VIRGINIA BEACH Marie Benedetto couldn't get inside her charred apartment, but on Thursday the 73-year-old woman asked firefighters to retrieve her wedding album from 1960 and the urn holding her husband's ashes. "That meant so much," she said.

VIRGINIA BEACH Residents and others who come across jet debris should not touch it, according to a city news release. They should call the Virginia Beach Emergency Communications at (757) 385-5000 or 911. Touching the debris is a federal offense. Investigators are also asking anyone who has cellphone footage from the moments before the crash to contact them by calling the city's 311 number.

VIRGINIA BEACH Workers are widening to four lanes an existing 2.6 miles of two-lane road extending east from Dam Neck Road to the Municipal Center. The latest facts and figures about the project show that it is under budget and ahead of schedule: * COST: Original estimate - $28.1 million, current estimate - $27.2 million;

VIRGINIA BEACH Coupon clippers should sharpen their scissors for a potential new source of savings – the city’s recycling program. Here is how it would work, according to Phillip Davenport, interim public works director for Virginia Beach:

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Flight activity at Oceana Naval Air Station this week - in addition to regular operations - includes F/A-18 Hornets and Super Hornets doing field carrier landing practice until about 10 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday. Landing practice on Friday is expected to wrap up by 5 p.m., according to Kelley Stirling, an Oceana spokeswoman.
 

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Two dogs died, but no people were injured in a house fire Thursday night.
 
Virginia Beach firefighters were called to the 1100 block of Tall Oak Drive shortly before 7:30 p.m. The fire damaged most of the two-story structure, but was under control by 8 p.m., said Battalion Chief Ken Pravetz.

The Dodge Rock 'n' Roll Virginia Beach Half Marathon kicked off Sunday morning, attracting runners from around the country to the Oceanfront to participate in the 13.1 mile race.

Victori Sachar, lead singer for the band 'Red Stapler,' performs for runners on Atlantic Ave. (Jason Hirschfeld | For The Virginian-Pilot)

VIRGINIA BEACH Residents reported that a tornado ripped through the Sandbridge area sometime between 9:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. Saturday, ripping the roofs off two homes and damaging three others.

An April 3 story by Robert Friedman about The Princess theater in Virginia Beach prompted this article. ____ By Dale R. Holt, Special to the Beacon Reading the article on The Princess brought back a flood of memories about growing up in Virginia Beach. Robert Friedman mentions Saturday mornings at The Princess as the place to be for kids.

VIRGINIA BEACH Over a decade and a half, Mark Richard Tietjen's traffic convictions mounted: speeding, reckless driving, open container, multiple instances of driving under the influence, driving while license suspended. On Wednesday, a judge cited that record and denied Tietjen's request to get out of jail on his latest charge, a felony hit-and-run in Virginia Beach.