🏗️ $141M Southeast Newport News Community Campus Taking Shape

The Gist: Newport News has invested more than $141 million in the roughly 17-acre Southeast Community Resource Area, which is now about 60% to 70% complete. The campus will bring together a new 600-student Huntington Middle School, turf field, Huntington Recreation Center, a new Pearl Bailey Library, green space, a Doris Miller Community Center and an indoor pool. City Council recently approved the final $11.4 million in bond funding for the project.

Why It Matters: This is one of the biggest investments in Southeast Newport News in years, giving families new places to learn, play and gather while preserving parts of the neighborhood’s history. The city has not yet announced a new completion date for the campus.   Read More...

🚧 $74.1M Denbigh Interchange Project Gets Moving

The Gist: Construction is starting on the $74.1 million I-64/Denbigh Boulevard interchange project, with crews mobilizing this fall. Early work includes an I-64 West lane shift, a new auxiliary lane, utility work and the permanent closure of the Richneck Road connection to Denbigh Boulevard. Widening on Denbigh Boulevard begins this winter, while work at the Warwick Boulevard and Jefferson Avenue intersections is expected to start in summer 2027.

Why It Matters: This is the first of two projects that will create a full diamond interchange at Denbigh, with completion expected in summer 2029. Drivers should expect changing traffic patterns over the next few years, but the long-term goal is better access and safer travel through the area.

🛡️ Newport News Ranks 68th in New National Safety Study

The Gist: Newport News ranked 68th out of 182 cities in WalletHub’s 2026 Safest Cities in America study, earning a score of 60.72. Elsewhere in Hampton Roads, Virginia Beach ranked 6th, Chesapeake 27th, and Norfolk 145th. The study looked at 41 factors, including crime, traffic deaths, natural-disaster risk, unemployment and identity theft, so it measures more than crime alone.

Why It Matters: Newport News landed well ahead of Norfolk and in the upper half of the national ranking, giving residents another way to compare how the city stacks up across safety, financial security and disaster risk.  Read More...

❤️ Seven-Figure Gift Will Create New Newport News Hospice Home

The Gist: Jim Thornton has made a seven-figure gift to the Riverside Foundation to create the Donna S. Thornton Hospice Home at Warwick Forest in Newport News. The four-room home will honor his late wife, Donna, his high school sweetheart and wife of nearly 56 years, who received hospice care at home after developing Alzheimer’s disease. The new space is designed for patients who cannot receive hospice care in their own homes and will offer private rooms in a more comfortable, home-like setting.

Why It Matters: Thornton’s gift turns a deeply personal promise into a new option for local families facing end-of-life care. It will give Riverside another way to provide hospice care while allowing families to spend more time simply being with the people they love.  Read More...

Here’s what’s happening this weekend 👇

🏃 Frosty Feat 5K Returns This December

The Frosty Feat 5K is coming to Newport News on Saturday, December 12, at Copeland Field across from Warwick High School. The family-friendly event is sponsored by the Newport News Public Schools Wellness Program and includes a 5K at 9 a.m. and a 1-mile fun run at 8:30 a.m. Registration is $20 for the 5K and $5 for the fun run, with prices increasing after November 11. Packet pickup is Friday, December 11, from 4 to 7 p.m. at Todd Stadium. Read More...

💼 Kanama Bivins Steps Into Key Leadership Role at Jefferson Lab

Jefferson Lab has named Kanama Bivins its new associate laboratory director for business services, putting her in charge of major areas including finance, procurement, budgeting and property management. Bivins brings more than 25 years of leadership experience, including serving as CFO at NASA Langley Research Center and most recently as vice president and CFO for the Norfolk Airport Authority. She is also a U.S. Air Force veteran.

Her Hampton Roads and federal leadership experience now brings her to one of Newport News’ biggest research institutions. 👏   Read More...

🐾 Meet Peanut, a High-Energy Pup Looking for the Right Home

Peanut first came to PRAS as a stray at about 6 months old and is now thriving in foster care after being returned by a previous adopter. He’s playful, energetic and still learning how to manage all that excitement, so he’ll do best with a patient home that can provide structure, training and consistency. Peanut has lived with a cat, has done well meeting other dogs and is currently living with two female dogs in foster. Because of his energy and rough play style, everyone in the household will need to meet him before adoption.

🐾 Visit Peninsula Regional Animal Shelter at 5843 Jefferson Ave., Newport News to learn more.

😊Thanks!

Thanks for reading The Newport Newser today. If you found something useful, please share it with someone who has a set of fancy dishes nobody is allowed to eat off of.