As Heather Williams takes nursing students on tours through the halls of Wakefield High School, she makes a point of showing them red boxes mounted on the walls.

They contain naloxone, which has increasingly become available in D.C.-area schools. She also explains the Arlington school district allows kids to carry the opioid overdose treatment if their parents provide permission.

In the years since a Wakefield student died after a suspected overdose in the school bathroom, Williams has worked to gain students’ trust, warn them about the dangers of opioid use and connect them with any medical services they may need.

Last year, she connected over 100 kids with community health providers and administered 271 vaccines.

In May, Williams, a public health nurse finishing her fifth year at Wakefield, was recognized as Virginia’s Nurse of the Year. The honor came from Virginia’s Department of Health.

“I’m just showing up consistently and making my clinic a safe space for these students, and so they see my face every day,” Williams said.

“I’m able to listen to them. I’m able to recognize when they may have some needs, whether they may be health needs, mental health needs, whatever their needs are, I’m trying to meet those needs.”

Many mornings, without an ailment and before the school day starts, Williams said students visit the clinic to greet her. If she’s off campus on any given day, they ask where she was.

Those relationships, Williams said, stem from “listening to them, non-judgmental, meeting them where they’re at, not judging them for anything, and just educating them on the level that they need.”

Each day, Williams administers medications and vaccines and helps care for students with chronic health care needs. In some cases, she is the first or only medical provider a student will see, because “some families might not have the legal status or health insurance or a medical home to quickly call the doctor and say, ‘Hey, I’m sick, I broke my arm, my tooth hurts, I need to go to the dentist,'” Williams said.

In 2023, facing a rise in youth opioid overdoses and the death of student Sergio Flores, Williams said it was clear there needed to be a focus on education, offering students age-appropriate educational materials and connecting them to community resources they might need.

“If I can build trust with the community, especially with teens or adolescents, I can build that trust and give them the tools or the education that they need to make life saving decisions,” Williams said.

Through that work, Williams said she warned students against taking candy or cookies from friends. She also emerged as a confidant for some, recognizing that they felt more comfortable with her than family members or friends.

Outside of the school’s campus, Williams mentors teen moms and is a community engagement coordinator with the Arlington Addiction Recovery Initiative. She was part of several events that emphasized overdose prevention and harm reduction, according to a news release.

“Being able to just see their smiles, to know that I am their safe person in that building, that is all it takes for me,” Williams said.

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A long line of teachers and staff formed just outside the Food Science Lab at Independence High School on Friday afternoon.

They reviewed a custom menu for a makeshift restaurant called “Club Soda,” and when they reached the front of the line, placed an order with a student. It was entered digitally and each order was priced, stuck to a cup, and brought inside the classroom for students to prepare.

For a fifth year, the Loudoun County school has turned the facility into a fast casual restaurant, preparing students for what could be their first paying job.

“I currently have a job as a food runner, but I’d say it definitely helps with what it’s going to be like in an actual restaurant with food running, hosting, and handling food safety and sanitation, and when it comes to handling customers and preferences,” sophomore Jayda Smith said.

The students baked batches of cookies and soft pretzels in advance. The school covers the cost of the ingredients, sodas, syrups and other products.

Part of the exercise is a focus on listening while taking orders and adjusting when a customer orders something that isn’t exactly how the recipe is prepared. There’s a similar emphasis on sanitation and hygiene habits in a kitchen, including wearing a uniform and changing gloves regularly.

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“We are preparing our students to enter into the ‘real world,’” said Alexandra Swinimer, the school’s family and consumer sciences teacher.

“They’re those skills that we want them, and employers are telling us, that they need them to have, those soft skills. How do you talk to a customer? How do you adjust when something doesn’t go the way that you are anticipating for it to go?”

Sophomore Jace Flynn signed up for the class because of his interest in cooking. He enjoyed cooking with his mom at home and was eager to learn new recipes.

Friday’s exercise presented a communication challenge, he said, because there are some student workers he didn’t know. Keeping track of customer orders was also essential, “because if there’s sugar free, you’ve got to really pay attention to that, because the slip-ups happen real easily. You have to hold yourself accountable, make sure you really read what they want,” he said.

The hope, Swinimer said, is for students to engage with teachers and staff outside of the traditional classroom setting and feel proud about making something that someone else has enjoyed.

“Everybody kind of enjoys playing store, even as teenagers,” Swinimer said.

The school is in talks to take the activity beyond the classroom walls, either to farmers markets or elementary school open houses.

“Everybody’s feeding themselves, everybody’s getting dressed every morning, everyone’s taking care of their family unit, whatever that looks like,” Swinimer said.

