Virginia
Virginia Beach mom started nonprofit to help families dealing with childhood cancer
Crissy Johnson used journaling to document her thoughts, fears, revelations and heartaches during her son David’s cancer journey.
She compiled a stack of 15 paper journals, replete with details on treatments, medications and key caregivers, throughout the years. Johnson found that pouring her heart and soul into a journal helped her cope and provided a safe, creative and cathartic outlet after her son was diagnosed at 18 months old with neuroblastoma, a cancer that develops from immature nerve cells.
“I spent a lot of moments in the bathroom silently crying, but then put on my happy face to help get the rest of the family through,” she said of being in “survival mode.” “We just do what we have to do for our children.”
David, now 8, is cancer-free. He’s a Virginia Beach third grader who loves to play sports. He checks in with his oncologist every six months.
But it was the first four years of his life — in and out of Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters — that rocked the world of Crissy and her husband, Rodney.
Six rounds of high-dose chemotherapy required David to stay in the hospital for 26 days each time. Radiation treatment meant 20-day stints. Tumor resection and immunotherapy equaled more time away from his family, which includes three older siblings.
Johnson, a former medical assistant, said having some familiarity with medical jargon helped her understanding, which was both good and bad as she learned and digested more about the tumor attached to her son’s left kidney.
“I wasn’t comfortable with saying the word ‘cancer’ for a long time,” Johnson said.
But the words came when she wrote about her family’s experiences in two books, a memoir published in 2018, “Fighting for King David,” and “Residue of War,” an anthology of mothers’ stories, released in 2022. Both are available for sale on Amazon.
In 2020, she created MomAdvocate Foundation, a nonprofit aimed at helping other families affected by childhood cancer.
“I realized that the resources we needed were limited,” she said.
Crissy Johnson recollected the financial burden they endured to cover the cost of fuel for trips back and forth to the hospital and the added cost of takeout meals for the family of six.
That’s what led her to start the Fuel For The Journey program, which provides gas and grocery gift cards to local families in Hampton Roads with a child undergoing cancer treatment.
And as a nod to David, the foundation also hosts King David’s Costume Drive. David wore a Superman costume throughout his treatments, which Johnson said “allowed him to be an actual kid.”
Now in its fifth year, the foundation received more than 100 donated costumes last fall for pediatric oncology patients in treatment at CHKD to wear, Johnson said.
“We believe that every child deserves to experience the joy of dressing up and letting their imagination run wild,” the foundation’s website says.
Johnson volunteers her expertise to help other people turn their journal entries into books. All she asks for in return is a donation to the foundation.
“Community is everything to me,” she said.
Nikysha Noris read “Fighting for King David” during her son Xavier’s cancer treatment, which began in February 2021. She started her own charity event, Run for Xavier, to help others dealing with pediatric cancer. She is grateful another Virginia Beach mother shared similar experiences, including developing support outlets.
“We spoke the same language,” Noris said.
Sandra J. Pennecke, 757-652-5836, sandra.pennecke@pilotonline.com
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If you go
What: 2nd Annual Cancer Awareness Gala, a night dedicated to celebrating survivors, honoring caregivers and supporting those still fighting.
When: 6-9 p.m., Sept. 15
Where: Luxury Affairs Event Center, 4010B Victory Blvd. Portsmouth
Tickets: $75-$100, Momadvocatefoundation.org/events
(WSET) — More than a million Virginians are expected to hit the road for Memorial Day weekend — despite rising gas prices.
Right now, the state average is around $4.30 a gallon. That’s 50 percent higher than it was three months ago, before the war in Iran.
Right now, it will cost you $4.29 a gallon to fill up at the 76 on Langhorne Road. And prices could keep climbing, potentially making this the most expensive summer at the pump in years.
GasBuddy says the national average could hit $4.48 a gallon by Memorial Day, a big jump from $3.14 this time last year.
Prices may keep rising, averaging around $4.80 a gallon throughout the summer.
