Ash disaster: Local ash trees face their own pandemic

As if COVID-19 weren’t enough, central Virginia is fighting another plague, only this one—the emerald ash borer—threatens our trees. The beetle may look like a tiny jewel— it’s a bright metallic green, small enough to sit on a penny— but it’s been scything down local ash trees like a malevolent Paul Bunyan.  “No ash tree […]

In brief: Summer shootings, buggy menace and more

Beetles on the brain As the invasive emerald ash tree borer creeps its way into Central Virginia, UVA groundskeepers are suiting up for battle—kind of. First discovered in the U.S. in 2002, this beetle has been detected in most of the eastern half of the country. After it lays its eggs inside ash trees, its […]