Continue to check WAVY.com for updates.
Virginia
Virginia legislation would require school bathroom checks every 30 minutes – Virginia Mercury
Under a bill proposed by a Republican delegate, Virginia schools could be required to have a school employee check every bathroom every half-hour to ensure students are safe.
The proposal follows a 2020 case in which a then 6-year-old elementary school student in Hampton was allegedly sexually assaulted by another student in a bathroom over a period of 18 months.
“It’s a working paper, so as it passes through, it may be amended,” said Del. A.C. Cordoza, R-Hampton, the bill’s patron. “Nothing is set in stone until … it gets that ink from the governor’s pen.”
Proposal
Under the proposed House Bill 1528, named Celeste’s Law after the Hampton student, public schools would be required to have an employee in each school check every restroom in the building no less frequently than once every 30 minutes during normal school hours.
“If they are walking around, going to the bathrooms and checking them, on the way they’re also observing everything else that’s going on,” Cordoza said. “If someone is planning to do something to harm other students — they go to their locker, they grab something else — they may see that. So it’s really making the job more efficient.”
Cordoza said the culture in schools has changed in recent years, a factor that partly led him to introduce the bill.
He also said his legislation doesn’t envision teachers being taken out of the classroom to conduct the security checks. The bill specifically mentions employees conducting the checks would include “any school resource officer or any school security officer.”
“We don’t want to overburden school resource officers or SSOs either,” he said. “We just want to make sure our kids are safe, and I want to do that in the most effective and efficient way possible.”
Hampton case
Cordoza said he promised Nikia Miller, the mother of the Hampton student, that he would do everything he could to make sure a similar situation didn’t happen to any other children in his area or the commonwealth more broadly.
In March 2020, an elementary school principal in Hampton City Public Schools alerted Miller that her child had been sexually assaulted multiple times by another student who was a year older. Miller’s daughter was 6 when the alleged assaults began.
Miller told WAVY she believes there were at least 10 cases of assault against her daughter during an 18-month period. The child developed repeated anxiety and panic attacks and had to attend weekly therapy sessions, the mother said. She was also moved to another school.
Last year, Miller filed a $5 million lawsuit against Hampton schools, the Virginian-Pilot reported, saying the division had been negligent.
Hampton City Public Schools in response stated it had conducted an investigation along with the Hampton City Police Division that found two female second graders who attended different after-school programs had met in a girls’ restroom after school hours.
The school division said it had no knowledge of the encounters until after the fact.
“Hampton City Schools staff members remain committed to ensuring a safe and nurturing environment for all of our students,” the school division said in a statement to WTKR last year.
The school division said that at the parent’s request, it had enrolled the aggrieved student at another school and offered counseling.
The Hampton case isn’t the only Virginia incident to unfold in a school bathroom.
In 2021, a high school student in Loudoun County Public Schools assaulted two female students on separate occasions. The first assault occurred in a bathroom; subsequently, the teenager was transferred to another school, where he assaulted another student. The first victim has since filed a $30 million lawsuit against the school division, saying it failed to follow Title IX processes for sexual assaults or even begin an investigation until five months after the assault.
Cordoza, who said he is familiar with the Loudoun cases, said the General Assembly must “now proactively try and prevent it from happening.”
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Virginia
PHOTOS: Virginia Beach Police investigate firearm-related incident at Carriage House Apartments
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — Virginia Beach Police are at the scene of a firearm-related incident at Carriage House Apartments Saturday afternoon, according to the Virginia Beach Police Department.
The department also confirmed there are no shooting victims at this time.
10 On Your Side is at the scene and working to gather more information about the situation.
10 On Your Side will update this story when more information is available.
PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — Virginia Democrats are not happy about a state Supreme Court decision declaring last month’s referendum to draw new congressional districts null and void.
Democrats, however, have filed a motion asking the Virginia Court to delay its 4-3 decision while they file an emergency appeal to the United States Supreme Court.
Virginia’s current map that favors Democrats by a narrow 6-5 margin will stay in effect for the midterms. Both sides, though, have a lot to say to say about today’s decision.
Two months ago, you couldn’t avoid the political ads and mailers on both sides of the issue.
“Everybody remembers we got a few million dollars worth of flyers in our mailboxes, and everything with redistricting that whole referendum has now been overturned by the court decision,” said Old Dominion University Associate Professor of Political Science Jesse Richman.
