Policy on the #NNK

Starting Friday, August 2 at one minute after midnight, folks can start buying school supplies, clothing, emergency preparedness, and energy efficient products with no sales tax added. The sales tax holiday ends Sunday, August 4 at 11:59 pm. The nitty gritty: School supplies costing $20 or less per item : The state has created a list of allowed items (PDF). The list includes binders, blackboard chalk, book bags, sheet music, musical instruments, and legal pads. Items do not need to be purchased for school use or in connection with a school activity to be eligible for exemption. Clothing and shoes costing $100 or less per item : The non-inclusive list (PDF) created by the state includes items like baby bibs and clothing, bathing suits, boots, outerwear, underwear, pants, and tops. The document also contains a list of ineligible items . Generally speaking, ineligible items are accessories, personal protective equipment, and sporting items. Hurr...

Tornado Chaser Answers Storm Questions From Twitter | Tech Support | WIRED covers, amongst other topics, El Niño, La Niña, and Sahara dust, all important on the Northern Neck. The El Niño and La Niña segment and Saharan Dust in the US? share the basics. And Atlantic Hurricane Season Could Wake From Its Current Slumber By Early August covers where we are this year.

Northumberland County and VDOT have named the road off State Route 200 to the county’s public fishing pier and kayak/canoe launch Fishing Pier Way. And it’s official: There's a street sign. According to Pier Perfection: Public fishing areas in the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula , Glebe Point Pier is located on the Great Wicomico River at the base of the Route 200 bridge. The pier is 60 feet with a T-head and additional crabbing deck. It is completely free to fish there, but a valid saltwater recreational fishing license is required. The pier is handicapped accessible, has nine paved parking spots and even has picnic benches and a small grassy area for visitors to enjoy. A portable restroom is also available. Four commonly caught species of fish for this area include croaker, spot, sea trout and striped bass. Fishing Pier Way is on the south side of the Tipers Bridge. Want to learn more about SR 200? Head over to Virginia State Route 200 . Check out Tipers Brid...

The study Azole resistance mechanisms and population structure of the human pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus on retail plant products was conducted in Georgia but their findings apply to Virginia: Aspergillus fumigatus is a saprotrophic fungus that is widely distributed across the world ( 1 , 2 ). It decomposes plant matter; therefore, it is commonly located in areas where plant growth or decomposition is abundant, such as in crop production settings, flower gardens, and compost piles ( 2–5 ). . . . Aspergillus fumigatus has recently been designated as a critical fungal pathogen by the World Health Organization. It is most deadly to people with compromised immune systems, and with the emergence of antifungal resistance to multiple azole drugs, this disease carries a nearly 100% fatality rate without treatment or if isolates are resistant to the drugs used to treat the disease. It is important to determine the relatedness and origins of resistant A. fumigatus isolates in the envi...

The Virginia Quilt Musem is soliciting entries for Stitching Together History . This project aims to create an exhibition featuring 250 quilts that tell the history of the Commonwealth of Virginia. These quilts will be 20" square and will be juried into the exhibition from a call for entries. The quilts must depict a person, place, event, area, idea, or thing from Virginia history. The submission deadline for the 20" square quilts is September 30 , 2024. All the rules, guidelines, questions and answers, and submission form link are at the link above. The museum has assembled a list of historical prompts, Stitching Together History: Ideas For Quilts . We’ve created a NNK-specific list of inspirations: Inspiring quilters with NNK history ~ re: Stitching Together History, Virginia Quilt Museum . Feel free to take inspo from the list or add events, people, and places to the list. The NNK list is not affiliated with the Virginia Quilt Museum in any way. The Virgin...

Is it legit? Five steps for vetting news sources is a new tool to help evaluate news and other information sources. A PDF version is available at the link.