“And so these classes are incredibly important for our students, because it is helping them become the citizens of the world that we want them to be.”

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Saniya Yamin was researching standardized testing equity for a class assignment when she learned only about half of Virginia’s high schoolers actually take the SAT exam.

Yamin, a senior at Broad Run High School in Ashburn, first thought that number was very low. But then she learned about the barriers that exist to taking the test, particularly in rural areas.

Sometimes, because of work, family obligations or distance to a testing site, it’s difficult for students to find time for the exam.

So, Yamin lobbied Loudoun County School Board members, hoping to make the exam more accessible. They appreciated the idea but said they didn’t have the availability to discuss when she pitched it.

She pivoted to state elected officials, hoping to make the SAT exam free to all Virginia students. When that idea was dismissed because of a lack of funding, she prioritized a plan requiring school boards to allow kids to take the SAT on a school day.

Inspired by Yamin’s efforts, in January. It passed through the General Assembly, and Gov. Abigail Spanberger recently signed it into law.

“It was really powerful to see how somebody’s idea can just go from something they were complaining about to their friends, to being an actual signed piece of legislation,” Yamin told ������Ƶapp. “I actually had the opportunity to go meet with Gov. Spanberger last week and discuss it with her, which was really impactful to see how much she cared about how young people have ideas.”

The plan requires school boards across the Commonwealth to participate in the SAT School Day program or similar programs that allow high schoolers to take the SAT during regular school hours on the campus where they attend.

It specifies that students aren’t required to participate in the program, and the SAT window could be offered on the same day the PSAT exam is administered.

As part of the legislation, which goes into effect July 1, each high school student should get the chance to take the exam at least once during their junior or senior year.

“Usually, you would have to go out on a Saturday morning, and make that drive to go take the SAT,” Yamin said. “But now, you could just take it during the school day, and every school board will designate a specific day.”

Fairfax County high schools already host SAT School Day for high school seniors in the fall. Prince William County schools offer juniors the chance to take the SAT during the school day too. While the new legislation doesn’t waive the cost of the exam, Virginia’s two largest school districts say the exam is offered to students at no cost.

Loudoun County, meanwhile, will offer SAT School Day to juniors for the first time in the fall. In Alexandria, juniors are automatically signed up to take the SAT. Montgomery County, Maryland’s largest school system, allows students to take the test during a school day.

In signing the legislation, Spanberger said it will “allow more students to be college ready and ensure that it isn’t an issue of logistics or cost or days for kids to be able to take the vital tests that are important to their ability to apply to college or to bring credits with them to college.”

Yamin, meanwhile, is expecting it to create new opportunities for students.

“It was just a really powerful experience, and it kind of cemented that idea in my mind that young people can make a difference, and that if you have an idea, that you should speak out about it and advocate for it,” Yamin said.

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As a Paralympic triathlete, Kelly Elmlinger wasn’t particularly concerned about the physical challenge the Soldier Ride 250 posed.

She’s been physically active since she was a child and was confident about the route, though she doesn’t usually ride a bike for hundreds of miles every day. As an amputee, there were other challenges she had to consider too.

Instead of focusing on the physical task of the long adaptive cycling ride, Elmlinger considered the mental toll. As an Army combat medic, there were times she wasn’t able to save somebody’s life. For a long time afterward, she worried she had failed.

Elmlinger said she spent a lot of time focusing on her mental health, and the Wounded Warrior Project’s Soldier Ride 250 offered her the chance to showcase it.

Elmlinger was part of the group that rode from Norfolk, Virginia, to the Lincoln Memorial in D.C. on Monday. The broader, 1,000-mile ride includes 80 disabled veterans, making the trek from Jacksonville, Florida, to Ground Zero in New York.

Twenty veterans are each riding 250-mile segments.

“A lot of times we look at disability just in general, as a whole society, but I don’t look at disability — matter of fact, I don’t really care for that word,” Elmlinger told ������Ƶapp. “I look at it as there’s ability, and our ability may look different than, I would say, most people or the general public, but there’s still a lot of ability.”

The ride was organized in partnership with America250, the congressionally established group planning events across the country in honor the nation’s 250th birthday this summer. It aims to honor veterans and celebrate 250 years of America’s independence.

Jason Tarboro, who was part of the group that arrived at the Lincoln Memorial, said the trek featured many hills, but “as soon as you start feeling even a little bit tired, you have the people to your left, to your right, behind you, telling you, ‘You can keep going.’”

