in-law, went all […]

by Madeline Mayhood

October 2024 Issue

Up Close with a Raptor

Current Issue

Events

Manassas Chorale “Princesses and Pirates” Spring Concert

Falsettos

Yorktown Market Days

Most Popular

A New Experience at the Virginia Scenic Railway

The U.S. DOE Labeled These Virginia Schools Outstanding

Williamsburg Archaeologists Uncover Secret Garden

October 2024 Issue

Up Close with a Raptor

Current Issue

Events

Manassas Chorale “Princesses and Pirates” Spring Concert

Falsettos

Yorktown Market Days

Get our most popularweekly newsletter: VL Today

Most Popular

A New Experience at the Virginia Scenic Railway

The U.S. DOE Labeled These Virginia Schools Outstanding

Williamsburg Archaeologists Uncover Secret Garden

Get our most popularweekly newsletter: VL Today

Get our most popular
weekly newsletter: VL Today

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weekly newsletter: VL Today