The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA) articles from August 2003

The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA) archives from August 2003

Chesapeake, Va.-Area Retailers, Policy Makers Pin High Hopes on Tax Rebates.
August 1, 2003... Byline: Tom Shean Aug. 1--CHESAPEAKE, Va.--While looking over a store display of outdoor lighting fixtures Schelli Couch said she had not decided how she will use the $400 government check headed her way. Couch had just received a...

High-End Retailer Lord & Taylor Hits Low Point in Virginia Beach, Va.
August 2, 2003

Suffolk, Va., Officials Say They're Close to Deal on Hotel, Conference Center.
August 2, 2003

Army Corps of Engineers Approves Portsmouth, Va., Port Request to Add Terminal.
August 2, 2003

Titustown, Va., Woman Awarded Grant to Study Area's Fashion Culture.
August 3, 2003... Byline: Katrice Hardy Aug. 3--NORFOLK, Va.--As a child, Christy Frederick was fascinated by fashion. All around her Titustown neighborhood, residents dressed to impress. There were the "hat ladies," the "glove ladies" and the men who...

Chesapeake, Va., Officials to Consider New Retail Development Proposal.
August 3, 2003... Byline: Melissa Scott Sinclair Aug. 3--CHESAPEAKE, Va. -- Tall cornstalks that fill a 25.5-acre field on the last undeveloped corner of Mount Pleasant Road and Centerville Turnpike may be replaced with a new shopping center under a...

Corner Stores in Norfolk, Va., Area Hang On in Age of Big Boxes.
August 3, 2003... Byline: Cherise Williams Aug. 3--A lot of things have changed near the 1300 block of East Princess Anne Road. Restaurants have opened and closed. People have moved in and out. New apartments have been built. But there's been at least...

Virginia Beach, Va., Planners Weigh Issues of Development, Preservation.
August 4, 2003... Byline: Jon W. Glass Aug. 4--VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- Beach planners say residents of this 40-year-old city face a key question. With almost no land left to develop in its suburban north, how can the Beach continue to grow while...

Automobile Union at Norfolk, Va., Plant, Organizes New Ford Suppliers.
August 4, 2003... Byline: Michael Davis Aug. 4--NORFOLK, Va. -- Union leaders at Ford Motor Co.'s Norfolk plant are building more than pickup trucks: They're building membership. United Auto Workers Local 919 is organizing the factory's two new suppliers,...

Proposed Light Rail Line in Norfolk, Va., Has New End Point.
August 4, 2003... Byline: Debbie Messina Aug. 4--NORFOLK, Va.--Norfolk's proposed starter light rail line has a new end point that makes the route shorter and cheaper and, consultants say, should attract more riders. The new eastern terminus also spares...

Virginia Beach, Va., Lawyer Makes His Name Contesting Wetlands Rules.
August 4, 2003... Byline: Scott Harper Aug. 4--His name is sneered at in the halls of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and the Army Corps of Engineers. Douglas E. Kahle. Eyes roll, cheeks flush, jaws clench. Kahle is the...

Isle of Wight, Va., Couple Feels Perdue Unfairly Plucked Their Livelihood.
August 5, 2003... Byline: Linda McNatt Aug. 5--ISLE OF WIGHT, Va.--For more than 30 years, morning, noon and night, James and Barbara Holland tended the chicks. They watered them, fed them, checked temperature and humidity. When one of the weaker birds...

Scientists in Hampton, Va., Learn Plane Not Chosen for Mars Mission.
August 5, 2003... Byline: Diane Tennant Aug. 5--NASA Langley's unmanned airplane will not soar across Mars. In a phone call Monday morning, scientists at Langley Research Center in Hampton learned that the ARES plane was not chosen as part of the Mars...

Norfolk, Va., Mobile-Home Dwellers Forced to Relocate Sue Movers for Damage.
August 5, 2003... Byline: Michelle Washington Aug. 5--NORFOLK, Va.--A lawsuit claims that movers reeking of alcohol damaged the trailer home of a couple forced to leave Delmar Shores Mobile Home Park to make way for a waterfront condominium development. ...

