This week on Tidewater Talk, we caught up on a little local news and a lot of Coastal Virginia life. We talked about a strange case involving red-light tickets in Virginia Beach tied to a car that had already been sold, then shifted into a health update after the Virginia Department of Health confirmed human cases of West Nile virus in Virginia Beach. We also shared practical mosquito precautions, compared notes on recent summer illnesses, and, as always, mixed in a few very real and very funny personal stories along the way.

We also dug into one of Tidewater’s more memorable local quirks: Norfolk’s iconic mermaids. I shared how the whole public art tradition actually grew out of Chicago’s famous cow parade before becoming a lasting symbol of Norfolk, complete with an official mermaid trail. We wrapped with a weather update featuring dangerous heat, storm chances later in the week, this week’s location riddle centered on Fort Monroe, and a roundup of Labor Day weekend events including concerts, fireworks, the Super Girl Surf Festival, a local car show, and Norfolk’s upcoming Neighborhood Expo and Uplift Awards.

This week on Tidewater Talk, we covered a wide mix of Coastal Virginia stories, from another round of flash flooding in Norfolk to West Nile virus turning up in mosquitoes across multiple Virginia Beach neighborhoods. We also talked through a headline-making lawsuit involving a former Norfolk police officer and her privacy complaint against the department, and then shifted into one of our favorite lanes: the strange and memorable corners of local history. This week’s “Strange Tidewater” spotlight was Portsmouth’s long-running Winter Wonderland animatronic Christmas display, a community-loved holiday attraction with roots going back decades and a story that includes fire, restoration, and a second life at the Portsmouth Art & Cultural Center.

We also shared the latest local forecast, with comfortable mid-80s temperatures, storm chances building later in the week, and an eye on two tropical disturbances in the Atlantic. To wrap things up, we swapped a few Tidewater tips for the weekend, including Maker Fest Portsmouth, the East Coast Surfing Championships, a “dive-in” screening of Finding Nemo at Ocean Breeze Waterpark, and Moth Night at Norfolk Botanical Garden. Plus, we dropped a new local history trivia clue centered on the Great Dismal Swamp.

This week on Tidewater Talk, we caught up on a mix of local news, community updates, and one of our favorite oddball Tidewater stories. We talked about Virginia Beach’s free ADA beach wheelchairs available at the Oceanfront and Sandbridge, Norfolk Fire-Rescue becoming the first in the region to move to a fourth shift, and a fun Keep Norfolk Beautiful cleanup event at Lafayette Park. We also touched on the Virginia Beach golf course vote and why it has stirred so much public reaction. On the Strange and Odd of Tidewater side, we shared the Suffolk roots of Mr. Peanut, whose iconic mascot started as a sketch by a 13-year-old local kid who won just $5 for the drawing.

We also ran through the local forecast, with heat building into the low 90s before storms cool things off into the weekend and sunshine returns by Monday. To close things out, we revealed last week’s mystery: the world’s oldest edible ham at the Isle of Wight County Museum in Smithfield, then dropped new clues for next week’s local history challenge. We also shared a few Tidewater tips for the weekend, including Virginia Stage Company’s Curtain Up Community Day at the Wells Theatre, Atlantic Comic Con in Norfolk, the Farmers Market Hoedown in Virginia Beach, and the Norfolk Waterfront Jazz Festival.