On April 21, Virginia voters approved redrawing congressional maps that would have given Democrats a 10-1 advantage, giving them a strong chance to pick up four additional seats in November.
More than two weeks later, the Virginia Supreme Court rendered the results null and void, saying the required constitutional processes were not followed before this was put up for a vote. So what does that mean for Virginians?
“As it is, we stay with the districts we have,” Richman said. “If [Democrat] Bobby Scott’s your representative, he’s still your representative. The lines aren’t moving. If [Republican] Jen Kiggans is your representative, [she’s] still your representative.”
Scott and Kiggans spoke to 10 On Your Side shortly after today’s decision.
“I’m disappointed,” Scott said. “People voted, three million people voted, it carried in 55 of the 100 House of Delegates districts, so the people spoke.”
“It’s a big day for Virginia today,” Kiggans said. “It’s a victory for the rule of law [and] it’s a victory for fairness.”
That split reaction has also been felt among voters, some even rallying in front of the Virginia Supreme Court. One of them was Hampton’s NAACP Branch President Gaylene Kanoyton.
“We have got to make sure that we mobilize and don’t let this get us down,” Kanoyton said. “We need to be energized.”
Virginia Democrats have vowed to fight Friday’s ruling, saying they intend to file an emergency appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
“I expect we’ll see more intense political campaigning in the midterms in this area because of the Supreme Court’s decision,” Richman said.
90+ artists to exhibit on the Va. Beach boardwalk with the backdrop of the Atlantic Ocean
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — Get ready for the largest surf art show on the East Coast!
The 17th Annual Virginia Beach Surf Art Expo at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront on the boardwalk, 3rd through 7th streets, will begin Saturday, May 23, through Sunday, May 24, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., ending on Memorial Day, Monday, May 25, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Courtesy: VB Surf Art Expo (Antone Nixon, with VB Sunrise)
The Virginia Beach Surf Art Expo features over 90 regional artists from Maine to the Mid-Atlantic region and down through Florida, capturing the essence of the beach, the ocean, wildlife, sea life, and surfing-related themes in art.
The Virginia Beach Surf Art Expo is partnered with the Coastal Edge Steel Pier Classic and the surfing competition at the 1st Street Jetty.
This event is an official kick-off to the summer season at the Oceanfront.
“Isn’t seeing an artist’s interpretation of the beach vibe the very best way to enjoy it? We drip salt water from our pores,” says Jodie Woodward, founder and show director of the Virginia Beach Surf Art Expo.
Surf art comes in all mediums, including painting, photography, jewelry, sculpture, ceramics, wood, metal, fiber, glass, and mixed media, all available for purchase at the art expo.
Each artist has a special connection with surfing, the ocean, beach life, sea life, seascape scenes, shells, coral, dolphins, fish, lighthouses, mermaids, custom surfboard and skateboard designs.
Expect to see more Patriotic themes this year in alignment with America’s 250th birthday, officials say.
“We can’t wait for the 23rd Annual Coastal Edge Steel Pier Classic presented by Katin,” says D. Nachnani, president of Coastal Edge. “This Memorial Day Weekend, the heart of Virginia Beach becomes the soul of East Coast surfing. We’re proud to host the WSL World Tour Longboard event alongside our professional shortboard competition. With over 300 athletes representing more than a dozen countries, and a combined $16,000 purse on the line, this is more than a contest—it’s a celebration of art, athleticism, music, and the surf culture that defines our coast,” Nachnani went on to say.
For more information about the Virginia Beach Surf Art Expo, click here, call (757) 348-1048, connect on the Virginia Beach Surf Art Expo’s Facebook here, or their Instagram here.
-
Minnesota3 minutes agoProjected Lineup: Wild vs. Avalanche | Minnesota Wild
-
Mississippi9 minutes agoAuburn baseball evens series with Mississippi State on Friday: Recap
-
Missouri15 minutes agoKansas City, Missouri, police investigate deadly shooting at 4th and Holmes
-
Montana21 minutes agoMontana Vista residents confront ‘Pecos West’ developers in tense meeting
-
Nebraska27 minutes agoWhere Are Nebraska Fan’s Heads – CarrikerChronicles.com
-
Nevada33 minutes agoBillionaire Tax Refugees Flock to Ritzy Nevada Lake Town
-
New Hampshire39 minutes agoNew Hampshire mothers’ labor force participation rate – Valley News
-
New Jersey45 minutes agoNJ ex-fireman ‘ready for war’ when he launched into violent rampage triggered by breakup: prosecutors