More Oversize Trucks Trying to Use Norfolk, Va., Bridge-Tunnel Increase Delays.
August 5, 2003... Byline: Tom Holden Aug. 5--The semi-truck towered over Titus Ricks, who stood before it in an orange jumpsuit and white hard hat. Peering down from the driver's window was Manny Correia, a man with arms the size of mufflers. The New...

Indonesian Wood Certified as Legally Cut Arrives in Norfolk, Va., Port.
August 6, 2003... Byline: Carolyn Shapiro Aug. 6--NORFOLK, Va.--The plywood sheets that came off the ship Tuesday at Lambert's Point Docks shone with a smooth, reddish color in the noon sun. The color marked them as meranti, a species of rainforest tree...

Study Backs Creation of Redevelopment Authority in Virginia Beach, Va.
August 6, 2003... Byline: Jason Skog Aug. 6--VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.--The proposed revitalization of the 19th Street corridor and areas around the city's new convention center would happen faster with help from a redevelopment authority and other incentives, a...

Law Firm Keeps Bank's Past as Part of Renovation for New Norfolk, Va., Office.
August 7, 2003... Byline: Lester J. Davis Aug. 7--NORFOLK, Va.--A Norfolk landmark that has been vacant for more than a decade will open its doors for service come September. The red brick Colonial-style building with the huge clock tower on the corner...

Veterans Group Seeks to Save Member of Newport News, Va., 'Ghost Fleet'.
August 8, 2003... Byline: Paul Clancy Aug. 8--ON THE JAMES RIVER, Va.--The exposed parts of its deck are pumpkin-colored by rust, its hull a flaking mess. Its gun turrets are empty tubs. Spiders ride webs like trampoline gymnasts. This is an undignified...

Parent Company of Chesapeake, Va., Hospital to Lay Off 48 Workers.
August 8, 2003... Byline: Liz Szabo Aug. 8--Chesapeake Health, the parent company of Chesapeake General Hospital, announced Thursday that it has laid off 48 employees at the medical complex and its affiliates. The company is closing two services, said...

Rise in Mortgage Interest Rates Prompts Some to Try to Outrun Futher Climb.
August 8, 2003... Byline: Tom Shean Aug. 8--CHESAPEAKE, Va.--When Steve Gurganus and his wife began weighing whether to refinance their home mortgage, the interest rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate loan was 5.3 percent. That was in June. By last week, the...

Chesapeake, Va.-Based Dollar Tree Stores Sees Sales Increase 22 Percent.
August 8, 2003

Woman Accused of Embezzling $100,000 from Virginia Beach, Va., Oil Company.
August 8, 2003

Three RE/MAX Real Estate Brokerages Merge into Washington Regional Firm.
August 8, 2003

Celebrity Cruises Selects Norfolk, Va., as Homeport for 2004.
August 9, 2003... Byline: Carolyn Shapiro Aug. 9--A second cruise line has chosen Norfolk as a homeport for 2004, which will double the passenger count from this year. Celebrity Cruises Inc. will homeport its Horizon ship in Norfolk -- meaning it will...

Some Virginia Home Owners to Receive Share of Lenders' Settlement.
August 9, 2003... Byline: Tom Shean Aug. 9--More than 21,000 Virginia residents who took out home loans from Household Finance and Beneficial Mortgage in recent years began receiving information this week about sharing $16.7 million from the lenders'...

Hospitality-Industry Training Program in Norfolk, Va., Runs Out of Funds.
August 9, 2003... Byline: Philip Walzer Aug. 9--NORFOLK, Va.--Courtney Spence, a front desk clerk at La Quinta Inn in Virginia Beach, learned "how to get average daily rates, do budgets, order supplies and all that good stuff." Noreen Van Exel, who...

North Carolina Kin Aim to Keep Land, Despite Navy Plans for F/A-18 Airfield.
August 9, 2003... Byline: Jeffrey S. Hampton Aug. 9--Broad-shouldered and standing over 6 feet tall, Al Ange used his big boot to scrape a few leaves from the ground-level stone of his great-grandparents' grave. "Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot...

