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Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Remembrance ceremony marks 6 years since 5/31 mass shooting in Virgina Beach
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — A remembrance ceremony was held Saturday behind Virginia Beach City Hall to remember those who lost their lives in the mass shooting at Virginia Beach's Municipal Center Complex and to uplift the survivors. The ceremony recognized the 12 people killed and 4 injured in the mass shooting that took place on May 31, 2019, a day described as the darkest day in Virginia Beach history. 'Our foundation is still rocked by what happened,' said Virginia Beach mayor Bobby Dyer. 'We've been pretty proactive about making sure that we're doing the right thing, you know, to help out those, you know, who need it.' In a statement on Facebook, Virginia Senator Tim Kaine stated: 'Today, we honor and remember the 12 lives tragically lost six years ago in the horrific shooting in Virginia Beach. We must end gun violence by preserving and strengthening our gun safety laws to prevent future tragedies and protect our communities.' Family members of victims, survivors and other attendees all wore blue as a sign of unity. 'It's very important to make sure that we remember it and make sure we not just be here in sadness, but also be here, enjoy and like bring comfort to the ones who need it and always remember and not forget,' said Morgan Nixon, daughter of victim Katherine Nixon. A moment of silence took place at 4:06 p.m.., the exact time the 911 call was received on this day 6 years ago. 'This is a commitment to honor the memories of so many important people in Virginia Beach, who paid the ultimate sacrifice and are still have the grieving families we can never forget. We will never forget,' said Mayor Dyer. A memorial to honor the victims and survivors is currently under construction. 'We're investing $14 million in that because we want this to be a structure that when people come, they will feel the warmth, they will feel the empathy. And once again, we will honor the memories we can never forget,' said Mayor Dyer. The memorial is set to be completed in May 2026. Mayor Dyer says these ceremonies will continue each year to honor those affected by this tragedy. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Virginia Beach Mayor, YMCA to emphasize water safety in May
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — With the weather warming up across the Commonwealth, many people will be participating in water activities to stay cool in the heat — and Virginia Beach Mayor Bobby Dyer said water safety should be a top priority. Water Safety Month: Importance of swim lessons ahead of summer According to the YMCA, drowning remains as the leading cause of death for children under the age of five. Dyer, along with members of the YMCA, are making sure Virginia Beach residents know the importance of water safety and drowning prevention. On Tuesday, starting at 10 a.m., Dyer is set to proclaim the month of May as Water Safety Month. The event is scheduled to take place at the Mt. Trashmore Family YMCA, located at 4441 South Boulevard. YMCA's Safety Around the Water program will be highlighted during the event, which helps to provide essential swim lessons and life-saving water safety education to children and their families with the goal of reducing the risk of drowning. Water safety demonstrations, including floating, swimming to safety and calling for help, will also take place during the event. 10 On Your Side's Keagan Hughes will be at the event and will provide updates throughout the day. Continue to check for updates. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Should Virginia Beach have at-large council members? Election system may be put to a vote
VIRGINIA BEACH — Voters in Virginia Beach may have the opportunity to weigh in on the current City Council election system come November. The City Council will vote next month on whether to include a charter change referendum question on this year's ballot. The question would ask voters whether they want to keep the current single-member district system or if they support a voting system with some at-large seats on council. Public comment on the potential referendum question will be heard April 15 and the council will vote on it May 6. The 10-1 voting system is the way voters currently elect City Council members. The mayor is elected at large by residents from across the city, but each of the 10 council members are elected only by voters who live in their voting district. The referendum could open the door to a modified 7-3-1 system, in which three council members would serve in at-large seats and all residents could vote for them. Under that system, the remaining seven members would be elected by residents only in their voting district. The proposed referendum question would be: 'Should the method of city council elections set forth in the Virginia Beach City Charter be changed from a modified 7-3-1 system to a 10-1 system?' It includes the following explanation: A 'yes' vote means that you support the 10-1 system, which was used in the 2022 and 2024 city council elections. In the 10-1 system, the city is divided into 10 districts and the voters of each district elect a single council member with the mayor elected at-large (city-wide). A 'no' vote means you support the 7-3-1 system described in the current city charter as modified by a general law change that occurred in 2021. In the modified 7-3-1 system, the city is divided into 7 districts and the voters of each district elect a single council member, with three other council members and the mayor elected at-large (city-wide). The question, proposed by the city attorney's office on Tuesday, aims to address a conflict between the charter and the city's 2023 redistricting ordinance, in which the city adopted its 10-1 voting system. Several council members said they won't support it. 