Wholesome News Hour: Saving endangered birds, VA cities named the best for quality of life, and hauntings for good

Good news is still news! Dogwood’s Wholesome News Hour is a quick refresh from the day’s hard news, celebrating some of the positive things happening throughout Virginia. Today, we’re highlighting three pieces of good news directly from the commonwealth.

Virginia’s red-cockaded woodpecker is no longer endangered

After decades of conservation efforts, the red-cockaded woodpecker, a bird native to Virginia, was recently demoted from endangered to threatened. 

This bird was one of the first animals to become an “endangered species” in 1970, and received protection from the government in 1973. 

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland stated, “The downlisting of the red-cockaded woodpecker marks a significant milestone in our nation’s commitment to preserving biodiversity.” 

When the woodpecker originally became endangered, there were only about 1,470 clusters (groups of nests) throughout the East Coast; today, there are an estimated 7,800 nest clusters. 

Virginia cities have the best quality of life in the US

The Quality of Life Index recently ranked 150 US cities, and many Virginia cities top this list. 

Factors in this list’s ranking include affordability, career options, daily commute, general well-being, and more. 

Virginia Beach and Richmond ranked number eight and number 14, respectively.

Me might be just a little biased, but considering that many Virginians lives in these two cities, we think it’s logical to assume that the commonwealth as a whole has some of the best quality of life in the United States. 

Virginia Beach house scares for good

Halloween might be over until next year, but this story was too scary good to pass by.

Virginia Beach resident Jhovany Vaca transforms his house into a haunted house every Halloween for a good cause. 

If you visit Vaca, on the outside of the house you’ll see animatronics, fog machines, fake spider webs, and skeletons galore. But one skeleton is special because it holds a QR code for St. Jude Research Hospital donations. 

This haunted house is one of many that participate in scares for charity. If you want to donate, you can do so on St. Jude’s website.