Latest news with #VirginiaWesleyanUniversity
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Here's how heat mapping, tree planting and a climate resilience hub could help Portsmouth
PORTSMOUTH — Environmental group leaders are working with Portsmouth residents to help solve the city's urban heat problem, including by mapping the city's hot spots, planting hundreds of new trees and building a new climate resilience hub. The hub, to be built outside New Bethel Baptist Church in Portsmouth, will be a space to use during extreme weather events. Garry Harris, a Portsmouth native and president of the Center for Sustainable Communities, emphasized the center's utility as a cooling center in extreme heat, especially since heat waves contribute to hundreds of deaths in the United States. The building, once completed, will be a separate structure where people can shelter from severe storms or heat, especially in times where the power is out, Harris said. Environment | The cute whiskers are back on. Rare Mediterranean monk seals are cared for in a Greek rehab center Environment | Study says climate change will even make Earth's orbit a mess Environment | Bad news for the Chesapeake Bay: It's getting hot Environment | 'I've got fish on my roof': Fierce weather brings more than rain for Hampton man Environment | First national analysis finds America's butterflies are disappearing at 'catastrophic' rate The summers in Hampton Roads are already hot, but for some residents, swelling temperatures and their impacts can be disproportionally worse. In Portsmouth, many residents live in 'urban heat islands.' These areas of high temperatures often occur where cities have replaced natural land cover with dense concentrations of pavement, buildings and other surfaces that absorb and retain heat. Researchers at Virginia Wesleyan University are looking to aid in cooling down Portsmouth, especially in lower-income neighborhoods or areas with more people of color. They are in the middle of a 2-year study on heat islands in the city. The first year focuses on mapping hot spots within the city's limits, and the second year focuses on community input from residents about tree planting and other efforts. By the end of the project, the team wants to plant at least 500 trees across the city by the end of the year. The researchers are now gathering comments from community members about what parts of the city could become focus areas for environmental improvements, such as bus stops, areas around schools or in residential neighborhoods. On Saturday, the team hosted a town hall for residents to share feedback. 'This study confirmed what we already suspected — some areas of Portsmouth experience significantly higher temperatures than others due to low tree cover and extensive impervious surfaces,' said Elizabeth Malcolm, professor of ocean and atmospheric sciences and director of sustainability at Virginia Wesleyan University. In addition to higher temperatures, other effects of heat islands include increased energy costs, and higher air pollution levels and heat-related illness and mortality. Vulnerable populations, such as children, older adults and those with pre-existing conditions become even more at risk as temperatures increase. 'You see correlations between heat and then some other socioeconomic factors, and depending on the city, things like income and minorities in some cases,' Malcolm said. 'Some of these communities with higher percentage of minorities and higher percentage of low income residents are the hotter neighborhoods. (They are) the ones with more asphalt and more pavement and less trees, less parks (and) less green space.' After the town hall, four of the project's 500 trees were planted on the church's property. While planting more trees is one part of the solution, partners on the project are also looking at other avenues to prevent the destruction of Portsmouth's tree canopy. 'We need policy at the local, regional and state level that speaks to development, that speaks to tree replacement and also speaks to maybe logging operations and how to how to put some boundaries around that,' Harris said. Last summer, volunteers drove 6-mile routes across Portsmouth with heat sensors to identify hot spots, and that map will help narrow down what parts of the city may be the most viable for restoration. Currently, the project's federal grant funding, which comes from the U.S. Forest Service through the Inflation Reduction Act's urban and community forestry program, is paused. Harris said that won't stop the project from 'keeping on.' Malcolm said there may be opportunities for funding at the state level, as well. Mark Whitaker, pastor of New Bethel Baptist Church, said the resilience hub is a step in the right direction for socioeconomic equality in the city, but he hopes that other aspects of economic equality get addressed in Portsmouth, such as higher wages and funding for education. 'The interstate highway that is around this community — that interstate went right down the middle of this community and displaced some homeowners. There was talk about putting trash dump in this community,' Whitaker said. 'I share that because the issue of environment and climate social justice, it's something that this church has always been outspoken and prophetic on. The issue goes far beyond climate and environment, because we know that it's not just the temperature outside, but it's what people feel. What people feel is impacted by their socioeconomic conditions.' Eliza Noe,