SEE ALSO: Veto halts bipartisan push to lower medication prices in Virginia
Despite this, experts say many Virginians are still willing to hit the road for the holiday weekend. They are just finding alternative ways to save.
Patrick De Haan, petroleum analyst at GasBuddy, said, “If you’re driving long distances, going 65 miles an hour instead of 75 can boost your fuel efficiency 10 to 25%. The equivalent of getting two gallons for free when you fill up.”
Unfortunately, there is no guarantee when these prices will drop. That is why experts say you should plan ahead and shop around. You can also save by filling up earlier in the week.
Instead of being supportive of the child’s educational endeavors or simply not responding, Republican Rep. Virginia Foxx chose this moment to respond with vitriol.
Trump and Iran’s mixed messages on end of war negotiations
President Donald Trump continues to say that negotiations to end the war are happening, while Iran officials deny any talks.
Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-North Carolina, taught a child a very important lesson. You’re never too young to learn that politicians will fail you.
Foxx made headlines in May when she responded to a 10-year-old Greensboro student named Christian Mango, who wrote to the congresswoman proposing a $5,000 tax credit for people buying electric vehicles. Christian sent the letter as part of a school project where the kids were challenged to write persuasive essays on topics of their choosing.
Instead of being supportive of the child’s educational endeavors or simply not responding, Foxx chose this moment to respond with vitriol, according to a letter dated May 1 that Christian’s mother, Emily, shared on social media.
“Please ask your teacher to explain propaganda to you,” Foxx wrote. “While I will never be able to know, my guess is that your teachers will not give you a good educational experience and help you learn to think, as they are too interested in indoctrinating you. How sad.”
This would be a wild response to receive as any constituent – let alone one who’s still in elementary school. Foxx – a former educator and the former chair of the Committee on Education and the Workforce – should know that the best answer to someone you disagree with is no response. Especially if the person you disagree with is a 10-year-old.
But beyond the embarrassing decision to respond in such a hateful way, there’s irony in Foxx’s response. She is clearly unable to see that the real “propaganda” in this country is coming from the mouth of President Donald Trump and members of the Republican Party. If there is anybody who knows what propaganda looks like, it’s the Republicans.
What is propaganda anyway? Here’s what Republicans have been up to.
In the interest of educating all of us, I decided to look up the term “propaganda” in the dictionary. According to Merriam-Webster, “propaganda” is “the spreading of ideas, information, or rumors for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person.”
What does that look like? Well, it looks like everything we’ve seen out of President Donald Trump’s Republican Party for the last decade.
“Propaganda” is Trump’s insistence that he is always right. It’s him putting his name and face on everything. It’s him lying about an election being stolen for years. It’s harming media institutions that call lies into question, calling them the “enemy of the American people.”
It is disparaging immigrants as the source of the country’s problems. It’s using extremist rhetoric in White House communications. It’s posting an AI image depicting yourself as Jesus.
It’s lying to Americans about an economy that is clearly flatlining, that you claim is the best it’s ever been. It’s making promises you can’t deliver on. It’s claiming that tariffs will save the country while costs are simultaneously pushed onto consumers. It’s claiming huge trade deals with China without elaborating on the details. It’s saying gas prices are down when they’re not. This is all propaganda, and it’s affecting the day-to-day lives of Americans who take him at his word.
The GOP has mastered propaganda. They have convinced their supporters that they are the sole saviors of the nation, that they are the only ones who can make America great again, while they’re aggressively making it worse. Meanwhile, educators in this country have to deal with attacks on their profession while making a dismal salary and teaching children that their voices can make a difference.
North Carolina deserves better than Virginia Foxx
Christian’s mother was rightfully angry about the letter in her Instagram post.
“This is a totally inappropriate response to one of her youngest constituents,” Mango wrote. “Clearly she is out of touch. I’m embarrassed that she represents NC.”
