Latest news with #WHRO
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
The Navy is expanding well testing for so-called ‘forever chemicals' in Hampton Roads
PFAS are showing up in water systems across the U.S. () By Steve Walsh/WHRO Residents who live around the Naval Support Activity Hampton Roads Northwest Annex in Chesapeake are being offered free well testing for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS). Last year, the Environmental Protection Agency released new standards for PFAS in drinking water as part of the Safe Drinking Water Act. The Department of Defense adopted a new standard of 70 parts per trillion for PFAS in drinking water, which has triggered a new round of testing, said Cecilia Landin, geologist with Mid-Atlantic Naval Facilities Engineering Command. 'We have one property that we identified that is above the September 2024 DOD interim action levels. That property has since been fitted with a whole house point of entry treatment system,' she said. Northwest Annex first tested private wells in 2019 at the base that straddles the North Carolina border in Chesapeake. The base is home to several training areas for the Marines, U.S. Coast Guard and also communications equipment for the FBI and Department of Homeland Security. The annex has sampled 30 private wells in the latest round of testing,70 wells in total since 2019. The DOD has provided bottled water to homes that exceed the standard, but the military prefers more long-term options, such as a whole home filtration system or connecting to a municipal water system, where available, Landin said. Several local bases have tested positive for PFAS over the years. Last year, the Pentagon released a memo saying more than 700 installations around the country received a preliminary inspection for PFAS and 578 were identified for further study. PFAS are? is a group of 1,000 chemicals that have been used in manufacturing since the 1940s, in everything from nonstick cookware to stain-resistant fabric. Dubbed 'forever chemicals' because they don't easily break down in the environment, the compounds have been implicated in numerous health conditions, including cancer. The most common use in the Navy is in firefighting foam, which has been banned for training, but installations can apply for waivers to continue using the foam to fight fires until October 2026. The military still uses the foam at 1,500 facilities and more than 6,800 mobile assets around the world. The Government Accountability Office estimates it will cost the DOD $2.1 billion to transition to a foam that does not contain PFAS. To find out if a property is within the testing area for Naval Support Activity Hampton Roads Northwest Annex, call (833) 692-6639 or visit the website for more information. This story was originally published by the Mercury's media partner WHRO Public Media, the Hampton Roads region's largest media company. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Norfolk floodwall project will take more time and money than originally planned, officials say
A section of Norfolk's existing floodwall, built by the Army Corps in 1971. It will be expanded as part of the Resilient Norfolk project. (Photo by Katherine Hafner/ WHRO News) By Katherine Hafner/WHRO About a decade ago, Norfolk officials launched a lengthy federal process for what would become the largest infrastructure project in its history. The $2.6 billion effort to protect the city from flooding during major storms is set to include an 8-mile seawall, home elevations, pump stations and massive surge barriers stretching across waterways. The city now has more than another decade to go. Norfolk officials signal changes are necessary for floodwall to move forward Leaders from Norfolk and its federal partner, the Army Corps of Engineers, updated City Council last week on what is formally called the Coastal Storm Risk Management project. It's part of a series of similar projects planned along the East Coast, prompted by the devastation caused during Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Norfolk is the furthest along, with other floodwalls in the works in cities including Charleston and Miami. Virginia Beach and the Peninsula are also in various stages of the pre-design study process through the Army Corps. Here are the major updates. The current, official price tag for what city leaders call Resilient Norfolk is still $2.6 billion – 65% of which would be covered by the federal government, leaving Norfolk on the hook for about $931 million. But officials now estimate the cost will rise beyond what Congress approved in 2020. Mark Haviland, spokesperson with the Army Corps' Norfolk District, said in an email that 'significant analysis was conducted to document the cost drivers and brief our higher headquarters.' The Corps declined to share that analysis before it's certified or provide a new cost estimate until the agency gets approval to finalize a related report. But Haviland said some factors that influence cost include new survey data and hydrologic modeling that identified the need for additional pump stations, and updated designs for the wall's foundation and transitions with adjoining levees. 'Wall types were also revised to meet updated barge impact requirements and to better fit within an urban setting and avoid impacts to the foundations of existing buildings,' he wrote. In addition, the team encountered unexpected delays with the real estate certification process, which involves getting permits and legal permission to use land and negotiating agreements with property owners. 'By addressing these details early on, we can avoid costly delays and complications during construction,' Haviland wrote. The estimated end date for all parts of the project is 2037, five years later than the original timeline. The first section of the seawall will be constructed from Chesterfield Heights to the Berkley Bridge, with initial site work starting this year. The first surge barrier will cross the mouth of the Lafayette River, with construction beginning around 2029. The current path of the floodwall wraps around downtown, ending at Chesterfield Heights to the east and Lambert's Point to the west. That leaves out five historically Black neighborhoods across the river vulnerable to flooding. A coalition of residents on the Southside strongly resisted being excluded from the wall's protection, and the city and Army Corps agreed to ask the federal government to reevaluate the path. Two years later, the Norfolk District is still waiting for federal leaders to include such a study in their budget. Army Corps headquarters did not receive it for fiscal year 2025, meaning the earliest it could begin would be next year. The Army Corps previously told WHRO a study could take around three years and $3 million, though the scope has not yet been developed. The re-evaluation report would also look at adding structural protection for Willoughby Spit. Meanwhile, many residents of the historic Freemason neighborhood are fighting for the opposite. Neighbors said they were blindsided by the floodwall plans and argue it will block waterfront views and tank property values. Newly-approved state study aims to codify Virginia's coastal resilience funding Project officials say they're just beginning to design the segment that includes Freemason, but will consider the community's feedback and seek federal authorization to modify the path. Several council members reiterated concerns this week. 'This is not the first time we talked about the authorized alignment in Freemason,' said Mayor Kenny Alexander. 'For us, it's a nonstarter.' One aspect of Resilient Norfolk is what officials call 'nonstructural measures.' That means helping private owners protect their property by elevating homes, filling in flood-prone basements and using floodproofing techniques at commercial properties. The city said this week that nearly 1,000 properties on Willoughby Spit and the Southside are considered 'pre-eligible' for the nonstructural program, which is voluntary. Officials launched a new tool for people to type in their address and determine eligibility. Congress authorized the project to include voluntary home buyouts, but the city says there are no plans to do so. This story was originally published by the Mercury's media partner WHRO Public Media, the Hampton Roads region's largest media company.