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Yahoo
Christopher Reese, officer slain execution-style in Virginia Beach, had South Jersey roots
A Virginia police officer killed execution-style during a traffic stop was a South Jersey native and the son of a former Camden City police officer. Patrolman Christopher Reese, 30, was one of two Virginia Beach officers slain during a late-night struggle with a motorist on Feb. 22, authorities say. The Somerdale native and Patrolman Cameron Gervin, 25, were killed by a driver who stepped from his car and pulled out a pistol during a "tussle" at approximately 11:30 p.m., said Virginia Beach Police Chief Paul Neudigate. Both officers fell to the ground after being shot, and the driver shot each of them a second time, said Neudigate, whose voice quavered during a press conference. A bright light: Deptford police officer remembered by friends, family at memorial Neither officer fired his service weapon, the chief said. The alleged gunman was later found dead from a self-inflicted shot to the head, police said. Reese "attended and graduated from both Somerdale Park School and Sterling High School," the borough's mayor, George Badey, said in a Facebook post Monday. The borough will fly its flags at half-staff to honor Reese, the mayor said. Reese left South Jersey to attend Virginia Wesleyan University in Virginia Beach. The 2017 graduate "majored in business and embraced campus life as a dedicated member of Chi Beta Psi," the university said in a post at its website. It noted Reese remained in the area to pursue "his commitment to public safety." He joined the Virginia Beach police department in 2022, after serving since 2019 as a deputy with the Virginia Beach Sheriff's Office. Law enforcement was a family occupation. The officer's father, George Reese IV, served in the Camden City police department, according to a Facebook post from Gloucester Township's police department. The elder Reese also is president of the Centurions Motorcycle Club South Jersey, founded by Camden police officers in appeals seek to benefit the families of Reese and Girvin, described by their chief "as two heroes that paid the ultimate price for our society." "These officers were not just members of this department; they were family, friends, and heroes," said a Facebook post from the Virginia Beach police force. "Their sacrifice is a painful reminder of the daily dangers our officers face and their unwavering commitment to serve with honor and integrity." The officers, riding together on the night shift, sought to pull over McCoy's car because it had expired license plates, according to Neudigate. The driver did not stop immediately, and became argumentative after the officers followed him onto a dead-end street. A search after the shooting found the suspect, 42-year-old John McCoy III of Virginia Beach, with a gunshot wound to his head, according to Neudigate. McCoy was a convicted felon and, if taken into custody by the officers, would have faced a felony weapons charge, according to the chief. Jim Walsh is a senior reporter with the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal. Email: Jwalsh@ This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Christopher Reese, slain police officer, had South Jersey ties
Yahoo
23-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Virginia MOCA to open by January 2026 with exhibit featuring nationally renowned painter
Construction on the new Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art building is about one-third complete, and curators have booked a prestigious artist to debut their future gallery space. The museum, commonly called the MOCA, announced plans in 2023 to move from its home at 2200 Parks Ave., near the Virginia Beach Convention Center, to a custom-built facility on the Virginia Wesleyan University campus. Work began on the new site last fall. This month, Virginia MOCA Executive Director Alison Byrne updated the city development authority on the progress of the estimated $25 million construction project, expected to finish by January 2026. During a subsequent interview with The Virginian-Pilot, she revealed the artist chosen to christen the space. Contemporary painter Nina Chanel Abney's work will be the first exhibition, and Byrne said she couldn't be happier about the choice. Put simply, Abney is an artist of renown. Her paintings and other works touch on subjects such as sex, celebrity, race, religion and politics. A 2004 Master of Fine Arts graduate of the Parsons School of Design, she infuses her work with techniques and color theories found in art history's masters, such as Matisse, Picasso and Harlem Renaissance luminary Aaron Douglas. Her work has been featured at vaunted venues such as the Institute of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, the Neuberger Museum of Art in New York City and the Palais de Tokyo in Paris. In a 2018 issue of Contemporary Art Review Los Angeles, writer Lindsay Preston Zappas commented on Abney's art: 'The works become a portrait of the modern brain, a marker of the manic hyperactivity that preoccupies contemporary American life.' The new MOCA building, with more than 30,000 square feet, will feature larger galleries. Although located on a university campus, museum spokesperson Linda Koller said, the museum will remain independent from the VWU board of trustees, and staff will have complete curatorial and programmatic control. Colin Warren-Hicks, 919-818-8139,
