Your Norfolk. Your Life. The Official City of Norfolk Newsletter.

Volume 51 | October 2022

Connecting you to our urban, waterfront community.

Election Season is Underway

Tuesday, November 8, is a general election for the U.S. House of Representatives, City Council and School Board (Wards 1 - 5).

Early voting started Friday, September 23, at the Norfolk Office of Elections (810 Union Street, Suite 100). In addition to early voting, satellite voting locations will open for early voting on Friday, October 21. Find the locations and hours.

Be sure to register or update your voter registration by Monday, October 17.

All deadlines and additional information is available at www.norfolk.gov/elections.

What is Missing Middle?

In an effort to address the housing shortage, affordability crisis and changing demographics, our Department of City Planning worked with Work Program Architects to establish a pattern book for Missing Middle Housing.

What is Missing Middle Housing? Take a look at the video!

Find out more.

Creating CommUNITY

Hundreds of community members came together on Sunday, September 11, in a celebration of peace, inclusion and unity.

The inspiring annual event, CommUNITY Play-in & Sing-along, embraces our cultural richness and diversity, uniting people of all ages, faiths and backgrounds through music, dance and spoken word.

Living Shorelines

The Department of Public Works continues to address and combat sea level rise and recurrent coastal flooding by creating living shorelines.

These projects include planting native wetland grasses, wildflowers and shrubs.

Learn more about these efforts by watching the video.

Live Norfolk

Indie Comics Day

October 1, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Slover Library

Mocktails 101 (ages 18+)

October 7, 6:30 - 8 p.m.

Little Creek Branch Library

Norfolk Arbor Day Festival

October 8, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Lafayette Park

From Here to Eternity Twilight 5k

October 15, 5 p.m.

Elmwood Cemetery

Haunted House

October 19, 4:30 - 6:30 p.m.

Jordan-Newby Anchor Branch Library

Halloween Trick or Treat Carnival

October 29, Noon - 4 p.m.

Slover Library

Books & Brew and Vino Too is Back!

Something's brewing at Slover Library!

After a two-year hiatus, the Friends of the Norfolk Public Library are bringing their annual fundraising event back!

Books & Brew (Vino, Too!)

Friday, October 21

7 p.m. - 10 p.m.

Ticket information

Recycled Reads Book Sale

Friday, October 21 & Saturday, October 22

9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Meet Your Neighborhood Specialist

No matter where you live in Norfolk, you have a neighborhood development specialist to help make your community stronger.

This is Ryan Southall, but everyone calls her Nikki (and you can, too)! She proudly serves neighborhoods on the eastern side of the city surrounding Norfolk International Airport.

Here's a little more about Nikki:

Hometown: Albuquerque, NM by way of Washington, D.C., and a few other places as a military kid

Alma mater(s): Booker T. Washington HS, Virginia State University and is currently a graduate student at Norfolk State University

Family: Married with two sons

Time on the job: 5 years

Favorite part of the job: Understanding civic engagement and using experience, tools and techniques to guide, assist and inspire residents to become leaders.

Favorite things about Norfolk: Diverse people and neighborhoods, the WPA Memorial Garden at Norfolk Botanical Garden and the "Breaking Ground" sculpture honoring African American women and men who labored the land to make the garden one of the most beautiful spaces.

Favorite snack: Utz Salt & Vinegar chips

Go-to karaoke song: Anything Michael Jackson

Favorite emoji: 🥴

Connect with Nikki: (757) 364-4172 or Ryan.Southall@norfolk.gov

Find out who your neighborhood development specialist is here.

Rolling Through to Serve

The Department of Human Services team will be easy to spot around town in their newly designed "Employ Mobiles." These vehicles serve as mobile offices, bringing access to resources and assistance like SNAP, TANF and Medicaid wherever they're needed. If you see an Employ Mobile in your neighborhood, the DHS team encourages you to stop by and say "hi!"

Connect with DHS online or call (757) 664-6000.

Your Norfolk. Your Life.

Get Involved. Get Informed.

Norfolk Community Survey

We're gathering resident feedback on programs, services and quality of life. This survey is administered by ETC Institute, one of the nation’s leading firms in the field of local government research, via mail and online.

Residents randomly selected to participate in this survey will receive an invitation and instructional letter in the mail along with the survey and a postage prepaid envelope to return the completed survey.

If you did not receive an invitation to participate in the survey, but would like to share your opinions, you will be able to do so online or pick up a paper survey after October 24. Additional notification will be provided later this fall, including the online link and locations of paper surveys.

Clear the Way for a Clean Sweep

Autumn is here and the leaves are falling, marking the start of a busy season for our Street Sweeping team!

Street sweeping plays a critical role in keeping our streets and waterways clean year-round.

On your scheduled day, make sure to move your vehicles so the sweepers can get all the way to the curb line.

If you see the red and white regulatory signs in your neighborhood, be sure to adhere to the full day and times posted, even if sweepers have already been down your street. Vehicles parked in the street sweeping enforcement zone during the posted date and time are subject to citation.

Fire Prevention Takes You!

The week of October 9 marks Fire Prevention Week, and there's no better time for you and your family to learn simple but effective actions that will keep you safe in the event of a house fire.

Visit nfpa.org or check out the Norfolk Fire-Rescue Facebook page for fire safety tips.

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City of Norfolk Official Newsletter | 757-664-6510 | www.norfolk.gov

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