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Alright - everyone make it through St. Patrick's Day OK?Â We can move away from all things green: food, drink and otherwise - and onto MARCH MADNESS!! We're fortunate that Norfolk State University made it into the tournament - who knows, in this wild year of college basketball - maybe NSU can pull off another GIANT upset?! Check it out here for a different look at NSU's first round matchup with Appalachian State and the potential benefits the longer NSU plays in the tournament.Â For another local angle on the tournament - check out Larry Rubama's feature on a local high school basketball standout that once played at Oscar Smith High School. Perhaps moving on to the NBA as a first-round draft pick in the upcoming NBA draft after only one year at Louisiana State University? Enough on the tournament though - some of us may need to fill out a 25th bracket before the first tip!

Progress continues on the COVID-19 front.Â More pharmacies will start playing a role - check it out here for more information. Even with all the challenges and negative news that's come about with COVID-19, there continues to be very uplifting stories that bubble to the surface.Â A prime example can be found with the story recently around the Norfolk hot dog shop offering free meals: no questions asked for anyone who needs one.Â If you didn't catch this story, you can check it out here. Definitely worth a read!

How could we let a Reader Rewards newsletter go by without highlighting the topic of FOOD?? If you didn't catch The Pilot's Matthew Korfhage highlight on the five Hampton Roads restaurants to find great food in March - click here for the scoop!Â Only Matthew would deliver the news most will enjoy for their dogs: a doggie ice cream parlor coming to Virginia Beach. Yes - you read that right: check it out here, for more.

As we always do - now to the contests!Â Keeping in the spirit of the perfect food to go with the men's and women's basketball tournament: Papa John's and Red Robin is in the mix this week.Â Enjoy!
Â
This week: Amazon, Papa John's & Red Robin!

Enter to win a $50 gift card to one! Go to MyReaderRewards.com to win!

Last Week's Contest Winners

Home Depot -Â Â Anna Lida Karp

Buffalo Wild Wings - Noelani Powell

Top Golf -Â Peggy Scott

CONTESTS

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You Love Pizza. We Love Pizza. Discover Deals on the Pizza You Deserve withÂ Papa JohnsÂ®. Delicious Pizza, Deliciously Priced. Order Your Delivery or Carryout Pizza Online Today! Order & EarnÂ PapaÂ Dough. The Works Pizza. Get Pizza Deals Online. Pepperoni Pizza.Â Â Register at MyReaderRewards.com for a chance to win a $50 gift card!

A Tasty Burger Is Waiting For You AtÂ Red RobinÂ® This Winter. Place an Online Order Today. Try Something New or Enjoy One of their House Faves. Browse their Menu Options. Bottomless Fries & Drinks. Sweet Desserts. Order Online. Cold Beer On Draft. Burger Options.Â Sign up for a chance to win a $50 gift card at MyReaderRewards.com!

EToTod

Meet Sophie!Â Sophie is this week's My Reader Rewards Pet of the Week!Â Â Check out our other furry friends in our new Pet Gallery. Want your pet featured? Email a picture of your pet to
[email protected]. Please include your name along with your pet's name. Let's round up those pet pictures folks to further boost our gallery and to showcase!!!

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COMING SUNDAY:

No one knows exactly how many people on the Peninsula have had the coronavirus vaccination.

âRight now, if you asked what percentage of Newport News or Hampton is vaccinated, or how many shots have gone into the arms -- true numbers -- no one could give that to you,â said Newport Fire Chief Jeffrey Johnson.

When the vaccine rollout began in January, leaders on the Peninsula announced three main vaccination sites that were operated by appointment only for 1a and 1b essential workers with occasional doses given to people with underlying health conditions identified by the health department. Hampton and Poquoson banded together to operate a clinic at the Hampton Roads Convention Center. Newport News and York County trained volunteers to vaccinate their workers at Christopher Newport University, and Williamsburg and James City County ran a clinic at the Colonial Williamsburg Visitor Center.

Â Read more in this Sunday's Main News section.

When it comes to coronavirus vaccines, pastors have emerged as key influencers in the Black community, encouraging their congregants to get shots and helping them find appointments. Though many studies showed Black people were more hesitant about vaccines than other demographic groups early on, now faith leaders say the issue isn't that minorities don't want to get the shots but that they struggle to access the resources. Hospitals like Sentara Healthcare and Chesapeake Regional Medical Center are partnering with prominent Black church groups in Hampton Roads to reach older Black residents.

Read more in this Sunday's Main News section

How local health officials are going to balance the influx of new vaccines with not enough/overburdened staff.

Read more in this Sunday's Main News section

At the edge of meandering Virginia Beach farmland whose roads might be named for the people who still live there, Pungo Boys BBQ is the sort of smoke-fueled stop you might hope to find wherever subdivision cul-de-sacs yield to rows of tomatoes. It is a place where beef is always whatâs for dinner â unless itâs pork â and everyoneâs nicer than you even know how to be.
Read more in the Sunday Break section
Tastemakers series. Kristin Shockley owns Lustre Theory, a high-end boutique design firm in Norfolk.
Â Read more in the Sunday Break section.

Weâre three months into 2021. Letâs check on those financial New Yearâs resolutions. (Remember those?) Quite possibly, theyâve already gone awry.

Maybe you planned to build a $1,000 emergency fund, but the balance is still zero. Or perhaps you swore off takeout, yet youâre scraping the last bite of chow mein from a paper container as you read this.

Donât beat yourself up. You donât have to give up on your goal because of a setback.
Â Â Read more in the Sunday Work & Money section.

Viva Giada (De Laurentiis)

Parade Picks - A Salute to America's Literary Giants

Walter Scott Asks Michelle Obama