A cloud of royal terns over South Island and the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel in 2018.
(Credit Chelsea Weithman)

In 1957 a regional transit authority finished an ambitious project – a roadway, bridge and tunnel connecting Hampton to Norfolk.

It’s an important route for locals and for anyone heading to the Eastern Shore or the Outer Banks.

It’s also a bottle neck the region hopes to open with the Commonwealth’s largest construction project ever.

Sandy Hausman has details.

As a regional transportation authority prepares to expand the Hampton Roads Bridge and Tunnel complex, scientists are warning that failing to deal with thousands of sea birds in the area could be disastrous.

Sandy Hausman has that story:

Fentanyl is a deadly part of the opioid crisis.  The synthetic drug can be up to 100 times more potent than morphine.

Now researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond have not only tested a promising vaccine.

But as Mallory Noe-Payne reports, they’ve also developed a method to test other new treatments.

  A black bear
(Credit Al Stanford via flickr.com / CC)

There are an estimated 18-thousand black bears roaming around Virginia, and at this time of year there are lots of mothers and cubs.

Most are healthy, but wildlife watchers report a growing number have mange.

Sandy Hausman reports on what causes that disease, and how research here could revolutionize treatment.

A Virginia Indian tribe that’s been without a cultural base for three centuries will soon have one. And a small town on the Eastern Shore is wondering how to deal with a plaque that memorializes both World War One soldiers and segregation. 

Those have been among the most read stories over the past week at the Virginia Public Access Project’s Va. News link. 

More now from Fred Echols.

Ken Cuccinelli (Credit USCIS Photo)

Former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli is now the acting director of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, and that’s riling even some Republicans in the Senate.

Matt Laslo has the story from the Capitol.

  Kehinde Wiley’s “Napolean Leading the Army over the Alps” at the Virginia Museum of Fine Art in 2016. (Credit Mallory Noe-Payne)

Artist Kehinde Wiley, best known for painting President Obama’s official portrait, has announced his first large-scale public sculpture. And Virginia will ultimately be its home.

As Mallory Noe-Payne reports, the piece is modeled after one of the Richmond’s Confederate monuments.

  Arthur Ashe won three Grand Slam titles, Wimbledon, the US Open and the Australian Open.
(Credit Wikimedia Commons)

This weekend the Boulevard — a historic road through Virginia’s capitol city — will be renamed.

The new name? Arthur Ashe Boulevard.

That’s in honor of the tennis great and humanitarian who was born in Richmond. Ashe died in 1993. And, as Mallory Noe-Payne reports, attempts to honor his legacy have been long in the making.

  Many roads in the Northern Neck were damaged like this one in Westmoreland County after Hurricane Michael last October.
(Credit Izaak Hagy)

An organization seeking to hold big oil accountable for global warming estimates it will cost more than $31 billion for Virginia to protect coastal communities from sea-level rise.

Pamela D’Angelo reports.

  A deer tick (left), one of the species of tick that transmits the bacteria that causes Lyme disease. High resolution fluorescently tagged image of the bacteria B. burgdorferi that causes Lyme disease (right).  (Credit Brandon Jutras)

With temperatures in the U.S. on an upward trend, so is Lyme Disease. The ticks that carry it thrive in warm, wet environments and it’s expected that some 300-thousand people will contract it this year.

As Robbie Harris reports, new research out of Virginia Tech is showing promise for better diagnosis and treatment of Lyme Disease.  

Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring

Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring is calling for decriminalization of marijuana, adding that the enforcement often unfairly targets African Americans.

Michael Pope has the story.

Credit Matt Wade via flickr.com / CC

Justices on the United States Supreme Court rejected a Republican effort to throw out newly drawn maps of legislative districts.

Michael Pope reports.

Credit: Creative Commons / Flickr

State Democratic leaders are touring Virginia, getting feedback from community members on addressing gun violence.

As Mallory Noe-Payne reports, it’s in preparation for the July 9th special session.

A Virginia county that’s gotten all too accustomed to bad economic news has just heard some more of it…and after some four centuries of operation a ferry in Hampton Roads is about to observe a first.

Those have been among the most read stories over the past week at the Virginia Public Access Project’s Va. News link. 

More from Fred Echols.

The gun issue is about to take center stage in Virginia politics as advocates on both sides will try to influence the outcome of a special session next month.

But, as Michael Pope reports, the campaign contributions on the issue may surprise you.

(Credit: ICE)

An outbreak of mumps at an immigration detention center in Virginia is growing.

Authorities say there are now 24 confirmed or suspected cases at the Farmville facility.

As Mallory Noe-Payne reports, immigrant advocates say it’s part of a larger problem.

Turnout in primary elections is historically low and it will be a couple days before we get a complete picture of turnout in Tuesday’s elections.

But Democrats and Republicans are already battling it out over who has more energy as they head towards November.

Mallory Noe-Payne reports on Democratic Party efforts to keep the “Blue Wave” going:

Michael Pope reports on some of Tuesday’s primary upsets:

Credit: John Brighenti via flickr.com / CC

A growing number of House Democrats have now joined the chorus calling to begin impeachment proceedings against President Trump.

But most Virginia Democrats aren’t singing the same tune, as Matt Laslo reports from the Capitol.

Many people know there was a slave uprising in Virginia in the early 19th Century.

But fewer are aware of how close it came to ending slavery in the state…and when localities try to regulate billboards they sometimes find it’s not quite so easy as they expected.

Those have been among the most read stories over the past week at the Virginia Public Access Project’s Va. News link.

More now from Fred Echols.

Vice President Mike Pence delivered the keynote address. (Credit: David Seidel

D-Day and World War Two veterans marked the 75^th anniversary of the Normandy Invasion.

David Seidel reports there were thousands of visitors to the National D-Day Memorial Thursday as well.

  Debra Rodman (left) is running against Veena Lothe (right) for the Democratic nomination in Virginia’s 12th Senate District.

A lot is at stake for Virginia this November. All 140 state lawmakers are up for election. And Democrats are hoping they can take control of the state legislature for the first time in decades.

But first, they have to choose the right candidates for the job.

Ahead of next week’s primaries, Mallory Noe-Payne has this look at what electability looks like for Democrats.

  Ann Phillips, Rear Admiral, US Navy (Ret.) speaking last year when she was appointed by Gov. Northam. (Credit: Pamela D’Angelo)

Last year, Gov. Ralph Northam appointed Retired Navy Admiral Ann Phillips to spearhead efforts for coastal adaptation to climate change.

After nearly 31 years in the Navy where she implemented climate change adaptation plans, she is traveling the state putting together a coastal master plan.

She hopes it will inform a tight-fisted and, in some cases reluctant, General Assembly to fund statewide climate change adaptation and protection when it reconvenes this winter.

Pamela D’Angelo reports.

Credit: dcJohn via flickr.com / CC

Hunger is a problem in Virginia schools, and educators say students can’t learn if they are hungry.

But are schools doing everything they can to prevent that from happening? Michael Pope reports.

Virginia Tech’s incoming class has turned out to be a little more than the school bargained for…and a decision to end a federal jobs program in the Virginia coalfields is drawing strong opposition.

These have been among the most read stories over the past week at the Virginia Public Access Project’s Va. News link.

More now from Fred Echols.