Policy on the #NNK

“ Museums for All helps families with SNAP/EBT get free or low-cost admission to participating museums, usually between $0 and $5. It’s a great way to enjoy spring break, explore something new, and make family memories on a budget!” One thousand six hundred museums participate across the US. Two museums on the NNK participate: Menokin in Warsaw and Stratford Hall Historic Preserve in Stratford. Museums for All lists and shows in a map the participating museums. To take advantage of Museums for All, families show their EBT card and ID and these documents allow up to four people to pay no more than $5 for admission. Families may use Museums for All as many times as they like. This Institute of Museum and Library Services program provides support to museums every step of the way. There are toolkits, evaluation, and FAQs. M4A reports 45,248 museum attendees in 2025 in Virginia. Of those, 3% attended using the Museums for All program. The total economic benefit for M4A visit...

2026 Virginia Farmers Market Food Safety Summit takes place online April 28-30 . Registration is free. The annual Virginia Farmers Market Association event is packed. Topics include produce safety, market food safety, weights and measures, pet food, fire safety, and all things alcohol (as in booze). The organization recommends everyone attend April 28 and 30 with those interested in CBD/hemp, pet food, dairy, and meat and poultry also attending April 29.

Fairfields Volunteer Fire Department in Reedville and Burgess is one of two VFDs in the county. The other is Callao Volunteer Fire Department in Callao. Fairfields recently shared their 2025 stats on Facebook ; they are also shown below. The 2025 data becomes a little more interesting when compared to performance data since 2023. As is shown in the table Fairfields Volunteer Fire Department Types of Calls 2023, 2024, and 2025, call response increased 26% from 2023 to 2025. Differences worth mentioning are the increase of 100% between 2023 and 2025 for field and brushfire responses, a 120% increase in mutual aid responses, and a nearly 300% increase in lift assists. Be cautious with these numbers, though: The numbers are low so large increases are pretty easy to come by. In the future, would love to see other data reported. Things like the number of volunteer hours for responding to calls for service, the number of trainings, hours dedicated to training, and manp...

Microsoft Publisher Microsoft has announced it will stop supporting Publisher in October 2026. They write, In October 2026, Microsoft Publisher will reach its end of life. After that time, it will no longer be included in Microsoft 365 and existing on-premises suites will no longer be supported. Microsoft 365 subscribers will no longer be able to open or edit Publisher files in Publisher. Until then, support for Publisher will continue and users can expect the same experience as today. Canva is an option for flyers, social media posts, and signs. Free webinars How Web Visitors Digest Complex Information , April 27, 11a : Decades of research show that people approach complex information online completely differently than in print. Online readers scan rather than read, prioritize concise information, and navigate content in non-linear ways. This webinar will walk through the best practices shown through research, along with what it means for your own communications staff,...

If you are new to the NNK or have been a part-timer and recently moved here permanently, you probably should know about loud, house-shaking booms and other loud noises. They come from Dahlgren in King George County, Fort AP Hill in Caroline County, or from the naval station Pax River in St. Mary’s County, MD. Dahlgren Officially Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren Division , Dahlgren tests munitions at the Potomac River Test Range and at the Explosive Experimental Area at the Pumpkin Neck, across Machodoc Creek to the south of Dahlgren. The installation originally established itself as the major testing area for naval guns and ammunition. Today, it continues to provide the military with the development and integration of warfare systems for the warfighter, warfighting and the future fleet. NSWCDD conducts advance research in all systems-related areas and pursues scientific disciplines including physics, mathematics, directed energy and digital engineering, modeling...

Menhaden The Monday, April 13 webinar Menhaden Policy Review: 2026 General Assembly will recap how the Virginia General Assembly addressed menhaden issues during the 2026 session. Learn more and register . Resilience The Monday, April 27 webinar A Resilient Commonwealth: Exploring Virginia’s Statewide Priorities will feature speakers Adrienne Kotula, Deputy Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources, and Jay Ford, Virginia Policy Manager at Chesapeake Bay Foundation. The “speakers will share insights from both state leadership and on-the-ground policy work, highlighting strategies that support resilient infrastructure, protect vital ecosystems, and advance coordinated resilience efforts statewide.” Learn more and register . Ticks Old Dominion University (ODU) has a tick team (!), the ODU Tick Team Research Lab . The ODU Tick Research Team is a collaboration between four different labs at Old Dominion University. We study host-vector-pathogen systems from a broad ...

Friends of Westmoreland State Park wins the prize for information accessibility: They’ve put all the information in the flyer in a comment. This formatting allows those who use screen readers and other assistive devices to easily get the details. In addition, repeating the event information in this way makes it easy for users to share bits of info with others without having to retype it. Thank you, Friends of Westmoreland State Park. And to make it easy for blog readers, here’s the text: 📣 Text description of April event schedule image for screen reader users in comments 📣 April Event schedule for Westmoreland State Park. Every Friday: Campfire Kickoff. 7:00 to 8:00 PM. Location: Campground A. Every Saturday and Sunday: Snake-y Salutationsss. 1:00 to 1:30 PM. Location: Visitor Center. Saturday, April 4th: Rock Painting. 10:00 to 11:00 AM. Location: Discovery Center. Sunday, April 5th: Scavenger Hunt. All Day. Location: Visitor Center. Saturday, April 11th: ...

Messaging effectively 3 Ways to Test if Your Nonprofit’s Message Is Breaking Through is an essential read for all businesses. The ways: Recognition: Are the people you serve visible in your work? Traceability: Can people follow the money from gift to result? Defensibility: Is your explanation comprehensible to people who don’t agree with you? Native plants Native Plants for Southeast Virginia including Hampton Roads Region (PDF) has been updated! According to Wetlands Watch , “The 72-page, full-color guide features native plant profiles, curated plant lists for specific growing conditions, and a regional list of local sites that highlight native plants and plant communities. It is available as a free digital download.” The southeast guide includes Gloucester County. (Yes, some blog readers live on the MP.) Get info about Northern Neck natives from Northern Neck Native Plant Society and Department of Conservation and Recreation (plus...

On February 13, Gov. Spanberger announced more than $4.9 million in federal American Rescue Plan funding for grants to build resilience in Virginia’s food system. Businesses and organizations applied in FY 2024. The grants were awarded in two categories, infrastructure and equipment, for “middle-of-the-food-supply-chain.” Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) explains , “Funds will support expanded capacity for the aggregation, processing, manufacturing, storing, transporting, wholesaling, and distribution of locally and regionally produced food products, including specialty crops, dairy, grains for human consumption, aquaculture, and other food products, excluding meat and poultry.” Two Northern Neck businesses, Healthy Harvest Food Bank and Purcell’s Seafood , applied for infrastructure grants. Neither were awarded a grant. VDACS did not explain the reasons for not awarding the grants to either NNK business or for any other grant apps, for that matter...