Net zero house is coming together

At an undisclosed location in Albemarle County last month, I got to see an impressive number of solar panels being installed on the roof of homeowners Richard and Melissa King. Thirty-six panels, in fact. They nearly cover the south roof face of this 2,500-square-foot house, which is being built on a fairly ordinary lot in a small, quiet subdivision.

UPDATE: Landmark hotel investor Halsey Minor sued by Sotheby’s

The financial foundations of the Landmark Hotel, the nine-story building rising on the Downtown Mall, may be shakier than they appear. Bloomberg.com is reporting that Halsey Minor, a principle investor in the Landmark Hotel, is being sued by Sotheby’s auction house for not paying $16.8 million for several art works, including Edward Hicks’ “Peaceable Kingdom.” Minor bought the painting in May for $9.6 million.

Biden answers Palin in Virginia Beach

On the morning after the raucous Sarah Palin pep rally last night in St. Paul, Joe Biden sought contrast in Virginia Beach, where he came this morning to have a serious discussion on foreign affairs and veteran’s issues with several hundred current and former members of America’s military.

Hello, conscious-living readers!

Boy, am I excited to be introducing our brand-new blog, Green Scene. I see this as a chance to talk with all of you on a regular basis about things that interest me anyway: everything from figuring out how to set up a rain collection system at my house, to local debates between developers and preservationists.