Latest news with #NorfolkCityCouncil
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Maritime festival, a supercharged Harborfest, planned in Norfolk for America's 250th birthday
NORFOLK — Surrounded by tugboats blaring their horns, sprays of water and the tall ship American Rover, Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Friday kicked off a one-year countdown to a massive maritime festival. During a news conference at the Waterside dock, Youngkin and city and state officials announced plans for the Sail250 festival to celebrate the United States' 250th anniversary. Addressing the City Council this week, Karen Scherberger, Sail250 executive director, described the event as a supercharged version of Norfolk's annual Harborfest festival. Scheduled for the Juneteenth weekend in 2026, it will feature more than 60 tall ships and military vessels from at least 20 countries that are expected to dock in Norfolk as the city and country celebrates the United States' sesquicentennial. Youngkin highlighted Virginia's historic role in American independence during his remarks Friday, noting iconic Revolutionary War scenes in Virginia such as Hanover County's Patrick Henry proclaiming, 'Give me liberty, or give me death.' 'America was really founded by Virginians,' Youngkin said. 'This story is one that we have to remind ourselves is not just part of our national narrative, but Virginia's.' Events during the weekend will include a June 19 boat parade, fireworks and ship tours, among others. Scherberger said Tuesday that 22 tall ships confirmed they will be at the event, and another 24 have been invited. Scherberger said the last big maritime celebration of this scope was OpSail 2012, when vessels paraded and docked in Norfolk to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812. She said the event could draw more than 3 million visitors to Virginia over a 10-day period in 11 cities, as well as $150 million in visitor spending. Alexandria, Cape Charles, Chesapeake, Hampton, Onancock, Portsmouth, Richmond, Smithfield, Virginia Beach and Yorktown also will be participate. Across the country, Sail250 events also are planned for New Orleans, Baltimore, New York and Boston. On Tuesday, after hearing a presentation from Scherberger, Norfolk City Council members debated the logistics of holding the event along with a Juneteenth celebration. Council member Mamie Johnson, who is co-chairing a city planning committee for a celebration in Town Point Park, said she and co-chair Jeremy McGee were navigating how the events could be celebrated at the same time. However, council member John 'JP' Page said he thought mixing Juneteenth celebrations with the maritime event was a horrible idea. Mayor Kenny Alexander said he was concerned Juneteenth would be lost amid the Sail250 celebrations. He hoped members of the Juneteenth committee would sign off on coordinating with the Sail250 event. Trevor Metcalfe, 757-222-5345,
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Maritime festival, a supercharged Harborfest, planned in Norfolk for America's 250th birthday
NORFOLK — Surrounded by tugboats blaring their horns, sprays of water and the tall ship American Rover, Gov. Glenn Youngkin kicked off a one-year countdown to a massive maritime festival on Friday. Youngkin and city and state officials announced plans for the Sail250 festival to celebrate the United States' 250th anniversary during a news conference at the Waterside dock in downtown Norfolk. Addressing the City Council earlier this week, Karen Scherberger, Sail250 executive director, described the event as a supercharged version of Norfolk's annual Harborfest festival. Held during the Juneteenth weekend in 2026, it will feature more than 60 tall ships and military vessels from at least 20 countries that are expected to dock in Norfolk as the city and country celebrates the United States' sesquicentennial. Youngkin highlighted Virginia's historic role in American independence during his remarks Friday, noting iconic Revolutionary War scenes happened in Virginia like when Hanover County's Patrick Henry proclaimed, 'Give me liberty, or give me death.' 'America was really founded by Virginians,' Youngkin said. 'This story is one that we have to remind ourselves is not just part of our national narrative, but Virginia's.' Events during the weekend will include a June 19 boat parade, fireworks and ship tours, among others. Scherberger said Tuesday that 22 tall ships have confirmed they will be at the event, and another 24 have been invited. Scherberger said the last big maritime celebration of this scope was OpSail 2012, when vessels paraded and docked in Norfolk to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812. She said the event could draw more than 3 million visitors to Virginia over a 10-day period in 11 cities, as well as $150 million in visitor spending. In addition to Norfolk, Alexandria, Cape Charles, Chesapeake, Hampton, Onancock, Portsmouth, Richmond, Smithfield, Virginia Beach and Yorktown will be participating in the event regionally. Across the country, Sail250 events are also planned for New Orleans, Baltimore, New York and Boston. On Tuesday, after hearing a presentation from Scherberger, Norfolk City Council members debated the logistics of holding the event along with a Juneteenth celebration. Council member Mamie Johnson, who is co-chairing a city planning committee for a celebration in Town Point Park, said she and co-chair Jeremy McGee were navigating how the events could be celebrated at the same time. However, council member John 'JP' Page said he thought mixing Juneteenth celebrations with the maritime event was a horrible idea. Mayor Kenny Alexander said he was concerned Juneteenth would be lost amid the Sail250 celebrations. He hoped members of the Juneteenth committee would sign off on coordinating with the Sail250 event. Trevor Metcalfe, 757-222-5345,
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Norfolk attorneys in turf war over authority to prosecute shoplifting cases