'What are we asking for, to go back to the 7-3-1 system?' said Councilwoman Jennifer Rouse. 'We have seen progress with the single-member districts. A return to at-large is a return to what we came from.' Virginia Beach Sheriff's Office ends inmate grass mowing program over cost Norfolk City Council approves affordable housing complex near Park Place Newport News' top prosecutor has a challenger. She vows community outreach to curb crime. Hampton Roads cities keeping close watch on federal cuts as they roll out budgets Chesapeake proposes a $1.65 billion operating budget, with options for tax increase Mayor Bobby Dyer wants to hear from voters. 'I think we owe it to the public,' he said. 'It's not only the question on the ballot, it's the education about what is going on. I feel the obligation to go to the public to say, 'What do you think?'' Council member Stacy Cummings agreed. 'This is one of the most sacred rights we have is the right to vote, and the citizens have not been asked how they want to elect their council members,' Cummings said. 'Let's hear what the people have to say.' Previously, every City Council seat was at large and voters across the city could vote for every council member. The 10-1 election system was implemented in 2022 after a federal judge deemed the previous at-large system illegal because it diluted minority voting power. That year, voters elected the most diverse council in city history. The plaintiffs in that lawsuit have threatened immediate federal court legal challenge if City Council takes any steps toward using the modified charter system for future elections, according to Deputy City Attorney Christopher Boynton. A public communication plan for the referendum question could cost roughly $500,000 and would include public forums, TV advertisements and direct mail, Tiffany Russell, the city's communications director, said at the meeting. The city previously spent more than $700,000 on public education campaigns on the election system and redistricting, Russell said. 'It's a lot of money devoted to this issue that it looks like will not necessarily end after this referendum,' Rouse said. Boynton said Virginia Beach has until Aug. 15 to submit a referendum question to the Circuit Court for review and approval in order for it be placed on the November ballot. If the referendum passes — if the majority of voters want the city charter changed to reflect the 10-1 system — it will be delivered to Virginia Beach's General Assembly delegation for introduction in the 2026 session. If approved by the General Assembly, it would then require the governor's signature. Council members David 'Hutch' Hutcheson and Joash Schulman both said they won't vote for a referendum. 'I believe that revisiting this issue in this fashion sends a signal that we're looking backwards,' Schulman said. Previous efforts to enshrine the 10-1 system into law have been held up due to legal challenges. The governor vetoed a charter amendment request last year citing a pending lawsuit. The same lawsuit challenging the validity of the city's district voting system is currently moving forward in court. The plaintiffs recently filed a motion for summary judgement, Boynton said, but a hearing has not been scheduled. Boynton said Tuesday a referendum is one possibility to potentially break the stalemate in the General Assembly. Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125,
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Pleasure boat tax, increasing meals tax on Virginia Beach's proposed $2.8 billion budget
VIRGINIA BEACH — Pleasure boat owners in Virginia Beach could soon face a new tax to offset some of the city's dredging costs, and dinner out at a local restaurant could also cost slightly more to help pay for major projects in the city. The potential tax increases are part of Virginia Beach's fiscal year 2025-26 proposed budget presented to the City Council on Tuesday. The city's total proposed operating budget is $2.8 billion, a 4.7% increase over the previous year. The Capital Improvement Program budget, a six-year plan, is $5.6 billion. Education makes up 44% of the operating budget; the second largest segment is public safety at 13.6%, followed by planning, public works and public utilities, Budget Director Kevin Chatellier said at the meeting. Two public comment sessions will be held in April before the council votes on the final budget on May 13. 'The ball is in our court,' said Mayor Bobby Dyer. 'The big challenge that we have is finding that balance that satisfies many needs and constituents.' The real estate tax rate would remain at 97 cents per $100 of assessed value, the lowest of Hampton Roads' seven largest cities. However home assessments have increased by an average of 5.6%. Each penny of the real estate tax generates roughly $8.2 million. ___ Public safety workers and lowest classified employees including custodians will receive a pay increase based on a recent market salary survey. The budget would also allow for the step increase plan for public safety workers. The remainder of the city workforce would receive a 3% raise. Norfolk council asks School Board for plan to close at least 10 schools What to expect from Norfolk's proposed $1.6 billion operating budget Chesapeake City Council considering real estate tax increase to cover public safety needs Norfolk State women put a scare into No. 4 seed Maryland before falling in NCAA tourney opener Chesapeake is planning for the future of Greenbrier. Here's how to get involved. Employee pay increases will cost $34 million and come from the General Fund. The city plans to add 95 full time positions, including 30 firefighter recruits at a cost of $2.6 million. Public schools would add 44 positions including security