Policy on the #NNK

Government meetings, events The Richmond County Public Schools' School Board meets Wednesday, June 8 at 10:00 am in the Richmond County Public Meeting Room (101 Court Circle, Warsaw, VA). The Richmond County Board of Supervisors is holding a public hearing Thursday, June 9 at 7:00 pm in the Richmond County Public Meeting Room (101 Court Circle, Warsaw, VA). The public is invited to comment (documents may be reviewed in person at the Richmond County Administrator’s Office (101 Court Circle, Warsaw, VA) during business hours, 9:00 am and 5:00 pm) on one or more of the hearing subjects: Proposed amendments to the current EMS billing rates Application from Cerulean Solar, LLC (Strata Clean Energy) for a Special Exception Permit in order to allow for a 62 MW Utility Scale Solar Facility to be located on Tax Map Nos. 38-1, 38-77 and 38-83 Consideration of a Solar Siting Agreement between Cerulean Solar, LLC and the County of Richmond, VA Application from Mu...

Government meetings, events The Board of Supervisors is holding a special meeting/public hearing on the proposed FY 2023 (2022-2023) budget Wednesday, June 1 at 6:00 pm . The meeting will be held at the George D. English, Sr. Memorial Building (111 Polk St., Montross, VA). Download the agenda . The Colonial Beach School District's School Board meets Thursday, June 2 at 5:30 pm at the Colonial Beach Town Center (22 Washington Avenue). This is a date change; the meeting had originally been scheduled for June 8. The Planning Commission meets Monday, June 6 at 1:30 pm at the George D. English, Sr. Memorial Building (111 Polk St., Montross, VA). Documents for the meeting should be on the event calendar page closer to the event. The Board of Supervisors is holding their regular meeting Monday, June 13 at 6:00 pm . The meeting will be held at the George D. English, Sr. Memorial Building (111 Polk St., Montross, VA). Watch the meeting on Facebook . Materials for...

The Virginia Poverty Law Center is having a conversation about the public health emergency and what it means for Medicaid and SNAP. The event is free to attend; register .

The Northumberland County Electoral Board has announced that there will be no June primary this year. Neither party had more than one candidate file.

Colorado State University’s Tropical Weather & Climate Research Group and NOAA are agreed: The 2022 Atlantic hurricane season will be above-normally active. And at the NOAA announcement today, (watch on Youtube: NOAA Atlantic Hurricane Season Outlook ), NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad, Ph.D. said that should NOAA’s predictions be accurate, 2022 would be the seventh consecutive above-normal season. On April 7, Colorado State University released its prediction, Extended Range Forecast of Atlantic Seasonal Hurricane Activity and Landfall Strike Probability for 2022 . They will issue forecast updates June 2, July 7, and August 4. NOAA’s prediction was issued today, May 24 ( NOAA predicts above-normal 2022 Atlantic Hurricane Season ). In addition to calculating general Atlantic basin hurricane likelihoods, Colorado State University has debuted “a new methodology for calculating the impacts of tropical cyclones for each state and county/parish along the Gulf and East Coasts. . ....

The Potomac River Fisheries Commission has announced the results of the 2022 Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab Winter Dredge Survey and the news is not good. The survey found that the overall total abundance (males and females combined) is the lowest in the 33-year time series of the survey. Learn more on Facebook, in the Virginia release (PDF), from Chesapeake Bay blue crabs hit population low in The Bay Journal, and Md. Blue Crab Count Falls to Lowest Total Ever Recorded in Chesapeake Bay on Maryland Matters. Several meetings will consider the results and discuss responses: VMRC's Crab Management Advisory Committee is meeting Monday, May 23 at 4:00 pm (380 Fenwick Rd, Fort Monroe in the VMRC Commission Room); see the agenda (PDF) and member list . The results and data on the 2021 blue crab fishery will also be presented at the commission's regular monthly meeting Tuesday, May 24 at the VMRC main office. The PRFC Blue Crab Advisory Committee (BCAC) will meet May 25 to...

National Safe Boating Week, May 21-27, is incredibly important here on the Northern Neck given we are surrounded by water, so much leisure time is spent on or near the water, and so much of the local economy involves water. Here are some tips for safe boating from the National Safe Boating Council 's Safe Boating Campaign : Wear a life jacket that 1) is US Coast Guard approved and 2) fits properly Know state boating laws Take a boating safety course Make sure your boat is prepared Check the weather See more about these tips and others in Boating Safety Tips . And follow the Safe Boating Campaign on Facebook, @BoatingCampaign and Twitter, @BoatingCampaign . Other organizations are also involved in safe boating activities, including the National Weather Service. NWS Wakefield is encouraging boat safety on Twitter, @NWSWakefieldVA and Facebook, @NWSWakefieldVA . In addition, the National Hurricane Center is focusing their May 24 webinar on boat and boater safety ...

