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A week after a divided Norfolk City Council postponed a vote on it’s long-term infrastructure spending plan, city leadership pivoted Tuesday night, passing an amended Capital Improvement Plan budget in a 7-1 vote.

The breakthrough came after City Manager Patrick Roberts proposed an additional $1 million for the preliminary design and site planning of a new library and recreation center on the East Side.

The move was a direct concession to intense public pushback from the Equity for the East Side Coalition, which represents seven local civic leagues.

A Newport News judge dismissed the case against a former Richneck Elementary School assistant principal accused of failing to act when told a six-year-old had a gun that he later used to shoot his teacher.

Circuit Court Judge Rebecca M. Robinson dismissed the case Thursday morning on the fourth day of the trial against Ebony Parker.

Robinson said that some of the issues being debated were “legal theories,” and in order for them to be considered a crime, the Virginia General Assembly would need to write new laws.

The Williamsburg-James City County School Board approved a $219 million budget that leaves out lacrosse, prompting a heated exchange between some board members Tuesday night.

The board also heard from several parents opposed to the first draft of a redistricting map for school attendance.

Superintendent Daniel Keever anticipated their complaints.

Earlier in the meeting, he stressed the maps parents saw were not the final recommendations.

This May marks Norfolk’s 15th Bike Month, featuring organized rides and promoting cycling as a way to get around.

One of the biggest elements of that promotion is underway right now: The Granby Street Bike Lane project.

The initiative, which has been the focus of years of debate, aims to create a continuous north-south bike route from downtown to Ocean View.

Mayor Bobby Dyer on Tuesday announced a task force to examine public safety issues that have bedeviled the city and hurt its image as a tourist destination.

The Mayor’s Task Force for a Safer Virginia Beach will hold meetings and community listening sessions and deliver recommendations in October.

The group could come up with ways to help deal with crowds and violence, which were prominent this spring after shootings in the resort area led to emergency curfews.

The 22nd annual Patriotic Festival takes place Friday through Sunday and features a trifecta of headliners: Zach Top on Friday, Brooks & Dunn on Saturday and the Red Clay Strays on Sunday.

The festival, which took place in Virginia Beach when it kicked off more than two decades ago, has been held in Norfolk since 2022.

The festival includes activities like samplings and giveaways from various sponsors as well as a military working dog demo.

On May 6, Virginia Beach Planning Commission Chairperson John Coston wrote to council that data centers are not specified in the city’s zoning ordinance and are allowed in industrial districts.

Using conditional use permits, as suggested in the letter, could give the commission a chance to weigh in on applications and make recommendations to council.

The Armed Forces Brewing Company threatened legal action against its loudest critics last year, amid the closure of its Norfolk taphouse and reports that the company hadn’t paid some former employees and vendors.

Now, the controversial brewer has filed a lawsuit alleging defamation.

The suit alleges the defendants “villainized” the brewery as one with a culture of hate and intolerance and seeks $50 million in damages.

Williamsburg James City County school parents got a look last week at proposed maps to redistrict school attendance zones — a task one of the schools’ consultants described as one of the more difficult jobs they’ve undertaken.

The schools are preparing to redistrict school attendance zones next year as they open two new Bright Beginnings preschool facilities in the fall of 2027.

Community members should see a final map by October and can comment on the drafts and the process on the school website.

USS Gerald R. Ford will return to Norfolk Saturday after 327 days at sea, marking the Navy’s longest deployment since the Vietnam War.

Thousands of family members are expected to gather at Naval Station Norfolk as the aircraft carrier returns home. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is also expected to attend.

Sen. Mark Warner praised the sailors’ dedication while also questioning the length of the deployment and raising concerns Friday about staffing cuts and unfilled positions at VA facilities across Virginia.

Norfolk City Council approved a more than $2 billion operating budget for fiscal year 2027 Tuesday night.

But council members delayed a vote on the city’s $352.2 million capital improvement plan after residents from eastern Norfolk raised concerns about spending priorities and investment in their neighborhoods.