“It’s just been a beautiful, beautiful experience, lots of miles, lots of sweat, we’ve had some wipeouts, so a little bit of blood, but we’ve all made it here, safe and sound, in one piece, together,” Tarboro said.

During the ride, Tarboro said he thought about his friends who were soldiers and “didn’t make it back.”

For Elmlinger, who said she had a leg amputated because of toxic exposures during her early deployments, the Memorial Day decorations near the National Mall prompted similar emotions.

“You’ll find that a lot of veterans, especially the veterans here on this ride, our ability is still there,” Elmlinger said. “We can still participate, we can still give, and we can still be active members in our community.”

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As the annual Rolling to Remember motorcycle ride made its way across the Memorial Bridge and toward the Lincoln Memorial on Sunday afternoon, a group gathered nearby holding signs and drawing attention to its artwork.

On the large plot of land near the Lincoln Memorial, local variations of the group Third Act protested President Donald Trump’s plan to build an arch nearby. Third Act, according to its website, is composed of elders aiming to protect democracy and the planet.

A large makeshift arch stuck in the ground said “86 Trump’s Arch.” One of its signs said “Arch Sanity.” In honor of Memorial Day, a different version with orange letters said, “They fought for democracy, will you?”

The group has planned a three-day demonstration, scheduled through Tuesday night, with the goal of highlighting its opposition to the arch. It initially asked the National Park Service for a permit to gather at Memorial Circle, where the arch is planned to be built.

But they were told it wasn’t allowed because the federal agency has already secured a permit there for the arch construction, according to Susan Douglas, with Third Act Virginia.

“The arch is gaudy. It’s way too big and it interrupts a very important historical sightline between the Lincoln Memorial here and across the bridge, the Lee House, which is in Arlington Cemetery,” Douglas told ������Ƶapp. “That is a sightline that should not be interrupted.”

The group’s criticism comes days after the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts approved the design for the triumphal arch.

In June, the National Capital Planning Commission is scheduled to discuss the project. Inspections at the arch site started earlier this month.

It’s unclear how much the arch project will cost, but a White House official told The Associated Press it likely will be paid for using taxpayer and private funds.

The 250-foot arch is planned for Memorial Circle, and it would include phrases such as “Liberty and Justice for All.” It would feature an observation deck open to the public.

The Federal Aviation Administration is studying the possible risks the arch could pose to flights taking off and landing at nearby Reagan National Airport, .

Donna Shaunesey said she joined the demonstration because her parents are buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

“I just think it’s a hideous thing to have happen here,” Shaunesey said. “We’re just here to make sure that this craziness, people pay attention.”

There are several rallies scheduled each day and light projections at night. A choreographed dance across the Memorial Bridge is scheduled, as is a protest during the evening commute Tuesday.

Douglas said with a lot of signs, “We will express our concern about all the issues that we see, not just the arch, and support for vets,” Douglas said.

“We should not be upending the beauty of Washington, D.C., for a vanity project for Trump,” Douglas added.

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After finishing Sunday’s annual motorcycle ride from the Pentagon to the National Mall, J.R. May parked his bike along Constitution Avenue and reflected.

He’s attended the “Rolling to Remember” ride for several years. He noticed many people lining the streets near the Lincoln Memorial to watch the event, and worried they may have thought it was all part of a parade.

Instead, though, May said thousands of people from across the world congregate in the D.C. region ahead of Memorial Day weekend to increase awareness that some service members are still missing. Others are suffering from PTSD.

Sunday marked the 38th consecutive year of the ride, according to the event’s website.

“We’re remembering people that have died in the past and have been captured, going through PTSD and having trouble with that,” May, from Kentucky, told ������Ƶapp.

The group departed from the Pentagon and crossed the Arlington Memorial Bridge before driving toward the National Mall.

Some honked and blasted the “Star Spangled Banner.” Others attached large American flags to the back of their motorcycles.

“This is my hometown, and to me, they do it right on Veterans Day and Memorial Day,” Carol King said. “My husband was a Marine Corps vet. I want to do what I can.”

Mary Lanphere felt similarly.

“I love our veterans, and I am so thankful for everything that they’ve done for me and for this country,” Lanphere said.

“We can’t pay them back enough, but the one thing we can do is never forget them and always respect the service that they have given to us.”

Groups formed along the route, as some onlookers waved as motorcyclists drove by and honked.

“They’re paying honor to those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for this country,” Kurt Chambers said.

“For those folks to take time out of their schedule and come here and do this ride, it’s pretty awesome to me.”

Susan Baker, from Gaithersburg, Maryland, said she attends the annual event as often as she’s able to.

