Mechelle Hankerson

1 week ago | whro.org | Mechelle Hankerson

Virginia and Hampton Roads voters picked the candidates that will appear on November’s ballot yesterday, ending several competitive primary competitions for local elected positions. In primaries, political party members run against each other. The winner becomes the party’s nominee for the general election. Not every race requires a primary if a party agrees on a candidate. In the governor’s race, for example, there was no primary election.

2 weeks ago | whro.org | Mechelle Hankerson

The Norfolk school board voted to fire Superintendent Sharon Byrdsong Wednesday night. The board discussed their decision in a closed session and cast a 4-3 vote after coming out of the closed meeting. Members didn’t include a reason for the termination during the meeting. Board members also voted to appoint Chief Academic Officer James Pohl as interim superintendent. Byrdsong’s contract was up for reconsideration next year.

1 month ago | whro.org | Mechelle Hankerson |Ryan Murphy

It’s always election season in Virginia and this year, the season starts May 2. That’s the day early voting for the primaries begins. Come November, Virginians will pick a new governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and representatives in the General Assembly. Plus, some cities and counties have local offices on the ballot. But before that, primary elections have to happen. What are primaries?

2 months ago | whro.org | Mechelle Hankerson

The Great Bridge Battlefield and Waterways Museum in Chesapeake is one local organization feeling the immediate impact of President Donald Trump's administration’s decision to cut staff and funding at the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services. The agency provided local museums with grants to support new programs. According to its grant database, it’s given $5 million to organizations in Hampton Roads in the last decade and closer to $15 million in the region since 1997.

2 months ago | whro.org | Doug Boynton |Mechelle Hankerson

The rate of syphilis cases in the United States hit a historic low at the turn of the millennium, thanks to an emphasis on safe sex during the 1990s. But the disease is surging again, especially among seniors and newborns. In Virginia, its worst in Hampton Roads. “The unsafe sexual practices are increasing, and so this is really why it's not a spike, but it's been a general trend moving up from the 2000s up until now, and it keeps going up,” said Norfolk Health Director Susan Girois.