personnel and English as a second language assistants. The operating budget anticipates a total of 7,738 full-time city employees and 10,669 full-time school employees. Employee contribution to health insurance would not increase, however the city will up its contribution by 3%. It's likely in the future that employees will have to contribute more, Chatellier said. Some of the cost for new city positions would be offset by fees, including $14 million in projected revenue from compassionate billing for ambulance services, which could fund 33 Emergency Medical Services personnel and help with equipment replacement. Virginia Beach is the only city in Hampton Roads that currently doesn't bill for ambulance service. Fees from speed enforcement cameras in school zones, to be implemented this year, will help fund six new police personnel positions. ___ A pleasure boat tax of $1.50 per $100 of assessed value for vessels 18 feet or longer would be enacted to help offset city dredging costs. 'The larger the boat, the more likely the boat draws more water and is need of a deeper channel,' Chatellier said. Other Hampton Roads' cities have a boat tax or charge a licensing fee. Projected revenue from the tax would be $4.3 million. ___ The city's current tax on meals at restaurants is 5.5%. The budget calls for increasing that tax by 0.5%, bringing the city tax up to 6%. It's projected to generate about $9.2 million for a new projects fund. ___ The proposed operating budget includes a partial redirection of money from dedicated funds to help finance the CIP. Three funds were identified as having extra capacity as a result of an increase in revenue and the retirement of debt obligations, Chatellier said. A new Major Projects Fund would be established with a projected revenue of $21 million, which would come from a portion of the meals tax, a percentage of the Town Center TIF and .3 cents of of the real estate tax (redirected from the Agricultural Reserve Program). The money would be used to help fund a $16 million gap in the Virginia Beach Trail project due to an increase in construction costs. It would also help pay for the design of a new Law Enforcement Training Academy, modernization of the courthouse and Indian River Road safety improvements. Several road projects would be deleted or delayed to free up borrowing capacity. Sign up for the Virginia Beach Today daily newsletter Stormwater bills would also increase by about $32 a year to help pay for rising costs and maintenance of new stormwater equipment being installed as part of the city's massive flood protection program. Several years ago, the City Council agreed to freeze stormwater rates until fiscal year 2028-29. ____ Community grants would not change in the new budget year. The city's Parks After Dark programs at Williams Farm, Level Green and Green Run would be renewed for another year at a cost of $600,000. The budget calls for moving $1 million from the Central Business District-South Tax Increment Finance fund, also known as the Town Center TIF, to the Town Center Special Service District to help cover the growing costs of parking garage maintenance and entertainment in the heart of Town Center. Money would be set aside in the operating budgets for additional cameras at the aquarium and in the city's public parks. Property owners in the TIF area don't pay additional taxes (unless they live in the Special Service District boundaries), but a portion of their real estate tax is dedicated to paying down public debt on development in Town Center. Dipping into the TIF revenue is not expected to jeopardize future projects in Town Center, City Manager Patrick Duhaney said. 'Even with redirection… it will allow capacity for council to do a $80 million or $90 million project,' he said. ____ Veterans tax relief, mandated by the state, is increasing by $8.4 million to $36 million, which equates to 4.4 cents of the real estate tax rate. Elderly and disabled tax relief is projected to be $15.6 million, which is equal to 1.9 cents of the real estate tax rate. Combined, the relief is $52 million or 6.3 cents on the tax rate. Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125,
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Something in the Water's request to reinstate festival denied
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — Something in the Water Festival organizers reportedly reached back out to Virginia Beach City Council to request a reinstatement of the annual festival, which was scheduled in April after the original October date was postponed. Despite the plea, Mayor Bobby Dyer said the city is holding firm to its decision to cancel the festival, opting to explore other options for entertainment, including through Beach Events. Previous Coverage: Virginia Beach City cancels Something in the Water Previously unregulated, the annual festival — put on by Virginia Beach-native Pharrell Williams — led to mass confusion, frustration and financial loss after ticket buyers waited in line in September 2024 for the event, originally scheduled in October. Despite no lineup being released, people waited in line — only to be abruptly told that the festival was postponed. Virginia Beach mayor says city 'moving on' from Something in the Water, for now The public and the city were caught off guard at both the cancelation and the decision to hold the event in April. A decision made without any input from city officials. The fiasco prompted the city to require more oversight and provide deadlines for information to be released. A back and forth struggle ensued between organizers and the city as their attempt to regulate the event and ensure a smooth process for attendees was met with unanswered questions, deadlines coming and going, and ultimately resulting in the cancelation of an annual event. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