“I had friends that died in Vietnam, friends that are still in pain from Vietnam. It means a lot to me,” Baker said.

Roy Emanuelson had participated in the ride in previous years and said it’s essential for the public to recognize the meaning of the Memorial Day holiday.

“It’s to remember the veterans who’ve lost their lives in combat and in serving the country, that’s the most important part, remembering that,” Emanuelson said.

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A new law scheduled to go into effect next year could help Virginians lower the cost of their utility bill.

Gov. Abigail Spanberger has signed that will allow homeowners and renters to begin using plug-in solar systems. Introduced by Del. Paul Krizek and Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, the plan made its way through the General Assembly earlier this year.

While rooftop solar systems may be unaffordable for some Virginians, plug-in or balcony systems make the concept more accessible. The idea is widely popular across Europe, and .

“Part of it is the emotional bit about being able to say, ‘I’m doing something,'” said Jamie Bacon, who lobbied Krizek to move forward with the legislation. “I think you can save maybe $20 to $30 a month with a small system, which adds up.”

The process usually involves two to four solar panels, making it smaller scale than a rooftop setup.

It gets plugged into an outlet and “it allows you to start producing some of the electricity that you’re using in your home during that period of time when the sun is shining; and therefore, you’re drawing less from the utility and lowering your bill,” said Bob Soule, an electric coach with Go Electric DMV.

The legislation bans companies from creating interconnection requirements, charging fees related to the device or requiring their approval before installing or using the device. The companies aren’t responsible for damage or injury it may cause, the bill said, and the State Corporation Commission will have to develop and publish a notification form for customers to fill out to indicate they’re using plug-in solar.

Bacon, who lives in a condo in Fairfax County, said she knows renters and owners who would be eager to put a solar system on their balcony. During the legislative process, there was “a little pushback from Dominion,” she said.

It does let landlords create “reasonable restrictions” for size and placement of the small devices.

“What these bills do is it establishes the ground rules, make sure they’re safe, it establishes a certain limit on the size, so that it’s not going to overpower the utility, and certain reporting requirements to let the utility know that you’ve got one of these systems,” Soule said.

As the idea becomes more widespread, Soule said the systems should be available online at places, such as Costco, Home Depot or Ikea.

The plan allows for a device that has a maximum power output of 1,200 watts. It’s scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, and Soule is expecting it to be broadly appealing.

“I have a number of relatives who are quite conservative, and they’re really all into the solar stuff,” Soule said. “I think there’ll be a lot of people who might not otherwise be interested in other of these new energy technologies who will say, ‘Hey, this plug-in solar thing appeals to me.'”

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Tom Donohue was taken to Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center in Southeast D.C. by ambulance last July.

When he arrived, he wasn’t triaged. Instead, he was rolled in the hospital’s waiting room. He spent hours there.

An Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, Donohue texted a colleague who worked at the hospital at the time about his experience. He was admitted for almost a week, and heard similar stories from staff about not having enough employees and being overworked.

The ordeal prompted Donohue to question whether the hospital opened too soon.

The facility opened last spring, and it was touted as an opportunity to transform healthcare in Southeast. While some residents view it as a much-needed community resource, others are worried a series of challenges may discourage people from receiving necessary medical care.

“The harm that’s being done to Cedar Hill and its reputation is alarming,” Donohue said. “We need Cedar Hill on so many levels. The disparities in care over so long of a time here in Ward 8 has been alarming.”

D.C. covered most of the roughly $434 million to build the hospital. The site has 136 beds and a 54-bay emergency department. It also boasts maternal health and delivery care, including a Level II neonatal intensive care unit, and five operating rooms.

But there were delays in offering many of the promised outpatient services, and residents who visited the emergency department reported long wait times. CEO Anthony Coleman stepped down from the role in March.

“The former hospital, United Medical Center, ended up at the end of the day having a better reputation than the new hospital, Cedar Hill,” community health advocate Ambrose Lane Jr. said.

“It’s going to take years to repair the image that Cedar Hill now has in the community.”

The hospital declined ������Ƶapp’s request to interview interim CEO Kimberlee Daniels. A spokeswoman didn’t respond to a list of questions or multiple requests for comment.

During a D.C. Council hearing last month, Daniels largely defended the hospital’s quality of care but acknowledged the wait times and staffing challenges.

Cedar Hill averaged 359 admissions per month from July through December, Daniels said, compared to 228 during the same period at United Medical Center in 2024.

A D.C. Fire and EMS spokesman said a complex set of criteria, including whether a hospital is operating on bypass, is used to determine which hospital an ambulance is routed to.

