On December 15th, Eastern Shore of Virginia residents from varied walks of life met at the Eastern Shore Community College to begin the planning process for the Stronger Economies Together program, an effort that many hope will create economic development for the lower Eastern Shore.
Stronger Economies Together (SET) is a “nationwide initiative that enables communities and counties in rural America to work together in developing and implementing an economic development blueprint for their multi-county region that strategically builds on the current and emerging economic strengths of that region”.
The main thrust is to get rural communities to work together to overcome the isolation that makes economic development increasingly ineffective. By working together as a region, in this case Accomack and Northampton, they can assess their resources and then design and implement plans that build on their assets and comparative economic strengths.
$11 Million earmarked for Bay Conservation
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) – The massive federal tax and spending plan includes $11 million for land conservation in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
Joel Dunn of the Chesapeake Conservancy says an additional $2 million is aimed at improving access to the bay. The CEO and president of the conservancy says less than 2 percent of the bay’s 12,000 miles of shoreline is publicly accessibly.
The funding is from the $1.14 trillion federal spending plan for 2016 approved this month. The federal funding will be used for land conservation efforts in the George Washington and Jefferson national forests in Virginia and West Virginia, the Rappahannock River National Wildlife Refuge and the Capt. John Smith Chesapeake National Historic trail.
Dunn credited Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s lobbying for the funding in Washington.
Knight to introduce Menhaden legislation….again.
Virginia Delegate Barry D. Knight once again has introduced legislation that would put the regulation of menhaden into the hands of the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, removing that control from the General Assembly. Currently, menhaden is the only species of fish swimming in Virginia’s saltwaters that isn’t regulated by the VMRC. Along with this bill, Knight has added a second bill that would force menhaden fishing at least three miles off the state coast from North Carolina to Cape Henry, and at least one mile off the coast of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.
night, along with Senator Frank W. Wagner and Senator-elect William R. DeSteph Jr. (two of 10 co-patrons on Knight’s legislation), hosted a discussion on menhaden in Virginia Beach. These legislators have taken notice of a movement to ban all purse seine net fishing for menhaden in state waters, including the Chesapeake Bay and coastal waters out to three miles.
The first piece of legislation will remove the regulation from the purview of the General Assembly and give it to the Virginia Marine Resource Center. All marine life regulation is under the purview of the VMRC except the menhaden. We wish to move the menhaden to their purview to have decisions be made based on science. The second piece of legislation will prevent menhaden fishing three miles off the coast of Virginia from NC to Cape Henry and one mile off of the coast of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.
Below is a list of co-patrons to both pieces of legislation:
Delegate Glenn Davis
Delegate Jay Leftwich
Delegate-elect Jason Miyares
Delegate Roxanne Robinson
Delegate Chris Stolle
Delegate Ron Villanueva
Delegate Lee Ware
Senator John Cosgrove
Senator-elect Bill DeSteph
Senator Frank Wagner
Arts Enter searching for Ballet Teacher
The Arts Enter School of Dance is currently searching for a ballet teacher to become part of the expanding arts program at the organization. Currently, ballet I and ballet II are taught on Thursdays, however scheduling is flexible. If you or anyone you know is interested in teaching either ballet I, ballet II, or both, contact Amy Watkins at ae_watkins@yahoo.com for more information.
Design Excellence of Bay Haven Inn
When Tammy and Jim Holloway first moved to Cape Charles a few years ago, and began getting Bay Haven ready to become an Inn again, I remember remarking to another B&B owner, Bruce Evans that the new owners were really putting a lot of work, much of it sweat equity, into what I considered one of the towns historic gems. “You know Wayne,” Bruce said. “They are really going to be, no they are, a really great addition to this town.” That of course, was probably the understatement of the decade, as the Holloway’s have, in short period of time, turned Bay Haven into a local icon.