A feud between Norfolk's city attorney and the city's top prosecutor over whose office should handle misdemeanor shoplifting cases has quickly escalated into a political turf war with both sides claiming chief authority. The Norfolk City Council unanimously approved a code change Tuesday that will let the City Attorney's Office prosecute misdemeanor shoplifting cases after Mayor Kenny Alexander complained Commonwealth's Attorney Ramin Fatehi wasn't bringing charges. Fatehi issued a swift rebuke the next day, saying he would revoke the city attorney's authority to prosecute any misdemeanors in Circuit Court and would implement additional oversight of charges pursued in District Court. He painted the move as power grab by city lawmakers that would disproportionately be used to target poor people. But Norfolk City Attorney Bernard Pishko is now arguing Fatehi lacks the legal power to forbid his office from prosecuting misdemeanor shoplifting cases in Circuit Court. 'You lack the resources to attend to many of the issues our citizens face on a daily basis, and your prosecutors could not replicate the relationship we have with our code enforcement officers,' Pishko wrote in a letter sent Thursday. Under Virginia law, commonwealth's attorneys — elected constitutional officers — must prosecute all felonies in their jurisdictions. But prosecutors have discretion on misdemeanor crimes, and Fatehi says the state does not provide funding for attorneys to handle misdemeanor case loads. Virginia state code says city attorney's offices in the commonwealth can prosecute misdemeanor cases, so long as the city council wants them to and the elected commonwealth's attorney signs off on it. The Code of Virginia section reads: 'City and town attorneys, if so authorized by their local governing bodies, and with the concurrence of the attorney for the commonwealth for the locality, may prosecute criminal cases charging either the violation of city or town ordinances, or the commission of misdemeanors within the city or town.' Fatehi said under that law, his office has the authority to permit the city attorney's office to prosecute state and city misdemeanors. As of 5 p.m. Friday, he said he will revoke the city attorney's permission to prosecute any offenses punishable by jail or fine in Circuit Court. Further, he plans to scrutinize all cases the city attorney's office pursues in District Court, requiring them to provide monthly reports about all criminal cases they staff. However, Pishko said in his letter city code directs the city attorney to prosecute all city code violations, and the Code of Virginia says municipal corporations shall have all powers granted to it by its charter. Thus, Pishko said Fatehi's referenced state code section was superseded by another state code section. The matter could see the two attorneys duke it out in court. In his letter, Pishko asked Fatehi to rescind his decision and said doing so would eliminate the need for a seeking a declaratory judgement. Fatehi said the two parties met in person Thursday but were unable to reach an agreement. 'I remain ready to have a serious discussion on how to avoid the criminalization of poverty, but until I see a meaningful change in the position of the City Attorney or his employer, my letter stands,' Fatehi said in an email. Norfolk prosecutor revokes city attorney authority on shoplifting charges following council vote Norfolk to vote on allowing city attorney to prosecute misdemeanor shoplifting Norfolk commonwealth's attorney faces challenge from former federal prosecutor Amanda Howie, administrator for the Virginia Association of Commonwealth's Attorneys, said she could not recall a top prosecutor in another Virginia locality ever attempting to forbid a city or county attorney from prosecuting cases. She did not know whether Fatehi's moves were legal. The feud kicked off when Alexander announced a plan for the City Attorney's Office to begin prosecuting misdemeanor shoplifting cases at his annual State of the City event. Fatehi said he lacked the state or city funding to staff the prosecution of misdemeanor shoplifting cases, and the city has ignored requests for more funding. He also called the move politically motivated — Fatehi is facing a June 17 Democratic primary challenge by John Butler, a former federal prosecutor. Butler has been endorsed by Alexander and City Council members Jeremy McGee, Tommy Smigiel and Courtney Doyle. Most prosecutor's offices in Hampton Roads take at least on some misdemeanor cases, such as DUIs, some domestic assaults and cases involving violence in schools. For many other misdemeanors, police officers organize the case against the defendants, just as they do with traffic cases. Though the officers are considered witnesses rather than prosecutors, they must essentially prosecute their own cases without a lawyer. It's a common practice when prosecutors are not available for whatever reason, said Rob Poggenklass, the executive director of Justice Forward Virginia, a state criminal justice reform group. In Norfolk, for example, the Norfolk Police Department can — and does — still make arrests in misdemeanor shoplifting cases, but must handle the cases on its own. When prosecutors in Hampton and Newport News backed away from handling misdemeanor marijuana possession cases in 2012, police began handling the cases on their own. But because drug possession could be difficult to prosecute, police were having difficulties handling such cases. The Hampton City Council in 2014 created a position within the City Attorney's Office to take on the marijuana cases, the Daily Press reported at the time. In 2016, the Newport News City Council granted their Commonwealth's Attorney two new positions in return for agreeing to prosecute the misdemeanor marijuana cases once again. Several Norfolk residents who spoke at the council's Tuesday meeting expressed concern the move to pursue more misdemeanor shoplifting charges would harm the city's most vulnerable people. Poggenklass said more prosecutions would only hurt marginalized Norfolk residents and would not deter the act of stealing. He said city officials should instead be investigating why residents are stealing and providing structural supports to eliminate the need for the crime. Trevor Metcalfe, 757-222-5345, Peter Dujardin, 757-897-2062, pdujardin@