Meanwhile, Daniels said the hospital followed the “standard process” new hospitals use to seek Medicare certification and Joint Commission accreditation.

Earlier this year, D.C.’s Department of Health gave the hospital an immediate jeopardy citation over issues with schedules for surgery. The citation represents a situation in which noncompliance has placed the health and safety of patients at risk, .

Hospital officials said they have fixed the problem that led to the city intervention.

The hospital has 574 full-time staff members and 67 nursing vacancies, which are getting covered by nurse staffing agencies, Daniels told the Council. The facility is also in “advanced discussions” with George Washington University and its Medical Faculty Associates “regarding a potential transition of physician employment and clinical operations,” she said.

Regarding long wait times, Daniels said because community demand exceeded that of the hospital’s predecessor, there were initial challenges.

“We have made meaningful progress in reducing wait times and improving patient flow, including reductions in patients leaving without being seen,” Daniels said.

A new freestanding emergency department that UHS is building in Ward 7 could help ease wait times too, Daniels told the Council.

Despite those challenges, some residents are grateful the hospital is available to them.

Michelle Warren, a recent Cedar Hill patient, said the quality of care is excellent, but “it being a new hospital, I guess a lot people as well as myself in the community felt like it could have been a lot faster, especially with certain emergencies.”

Samuel, who works nearby, said Cedar Hill is “better than the old hospital. It’s helping a lot of us, and it’s closer for a lot of us to get to, too.”

For Donohue, the hospital’s reputation is on the line. Correcting mistakes and addressing challenges, he said, are essential in order for the community to be confident in the care the hospital offers.

“This is the place where we go, where we’re supposed to trust to go, for healthcare, to get better, Donohue said. “If the community doesn’t trust the care that’s coming out of it, it’s going to fail.”

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After noticing that students started arriving at school late in the morning, physical education teacher Alex Clark of Dunbar High School created a plan to try and change the habit.

Around the time of the pandemic, he considered ways to use bikes to solve problems in the community. With attendance rates in the morning hours “a bit of a struggle,” Clark launched a “bike bus” to incentivize kids to show up on time.

Because students who attend the Northwest D.C. campus come from different parts of the city, the school serves as a meeting place. Then, the group rides to whatever event Clark has organized for that day.

The concept has motivated students to be prompt and Clark said it helps them avoid traffic headaches in the car. The campus is situated near First Street and New York Avenue, and there’s a different school right behind it.

“Sometimes, our students get shunned or highlighted and spotlighted in the wrong way,” Clark said.

“But, there’s a lot of students that want to learn, that want to be a part of something, and so just providing them that safe space before school is our goal with it all.”

Clark has led the bike bus to Lululemon for a yoga activation and to Audi Field for a tour. The students typically get fed during the pre-class outings, Clark said, “and we try to get them learning right away.”

Senior Ziyale Freeman rides his bike to school most of the time, finding it easier than a car because of less traffic and the ability to cut through side streets and alleys.

“We’re in D.C., and it’s a lot of bad drivers,” Freeman said.

“You can’t really drive for yourself, you’ve gotta drive for other people. On a bike, I feel like that’s not the same thing. You could go where you want, drive as fast as you want.”

Clark has inspired some of the kids to join the school’s competitive cycling team, and others are eager to learn how to fix a bike and make repairs through the mechanic program.

“It’s not just biking to school, but it’s also all of the things that cycling can offer our young people,” Clark said.

Senior Tsai Parker sometimes bikes to school because it’s “easier to get around.”

Separately, Clark’s bike tech class teaches students the fundamentals of repairs, but the goal isn’t for students to become bike mechanics, “but for you guys to learn how to use your hands, you guys learn how to be creative, you guys learn how to work together, how to solve problems,” he said.

Senior Shae’Niah Butler said the class taught her how to change the tires, “pump the bikes up, and I also learned how to ride bikes.”

Clark attributes his success and aspirations to his mentors. He’s hoping to use the bike bus and his classroom to pay it forward.

“They were always trying to pour into me in different ways, and so that’s what I hope that I can do for my kids,” Clark said.

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In a statement Tuesday afternoon, Spanberger said the plan, as is, would have created a retail market without the “timeline, structure or resources to be successfully implemented.”

“As Virginia pursues a legal retail market, it is critical that we incorporate lessons learned by other states and ensure that our regulatory framework is fully prepared to provide strong oversight from day one,” Spanberger said. “That includes clear enforcement authority and sufficient resources for compliance, testing, and inspections, and robust tools to crack down on bad actors who continue to profit from the illicit market.”

