Portsmouth

From the Virginia Senate Directory. Felony charges brought against Sen. Louise Lucas for her alleged involvement with the destruction of Portsmouth's Confederate monument were dropped.

Virginia Democrats are “deeply concerned” about FBI raid at Sen. Louise Lucas’ office, business

Mechelle Hankerson

The FBI has not provided information about the raid of Lucas’s Portsmouth office and The Cannabis Outlet, which the senator owns.

A sign, markers and a chalk outline help demonstrate the projected location of marshes by the end of the century, because of rising sea levels, at the Port Norfolk Beach Reflection Walk in Portsmouth on April 21, 2026.

Environment & Sea Level Rise

'Green Line' project illustrates how marshes will migrate in Portsmouth

Katherine Hafner

The phenomenon of “coastal squeeze” from sea level rise threatens wetlands in Hampton Roads. At one site in Port Norfolk, researchers wanted to demonstrate.

Inside AMP's expanded AI sorting plant in Portsmouth on April 2, 2026.

Environment & Sea Level Rise

Expanded trash-to-recycling plant using AI launches in Portsmouth under $450M regional agreement

Katherine Hafner

The project is likely to change how local governments choose to recycle.

Some local schools are adjusting schedules for the April 21, 2026, special election because school building also serve as polling stations.

Local Government

Some Hampton Roads students will not be in school buildings on day of special election

John-Henry Doucette

The April 21 redistricting referendum led divisions to adjust because some schools are polling locations.

The Portsmouth Jewish Museum and Cultural Center participates in the global Daffodil project and plants the flowers in the plot next to the center. The shape and color of the flower represent the yellow stars Jewish people had to wear during the Holocaust.

Arts & Culture

Portsmouth Jewish museum marks Daffodil Day on Sunday with hope, remembrance

Staff Report

The museum participates in the international observance to remember children who have been killed in genocide, including the Holocaust.

“Steel Seas & Sky Machines” opens Wednesday, March 11, at the Portsmouth Art & Cultural Center.

Arts & Culture

Take a wild ride at 'Steel Seas & Sky Machines' exhibition opening in Portsmouth

Vicki L. Friedman

Portsmouth native Tony Snipes has turned a diesel punk futuristic realm he created online a decade ago into a world with followers from around the world. It is now an art show.

Health

In a city with high HIV rates, one free clinic struggles to survive

Yiqing Wang

Portsmouth has one of the highest HIV prevalence rates in Virginia, with roughly 799 cases per 100,000 people, a rate that exceeds both the state and national averages.

Portsmouth resident Matthew James visits one of the stations at a feedback session February 12, 2026 and considers what would make him want to spend more time at Crawford Bay, a waterfront property being redeveloped.

Business & Growth

Portsmouth is redeveloping its waterfront, starting with Crawford Bay, the site of the old Holiday Inn

Toby Cox

The city asked community members what they would like to see on the property. Ideas rolled in.

Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, has been linked to a surge in overdose deaths that now drive much of the opioid-related economic cost across Virginia.

Health

Virginia’s opioid crisis swept from the mountains to the cities. Hampton Roads sees both problems and progress.

Yiqing Wang

Virginia’s opioid crisis has carried a $5.2 billion price tag, with some of the highest per-resident costs now concentrated in cities like Portsmouth and across Hampton Roads.

Alex De Paula, former program director of Safer Together, speaks about the anti-violence initiative in April 2024, at Chrysler Hall in Norfolk, Virginia. The three-year, $2 million program was cancelled this year after the Trump administration stopped funding its federal grant.

Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism

Virginia anti-violence programs slashed in federal cuts

A Portsmouth nonprofit built a program to aid victims of gun violence in Hampton Roads. It was one of several anti-crime projects in Virginia to lose its funding to the Trump administration’s cuts this year.