All eyes are on Virginiaâs governor seat â and they donât all belong to Virginians. Political strategists nationwide are closely monitoring Tuesdayâs election for the commonwealthâs leader, hopeful that it can provide a playbook for their partyâs success in the midterm election next year. As a traditional âbattlegroundâ state with mixed political allegiances, Virginiaâs rare odd-year election has long drawn national attention. But the ongoing pandemic, fraught politics of recent years and near-parity in Congress have made this yearâs contest especially compelling. The candidates couldnât be much further apart on the issues. Â Read more in this Sunday's Main News section 
Ronald Davis felt like he was being buried alive. He was barely 19, but for months during the spring and summer of 1998, he sat in local courtrooms, facing sentencing hearings for his involvement in a string of October 1997 armed robberies around Hampton Roads in which there were no injuries and Davis never even held a gun. Each sentencing felt like another shovel of dirt. In Norfolk, he received 13 years. In Suffolk, 22. In Newport News, 30. In Isle of Wight, 15. Barely 19, and sentenced to 80 years in prison. Davis felt his life, his family, his future, slip away from his grasp. That was almost 24 years ago. Davis, now 42, has spent the last quarter-century at various Virginia prisons, including Buckingham Correctional Center, where he is now. Heâs earned his GED and completed more than a dozen skills and rehabilitation courses. Read more in the Sunday Main News section Stephannie Scott makes it a habit to curtsy before she enters and after she exits the George Wythe House. The newly hired orientation interpreter maintains this superstition, day or night. On several occasions, Scott said sheâs seen a woman watching intently, from the upstairs window of the property as she presents her stories for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundationâs ghost tours. Scott knows no one is in the house, so she learned early on to pay her respects to the lady of the house. She always makes sure to strictly adhere to the tour schedule, reporting to the property at a specific time and leaving at a specific time. She deliberately brings guests through the right gate and leaves from that same gate. If she doesnât, bad things, especially at night, tend to happen. Despite plenty of firewood, the cresset illuminating the yard will go out. Guests will trip on things seemingly not there. Interpretersâ legs will go out from under them. So, Scott continues her ritual. Most days, Scott swears she can see a figure move from the window, almost in approval. âI acknowledge the fact that sheâs there and I let her know that Iâm grateful to be there as her guest,â Scott said. The grounds of Colonial Williamsburg hold some of the nationâs earliest buildings. During the day, they offer an insight into the lives of those who inhabited them three centuries prior. At night, some of those same buildings seem to come alive. Read more in the Sunday Main News section
It was the mid-1990s, and Norfolk librarian Peggy McPhillipsâ phone rang. It was someone with a British accent. The person wanted to know if the library had any handwriting samples of a James Maybrick, a British cotton merchant who lived in Norfolk during the late 19th century. McPhillips was used to getting requests. But more calls came in the months that followed, all asking for the same, all from callers who seemed to have English accents. Why are you so interested in this manâs handwriting, she asked one caller. Because, the person answered, he may have been Jack the Ripper â the clue was his penmanship. Maybrickâs name has been floated for decades as a prime suspect in the infamous, grisly 1888 London murders that targeted women. A diary purporting to belong to the killer, and confessing his misdeeds, was linked to Maybrick, though its authenticity is in question.
Read more in the Sunday Break section
Just as the pandemic began, Stephanie White was graduating from a registered nurse program. Excited and ready to delve into her new career, she was also discouraged when she had trouble finding diverse styles of scrubs. âI wanted to be a little different from what everybody else was wearing at our pinning ceremony,â White said. With the long hours that nurses work â varying between eight- and 16-hour shifts, she said a variety of comfortable and fashionable scrubs are a must. And with COVID flaring through communities, White said she knew there was even more of a need to make sure health care workers could get what they needed. She spent the past year researching brands, establishing vendor accounts and surveying health care workers to see what apparel they liked best. On Oct. 23, White and her husband, Tremaine, opened Scrub Appeal, a uniform and medical apparel retail shop, at 648 Grassfield Parkway in Chesapeake. The 1,500-square-foot store in Cahoon Commons is stocked with scrubs, shoes, accessories and personal protective equipment. Customers can also order online for delivery to doctorâs offices and hospitals in South Hampton Roads. Read more in the Sunday Work & Money section
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