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Sailor killed in Pearl Harbor attack finally ID'd 84 years later, bringing closure to family
After nearly 84 years, U.S. Navy Mess Attendant 3rd Class Neil D. Frye is finally home from Pearl Harbor and was laid to rest last week in North Carolina. Frye was only 20-years-old when he died on the USS West Virginia during the attack on Dec. 7, 1941, but his family spent a lifetime searching for him since. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced in December that Frye had been accounted for on Sept. 27, 2024. The USS West Virginia took multiple torpedo hits that claimed the lives of 106 crewmen on the date which will live in infamy, when the Japanese launched a surprise attack on the U.S. fleet stationed at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Frye was one of the over 2,000 Americans killed in the strike that brought the U.S. into World War II. Out of his 9 siblings, only Frye's youngest sister, Mary Frye McCrimmon, is still alive. At 87-years-old, she represented her family while burying her brother, bringing closure to her family once and for all. Frye was laid to rest with full military honors at Sandhills State Veterans Cemetery in Spring Lake, North Carolina, on April 3 — coincidentally his 104th birthday — according to NBC affiliate in Charlotte WCNC. Frye enlisted in the Navy in 1940, leaving when McCrimmon was only 3 years old, NBC affiliate in Raleigh WRAL reported. Although she was young, McCrimmon said she remembers her brother building a sled for her and giving her a tricycle. 'My sister Judy, she used to tell me he could build or make anything,' McCrimmon told WRAL. McCrimmon recalls turning 4-years-old when her parents told her and her siblings about the loss of their big brother, according to WRAL. But since his body was never recovered, the family thought there could be a possibility he never really died, public broadcaster WHRO reported. 'My mom used to say she loved to people watch,' McCrimmon told WHRO. 'She would go anywhere she could get a chance to go to a little town and just watch all the men go by to see if she could see Neil.' But Neil was still lying in Honolulu, interred in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, with the other unknown remains of deceased crewmen from the USS West Virginia. McCrimmon and her family began working with DPAA in 2014 to find her brother, according to WHRO. They traveled across North Carolina and to surrounding states attending regional meetings, as fewer and fewer of the siblings remained. In 2017, the 35 unknown servicemen from the Punchbowl were disinterred and sent to the DPAA laboratory in Hawaii for analysis. Scientists used dental and anthropological analysis with circumstantial evidence to identify the remains. Mitochondrial DNA analysis was also conducted by the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System. A match to Frye was made years later in 2024. 'I was more happy than sad because I knew that they had found him,' McCrimmon told WHRO. 'I knew where he was. We didn't have to wonder.' Frye's name is among others from WWII on the Walls of the Missing at the Punchbowl, but a rosette will now be added next to his name to mark that he has been found. He was also posthumously awarded a Purple Heart Medal and Combat Action Ribbon among other honors, WCNC reported. Although their parents did not live to see their son come home, McCrimmon believes they would be relieved by her brother's return as well. 'I know my mom and dad, there's any kind of way they know about this, I know they're some kind of happy,' she told WHRO. This article was originally published on
NBC News
07-04-2025
- General
- NBC News
Sailor killed in Pearl Harbor attack finally ID'd 84 years later, bringing closure to family
After nearly 84 years, U.S. Navy Mess Attendant 3rd Class Neil D. Frye is finally home from Pearl Harbor and was laid to rest last week in North Carolina. Frye was only 20-years-old when he died on the USS West Virginia during the attack on Dec. 7, 1941, but his family spent a lifetime searching for him since. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced in December that Frye had been accounted for on Sept. 27, 2024. The USS West Virginia took multiple torpedo hits that claimed the lives of 106 crewmen on the date which will live in infamy, when the Japanese launched a surprise attack on the U.S. fleet stationed at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Frye was one of the over 2,000 Americans killed in the strike that brought the U.S. into World War II. Out of his 9 siblings, only Frye's youngest sister, Mary Frye McCrimmon, is still alive. At 87-years-old, she represented her family while burying her brother, bringing closure to her family once and for all. Frye was laid to rest with full military honors at Sandhills State Veterans Cemetery in Spring Lake, North Carolina, on April 3 — coincidentally his 104th birthday — according to NBC affiliate in Charlotte WCNC. Frye enlisted in the Navy in 1940, leaving when McCrimmon was only 3 years old, NBC affiliate in Raleigh WRAL reported. Although she was young, McCrimmon said she remembers her brother building a sled for her and giving her a tricycle. 