At first, the judge was skeptical. Maybe he even bought into whispers that Norfolk’s innovative attempt to help drug addicts was “hug-a-thug” court. “I thought it was soft,” he said. Twenty years later, Circuit Judge (and UVA alumnus) Junius Fulton III is a true believer in Norfolk Drug Court, one of the oldest programs of its kind in Virginia.

A huge gap exists between the need for home-based medical care and what is actually being provided to frail older adults, especially in rural areas, a new study has found. “Most homebound seniors have not received medical care at home,” Nengliang “Aaron” Yao, one of the study’s authors and an assistant professor at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, said. “More medical house call programs are needed.”

Earlier this fall, the UVA Health System began construction on a new Musculoskeletal Center, which will consolidate multiple outpatient orthopedic clinics to a single location. The 195,000-square-foot facility will include six outpatient operating rooms, advanced imaging, physical and occupational therapy and 95 exam rooms.

More than 400 graduates from Virginia colleges and universities currently work in Amazon tech jobs. Virginia Tech produced 29 percent of those grads, George Mason 25 percent and both the University of Virginia and Northern Virginia Community College 15 percent.

Reportedly, research has associated insomnia with high blood pressure, congestive heart failure, diabetes and other ailments. According to JoAnn Pinkerton from the University of Virginia, early surgical menopause is linked to more severe menopause symptoms. Hence, it is essential to examine the sleep quality in women after surgery that leads to menopause, because insomnia and disrupted sleep can cause fatigue, mood changes and reduce your quality of life.

It’s not just confined to Northern Virginia, either. A key part of Virginia’s incentives package was a pledge to increase funding for technology-related education at state universities and community colleges — to create a talent pipeline for Amazon. In the state’s furthest corner, Donna Price Henry, the chancellor of the University of Virginia’s College at Wise, is already talking about the possibility of “virtual work situations” in her community.

Virginia missed the worst of hurricane season this year as Florence lashed neighboring North Carolina and Michael pummeled nearby Florida. And while Virginians may have breathed a collective sigh of relief, the state still has to grapple with a slower-moving and longer-term disaster. The first part of the problem is rising seas. In Hampton Roads, water levels have increased 1.5 feet in the past century, according to a report from the University of Virginia.

As students packed into Albemarle High School's gym, it was not for just any basketball game. This crowd was there for one special team: the Albemarle Power Patriots, a team of students with special needs, taking on a team of AHS teachers. Their honorary coaches include UVA men’s basketball players Jack Salt, Kyle Guy and Braxton Key, as well as AHS alums Austin Katstra and Grant Kersey.

(Subscription required) Beckie has a new article out exploring how and why some colleges are laying out a new vision of what it might look like to educate the whole student. The story uses as its main example a course, “The Art and Science of Human Flourishing,” that she observed at the University of Virginia (it’s being co-developed with, and also taught at, Pennsylvania State University and the University of Wisconsin at Madison).