HAMPTON —  The shelves in Sheila Barnhart-Ramirez’s classroom are packed with plastic birds, lions and warriors. Students enter her colorful room and grab a fidget toy to release anxiety or bury a bunch of lions in the sandbox. They’ll pick up a crayon and draw a picture of themselves standing alone. “Kids can’t necessarily put things into words,” said Barnhart-Ramirez, the counselor at Langley Elementary. “These,” she said, pointing at the animals and other toys, “become all of their words.” Barnhart-Ramirez has been a counselor for about two decades in elementary and middle schools. Las ..read more

When dermatologist Adewole “Ade” Adamson sees people spritzing sunscreen as if it’s cologne at the pool where he lives in Austin, Texas, he wants to intervene. “My wife says I shouldn’t,” he said, “even though most people rarely use enough sunscreen.” At issue is not just whether people are using enough sunscreen, but what ingredients are in it. The Food and Drug Administration’s ability to approve the chemical filters in sunscreens that are sold in countries such as Japan, South Korea, and France is hamstrung by a 1938 U.S. law that requires sunscreens to be tested on animals and cl ..read more

Cape Hatteras National Seashore will seek input on the development of a horse management plan at a May 21 public meeting on Ocracoke Island. In light of sea level rise, the National Park Service is developing a management plan for the penned Ocracoke horses and seeks assistance “in identifying issues, concerns and opportunities,” the park service said in a news release. The meeting is scheduled for 1-2 p.m. at the Ocracoke Community Center, 999 Irvin Garrish Highway, Ocracoke. If the ferry isn’t running due to inclement weather or road conditions, the meeting will be rescheduled for a later da ..read more

VISAA tournaments Baseball Division I Monday, May 13 Play-in game #9 Bishop O’Connell at #8 Potomac School Tuesday, May 14 Quarterfinals #1 Miller School has a first-round bye. #5 Cape Henry at #4 Norfolk Academy, 4:30 p.m. #6 Collegiate School at #3 Paul VI, 5:30 p.m. #7 St. Anne’s-Belfield at #2 Benedictine, 4:30 p.m. Division II Monday, May 13 Play-in game #9 Fredericksburg Christan at #8 North Cross, 4:45 p.m. Tuesday, May 14 Quarterfinals #1 Highland School has a first-round bye. #5 Steward School at #4 Atlantic Shores Christian #6 Virginia Episcopal at # Nansemond-Suffolk #7 Isle of Wigh ..read more

Benevis will host its ninth annual Sharing Smiles Day on Sunday, May 19, with 21 local dental offices and more than 300 volunteers providing free dental care and educating patients about brushing, flossing and the importance of good nutrition for a healthy smile. Benevis encourages families to register at www.SharingSmilesDay.com in advance of the event. Sharing Smiles Day is open to children up to age 18 and adults who do not have Medicaid or other forms of dental insurance. The available dental treatments that will be delivered at no cost include dental exams, limited emergency care, extract ..read more

Legislators released the details of a two-year state budget plan Saturday that would nix a potential new tax on digital goods while still providing large investments in education. After months of conflict, House Appropriations Committee Chair Luke Torian announced Thursday that budget negotiators had struck a deal with Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin that left Democrats’ spending priorities intact despite killing off the digital tax — which the governor opposed — that was expected to bring in more than $700 million for the state. “It looks like it’s a true compromise to me,” said Del. Barr ..read more

BALTIMORE (AP) — After weeks of preparation, crews are scheduled to conduct a controlled demolition Sunday to break down the largest remaining span of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Maryland, which came crashing down under the impact of a massive container ship on March 26. The steel span landed on the ship’s bow after the Dali lost power and crashed into one of the bridge’s support columns shortly after leaving Baltimore. Since then, the ship has been stuck among the wreckage and Baltimore’s busy port has been closed to most maritime traffic. Six members of a roadwork crew plunged ..read more

COLUMBUS, Miss. — Women in hoop dresses ushered visitors one April morning into the grand old house known as Riverview, showing off the hand-carved wooden chairs, oil paintings, tapestries and gilded mirrors brought from around the world. The house stood as a testament to the prosperity that had flowed before the Civil War in Southern cities like Columbus, just over the border from Alabama, as fertile soil and the labor of enslaved workers built fortunes. It was also a highlight of the longstanding tradition known as Pilgrimage. Every spring, the city’s finest antebellum homes are opened to th ..read more

Caribbean / submitted by Art and Carla LaBree of Chesapeake A few weeks ago my wife and I embarked on our first ever cruise to the western Caribbean. We enjoyed port calls to Key West; Cozumel, Mexico; Belize City, Belize; and Grand Cayman in the Cayman Islands. We especially enjoyed meeting people from all over the world and experiencing countries we had not been to. Our favorite by far was Grand Cayman! The beautiful turquoise waters are breathtaking. In the end, we both wondered why we hadn’t done a cruise much sooner than we did. visitcaymanislands.com ___ Share your adventure Tell us abou ..read more

Since he’s on the CARS Tour, Hampton native Connor Hall doesn’t make Langley Speedway his top auto racing focus anymore. But when he does come back, the 2023 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Division 1 national champion remains dominant. For the second time in two weeks, Hall won a pair of Late Model 50-lap races at Langley, his favorite place to compete besides the CARS Tour, one of NASCAR’s top feeder series. He leads the CARS Tour standings early in the season. In the opener, Hall took just more than 14 minutes to cruise to a 1.536-second victory over Ryan Matthews, the runner-up in ..read more