Virginia Beach, Va., Officials Makes $2.25 Million Offer for Land.
August 9, 2003... Byline: Jason Skog Aug. 9--VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.-- The city is offering $2.25 million to buy the last family-owned parcel in the shadow of the Town Center tower. The deal for the roughly 1-acre wooded plot was struck after more than two...

Sewage Spill Closes Newport News, Va.-Area Beaches for Weekend.
August 9, 2003... Byline: Linda McNatt Aug. 9--NEWPORT NEWS, Va.-- Beaches on the Peninsula will be closed this weekend and South Hampton Roads beaches will be monitored as health officials respond to a spill of untreated sewage at the James River Treatment...

Developers Revive Long-Delayed Plans for Pricey Homes in Virginia Beach, Va.
August 10, 2003... Byline: Jon W. Glass Aug. 10--VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.--Developers are dusting off long-delayed plans to build pricey homes in the Beach's transition area, a belt across the city's midsection that buffers the rural south from suburban sprawl....

Smithfield Foods Battles Challenging Year Due to Glut of Meat.
August 10, 2003... Byline: Michael Davis Aug. 10--SMITHFIELD, Va.--You've got to hand it to Smithfield Foods Inc. Chairman Joseph W. Luter III: He is nothing if not prophetic. Last August, he told shareholders at the annual meeting in Richmond that the...

Virginia Beach, Va., Paramedics Celebrate 30 Years of Cardiac Care.
August 11, 2003... Byline: Kate Wiltrout Aug. 11--VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.--With 30 years of hindsight, the scene seems laughable: As an ambulance races to the city's only hospital, a rescue worker rolls down the window and sticks his arm outside to hold a glass...

Powhatan Tribes in Virginia Battle for Federal Recognition.
August 11, 2003... Byline: Warren Fiske Aug. 11--KING WILLIAM, Va.--Dawn came on a recent Saturday with a few Upper Mattaponi Indians astir, setting up a yard sale on a gravel parking lot off state Route 30. Second-hand jeans, $2. Matching lamps, $15....

Portsmouth, Va., City Officials, Army Wage War on Craney Island.
August 12, 2003... Byline: Janie Bryant Aug. 12--PORTSMOUTH, Va.--The soggy wasteland of dredged river bottom that forms Craney Island sprawls across 4 square miles. On a map, it looks like a giant top hat weighing down on the city. But it's the...

Portsmouth, Va., Residents Get First Look at Proposed Shipping Terminal.
August 12, 2003... Byline: Megan Hoyer Aug. 12--PORTSMOUTH, Va.--Residents got their first detailed look at plans for a massive new marine shipping terminal Monday night during a contentious meeting with representatives of the world's largest ship line. ...

Portsmouth, Va., Considers Bailout Plan for Sports Hall of Fame Museum.
August 12, 2003... Byline: Meghan Hoyer Aug. 12--PORTSMOUTH, Va.--For the new Virginia Sports Hall of Fame and Museum, city leaders envisioned a family attraction that would replace a cramped display of musty jerseys and old athletic shoes. But five...

Meeting Planners to Hold Retreat in Portsmouth, Va.
August 12, 2003

North Carolina Bridge Plan Jeopardizes Access to Pea Island Refuge.
August 13, 2003... Aug. 13--MANTEO, N.C.--Whatever solution transportation officials find to replace the Herbert C. Bonner Bridge over Oregon Inlet, the Dare County Board of Commissioners says it has to provide continued public access to Pea Island National...

Virginia Beach, Va., Convention Center Project to Retain Distinctive Elements.
August 13, 2003... Byline: Jason Skog Aug. 13--VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.--While the city's new convention center will cost about $9 million more than planned, the project is moving forward with about a dozen signature items such as skylights, video walls near the...

Virginia Beach, Va., Council Boosts Price of Convention Center by $9 Million.
August 13, 2003... Byline: Jason Skog Aug. 13--VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.--While the city's new convention center will cost about $9 million more than planned, the project is moving forward with about a dozen signature items such as skylights, video walls near the...

Norfolk, Va., Traffic Engineers to Discuss Adding Height Sensors at Port Exit.
August 13, 2003... Byline: Tom Holden Aug. 13--Traffic engineers said they will meet Friday to consider installing sensors on International Terminal Boulevard to screen oversized trucks before they enter Interstate 64 and add to congestion at the Hampton...