With hurricane season starting in under two weeks, it's time to share (well, past time to share, but. . .) useful info about getting and taking action on hurricane-related info. In no particular order of importance: "Know Your Zone" is the state's hurricane evacuation schema and system. Know Your Zone maps coastal Virginia, identifies the addresses most in need of evacuation, and identifies evacuation routes. According to the website , Know Your Zone "serves roughly 1.25 million residents who live in Coastal Virginia, the region of the state most vulnerable to hurricanes and other tropical storms. Twenty-three localities participate in the tiered evacuation zones. Zones were developed in close coordination with local emergency managers throughout Hampton Roads, the Northern Neck, the Middle Peninsula and the Eastern Shore based on the most up-to-date engineering data for the region. "Zones are designated A through D. Zones provide residents with clari...

The National Hurricane Center has made some changes to their products and services for the 2022 hurricane season. Graphical depiction of storm surge inundation values : Perhaps best about the color coding is that NHC uses different colors rather than gradations of one. Different colors makes discerning locations and inundations easier. Geographic or System Descriptors in the Tropical Weather Outlook : What this means to mere mortals is that NHC will use section headings and paragraph breaks to signal a change in location. In the past, NHC has simply used line breaks and paragraph breaks without text formatting to signal a topic change. Expansion of Marine Forecast Zones : This changes makes it easier for mariners to find the information they need. Annual update to the track forecast error cone : The cone will be a little smaller than it was in 2021. The biggest change is for the 96-hour projection, with a reduction of six nautical miles. Learn more about the changes; read ...

Belle Isle and Westmoreland state parks have seasonal and part-time job openings—think admin, maintenance, food service—and it couldn't be easier to apply. Head to Jobs in Virginia State Parks , click on the park where you'd like to work, and complete the application. The Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation is also hiring for permanent positions .

Northumberland County Sheriff's Office delivered to the DEA 90.5 lbs of drugs following the semi-annual Drug Take Back Day in April. If you missed the event to safely dispose of over-the-counter and prescription drugs, you can anonymously drop off drugs (liquids and needles/sharps are not accepted) at NCSO (195 Judicial Place, Heathsville) in the lobby any time day or night. People have asked why the two days each year and effort more broadly are important. This is why: "Substance use was common among U.S. high school students during 2019 and varied by substance, year, and demographic groups. . ." Just over seven percent of high school students reported current prescription opioid misuse. As for lifetime use, 14.3% of high school students reported misusing prescription opioids. ( Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance — United States, 2019 (PDF)) "Ibuprofen, naproxen, and aspirin are non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). They are used to treat pain, fever,...

Anxiety among parents and caregivers is up, as could be expected, related to the baby formula shortage as a result of the recall of Similac, Alimentum, and EleCare. Read Abbott's recall notice . The US Department of Health and Human Services today launched Fact Sheet: Helping Families Find Formula During the Infant Formula Shortage . The website contains the following information: Manufacturer hotlines Community resources—such as calling 2-1-1 Information for WIC-eligible families General guidance—such as contacting your pediatrician and following infant formula safety guidance (such as that on the USDA website on the formula shortage ) At the time of the recall, states requested waivers from the USDA to add flexibility to the WIC program. The agency complied, making three available: Maximum Monthly Allowance : A waiver to provide administrative flexibility to exceed the MMA (and to issue multiple container sizes and physical forms) for infants in food packages I an...

If you've had hunting dogs on your property or are concerned about hunting dogs on private property, read WTOP's Private property owners sue over Virginia’s hunting dog law . While WTOP focuses attention on the suburbs, the same frustrations and concerns are often expressed by come heres to the NNK. Since we're on the subject of hunting, starting July 1, 2022, Sunday hunting on public lands will be lawful; see Hunting on Sundays; permits hunting on public or private land, etc. for details (though there's not much more to say). This is a major change; the Sunday ban has been on the books since 1643, when approved by the House of Burgesses. Want to know what laws and regs are in force? Take a look at Hunting & Trapping in Virginia July 2021-June 2022 (PDF) by Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources. It will be updated soon for the new fiscal year.

