The fast-spreading omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus is almost certain to sicken tens of thousands of Virginians over the next two months â possibly more than during the pandemicâs peak here in January, before vaccines were generally available. What that means, especially for people who might need hospital care, is the question for a state that never saw the kind of squeeze on beds that New York and other hard-hit cities did. Â Read more in this Sunday's Main News section 
When they posed for a picture in an empty field 18 years ago, Robert K. Jenkins and other Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority officials were confident that a new subsidiary would bring a much-needed shopping center to Norfolkâs Berkley neighborhood by pioneering the use of a fledgling federal tax credits program. Hampton Roads Ventures, founded in 2003 as a for-profit subsidiary of the housing authority, had been created to administer a $15 million allocation from the New Markets Tax Credit Program during the initial funding round. It was the first Virginia entity to win an award for a subsidy designed to attract investors to distressed areas by offering them a 39% income tax break over seven years. Read more in the Sunday Main News section Construction crews in Norfolk come across a lot of junk. Bo Taylor of The Breeden Company, a Virginia Beach real estate firm, said all sorts of things emerge when crews dig, shards of metal or glass, remnants of clothes or shoes from residentsâ past. Thatâs what happened last spring, when Breeden started work on the The Lofts at Front Street, a 258-unit luxury apartment building on a plot of land that juts out into the Elizabeth River in Fort Norfolk. Amid all the junk, crew members found a fully intact beer bottle thatâs likely more than a century old. It came from a little-remembered Norfolk branch of the Washington-based Christian Heurich Brewing company that once stood nearby. Read more in the Sunday Main News section
Effie Lary needed short-term housing when she arrived in Norfolk a few months ago. The physician assistant is traveling back and forth between Chapel Hill, North Carolina, to fill a need for a neurosurgery clinician with Sentara. After a stay at a local hotel, Lary found accommodations at The Rosalie, a newly renovated building on Redgate Avenue in the West Ghent area that opened in October. She had wanted lodging close to the hospital. âIt is faster to walk than it is to drive and park,â Lary said. Formerly a medical office, The Rosalie is a short walk to Childrenâs Hospital of The Kingâs Daughters, Sentara Norfolk General Hospital and Eastern Virginia Medical School.
Read more in the Sunday Work & Money section
When Iggy Allen decided to join the Old Dominion womenâs basketball team as a graduate student in her final season of eligibility, she did it with the desire to soak up as much wisdom as possible from Monarchs coach and former WNBA star DeLisha Milton-Jones. Over the course of their relatively short collaboration, Milton-Jones has had plenty of advice for Allen. One mantra? Just be vanilla ice cream. Or, in laymanâs terms: be yourself. âWe try to help her look at herself like a bowl of ice cream. Just be vanilla ice cream. Thatâs your base,â Milton-Jones said. âAnd every now and then, you might add some sprinkles or some cookies and cream or some whipped cream, but ⦠when her game is simple, there is beauty in simplicity for Iggy.â Staying authentic to herself has helped Allen carve out a crucial role for the team both on and off the court. Read more in the Sunday Sports section
Note to readers: Parade Magazine will not publish Sunday, December 26th. Below is a sneek preview of the January 2nd edtion.
Anthony Anderson Parade Picks - Declutter Like You Mean It What America Eats - Michael Symon's Easy Eggs and Crispy Rice | 
