By Sarah Hutchins The Virginian-Pilot © March 24, 2013 VIRGINIA BEACH In the seconds before mock chaos erupted Saturday at Corporate Landing Middle School, a man in a dark-blue trenchcoat walked past the entrance and down a hall. A flash of simulated explosives popped outside the front doors, where a silver Ford van was parked. … Continue reading
By Sarah Hutchins The Virginian-Pilot © March 31, 2013 VIRGINIA BEACH For months, police Capt. Patrick Gallagher had been worrying. A project he’d orchestrated to honor the city’s first black officers was nearing completion. Little had gone as planned. A ceremony originally set to salute two men had grown to four, and then to eight, … Continue reading
By Sarah Hutchins The Virginian-Pilot © November 25, 2012 VIRGINIA BEACH In the auditorium of Baylake Pines School, Buckets the Clown surveys his audience. From the floor, about 40 fidgety kindergartners and first- and second-graders gaze up at him. The clown’s blue hair pokes out from underneath a white fire helmet. Large orange shoes with … Continue reading
By Sarah Hutchins The Virginian-Pilot © June 25, 2012 The sun was just beginning to rise as Bradley Colas squeezed his eyes shut. When he opened them, U.S. 13 stretched out before him. The Eastern Shore’s tree-lined fields and weather-worn farmhouses whisked by. He pressed hard on the accelerator of his 1999 Honda Civic. He … Continue reading