More than $1.2 million in Growth and Opportunity (GO) for Virginia grants has been awarded to regional economic development initiatives to support entrepreneurial opportunities and workforce development programs and systems according to a press release from Governor Youngkin, Governor Youngkin Announces Over $1.2 Million in Growth and Opportunity Virginia Grants to Support Entrepreneurial Ecosystems and Workforce Development . Region 6, which includes the Northern Neck, is receiving $100,000 to fund Promoting Careers in Aquaculture. The Region 6 award is 8% of the total. According to the release, the RCC Educational Foundation program will operate in Gloucester, Lancaster, Mathews, Middlesex, Northumberland, and Westmoreland counties. Further, Rappahannock Community College (RCC) Educational Foundation will promote jobs in the aquaculture industry cluster through the development of online learning modules, a one-week immersive summer course experience and a four-week summer inte...

Environment and energy reporter for Virginia Mercury Sarah Vogelsong covered the Virginia Solar Summit, writing Panel says Virginia should do more to promote solar development on brownfields . Of particular importance to the Northern Neck, she wrote Virginia should do more to encourage developers to site solar on brownfields rather than prime agricultural and forested land, panelists at the Virginia Solar Summit in Richmond Thursday said. Not using forested land is important to organizations like Friends of Lancaster County Virginia, particularly when companies such as Dominion opt to use more than 2,000 largely forested acres. Details about the Friends' opposition is shown below. Sarah Vogelsong continued, Brownfields are previously developed lands that may be environmentally contaminated, including former industrial sites, mines and landfills. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that there are 450,000 brownfields nationwide, and the Virginia Department ...

There's a new pharmacy in the state and it sells only generics for cost plus a reasonable mark-up, all to make the cost of prescription drugs affordable. HonestRx , a new pharmacy in Staunton, sells only generics and the stock is expanding every day. How does this help NNK residents? Honest Rx ships. Learn more about what drives the pharmacist: New local pharmacist strives for low prices and transparency and Pharmacist here - I have started a pharmacy geared toward lowering the cost of meds by filling just generics and pricing them just above my cost + a dispensing fee. Many many providers have shown interest. We are up and running in Virginia. AMA . Photo: By dannystock , Free Pills Pills Pills 3 Stock Photo

Meghin Moore, Dogwood's associate editor, has written a bit about transportation, economic development, and broadband in rural Virginia. Her colleague Amie Knowles has also written stories about rural Virginia. The pub is looking to delve into more rural issues in the near-term and wants to hear from the public. Email your ideas and input to Meghin Moore and Amie Knowles . Subscribe * indicates required Email Address *

Residents can safely dispose of hazardous household waste (HHW) Saturday, May 21 , 9:00 am-2:00 pm at the 2022 Spring Household Hazardous Waste Collection in Westmoreland County (A.T. Johnson Human Services Building parking lot, 18849 Kings Highway, on Route 30 just east of Montross). The question is, will residents continue the upward trend started in 2017? Drop-offs in pounds have increased from 3,342 in 2017 to 15,667 in 2021. That's a whopping growth in pounds dropped off! Details about the May 21 event are in the press release, Spring 2022 Westmoreland County HHW Press Release 050622 and in the event flyer, Westmoreland Spring 2022 HHW Flyer . Historical collection data is in the table below. HHW Data for Westmoreland County, VA, 2009-2021 Date Pounds dropped off Number of Vehicles 11/7/2009 7,627 50 10/30/2010 3,808 31 11/5/2011 7,131 37 9/15/2012 5,3...

Northumberland County is accepting applications for the part-time position of Executive Director of the Economic Development Commission . This is a terrific opportunity to help current businesses thrive and the county diversify and add to its tax base. Subscribe * indicates required Email Address *

Six initiatives on the Northern Neck have been awarded state funding to support tourism marketing. The local organizations, which will receive $95,000, are part of the group of 259 local and regional tourism efforts. According to the governor's press release , the funding via Virginia Tourism Corporation’s Marketing Leverage and Regional Marketing programs are designed to leverage local marketing dollars with matching state funds to increase visitation and traveler spending. This funding cycle, local partners will commit more than $12.4 million to match the VTC funding, providing more than $15 million in new marketing activity. The funding will be awarded to 215 local and regional tourism entities, ultimately impacting 259 programs and more than 1,000 combined partners. Northern Neck recipients run from top to bottom of the peninsula as is shown in the table NNK Tourism Marketing Support Awards Spring 2022 . NNK Tourism Marketing Support Awards Spring 2022 ...