The council is expected to vote on the capital plan at its May 19 meeting.

A new Norfolk nonprofit is working to expand access to community gardening as food prices continue to rise.

Community Farmers, launched in January, aims to educate people about gardening and help install more community gardens across the region.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the cost of fruits and vegetables has risen 6% over the last year.

Thousands of Virginia families who rely on WIC benefits to help feed their children could soon face major cuts.

A proposal in the federal Agriculture Appropriations bill would reduce funding for the Women, Infants and Children nutrition program by $200 million in 2027 — potentially slashing benefits for nearly 80,000 Virginians by as much as 75%.

Organizations in Hampton Roads say many families are already stretching every dollar by relying on multiple assistance programs like WIC and SNAP to cover basic food needs.

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After cotton prices plummeted from $1.50 to nearly 75 cents per pound in 2022, Suffolk farmer David Bosselman began seeking new ways to sustain his family farm.

In 2023, he founded the Old Myrtle Cotton Co. to produce T-shirts made from cotton grown directly on his property in the Myrtle community. Despite having no experience in clothing manufacturing, Bosselman eventually partnered with a garment center in Ohio to sew the shirts after years of searching for American-based producers.

The venture comes as family farms face rising costs for fuel and fertilizer, driven partly by international conflicts and volatile export markets.

(Story by Nick McNamara)

Read more here: https://www.whro.org/2026-05-06/how-a-suffolk-cotton-farmer-turned-to-t-shirts-to-supplement-his-family-business

This week, Virginia Beach City Council authorized spending $1 million to burnish the resort city’s image and attract visitors following concerns about violence and crowds at the Oceanfront.

Council voted to appropriate money from the fund balance of the city’s tourism advertising program, which supports a resort area that attracts about 14.3 million annual visitors and has an estimated $3.9 billion economic impact.

Read more here: https://www.whro.org/local-government/2026-05-07/virginia-beach-will-spend-1m-to-reassure-tourists-it-is-a-safe-destination

The USS Gerald Ford and its strike group have spent more than 10 months at sea, setting a record for the longest post-Vietnam War deployment by an aircraft carrier.

Originally departing Norfolk last June, the ship's 4,600 personnel have been redirected from Europe and the Caribbean to the Middle East as operations against Iran continue.

Back in Hampton Roads, the deployed sailors and Marines leave behind families struggling with financial strain and disrupted plans.

Read more here: https://www.whro.org/military-veterans/2026-05-05/a-nearly-year-long-deployment-at-sea-takes-a-toll-on-military-families

Virginia Beach City Council honored the late state Delegate Barry Knight on Tuesday.

Council voted to rename the Owl Creek boat ramp for Knight, who served in the House of Delegates for 17 years. Before that, he was on the city planning commission.

Knight died in February at the age of 71.

He had secured about $4 million in funding for improvements to the boat ramp that will bear his name.

Forrest Knight, one of Barry Knight’s three sons, tells WHRO News the ramp is a fitting way to recognize his father, a farmer and outdoorsman.

"He was a lifelong fisherman," says Knight. "Regardless of where he was, whether it be Eastern Shore, Chesapeake Bay, Lynnhaven, Back Bay... wherever the fish were, he was going to get there and find them."

The Knight family was present for Tuesday’s vote, and Forrest Knight thanked the council in brief remarks.

(Story and photos by John-Henry Doucette)

Fired Norfolk housing director Nathan Simms started work as the chief executive of the Charleston Housing Authority in South Carolina on Monday after a WHRO News investigation found Simms lost his job in Norfolk for issuing millions of dollars in no-bid contracts and keeping them from Norfolk’s board.

Charleston Housing Authority Board chairman Greg Voigt wrote in a statement to WHRO Tuesday that his board is “aware of recent news coverage” and had “conducted additional intensive due diligence beyond that completed during our search process.”

Read more here: https://www.whro.org/local-government/2026-05-06/norfolks-fired-housing-director-is-now-leading-charlestons-housing-authority