Note: Photos courtesy of Chris Glennon Photographer
Each holiday season, we can’t wait to see just what design the Bay Haven Inn will come up with. Word of mouth has already spread regarding the quality of the cuisine (especially the sweet potato ham biscuits) offered by Jim and Tammy Holloway, an authentic Eastern Shore “Farm to Table” style where vegetables and herbs are grown in the backyard or delivered fresh from the area’s local farms. However, it is the depth and beauty of the how the couple decorates for each season that is becoming an attraction on its own. We have to admit that the Bay Haven Halloween is still our favorite, yet the design for the Christmas holidays is always stunning. More than just decorating for the holidays, the Holloway’s approach the design with such a level detail and arrangement, it becomes as much a performance as it does a statically visual work of art. Within this importance, we see a correlation of the all the parts to the whole, an organic unity that not only encompasses Bay Haven, but also emphasizes its interrelatedness to Cape Charles itself. Walking down Tazewell at sunset, you stop to consider the beauty of Bay Haven, how, for each season, the materials are well chosen, and combined, mashed up in a systematic, yet simple, orderly and direct way, all to create a perfect feeling of place and time. We could probably go on for several more pages about this, but why do that when showing you is so much better…
http://bayhaveninnbnb.com/contact/
Phone: (757)331-2838
Email: Info@BayHavenInnbnb.com
Address: 403 Tazewell Ave, Cape Charles, VA 23310
Follow Bay Haven on Facebook: Facebook.com/BayHavenInn
Christmas in New York a holiday success
The work and planning for this winter’s Arts Enter School of Dance show at the Palace Theater began back in the heat of the summer, with a draft script in hand, and an outline for the basic choreography scratched out on a crumpled piece of note paper. In the weeks since, dancers and actors have met in the studio and on the stage, working, practicing and improvising, trying to bring this play to life. All this work, sweat and tears culminated on December 19th and 20th, with two gorgeous shows that surpassed all expectations of the exhausted and frazzled directors.
Note: Photos and Images courtesy of Cheryl Jaretsky Celli
McKay Shockley and Savannah Lunger were cast in the lead roles of Sarah and Mikey, two runaways from Kansas that find themselves in the somewhat scary situation of being all alone in the city. With a benevolent homeless man named Tommy to watch over and show them the city, both actors were brilliant, deftly moving from scene to scene, masterfully handling joy, fear, sadness and jubilation. This was Lunger’s first time in a lead role, and for such a young actor, she dove in head first, approaching the somewhat cynical and ambiguous role with fun and eagerness. McKay Shockley was once again seasoned and professional, creating a character that set the foundation for the rest of the play.
Amy Watson’s choreography once again delighted, blurring the boundaries of classical ballet, modern, jazz, hip hop and contemporary dance. Watson’s performances have musicality and spirit, where the myriad of styles, themes and media converge, reinforcing a portfolio whose goal is always to innovate, not replicate.
Vision is one thing, but it could never come to life without the talent and beauty of this fast moving, dedicated dance company. Our youngest ballerinas continue to push and grow, watching as our prima ballerinas, Allison Shockley, and for our younger classes, Lucy Watson demonstrate just how much work and strength is required for Watson’s choreography. At the core of company, what I can only describe as an explosion of talent, is our modern dance class with Josephine Kohler, Ronnie and Jayne Guinan, Wynn and Macie Neville, Allison Shockley and Angelica Giardina. Their work in the ‘Coney Island’ and ‘Paparazzi’ routines shows a growth, maturity and understanding that one usually doesn’t find until one joins a college dance company. More importantly, these girls are taking a much needed leadership role, providing guidance and insight to the younger dancers.