'My sister Judy, she used to tell me he could build or make anything,' McCrimmon told WRAL. McCrimmon recalls turning 4-years-old when her parents told her and her siblings about the loss of their big brother, according to WRAL. But since his body was never recovered, the family thought there could be a possibility he never really died, public broadcaster WHRO reported. 'My mom used to say she loved to people watch,' McCrimmon told WHRO. 'She would go anywhere she could get a chance to go to a little town and just watch all the men go by to see if she could see Neil.' But Neil was still lying in Honolulu, interred in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, with the other unknown remains of deceased crewmen from the USS West Virginia. McCrimmon and her family began working with DPAA in 2014 to find her brother, according to WHRO. They traveled across North Carolina and to surrounding states attending regional meetings, as fewer and fewer of the siblings remained. In 2017, the 35 unknown servicemen from the Punchbowl were disinterred and sent to the DPAA laboratory in Hawaii for analysis. Scientists used dental and anthropological analysis with circumstantial evidence to identify the remains. Mitochondrial DNA analysis was also conducted by the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System. A match to Frye was made years later in 2024. 'I was more happy than sad because I knew that they had found him,' McCrimmon told WHRO. 'I knew where he was. We didn't have to wonder.' Frye's name is among others from WWII on the Walls of the Missing at the Punchbowl, but a rosette will now be added next to his name to mark that he has been found. He was also posthumously awarded a Purple Heart Medal and Compact Action Ribbon among other honors, WCNC reported. Although their parents did not live to see their son come home, McCrimmon believes they would be relieved by her brother's return as well. 'I know my mom and dad, there's any kind of way they know about this, I know they're some kind of happy,' she told WHRO.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Nansemond Indian Nation says Virginia is withholding Medicaid funding in new lawsuit
Fishing Point Healthcare's original clinic in Portsmouth opened in 2024. It's since opened one in Newport News, with plans for further expansion. (Photo by Laura Philion/WHRO) By Ryan Murphy/WHRO The Nansemond Indian Nation is accusing the state of Virginia of undermining its sovereign rights and violating federal law by refusing to pay out $1.7 million in Medicaid claims. The tribe alleges in a new federal lawsuit that state agencies and officials are trying to shift the blame for Virginia's financial mistakes and coerce Fishing Point Healthcare, a clinic operated by the tribe, into a new structure to compete less with other private providers. 'Rather than partnering with a federally recognized Tribal Nation to improve health-care access for low-income families and stabilize Virginia's own faltering healthcare infrastructure, Virginia officials have instead weaponized the Commonwealth's administrative machinery to punish a Tribal Health Program that dared to step into the breach,' reads the lawsuit, which was filed Tuesday. The filing says Virginia appears to have thought Fishing Point would only be serving tribal members. The suit says state agencies likely claimed an incorrect amount for Medicaid payments for non-Native American patients than allowed, 'thereby creating a substantial risk that the federal government would reclaim millions of dollars from' the state. The tribe says the state argued after the fact that some of the services Fishing Point was providing were not authorized for Medicaid reimbursement 'so they could shift any repayment obligation' onto the Nansemond. The state also pushed the tribe to rework its clinic structure, away from the federally-recognized Tribal Health Program and to a model similar to private companies contracted with the state. The tribe argues the state's pressure was intended to limit Fishing Point's competition with other private providers. The filing alleges the state has refused to pay out any Medicaid reimbursements for some services since October, and as of March 31stall of Fishing Point's Medicaid claims were frozen – a total of 7,650 worth about $1.7 million – 'thereby weaponizing the billing process to coerce Plaintiffs into capitulating to Defendants' demands.' Efforts to reach Virginia's Department of Medical Assistance Services, which manages Medicaid in the state and is named as one of the defendants in the filing, received no response Wednesday. Fishing Point says it's continuing to provide care to both tribal members and non-Native American patients, but the funding freeze 'represents a financial chokehold that threatens to cripple Fishing Point's ability to sustain operations,' according to the lawsuit. The Suffolk-based tribe started Fishing Point Healthcare in 2023, five years after it was federally recognized. Federal recognition allows tribal nations to provide health care to its members and serve anyone using federal healthcare assistance like Medicaid. The system started with a clinic in Portsmouth and Fishing point just opened its second clinic in Newport News. Fishing Point CEO Lance Johnson told WHRO earlier this year the health system has plans for expansion to other cities over the next few years, including a Norfolk clinic already in the works. This story was originally published by WHRO Public Media, the Hampton Roads region's largest media company.