Spanberger sent the plan that passed through the Virginia General Assembly this winter back to lawmakers with dozens of proposed changes. But the state officials opposed over 40 of them and sent the legislation back to her desk.

Former Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed a similar plan to create the legalized marketplace, but Democrats in Virginia anticipated Spanberger would sign it.

Lawmakers previously OK’d a plan allowing adults to legally have up to an ounce of marijuana and creating a path to grow up to four plants inside homes. However, there hasn’t been a formal marketplace, a step some leaders say facilitated the creation of an illicit market for cannabis in Virginia.

The proposal that lawmakers approved would have had the retail market opening Jan. 1, with oversight from the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority. Anyone who is 21 or older would be able to buy marijuana, and there would be 350 retail stores statewide.

But Spanberger called for retail sales to begin July 1, 2027, and proposed a series of changes to criminal penalties tied to marijuana possession. She also proposed changing the penalty for public consumption to a Class 4 misdemeanor. It’s currently a civil penalty.

A separate proposed change would have reduced the personal possession limit to 2 ounces instead of 2.5 ounces.

Sen. Lashrecse Aird and Del. Paul Krizek, who crafted the House and Senate versions of the proposal, said in a statement the legislation was the product of years of stakeholder engagement and extensive deliberation. 

“The General Assembly provided Virginia with an opportunity to lead on this issue, but instead this veto prolongs uncertainty and provides comfort to those profiting from the illicit market. This veto and its consequences belong to the Governor and Governor alone,” their joint statement said.

Some lawmakers have said the current rules allow for an illicit market to form.

The General Assembly could explore a path to a legalized marijuana marketplace again during next year’s session.

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Years ago, a couple was shopping at the Giant supermarket near Bangkok Golden in Northern Virginia when they decided to give the restaurant a try.

They were both vegetarian and scanned the menu. Restaurant workers told them the kitchen could also prepare Lao dishes and offered to make them laab tofu, a dish of tofu with herbs and soy sauce.

When they were finished, the pair asked to speak to Chef Seng Luangrath. They shared how much they enjoyed the dish, had never heard of Lao food before and were unaware it even existed.

In that moment, Luangrath shared a mission she has detailed dozens of times since. Lao food is not a secret, she told them, and it’s actually a major part of the D.C.-area culinary scene.

Initially reluctant to introduce the public to her culture through food, Luangrath now strives to do just that through her restaurants in Northern Virginia and D.C. It’s a deeply personal goal that’s thrust Lao food into the national spotlight.

“I want people to know, if I say, ‘I’m from Laos,’ it was like, ‘Oh yeah, I know Laos,’ and ‘Oh, I had Lao food before,’” Luangrath told ������Ƶapp.

Luangrath and her family fled Laos during the Vietnam War. They spent two years in a refugee camp in Thailand before arriving in the U.S. in 1983.

Luangrath started cooking for her family when she was 14. She was shy and fearful of speaking in public, and learned a lot from her grandmother. Her grandmother was the first to teach her to cook, so the dishes at and honor not just the Lao culture, but also her family.

“We came from a country where we were taught not to showcase our food, because we were afraid no one else would like to eat it, because of the spice and also the funkiness,” Luangrath said.

Lao food wasn’t mainstream, and it would have been easier for families in her parents’ generation to open Thai restaurants, Luangrath said.

The cuisines are similar, but Lao recipes use a different fish sauce, lots of shrimp paste and chili peppers that make it spicy, she said. Sticky rice comes as a complement to the main dishes, not as a dessert, and Lao food features fish and proteins that are grilled or steamed rather than fried.

As she considered her next steps, Luangrath had a gut instinct tell her that she needed to expose more people to Lao food and her culture.

“The most important thing is having my identity back,” Luangrath said. “Telling people who I am without being shy about it. I’m Lao and this is Lao food I’m cooking for the people.”

Using that same confidence, Luangrath changed the name of Bangkok Garden in 2017 to , which is a type of fermented fish sauce.

In 2014, she opened Thip Khao, which she described as the home of the Lao Food Movement. The restaurant earned “Best New Restaurant” recognition from Bon Appetit Magazine, and Luangrath has been featured in other major publications, including The New York Times.

On Thursday night, in Baan Mae’s small downstairs kitchen, Luangrath prepared shrimp laab and helped shape a popular snack.

Now, instead of on a secret menu, as she offered the couple casually wandering in years ago, Lao food is prominently featured.

And she’s working to keep it that way.

“Showcasing my family, the history, the culture,” Luangrath said. “The most important thing is putting Laos on the map.”

