Portsmouth comedian Nicholas Gordon has spent the last 30 years making a name for himself as Cletus Kassady. Heâs performed stand-up, written for other performers and acted in films across the country â with one set to premiere this fall. Heâs opened for comedic stars like D. L. Hughley and Mike Epps. But since May, Kassadyâs been growing his local following by turning Portsmouth City Council meetings into comedy bits that poke fun at council members and their quirks and antics. And, fortunately, the dysfunctional council is the gift that keeps on giving. After each meeting, Kassady can be found on Facebook Live providing a rundown of the chaotic council meetings, peppering his analysis with jokes, barbs â and even nicknames for the council members â to the delight of his audience. Read more in the Sunday Main News section 
As school boards continue to hear about obscene books in libraries and the need to restore parental rights, a handful of requests to remove any books from the schools have been sent to the schools in recent months, and these represent only a small portion of the books that have been under fire in social media groups. Vocal groups fighting âpornographyâ in schools have come forward in public comment sessions during board meetings to demand that the parents be more involved in selecting what kinds of materials their children have access to, something Gov. Glenn Youngkin has supported since stepping into office. This has led to a total of six requests filed with two Hampton Roads school divisions between April and June. Read more in the Sunday Main News section True story: My father made our lunches (except on square-pizza day) during grade school. My dad, notorious for slapping leftovers in between pieces of heavily mayonnaised bread, churned out lunch greats like snap (as in green bean) sandwiches, peanut butter and mayo, and the very seasonal (end-of-school-year) soft-shell crab sammie. Always exciting to receive yet wildly less thrilling to explain. The well-known Atlantic blue crab, Callinectes sapidus â Latin for âbeautiful savory swimmerâ â is a wily and misunderstood little thing. Itâs the same crab my father used but it is somehow more palatable to most people when eaten with a hammer after steaming, or picked and packed into cakes. To shed its hard shell, the crab puffs up with water, splitting its shell. Then, in sheer exhaustion (one assumes), it uses the last of its strength to clamber away and hide to filter calcium and create another shell â unless the crab is removed from the water. Then the hardening of the shell stops. This process occurs from mid-May roughly through September, and thatâs why soft-shell crabs start showing up on menus all around town. Read more in the Sunday Break section On the night of Sept. 21, 1862, eight men slipped through the streets of downtown Wilmington, North Carolina. It was raining and humid, uncomfortable enough to keep residents, who might raise an alarm, off the street. Reaching the docks along the Cape Fear River, the men commandeered a small sailboat. They kept the sail stowed to reduce the risk of being seen, and they rowed with the current to the riverâs outlet into the Atlantic Ocean, 28 miles downstream. They made it to open waters just before dawn. Among the eight men â all escaped slaves â was William B. Gould, a skilled tradesman who had worked as a plasterer around Wilmington. He could read and write, which was rare for an enslaved person, though he couldnât know that just a day later, President Abraham Lincoln would sign the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that on Jan. 1, 1863, all slaves in the Confederacy would be free. Read more in the Sunday Break section
Joe Maloney and Kalven Klovas share a love of water. The Navy pals â Maloney is a senior chief and Klovas is a retired chief â had worked in explosive ordnance disposal and deployed to Iraq together in 2011. Two years ago over some beers, the two decided to create a business focused around the water with a fun experience in mind. In July 2021, they launched Chesapeake Bay Pedal Club as Virginia Beachâs premier cycleboat pub. âAfter years of being beer-loving connoisseurs, we always thought the pedal pubs in Nashville were an awesome idea that combined the outdoors, beer and fun with family and friends,â Maloney said. âWe thought how cool it would be to have one on the water.â After some research, Maloney found a company that custom-builds human-powered pontoon boats with a paddle wheel. The boat features 10 cycle stations facing a bar with built-in coolers, a seating area and a bathroom. Read more in the Sunday Work & Money section
Hitting a 100-mph fastball is difficult, no matter the circumstances. After processing the ball out of a pitcherâs hand, batters have only about 100-150 milliseconds to swing, according to a 2017 Seattle Times report. But Norfolk Tides left-hander DL Hall was making it easier on his opponents. Like a bad poker player, he had a tell. A 6-foot-2, 23-year-old picked out of Georgiaâs Valdosta High in the first round of the 2017 draft, Hall was somehow letting hitters know when his heater, which touches 101, was coming. Hall, the fifth-ranked prospect in the Baltimore Orioles organization according to MLB.com, believes itâs part of why his ERA has grown to 5.17 after a rough June. Read more in the Sunday Sports section NOTE TO READERS: Parade magazine will not publish Sunday, July 3rd due to the holiday weekend. For a sneek peak at the July 10th issue, see below! 
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