Virginia Tech is again offering water clinics for residents with private water systems (wells, springs, and cisterns). The 2024 Drinking Water Clinics are operated by local Virginia Cooperative Extension offices and testing is done off-site. The NNK clinics are October 9 . Registration is required. Lancaster County , Saturday, October 9: Contact Jasmine Greer ( email , 804-462-5780) Northumberland County , Saturday, October 9: Contact Trent Jones ( email , 804-580-5694) Westmoreland County , Saturday, October 9: Contact Stephanie Romelczyk ( email , 804-493-8924; add yourself to the waiting list ) Richmond County , Saturday, October 9: Contact Wendy Herdman ( email , 804-333-3420; add yourself to the waiting list )

NOAA’s upcoming science seminar The Path to Justice40: Indicators and Metrics for Assessing and Engaging Frontline Communities takes place Thursday, July 25 from 2:00 – 2:30 pm . You may participate by phone or video. The purpose of the research is to learn about how specific NOAA teams make community engagement decisions, focusing on marginalized communities. While the research was not driven by Justice40, the findings will benefit the federal initiative. The research may also benefit localities in their outreach and engagement work. What is Justice40? For the first time in our nation’s history, the Federal government has made it a goal that 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain Federal climate, clean energy, affordable and sustainable housing, and other investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution. President Biden made this historic commitment when he signed Executive Order 14008 on Tackling...

Protecting NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration , is protecting yourself, your family, your property, your community, your present, your future. The conservative Heritage Foundation recommends breaking up the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and selling off some of the parts to commercial entities. The authors of Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise (PDF), the formal name of the plan to gut the government, write in the summary, The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) should be dismantled and many of its functions eliminated, sent to other agencies, privatized, or placed under the control of states and territories. (p 664) The authors continue, Break Up NOAA. The single biggest Department of Commerce agency outside of decennial census years is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which houses the National Weather Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, and other components. N...

If you are a business or community organization, you are likely always looking to expand your reach, educate more people, get more business, expand your base of services. (Crowdsourced) Outreach on the NNK can help. This online resource is free to use no matter where you are on the Northern Neck, no matter the type of organization you are. The spreadsheet (don’t let that scare you off) contains information on the following outreach and engagement sources, outlets, and places: Social media, media, POAs, worship, organizations, and physical. Is the resource perfect? Absolutely not. But it is useful and open for edits. Anyone can use the information and anyone can edit. Have questions? Email me .

The latest on menhaden: Defendants seek dismissal of lawsuit alleging fraudulent ownership scheme of Omega Protein . The Virginia Mercury story summarizes the latest saga of Omega Protein, this time the accusation of misstatements and fraud. Photo: Thomas William Smillie , Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

VMRC’s Shellfish Management Advisory Committee is meeting Monday, July 22, 4:00 - 6:00 pm at VMRC (Virginia Marine Resources Commission, 380 Fenwick Rd, Bldg. 96, Fort Monroe). Substantive items on the agenda are 2024-2025 harvest season discussion, the public comment period, and an open discussion period for SMAC members. Read the meeting packet (PDF). Direct questions about the meeting to Andrew Button, Deputy Chief of Shellfish Division, Andrew.Button@mrc.virginia.gov , (757) 247-2121.

The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) seeks feedback from the public about the proposed Callao “road diet” on Route 360. The public hearing takes place Thursday, August 1 from 5:00 -7:00 pm at Callao Volunteer Fire Department (314 Northumberland Highway, Callao). The event will start with a brief presentation from VDOT and a Q&A period will follow. The remaining time will be dedicated to informal one-on-one and small group discussions, with VDOT answering questions and noting feedback. VDOT proposes to reduce a segment of Route 360 from four lanes―two each way―to three with one being a center turn lane. Two lanes would remain at the intersection of Northumberland Highway (Route 360) and Hampton Hall Road (Route 202). According to the project page , “Road diets have a demonstrated ability to reduce crashes, especially rear-end, left-turn, and angle crashes.” VDOT also writes, Reducing the number of travel lanes also creates opportunities to establish d...

Springboard Partners ’s new DIY guide Brand Renovation: A do-it-yourself guide to updating your brand when your organization's identity evolves “can help you assess whether your organization’s brand still represents who you are, what you do, and why it matters.” The guide includes: Five clear signs that it is time for a brand renovation. A four-step process that makes refreshing your brand as simple as possible. A case study on how the Vermont Network used this process to update their brand and visual identity.