This review probably wouldn’t be complete without mentioning our rough and tumble girl gang, the Pinky Sliders, led by Allison Shockley and Jayne Guinan…the rehearsals were always quite entertaining, trying to get these sweet girls to be so mean…but, that’s why they call it acting, right? Of course, a special note should be made for Ronnie Guinan, who played the blind poet ‘Blind Ronnie’, and her sidekick Rylee Coates. Both were absolutely perfect, memorizing some very difficult lines, as well as somewhat obtuse poetry. Although, Ms. Guinan did come up to me and note, “Mr. Wayne, in the last play, I was mute stuck behind a big spider web, and in this play, I’m a blind poet…what’s up with that?” she asked.
Always gentle and caring, I responded, “I’m sure there’s a point in there somewhere, Ms. Ronnie, but even if there is, I don’t care….now go back and get dressed for the next scene, and you better not miss your cue!”
Amy Watkins and Wayne Creed would like to thank all the dancers for their hard work, beauty and dedication, but especially the parents and grandparents, without whose support this dance and theater company could not exist.
King Neptune spending the holidays at Bergdorf’s
While Traveling in New York over the holidays, one of our readers came across an old friend…”King Neptune is spending Christmas in New York at Bergdorf’s, covered in pearls – he’ll take them off when he comes back to Cape Charles in January,” she wrote us. And we can hardly blame him–it’s very hard work being fabulous, especially around here during the winter. Sometimes you just have to put on some pearls and go where the light is brightest. Neptune, still got your back brother…
It must be Christmas: Columbia House to sell vinyl records again
For many music fans, our first experiences with debt entrapment were with Columbia House, the mail-order service that, once upon a time, would sell us 12 CDs for a penny and then force us to buy more at a crazy mark-up. Improbably, Columbia House only just shut down this past August. And now, it looks like it might already be coming back again, this time to capitalize on the vinyl boom.
The Wall Street Journal reports that John Lippman, the man who bought the company out of bankruptcy this month, is hoping to relaunch it. “You can see a yearning and an interest to try a new format,” he says, and that new format he’s talking about is really an old one.
Lippman, a former Lehman Brothers exec, bought the company at auction for about $1.5 million. He’s hoping to use social media to get millennials interested in buying big stacks of vinyl via mail. He doesn’t think there are enough online retailers offering it: “For a category that is meaningful and growing rapidly, you don’t see a whole lot of choice.” He probably won’t offer 12 LPs for a penny. But the mere fact that Columbia House will continue to exist, in any form, is crazy.
The Interconnectedness of Life: New book of stories and ideas for growth and joy
Forward to The Interconnectedness of Life by Michael Lanfield
By Karen Davis, PhD,
President of United Poultry Concerns
Teaching English at the University of Maryland some years ago, I launched a magazine of student writings called Impetus. Two autobiographical essays in particular are etched in my memory. “My Last Visit to the Circus” describes a child’s delight in the circus – “a fantasy land come true to me.” The story told by Wai Lee is of fantasy land transformed to a horror show that she as a child of seven stumbles upon by accident. Though she misses seeing the miserable life of elephants and tigers chained out of sight, she catches a traumatizing glimpse of meanness and squalor in one of the tents, just feet away from the glamour. Explaining her feelings of shock and betrayal, she writes that for her, “The circus was no longer a paradise; it was a nightmare.”
“Crossing the Line” is about a 13-year-old boy’s confrontation with a challenge he’s been dreading for weeks. “For generations,” Brian Kehoe writes, “it had been a tradition on my father’s side of the family to take the male children on their first hunting trip when they reached the age of thirteen.” He describes the anguish he feels at the thought of having to aim a gun at an animal, mixed with his fear of disappointing his father if he refuses to kill.
[Read more…]
New Zoning Ordinance: how will it affect AG?
With the new zoning now law; we are attempting to review some of the changes. One area which is being affected is Agricultural District. As was pointed out to the Mirror by a citizen, the term “electric generation facility” was added to acceptable uses (this would require a special use permit), and it is listed as ‘B’, which means it will still have to be approved and amended by the BoS. The question is, just what does this term carry with it…what does it mean? Could a power plant could be constructed in Northampton, and if so what type of facility would that be?
[Read more…]
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