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She flipped her phone horizontally to see the entire URLs, and noticed one had the phrase “history tutor.” Initially, she was confused. History was her son’s best subject, so it didn’t seem clear why he may need extra help.

Then, Dyal visited the website herself. She realized it wasn’t a history assistance tool. It was a gaming site.

Dyal is part of the parent-led group FCPS Parents for Intentional Technology, which has been advocating for stricter rules on screen time during the school day and urging division leaders to reconsider the one-to-one student device policy.

Part of the advocacy is raising awareness about inappropriate games and websites students are still accessing.

“There’s no way that they’re going to keep up with blocking these games,” Dyal said. “But at a minimum, they need to block peer-to-peer sharing. They need to plug the holes on all of these other leaks. And if students continue to get around them, then maybe that student just isn’t ready for a computer.”

Inside a shared Google Drive, Dyal said students seem to have access to games, pirated movies and entire seasons of shows. They may be logging into their own Gmail accounts and circumventing restrictions, she said, or they may also be accessing proxies.

Through all of that, several parents have observed students playing a game called “Five Nights at Epstein’s.” The game tasks users with trying to escape from financier and sex offender Jeffery Epstein’s private island.

“It’s alarming to hear that the kids are accessing that, and finding ways to work around the restrictions that we have set in our county,” Megan Durst, another parent, said.

Other games are gambling-related, Michelle Dirst, another member of the parents’ group, told ������Ƶapp.

What’s being done about content moderation

In a statement, a Fairfax County schools spokeswoman said the division uses a multilayered approach to prevent inappropriate access to content rather than depending on a single filter or blocklist.

“That includes , classroom monitoring tools, parent visibility tools, vendor escalation, cybersecurity monitoring, and school-based intervention,” the district said. “FCPS monitors new proxy site usage daily and is investing in additional resources to improve the speed of proxy blocking, with recent blocks being implemented substantially faster.

Asked specifically about student access to the game “Five Nights at Epstein’s,” a Montgomery County schools spokeswoman said the game has been flagged and the division is blocking it.

It’s also blocked in Prince William County schools, a spokeswoman told ������Ƶapp.

Loudoun County’s Department of Digital Innovation is aware of the game, and a spokesman said the district “has taken steps to ensure students cannot access it on their school issued devices. DDI is extremely vigilant and always on the lookout for sites, code and other inappropriate material that needs to be blocked from our devices and network.”

In Fairfax, Dyal said teachers are faced with challenges in their classrooms, because they didn’t sign up “to be laptop police.”

“But the gaming, there’s no reason why students should be playing games in class and people not shutting that down,” Dyal said.

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The guards will continue to work at the county’s three secondary schools and at the district’s elementary and middle schools.

The change is tied to the county’s fiscal 2027 budget, and it’s the second consecutive budget cycle that crossing guards at high schools have been debated. Last spring, however, the county’s Board of Supervisors provided one-time funding to keep the crossing guard positions intact.

The county’s crossing guard program is run through the Fairfax County Police Department. The agency has a contract with All City Management Services, and as of mid-March, there were 17 crossing guard vacancies, which are covered by sworn officers.

Thirty-one schools are staffed by All City Management Services.

The change has some Fairfax County parents and school board members concerned about student safety. But the police department told supervisors that Fairfax County is the only Northern Virginia jurisdiction that provides crossing guards at high schools.

In neighboring Prince William County, the police department similarly oversees the crossing guard program. There, a spokesman said there are crossing guards at two high schools, but they primarily serve to help with traffic, not in a traditional way crossing guards operate. Prince William County is likely to move to only have elementary and middle school crossing guards soon, he said.

Fairfax County police told officials there haven’t been any crashes recorded at high schools crossings, so “FCPD does not have crash or injury data indicating that removing high school crossing guards would have a negative impact. Research indicates that teen pedestrian risk is primarily driven by distractions occurring outside supervised crosswalks, an issue that crossing guards do not address.”

Based on initial budget documents, cutting the high school crossing guards will save the county close to $2 million.

The Board of Supervisors adopted the fiscal 2027 budget earlier this month. The budget year starts July 1.

Group chat discord

In a newsletter earlier this month, school board member Melanie Meren praised Supervisors Walter Alcorn and Rodney Lusk for rejecting the county’s budget markups and working to keep the high school crossing guard program intact.

“So in the exact locations with the newest drivers, safety precautions are being removed!” Meren wrote.

In private text messages that Meren has posted on social media, Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay criticized her newsletter comments and told her to apologize to the county executive, who works on the county’s budget.