NOAA’s Science Seminar Series started in 2004 and the federal agency has produced more than 500 seminars. Past seminars are available on-demand. Upcoming seminars are: Supporting Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management through the Climate and Fisheries Adaptation Program, July 10 , 3:00 - 4:00 pm: “The Climate and Fisheries Adaptation (CAFA) Program is an interdisciplinary research program that supports targeted research to promote sustainable management, adaptation and resilience of the Nation’s fisheries and fishing communities in a changing climate. The CAFA program supports projects that advance understanding of climate variability and change on marine ecosystems and implications for fisheries, and on the adaptation and resilience of the communities and economies that depend on them.” Forecasting Hurricane Impacts on US coasts/Remote Sensing of Hurricane Impacts From Space, July 16 , 1:00 - 2:00 pm NOAA in the Chesapeake Bay, July 17 , Noon - 12:45...

Now is the time to dig into the Beyond 2025 draft report A Critical Path Forward For The Chesapeake Bay Program Partnership Beyond 2025 (PDF) so you can submit feedback by the August 30 deadline . Submit feedback via email . Before commenting, review Beyond 2025 Public Comment FAQ . Fair warning: The two recommendations for the Chesapeake Executive Council, shown below, are pretty wonky and inside baseball. And essential. Executive Council Recommendation #1: The Beyond 2025 Steering Committee recommends that the Chesapeake Executive Council affirm its continued commitment to meet the goals of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement and direct the Principals’ Staff Committee to propose specific amendments necessary to effectively implement the Watershed Agreement. The Beyond 2025 Steering Committee recommends strengthening the Chesapeake Bay Program by identifying ways to simplify and streamline the partnership’s structure and processes, including potential changes to the Ches...

As Northern Neck National Heritage Area has announced , there’s a new public canoe and kayak launch in Northumberland County: Lodge Landing in Callao. (Go all the way to the end of Lodge Landing Road.) The improvement to much-needed public access was made possible by a federal funding that was part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ( Wikipedia , Public Law No. 117-2 (03/11/2021) ). The launch was originally scheduled to open in April 2023 but was delayed for more than a year. The approved project budget was $10,000. Learn more about the Northumberland County ARPA tourism grant in the narrative and budget .

If water is your thing and you want to do more to ensure our waters are clean and protected, get skilled up in Wild Virginia’s Clean Water Advocates Program . The program is a free online education program to equip and empower individuals, communities, and organizations to protect Virginia’s water quality. Specifically, Wild Virginia aims to equip these “Advocates” with fundamental knowledge of federal and state water protection laws, regulatory processes, and basic advocacy skills in order to influence environmental decisions and outcomes. The deadline to apply is Friday, July 12.

Data is Plural ―a weekly newsletter ( and seasonal podcast ) of useful/curious datasets, published by Jeremy Singer-Vine ―recently shared info about hurricanes. Hurricane forecast accuracy. The National Hurricane Center says it “receives frequent inquiries on the accuracy and skill of its forecasts and of the computer models available to it.” To help answer those questions, the agency publishes a series of regularly-updated verification reports , as well as a database quantifying its forecast errors . For each official projection since 1970, the database compares each storm’s predicted location and wind speed to those attributes’ ultimate values. As seen in: “ The Social Value of Hurricane Forecasts ,” a study by Renato Molina and Ivan Rudik . Like data? Subscribe to Data is Plural.

The public is encouraged to comment by July 31 on 2024 Virginia Outdoors Plan - Recreation for All . The plan guides the Commonwealth’s communities in connecting people with their most desired outdoor recreation opportunities, and protection of natural and scenic resources that add value to our daily lives. The plan identifies Virginia’s strategies, priorities, and planned actions so that the state remains eligible for apportionment funds from the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). With continual funding and fulfillment of LWCF obligations, Virginia will increasingly be recognized as best-in-class for outdoor recreation, and natural and cultural resources stewardship. ( Source ) Comments are to be made online at the Virginia Regulatory Town Hall . From an advocacy perspective, mentioning where you live or are speaking about (for example the Northern Neck, Middle Peninsula, or Richmond, County) shows DCR that residents, business owners, and other stakeholders in a...