Drinking and driving is not only dangerous to yourself and others on the road, it can also result in a costly criminal offense: Driving Under the Influence, or DUI.  But what does it take to get a DUI in Virginia?

Your level of alcohol influence is measured by Blood Alcohol Content, or BAC.  In Virginia, if you’re over 21, you are assumed to be intoxicated if your BAC is 0.08% or above.  If you’re driving a commercial vehicle, the limit is 0.04%.  If you’re under 21 years of age your BAC limit is 0.02%.

But what does it take to be over the limit?  That depends on a lot of variables, including gender, body type, metabolism, rate of drinking, the amount of food in your stomach and other drugs or medications you may be taking.

There are many charts available to determine your BAC, such as this one, but always keep in mind that the chart is for general guidance only as many other variables could significantly influence your BAC level.

According to the chart, for example, a woman who weighs 140 pounds and has 3 drinks within the course of an hour will be over the limit.  If she has 3 drinks over the course of 3 hours, however, she stays below the limit.  Keep in mind that when it comes to drinking, the fewer the pounds you weigh, the fewer the drinks you can tolerate.  In general, men can tolerate more drinks due to their increased muscle mass.

What are the penalties for a DUI in Virginia?

After the first offense:

• Minimum 5 days in jail
• Minimum fine of $250.00
• License suspension of 1 year
• Interlock Ignition Device (IID) required if BAC is 0.15 or above.

An IID is essentially a breathalyzer test attached to the ignition of your car.  It requires you to blow a safe BAC level before your engine will start.

After the second offense:

• Minimum 20 days to 1 year in jail
• Minimum fine of $500.00
• License suspension of 3 years
• IID required

After the third offense:

• Minimum 6 months in jail
• Minimum fine of $1,000.00
• Indefinite license suspension

​Keep in mind that while you’ll be required to pay fines, you’ll also need to hire a lawyer and shell out for court costs.  Your freedom of transportation will be limited while your license is suspended.  You will spend time in jail.  The bottom line is that it’s not worth drinking and driving.  Always have a plan before you start drinking about how you will get back home.

The internet is a wellspring of free information.  But should it be?  Writers and artists work hard to earn a living.  Is the age of online information a threat to their livelihood, or can it instead be a useful tool to help their craft reach millions around the world?  This is perhaps the question at the heart of the case that examined the legality of Google’s digital library, Google Books.

Google Books strives to provide people all over the world with an online, searchable catalog of books in all languages.  This could mean much more than saving a college student a trip to the campus library.  It could mean, in theory, that even a poor farmer’s daughter in rural Thailand could have access to information and education so long as she has access to the internet.

But what does this mean for the authors of these works?  Does this online catalog infringe on their copyrights?  The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled last Friday that it does not.

The reproduction of the work must fall under the category of “fair use.”  Fair use is determined by four factors that include the purpose of use, the nature of the work, the amount of the work that’s reproduced and the effect of its reproduction on the potential market (simply put, will the writer lose money because of it?).

Google claims their efforts actually benefit copyright holders.  Google Books only reveals portions of certain pages until a customer decides to purchase access to the entire book online.  The company claims this gives potential buyers an easy way to access and purchase the works, without revealing too much information in advance that could threaten their copyright.

The digital age is saturated with an ongoing struggle to find the balance between the public’s access to information and digital media and the writer or artist or musician’s right to claim ownership over their intellectual property and use it to make a living.  This recent decision by the Federal appeals court takes another step toward finding that balance.

​You probably already know that a conservation easement is essentially a restriction placed on a piece of property in order to protect its resources.  For example, a landowner can place a conservation easement on farm land to prevent it from ever being subdivided or developed, or place a conservation easement on forested land to prevent its destruction. This protects the land and its resources for future generations.  But if you’re looking for more motivation besides the stewardship of Nature, here are five great reasons why a conservation easement could be of value to you:


1.     You can get valuable federal tax benefits.

​A conservation easement could come with a huge federal tax deduction, potentially equal to 100% of the value of the donation.  For example, if the value of your donated easement is $80,000, you could potentially qualify for a federal tax deduction of $80,000. (The value of the easement is determined by an appraisal). Furthermore, a conservation easement can lower your property taxes and the estate taxes affecting your property’s heirs.
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 2.   You can get valuable state tax benefits.

The tax benefits of conservation easements can be substantial.  In fact, Virginia’s Land Preservation Tax Credit (LPC) is the most substantial in the entire country, offering tax credits worth a generous 40% of the value of the charitable donation.  For example, if the value of your conservation easement is $80,000, you could receive $32,000 worth of tax credits. 

3.    You can get cash in hand right away. 

A conservation easement in Virginia comes with state income tax credits that can be transferred or sold for cash in hand.  These tax credits can be sold immediately for cash, providing funds for the landowner to use for any purpose.  This can be very helpful, for example, for a small farm in need of money for improvements to its structures or equipment. 

4.     It’s an effective estate planning tool.

A conservation easement can also be a valuable estate planning tool, and can be incorporated into a comprehensive estate plan for the protection and control of the land during the landowner’s lifetime and for continued protection and control of the land after the landowner’s death.

5.     Donating your land to conservation is one of the finest legacies you can leave to future generations.

The first and most important purpose of a conservation easement is to conserve your land.  A conservation easement offers permanent protection for all the resources associated with your land such as timber, water quality and clean air, not to mention the natural beauty of open spaces unmarred by industry and development.
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A conservation easement can help protect valuable wildlife habitats and migration routes.  They can also safeguard our heritage by protecting farms and historical sites.  Conservation easements play an important role in preserving the virtue of our beloved natural spaces.