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Norfolk council adopts $1.6 billion budget, includes 2-hour free parking
Norfolk City Council members unanimously voted to adopt a $1.6 billion operating budget for the fiscal year 2026 on Tuesday, which includes two hours of free parking in city decks, a 2.5% raise for city employees and a new compensation plan. Council members approved the $1.6 billion operating budget, a $260 million capital improvement plan, a $6.7 million annual plan for U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development block grants and a $141 million annual grants plan. Council members voted to unanimously approve the capital improvement plan. 'I know that this is not a perfect plan, and everybody didn't get everything, but I do believe that we're moving in the right direction,' said council member Carlos Clanton during the meeting. The budget keeps all city tax rates the same. The current real estate tax is $1.23 per $100 of assessed value and the personal property tax for vehicles is $4.33 per $100 of assessed value. However, the budget includes a $5-a-month increase in the garbage collection fee to offset recycling program cost increases and beach collection costs. What to expect from Norfolk's proposed $1.6 billion operating budget Norfolk to vote on allowing city attorney to prosecute misdemeanor shoplifting Norfolk mayor creates city commission to study affordable housing shortage The budget reconciliation process added about $1 million in additional expenditures, including additional fire department positions, downtown holiday lighting and additional funding to Norfolk Public Schools to reflect additional revenue under a revenue-sharing formula. Additional revenue to balance the budget comes from revised revenue estimates and federal and state sources. The reconciliation process also expanded plans for a free parking pilot program in all downtown Norfolk parking decks from the first hour to the first two hours. The city plans to pay for the initiative by increasing the costs of downtown parking meters by 50 cents each quarter of an hour for a $2 hourly increase. Current meter rates vary by location. The capital improvement plan includes $44 million for the city's flood wall project, called the Coastal Storm Risk Management Project, in addition to other projects like beach re-nourishment, community park improvements and a new playground at Crossroads School, among other initiatives. Trevor Metcalfe, 757-222-5345,
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Norfolk to vote on allowing city attorney to prosecute misdemeanor shoplifting
Norfolk City Council members plan to vote on an ordinance Tuesday that will allow the city attorney's office to prosecute misdemeanor shoplifting charges. The proposal comes after the city's mayor and commonwealth's attorney recently traded barbs over the handling of shoplifting cases. Council members plan to vote on changes to the city code which would make shoplifting a class 1 misdemeanor under a newly-written section. The change would allow City Attorney Bernard Pishko's office to prosecute the charges, Pishko said in an email. Pishko also said in an email that there is no limit to the dollar amount that could be prosecuted as a class-one misdemeanor under the proposed code section. 'Once this code section is adopted, we will ask the police to charge under the city code,' Pishko said. 'It is proposed as a class one misdemeanor with a fine of up to $2,500 and imprisonment of up to one year.' The ordinance would take effect immediately upon passage. Pishko said the cases would be handled by current city attorneys rather than new hires. He said the fines from the cases would pay for any additional costs incurred by the prosecutions. The code change was first proposed by Mayor Kenny Alexander at his annual State of the City address in April. Alexander said Commonwealth's Attorney Ramin Fatehi and his office were not doing enough to prosecute misdemeanor shoplifting cases. Fatehi has disputed the claims, saying his office prosecutes every felony shoplifting case. He said the issue is his office doesn't receive enough funding from the city or state to prosecute misdemeanor shoplifting cases. The argument comes as Fatehi is being challenged in a June 17 Democratic primary election by John Butler, a former federal prosecutor with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Norfolk. Butler has been endorsed by Alexander and City Council members Jeremy McGee, Tommy Smigiel and Courtney Doyle. In an email, Fatehi said the ordinance was a political stunt by the mayor and other allies who supported his primary opponent. The threshold for felony larceny has been raised in recent years and now stands at $1,000 or more in stolen goods. That was increased from $200 to $500 in 2018, and from $500 to $1,000 in 2020. The felony charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $2,500, according to the Code of Virginia. Property crime, which includes burglaries and larcenies, has declined in Norfolk during the past few years. It declined about 25% from 2022 to 2024, from 11,488 to 8,588 incidents, according to Norfolk Police Department data. During the same time period, larcenies declined about 21%, from 9,094 to 7,188. Larcenies this year are down another 11% compared with 2024, Fatehi said in late April. Still, shoplifting can devastate small businesses with thefts of thousands of dollars of merchandise, Jenny Crittenden, president and CEO of the Retail Alliance trade group for local retailers, told the Pilot in late April. Trevor Metcalfe, 757-222-5345,