Portsmouth, Va., Approves Donation to Sports Museum.
August 13, 2003... Byline: Meghan Hoyer Aug. 13--PORTSMOUTH, Va.--A five-year, $4.5-million donation by the City Council Tuesday night sealed a deal that will allow construction of a new downtown Virginia Sports Hall of Fame. The city's gift, which makes...

Two Virginia Beach, Va., Men Plead Guilty in Defrauding SunTrust Bank.
August 13, 2003... Byline: Matthew Roy Aug. 13--NORFOLK, Va.--Two men face up to five years in prison for a check-kiting scheme that court records say spawned a flurry of worthless checks between their used-car businesses and cost SunTrust bank nearly $4.1...

Used-Car Wholesaler in Norfolk, Va., Pleads Guilty in Scheme to Cheat SunTrust.
August 13, 2003... Byline: Matthew Roy Aug. 13--NORFOLK, Va.--Two men face up to five years in prison for a check-kiting scheme that court records say spawned a flurry of worthless checks between their used-car businesses and cost SunTrust bank nearly $4.1...

Woman Who Sued to Delay Virginia Beach, Va., Hotel Loses Case.
August 13, 2003

Portsmouth, Va., Stops Plan to Sell Scotts Creek Shorefront to Developer.
August 14, 2003... Byline: Meghan Hoyer Aug. 14--PORTSMOUTH, Va.--City officials have backed off plans to sell part of the undeveloped north shore of Scotts Creek to an industrial company. Mayor James W. Holley III said the city needed to heed...

New Science Programs May Brighten Future of Norfolk, Va., Maritime Center.
August 14, 2003... Byline: Paul Clancy Aug. 14--NORFOLK, Va.--Nauticus received a boost when the Navy berthed the battleship Wisconsin beside it. Then cruise ships began calling, and the downtown maritime center had another reason to celebrate. Now...

Virginia Beach, Va.-Based Call-Center Firm Files for Bankruptcy Reorganization.
August 14, 2003

84 Lumber to Open Store in Suffolk, Va.
August 14, 2003

Norfolk, Va., Considers Renovation, Expansion of Downtown Arena.
August 15, 2003... Byline: Harry Minium Aug. 15--NORFOLK, Va.--A major renovation, and perhaps expansion, of Scope may be in the works. City officials are hiring a consultant to tell them what repairs and upgrades the 32-year-old, downtown arena needs...

Security Agency Pressures Norfolk, Va., to Complete Cruise Ship Terminal Plans.
August 15, 2003... Byline: Joe Light Aug. 15--If Norfolk hopes to keep its cruise business, the Department of Homeland Security wants to see steady progress in the city's plans to build a terminal that can handle the ships. "The federal government won't...

University of Virginia Football Program Launches Slick TV Campaign.
August 15, 2003... Byline: Ed Miller Aug. 15--CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.--The glamour roles were cast early in the production process. Quarterback Matt Schaub was recruited to thwack spirals off of tackling dummies, tailback Wali Lundy to high-step through some...

Virginia, North Carolina Residents Eagerly Await Opening of Widened Highway.
August 15, 2003... Byline: John Hopkins Aug. 15--CHESAPEAKE, Va.--Within eyesight of a sign warning travelers that 25 people have been killed on U.S. 17 since 1988, road builders are plowing a new path that neighbors hope will end that deadly record. ...

North Carolina Budget Has State's Schools Guessing on Funding.
August 15, 2003... Byline: Darren Freeman Aug. 15--When Perquimans County Schools Superintendent Ken Wells found out how much money the state would give his district this year, he was glad the news came before July 1. His district would at least would know...

Navy, Submarine Builders Announce $8.7 Billion Deal to Build Attack Subs.
August 15, 2003... Byline: Dale Eisman Aug. 15--WASHINGTON--The Navy and its two submarine builders, including Northrop Grumman Newport News Shipbuilding, announced agreement Thursday on an $8.7 billion contract for six new attack subs and outlined a plan to...

