While the average taxpayer may recoil when he hears the word “audit,“ he might embrace it when applied to local governments and how they spend tax dollars. For example, a recent audit in Goochland County turned up almost $200,000 in undeposited utilities checks. The county has had to begin a forensic audit of the utilities department that could cost up to $50,000, and another top-down audit of the county has been approved for later this year, at a cost of up to $15,000.

A motorcycle crash has left one young man dead, two friends facing criminal charges and a mother questioning claims that her son was killed while racing on a downtown Richmond bridge. Genia Ferguson said she was disappointed yesterday to learn that police had filed reckless-driving charges against two men for allegedly racing Bradley J. Ferguson at the time he crashed and died Tuesday on the Manchester Bridge.

The owner of a defunct funeral service is facing years behind bars if convicted in Henrico County of bilking 19 customers of more than $60,000 in pre-need burial plans and other financial arrangements.

A soldier who was injured by a bomb in Afghanistan received a Purple Heart medal during a ceremony yesterday at McGuire Veterans Affairs Medical Center, where he has received treatment since December. Pfc. Andrew J. Parker, 21, suffered spinal cord injuries when he was struck by a roadside bomb explosion while driving a mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicle on patrol with his unit near the southern city of Kandahar on Nov. 20.

I’ve planted probably a dozen trees around my home in the past six years. Some survived. Some didn’t. Gone: A white flowering dogwood (Virginia’s state tree), probably planted too close to a southern magnolia. Not sure yet: Two growth-challenged red crape myrtles planted about two years ago; a recently planted pink flowering dogwood, a saucer magnolia planted two years ago.

Shelley Kincaid has fashioned a career out of other people’s castoffs. She looks at a rack of garage-sale clothes and sees yards of usable fabric. She envisions a nonworking lamp as a French altar candlestick.

Fine, I’ll say it. I like taking pictures of my food. And I don’t feel ashamed admitting it.  I’d much rather fill my iPhoto library with visual documentation of all the wonderful meals I’ve consumed rather than not-as-appetizing photos of, say, family gatherings or friends’ wedding receptions.

BLACKSBURG Seth Greenberg spent Monday meeting with his Virginia Tech basketball players individually in his office. By yesterday, he was on the road recruiting, beginning the transition between his 31st and 32nd seasons as a coach. This cycle—players going and coming—is a regular part of his life, and how he manages it now is as important as ever for Tech’s program.

A Chicago-based real estate firm’s $8.9 billion bid to run the Port of Hampton Roads for 60 years offers both opportunities and risks for Virginia, several maritime experts said last week. “The commonwealth has to go into this with its eyes wide open,“ said M. John Vickerman of Williamsburg, a maritime consultant who has worked for the port and the company, CenterPoint Properties. “But I would not be afraid of this. This is the future of ports.“

Highland maple festival a celebration of syrup Highland County is famous for its high mountains, its switchback roads and its Maple Festival, one of Virginia’s most unusual celebrations. Visitors pour in here for two weekends in March to watch how amber syrup meant for buckwheat pancakes is conjured from the sugar water of stately maple trees.

Virginia’s 211 telephone help line for social, health and mental-health services won a nod for innovation in a national mental-health advocacy group’s generally glum view of America’s system for mental-health care.

From helping miners kick substance abuse to court security in Richmond to horseshoe crab research at Virginia Tech, projects across the state will get a helping of federal funding.

Richmond’s bridges are under the microscope. The Mayo Bridge, one of the city’s oldest, is about to undergo a rigorous, $1.7 million examination to determine whether it can be rehabilitated or must be rebuilt.

Virginia’s jobless rate in January rose to its highest level in nearly 17 years as an increasing number of the state’s employers laid off workers as the recession worsened.

Advice for home cooks: Be adventurous and have fun. Army cooks from Fort Bragg’s field-cooking team said it’s important to try new things. “Play with a new ingredient every day and have fun with it,“ said Spc. Michael Allen. “If you’re watching a food show on TV and you hear about something you’ve never heard of before, make something with it. That’s how I do it.“