Unfortunately, the congresswoman has a history of embarrassing remarks and controversies. She once said that Matthew Shepard’s death was a “hoax,” for which she later apologized. She used a racial epithet on the House floor in 2009. In the aftermath of the Capitol storming on January 6, 2021, Foxx was fined $5,000 for failing to go through metal detectors to get to the House floor. She’s been a loose cannon, and this incident is not out of character.
I’ve long wondered what it would take for Foxx to lose re-election in North Carolina’s fifth district. It seems that, like Trump, no reprehensible comment or behavior is enough to warrant her ouster from Congress. But the people here deserve better than a politician who talks down to anyone she disagrees with. Lord knows they deserve better than someone who chooses to have beef with a fourth grader instead of doing literally anything else that would improve the quality of life in the state.
I hope this incident peels back the curtain and shows Foxx’s constituents who she really is. I just doubt it’ll make much of a difference.
In the meantime, I’m sure Christian and his mother will find comfort in the fact that Republicans are making sure kids everywhere learn exactly what propaganda is.
Follow USA TODAY columnist Sara Pequeño on Bluesky: @sarapequeno.bsky.social
PITTSYLVANIA COUNTY, Va. (WSET) — A proposed $67 billion merger between Florida-based NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy could reshape the utility landscape in Virginia and affect what customers pay on their power bills.
NextEra Energy has agreed to acquire Dominion Energy in a deal that would create the largest regulated utility company in the country. The merger would require state approval before it could move forward.
Dominion Energy says the merger will put more money in customers’ pockets. The company has promised to distribute more than $2 billion to customers within two years after the merger is complete, with 80% of that money going to customers in Virginia.
Dominion Energy describes the deal as a move focused on “growth, scale, and affordability.” A spokesperson for the company said the merger would “strengthen our ability to meet this historic demand.”
Virginia Tech public policy professor David Bieri said that demand is being driven by data centers. Bieri said, “Part of the reason why the acquisition is happening is because it gives NextEra access to the honey pot or profit areas.”
Dominion Energy serves much of Southside Virginia, including the Halifax, South Boston, Chatham and Gretna areas, and also covers parts of Concord, Appomattox, Altavista and Lexington.
Sen. Mark Peake, R-District 8, represents some of those areas in the Virginia Senate. ABC13 asked whether he believes the merger will be good for his constituents.
Peake said, “Well, I hope I will say the one thing that I’ve heard is that my understanding is that there will be a rebate to Dominion customers, which should be an amount equal to offset the RGGI charges that the Spanberger administration has hit Dominion, well, all customers with.”
But Peake also said he is not happy that NextEra is an outside state company and wants to keep power company’s operating locally.
SEE ALSO: Local leaders approve $100B AI data campus in Pittsylvania County amid citizen concerns
While Dominion Energy said, “The merger won’t impact how we operate in Virginia or how we serve our customers. We’ll continue operating as Dominion Energy Virginia, and our customers will continue receiving the same service, from the same team, in the same way they always have. We’ll remain headquartered in Richmond with the same utility leadership. So lots of continuity.”
Before any merger benefits could reach customers, the deal would need approval from regulators, including Virginia’s State Corporation Commission and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Delegate Madison Whittle, who represents parts of Pittsylvania County and Halifax County, said, “There are already projections that ‘rates will go down’ and that ‘rates will go up.’ I do not think there is enough public information at this point to determine either. While the companies have suggested a $2.25 Billion package of ‘bill credits’ spread over 2 years among Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, regulators must look at total overall cost to customers. For us, it will be important to look to the Virginia State Corporation Commission. The State Corporation Commission (SCC) will continue to regulate Dominion Energy’s rates, infrastructure, and operations in the state if it combines with NextEra. State utility regulation remains mandatory, and the SCC must approve the merger itself before it can be finalized.”
Bieri cautioned that the merger is not guaranteed. “This is the intent to merge that is very important, it is not a done deal because the most important thing is that this deal needs to be approved by a variety of federal and state regulators,” he said. Bieri added, “The government can say ‘no,’ as is often the case for a variety of anti-trust and other reasons.”
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