New Law Requires Waterfront Businesses to Submit Security Plans to Government.
August 15, 2003... Byline: Carolyn Shapiro Aug. 15--NORFOLK, Va.--After Sept. 11, 2001, ST Services beefed up security at its waterfront terminal in Virginia Beach by manning its gates 24 hours a day and adding other monitoring measures. Now, nearly two...

Temporary Power Outage in Virginia Beach, Va., Was Not Related to Blackout.
August 15, 2003

Suffolk, Va., Panel Will Examine Rules Governing Adult Businesses.
August 16, 2003... Byline: John-Henry Doucette Aug. 16--SUFFOLK, Va.--A city subcommittee next week will tackle something new -- and a little blue. A North Carolina-based chain that sells adult novelties, magazines and videos wants to open a store in the...

Racing Passion Inspires Business of Portsmouth, Va., Bike Shop Owners.
August 16, 2003... Byline: Cherise Williams Aug. 16--PORTSMOUTH, Va.--Chad and Kristy Mantz live, eat and sleep bicycles. And, of course, ride them. Since 1995, Kristy Mantz has been an avid bike racer and says she's the only professional female mountain...

Blackout's Affects Norfolk, Va.-Area Businesses Only Minimally.
August 16, 2003... Byline: Michael Davis Aug. 16--Hampton Roads businesses reported minimal hassle from the continuing massive blackouts in the Northeast and Midwest. One even managed to help the evacuation of gridlocked New York City. Spirit Cruises of...

Dominion Virginia Power Practices to Handle Possible Shutdown Scenarios.
August 16, 2003... Byline: Carolyn Shapiro Aug. 16--Every 15 minutes in a huge room in Glen Allen, north of Richmond, computers envision hundreds of possible scenarios of failed transmission lines and power plant shutdowns that could turn off lights...

Independent Texas Electric Grid Can Handle Worst of Summer Heat.
August 16, 2003... Byline: Janet Elliott Aug. 16--AUSTIN, Texas--After the West Coast's rolling blackouts two years ago and Thursday's massive power outage in the Northeast, Texas' stand-alone electricity grid looks more attractive than ever. On Friday,...

Norfolk, Va., Traffic Engineers to Install Truck-Height Sensors Near Port Exit.
August 16, 2003... Byline: Tom Holden Aug. 16--NORFOLK, Va.--Traffic engineers agreed Friday to install new truck height-detection sensors along International Terminal Boulevard to help reduce the number of oversized trucks trying to enter the Hampton Roads...

Virginia Beach, Va., Considers Moving Municipal Complex to Town Center.
August 17, 2003... Byline: Jason Skog Aug. 17--VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.--Several City Council members have expressed interest in eventually moving the municipal center from the southern part of the city to the area in or around the new Town Center across from...

Competition among Banks Heats up for Customers Who Pay Bills Online.
August 17, 2003... Byline: Tom Shean Aug. 17--For many consumers, the sales pitch has appeal. Gain greater control over your bills by paying them online. Skip the annoyance of writing checks and getting them into the mail. So appealing, that in Hampton...

Federal Overtime-Policy Revision Brings Confusion, Disagreement.
August 17, 2003... Byline: Michael Davis Aug. 17--For hundreds of thousands of American workers, overtime pay - that time-and-a-half perk for staying late or picking up a weekend shift - may be going the way of the office smoking room. But who stands to...

At Christening of Virginia, First of Its Submarine Class, Navy Calls for More.
August 17, 2003... Byline: Matthew Dolan Aug. 17--GROTON, Conn.--At the first christening for the newest class of undersea vessels, one of the nation's top submariners made a rousing call for doubling the annual number of subs the Navy currently plans to...

Chesapeake, Va., Hones Mosquito Control in Battle against West Nile Virus.
August 17, 2003... Byline: Cindy Clayton Aug. 17--CHESAPEAKE, Va.--By the numbers, the mosquito situation looks perilous. Health officials have found close to three times as many dead birds infected with the mosquito-borne West Nile virus so far this...

Skateboarding Paradise Opens in Virginia Beach, Va.
August 18, 2003... Byline: Tamara El-Khoury Aug. 18--Steve Lazar lies sprawled on the uneven, glass-strewn concrete of the spillway while his skateboard continues to roll on without him. "Oh, Steve, you've busted like five times," says his big brother,...