Then, in a group chat with Meren and County Executive Bryan Hill, McKay sent a screenshot of his initial messages to Meren and wrote, “What I sent the bimbo.”

When Meren asked if she was the “bimbo” he referred to, McKay wrote “yes, because you have everyone here angry as heck and it costs the schools.”

Meren said in an emailed statement that while she was “shocked” by what McKay said about her, she’s “more concerned about the Chairman’s sense of entitlement about having unilateral authority on public spending.”

McKay apologized for his words, admitting that he used an “inappropriate term while referring to School Board Member Meren that was disrespectful and wrong, and I apologize for it.”

McKay added that disagreements are fair to discuss and he should have expressed his views professionally.

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After a bill signing at Inova Schar Cancer Institute on Wednesday, Spanberger made her most extensive public comments about the state’s redistricting plan. She cited the state’s May 12 deadline for any map changes, and said as a result, this year’s elections will proceed under the current map.

Spanberger’s remarks came a few days after Virginia’s Supreme Court struck down the Democrat-led redistricting push. Primaries in the state are scheduled for Aug. 4, with the November general election to follow.

“What needs to happen is we need to focus on the task at hand, which is winning races in November,” Spanberger said.

“I believe, somewhat doggedly, that we will win two to four seats in the House of Representatives. … That is my goal. That is what I know is possible.”

The map Democrats proposed, experts said, could have resulted in a 10-1 Democratic majority representing Virginia in the U.S. House. But Republicans challenged the process Democrats in the General Assembly used to put the constitutional amendment before voters.

In a 4-3 opinion issued Friday morning, Virginia’s Supreme Court sided with the Republican challengers.

U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts gave Republicans until Thursday evening to respond to Democrats’ request for the emergency appeal.

Spanberger defended the process the General Assembly used, adding: “I think I certainly would have wanted to, and did want to, see a different outcome with the Supreme Court ruling.”

Over three million people participated in the rare April special election, and Spanberger said she’s concerned those voters “have had the experience of casting a ballot in an election that was very important to them, including those on both sides of the referendum vote, only to have it be overturned, essentially, by the Supreme Court of Virginia.”

Elected officials, she said, will have to work to ensure “that people know that their votes do matter, and that when it comes to the ballot they’re going to cast — whether it’s for a primary over the summer or for the general election into the fall — that they shouldn’t feel depleted or defeated, that their votes matter.”

Spanberger called the appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court “important, but when it comes to the execution of elections, no matter the outcome in that case, we will be running our elections beginning next month with early voting on the current maps that we have.”

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Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed a series of healthcare bills Wednesday, aimed at lowering the cost of insulin and promising that insurance company rules won’t delay necessary medical care.

The signing ceremony, which took place at Inova’s Schar Cancer Institute, featured many elected officials representing Northern Virginia in the General Assembly.

Spanberger said many of the measures passed through the Commonwealth’s legislative body with bipartisan support, and she touted the new laws as part of the affordability agenda on which she campaigned.

“We just had quite a few bills specific to the needs of Virginians, making sure that we are increasing access and ensuring that patients can get the care that, importantly, their doctors intend and want to deliver. And that parents and families are supported with policies that we have here in the Commonwealth of Virginia,” Spanberger told reporters after the event.

One measure, spearheaded by Del. Karrie Delaney, decreases the out-of-pocket cost for a 30-day supply of insulin from $50 to $35. It also includes a cap of $35 for a 30-day supply of equipment and supplies.

The change is scheduled to go into effect July 1.

“This is making a life-saving difference on so many families — for hundreds of thousands of Virginians, in fact,” Spanberger said.

Separately, Spanberger signed a bill that adds doula care, infertility treatment and hearing aids to Virginia’s Essential Health Benefits. The EHB includes the benefits that individual and small group health insurance plans have to provide.

That measure is scheduled to take effect Jan. 1 because it has to receive approval from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

House and Senate bills also signed by Spanberger aim to stop insurance companies “from quietly reducing what they can pay on a claim behind closed doors,” the governor said.

Spanberger signed Del. Michelle Maldonado’s plan that restricts insurance companies from using prior authorization as a reason to delay or deny care that doctors have approved and deemed necessary.

“Because of these bills, when your family needs care, you can get it,” Spanberger said. “When your doctor writes you a prescription, you should be able to afford it. And when you get sick, the cost of getting better shouldn’t break a family’s bank. But this is not the reality for far too many Virginians.”

Martin Figueroa, Virginia’s secretary of health and human resources, said, ”We’re living through a moment when the federal government is making decisions about healthcare that will reach into the lives of ordinary Virginians in ways most people haven’t fully felt yet.”

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