WMRA News

By Bob Leweke

Harrisonburg, VA – Is a downtown open-air amphitheater in Harrisonburg's future? Businessman David Miller hopes so. He recently proposed an amphitheater and park to be constructed near the Farmer's Market, and the project is open for public comment. Bob Leweke asked him how financing and operating the amphitheater would compare to the city's controversial Heritage Oaks Golf Course, which currently operates at a deficit.

By Sandy Hausman

Charlottesville, VA – With the price of oil rising, and the price of petroleum-based fertilizer going up, more farmers are considering sludge from sewage treatment plants.

They can get it free, but the state isn't 100% sure about the safety of so-called biosolids, and the Department of Environmental Quality is working on new guidelines for how and where they're used.

In the meantime, some farm neighbors are uneasy.

By Sandy Hausman

Rockingham, VA – 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.

The The New York Times began to report on the environmental damage done in Pennsylvania, using a gas extraction technology known as fracking.

By Sandy Hausman

Harrisonburg, VA – 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.

By Sandy Hausman

Abingdon, VA – 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.

By Martha Woodroof

Culpeper, VA – History is riddled with mistakes.

One of these mistakes, concerning the birthplace of Pete Hill, a Baseball Hall of Fame baseball 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 Culpeper.

For Virginia Public Radio, Martha Woodroof reports.

By Fred Echols

Roanoke, VA – High School students all around Virginia are taking classes that their schools cannot 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.

Virginia Public Radio's Fred Echols visited a Virtual Virginia teacher in Roanoke to get a closer look at how online teaching works.

By Sandy Hausman

Charlottesville, VA – Prosecutors in most big cities have heard about con artists who prey on people locked out of their homes or cars, and some states have taken the worst offenders to court.

But here in Virginia phony locksmiths appear to be scamming consumers at will, while state regulators struggle to keep up.

Sandy Hausman reports