Sandy Hausman
Charlottesville Bureau ChiefSandy Hausman joined the Radio IQ team in 2008 after living and working in Chicago for 30 years. Since then, she's won numerous national and regional awards for her prolific coverage of the environment, criminal justice, research and happenings at the University of Virginia. Sandy is a graduate of Cornell University and holds a master's degree in journalism from the University of Michigan. Contact Sandy at shausman@vt.edu.
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State and local law enforcement agencies are warning the public today about a growing danger— cryptocurrency fraud. Here in Virginia, they say the rate more than doubled between 2024 and 2025. -
Virginia’s Department of Corrections says it’s in the process of modernizing prison communications -- giving high-tech tablets to 2,500 inmates at four test sites. Officials have already branded their pilot program a success. Inmates and their advocates who are telling a very different story. -
There’s been considerable concern about the impact of data centers on Virginia’s utility rates. And now, opponents are talking about another issue— the transmission lines needed to supply those power-hungry operations. At least seven counties are gearing up for a fight. -
Last year, state prisons exceeded their budget for medical care by $23 million, and the number was even higher in 2024.That forced the Department of Corrections to impose a hiring freeze at a time when many facilities are understaffed. The parole board could release more people, but it now has too few members to act. -
In middle age, many people consider a career change, and one Charlottesville man is going all out. His early resume features some of the best-known children’s programs on public television. Now he’s working as a death doula— a professional who helps people at the end of life. -
The historic home of James and Dolley Madison is launching a new program, with a grant from the Mars Candy Company. It will highlight the importance of chocolate at the Orange County estate and its value to a young nation. -
The recent deaths of two young actors from colorectal cancer has put a spotlight on the rising rate in people under 50. At the University of Virginia, a national expert on the subject says it’s also more common in people who live in one particular part of this state, and he’s hoping to figure out why. -
Virginia’s last election put Democrats in control of the governor’s mansion and the General Assembly, so organized labor thought home healthcare workers and university employees might finally get the right to collective bargaining. Instead, both groups have been cut out of pending bills and are fighting to get back in. -
A band from Appalachia is touring now, raising issues about this country’s current political climate. -
Scientists at the University of Virginia and NASA have come up with a small, hand-held device that could be a big help to farmers and gardeners around the world.
