FORT JACKSON, S.C. -- More than 40 feet up on the tower at Fort Jackson, Army recruit Robert Smith missed setting his feet on the 4-by-4 plank from which he was to start rappelling down. âI said: âSergeant,â what should I do?â I was kind of scared. And sergeant said: âTrust your equipment. Now straighten your legs.â Then he said: âNow wave at me,â I waved. ... âIâm going to remember that for the rest of my life.â Smith made it down. Waving was not a dare or an act of bravado, his drill sergeant, Staff Sgt. Joseph Flanagan said later. Rappelling -- walking down a wall or cliff with a safety rope -- involves two hands. One is kept behind the rappellerâs back as a brake, The other is used to manage how quickly the rope moves as the rappeller walks down. Waving with that hand is meant to demonstrate how securely the brake hand holds you in place. Smith was new to the Army -- about two weeks in, and the tower came the first day he came out of the Armyâs new âYellowâ phase. Read more in the Sunday Main News section 
Meredith Cramer loves her work as an assistant public defender in Hampton. One day a few weeks ago, she handled the bond hearing for a past client, a woman with a mental illness now charged with misdemeanor assault. Cramer told a judge about the womanâs history, and the judge allowed her out on an unsecured bond rather than jailing her pending trial. âShe was so at ease as soon as she saw me,â Cramer said. âThat just made me feel good, like Iâm doing something thatâs helping someone.â But Cramer â a mother of two whoâs worked in public defense work for 12 years â is leaving her job within the month to take an attorney job at a private local civil litigation firm. She will start the new gig at $120,000 a year, nearly doubling her $62,000 pay at the public defenderâs office. âItâs hard to say no to that,â she said of the raise. âAltruistically, you want to do something that makes your heart feel good, and is good for the community. But at some point, you have a family, and you have to think about them.â Cramerâs story isnât uncommon. Experienced public defenders have long left for greener pastures â either in private law firms or in local prosecutorâs offices â because the pay canât keep up. Read more in the Sunday Main News section On the evening of March 1, 52-year-old James Schilo became the sixth pedestrian killed in Norfolk in 2022. He was struck by a driver in a hit-and-run on East Little Creek Road. His death came as a shock to family members, who said he had recently moved to the area to be closer to his daughter. âHe hit him like an animal and kept going, you know? It was upsetting,â Arthur Schilo, Jamesâ brother, told The Virginian-Pilot. He said he couldnât understand how someone could run someone over with their car and leave them to die in the street. The man who hit Schilo was arrested the following day. âI just lost the only brother I have,â Schilo said. Nearly three years ago, in response to rising pedestrian deaths, the Norfolk City Council adopted a plan, dubbed âVision Zero,â to bring the number of pedestrian traffic deaths to zero. The city improved crosswalks and lowered speed limits in some neighborhoods, but those efforts havenât worked. The city tied a record for highest number of pedestrian deaths in 2021 with nine â and is on track to break that record this year. Read more in the Sunday Main News section Granby Street bustles with sports cars and party revelers hurrying to bars this Sunday evening. Near the corner with Charlotte Street stands a dark red brick building with medieval doors and a wine-colored awning. It is business as usual inside the Monastery Restaurant, one of the oldest businesses in downtown Norfolk. The waitstaff hustles to serve a family of four sitting in the middle of the dining room and a couple from New York in the rear. The soft lighting makes the space feel warm and inviting; mirrored arches, wood trim and oil paintings of bearded men create an Old World ambiance. Read more in the Sunday Break section
âJunk feesâ drain tens of billions of dollars each year from Americansâ budgets, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The costs to consumers can appear in various forms, including late penalty, overdraft, return, out-of-network ATM, money transfer and inactivity fees. Now, some Hampton Roads banks have reduced their consumer fees while others have eliminated some charges altogether. The changes come after such fees have come under the scrutiny of U.S. lawmakers and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a regulatory agency for national banks, expressed concern about the effect of overdraft fees on lower income individuals late last year.
Read more in the Sunday Work & Money section
Some grilled steaks. At least one went to the zoo. Another got a haircut and chilled. Notably, none traveled, and none went to work. This past Memorial Day was unlike in-season holidays of the past for the Norfolk Tides. For that matter, the season itself is almost unrecognizable. Sunday concludes a rare 12-game, two-week homestand for the Tides, who are enjoying an overhauled minor league schedule that keeps them in one place for much longer spurts than past itineraries. For decades, teams have spent three to four days in a road city before hopping on a bus or a plane and moving on to the next, with homestands occasionally lasting as long as 10 days. Since Major League Baseball took over the minor leagues in 2020, scheduling has been streamlined to reduce travel and make players and staff more comfortable. Teams now play six-game series, eliminating the quick turnaround required in past seasons. They also have three evenings a week free: Each Monday is an off day, and Thursdays and Sundays bring day games. Read more in the Sunday Sports section 
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