Touch-Screen Voting Machines Criticized by Computer Scientists.
August 18, 2003... Byline: Christina Nuckols Aug. 18--RICHMOND, Va.--The touch-screen voting machines purchased by Norfolk last year put the city on the cusp of election technology, but the $1.2 million computer system is now under attack from computer...

Back Bay Refuge in Virginia Beach, Va., to Get Public Access with Boat Ramp.
August 18, 2003

Virginia's State College Costs Are up about $1,000 for New Academic Year.
August 18, 2003

Norfolk, Va.-Area College Presidents Report on Capital Improvement Projects.
August 19, 2003... Byline: Philip Walzer Aug. 19--NORFOLK, Va.--The presidents of Norfolk State University and Tidewater Community College on Monday provided updates on multimillion-dollar projects -- the RISE building at Norfolk State and a capital campaign...

Last Remnant of Historic Ferry to Crown Waterfront Center in Surry, Va.
August 19, 2003... Byline: Phyllis Speidell Aug. 19--SURRY, Va.--A weathered cottage that stood for decades on pilings in the Western Branch of the Elizabeth River in Portsmouth is coming home to Surry, the centerpiece of a proposed $2 million waterfront...

Virginia Beach, Va., Enlightenment Center Wins Award for Soothing Perks.
August 19, 2003... Byline: Elizabeth Simpson Aug. 19--VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.--As wellness benefits go, you have your Y membership discount. Your company walking club. Your posters near the vending machine urging you to eat more vegetables. These are the...

Judge Gives Go-Ahead to Rebuilding Historic Surry, Va., Courthouse.
August 19, 2003... Byline: Phyllis Speidell Aug. 19--SURRY, Va.--Surry County officials learned Monday that they can proceed with transforming the historic 1923 white-columned courthouse into a two-story, rotunda-fronted building that will house three courts...

Neighbors Oppose Latest Site for Proposed Stadium in Norfolk, Va.
August 19, 2003... Byline: Harry Minium Aug. 19--NORFOLK, Va.--After combing the city for a site for an athletic stadium for Maury and Granby high schools, city officials thought they had found the least objectionable place possible. A seven-person...

Virginia Legislature Studies Effect of Taxing Services to Fund Other Cuts.
August 19, 2003... Byline: Warren Fiske Aug. 19--RICHMOND, Va.--A legislative panel on Monday began studying whether to tax services such as haircuts and dry cleaning to generate about $2 billion annually to fund a variety of cuts in other levies. ...

Guidelines for DEET Use Change.
August 20, 2003... Byline: Janie Bryant Aug. 20--With fears of mosquito-borne diseases on the rise, pediatricians are sharing new advice about the use of insect repellent to protect children. The American Academy of Pediatrics previously recommended...

Suffolk, Va., to Enforce Housing Mandate.
August 20, 2003... Byline: John-Henry Doucette Aug. 20--SUFFOLK, Va.--Like others across the nation, Suffolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority officials will soon enforce a new federal requirement that people in public housing do community service -- or...

Federal Authorities Charge Norfolk, Va.-Area Road Project Supplier with Fraud.
August 20, 2003... Byline: Bill Burke Aug. 20--NORFOLK, Va.--The former equipment supplier for a $58.9 million "smart highway" project in Hampton Roads has been accused by federal authorities of committing fraud in order to bid on the lucrative contract and...

Chesapeake, Va., Approves Funds to Study Redevelopment Options in Two Areas.
August 20, 2003... Byline: Robert Mccabe Aug. 20--CHESAPEAKE, Va.--The City Council on Tuesday OK'd spending $400,000 to pay for redevelopment plans in South Norfolk and the area north and south of the Great Bridge Bridge along Battlefield Boulevard. ...

Retail Security Expert Discusses Employee Theft at Norfolk, Va., Meeting.
August 20, 2003... Byline: Carolyn Shapiro Aug. 20--NORFOLK, Va.--A convenience store in Texas hired a new cashier whose register came up $125 short within the first two weeks. Per store policy, managers took the loss out of her paycheck. During her next...