Festive Friday a Huge Success: Next Event Dec 4th
This Black Friday, the sidewalks were filled with shoppers, and the outside tables of the Cape Charles Coffee house were at capacity. In the evening, music filled the air, and many folks were out enjoying the beautiful night air as shops stayed open to 8:00. The Palace showed the film White Christmas, which was a perfect way to send off our first Festive Friday. This first event was an unqualified success, and there are three more Festive Friday’s on the way. Next Friday, December 4th, Peg Volk’s Corn Funk Review will take the Strawberry Street Stage from 5:00 to 8:00, shops will again be open late, and the film at the Palace will be ‘Elf’.
Upland dredge site filling up fast
Science and Philosophy Seminar: End-of-Life Care Planning
Dudley Rochester will lead the seminar and present a step-by-step pathway that shows those who are nearing the ends of their lives how to think about such planning; he will provide a handout detailing the steps.
Rochester is a retired pulmonologist, most recently with the University of Virginia medical faculty.
Science and Philosophy Seminar is an informally organized group that meets more or less regularly to explore and discuss a wide array of topics, ranging from philosophical speculation to scientific research. All Seminars are open to the public. Admission is free.
Can Buckminster Fuller Winner teach us a new way to farm?
“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” – Buckminster Fuller
Greenwave, a nonprofit that’s developing the world’s first ecologically sustainable ocean farms, has won this year’s Buckminster Fuller Challenge – the premiere award for socially responsible design.
GreenWave’s goal is to restore ocean ecosystems, while providing jobs by turning fisherman into “restorative ocean farmers.” GreenWave’s “vertical underwater garden” shifts the practice of monoculture aquaculture to multi-species 3D ocean farms – vibrant ecosystems that also produce higher yields. The infrastructure is simple: seaweed, scallops and mussels grow on floating ropes, stacked above oyster and clam cages below. From these crops, ocean farmers can produce food, fertilizers, animal feeds, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, biofuels and much more. The farms filter pollutants out of water, sequester carbon, support biodiversity, and are thus designed to restore rather than deplete our ecosystems.
A single acre filters millions of gallons of ocean water every day, creates homes for hundreds of wild marine and bird species and absorbs the overabundance of nitrogen and carbon (with kelp sequestering 5x more carbon than land based-plants) that are killing billions of organisms. The design requires zero-inputs-there is no need for fresh water.
Greenwave describes the benefits:
- More Biodiversity, Higher Yields: By using the entire food column, the “farm” provides habitat for hundreds of marine and bird species, and create natural reef systems. It can grow 20 tons of sea vegetables and 500,000 shellfish on each acre per year.
- Zero Inputs: Since there is no need for fresh water, fertilizer, or pesticides, restorative ocean farming is the most sustainable form of food production on the planet.
Nitrogen pollution causes algae blooms that lower oxygen levels as they decompose, causing dead zones. Greenwave’s farms sequester nitrogen, preventing algae blooms.
- Food Security: As a food crop, seaweed is rich in nutrients such as protein, calcium, and vitamin-C. Studies demonstrate that a network of seaweed farms the size of Washington State could produce all of the dietary protein needs of the human population.
Kelp absorbs 5 times the carbon as land-based plants and the farms create storm barriers that mitigate the impacts of storms.
- Energy Security: a network of farms totaling an area half the size of Maine could grow enough biofuel to replace all the oil used in the US, according to the Department of Energy.
Greenwave’s approach gives us a scalable, integrated model that coastal fishing communities around the world can adopt with modest infrastructure costs and begin to build towards a long-term resilient future,” says Elizabeth Thom
County responds to allegations of racial bias
The County, particularly the Board of Supervisors and Administrator Katie Nunez have been the recipients of a good bit of criticism of late over perceived racial bias in the proposed zoning. In the below letter, Katie Nunez provides the County’s response to many of the allegations:
To the Editor:
In his letter Mr. Kellam expresses his opinion about how he wishes his real estate to be zoned and why. He also makes allegations such as that the proposed zoning map includes what he calls “spot zoning” and constitutes a “taking” of value from his property. None of those remarks is in any sense unusual in rezoning situations. Mr. Kellam’s wishes and opinions with respect to the zoning of his property should be offered to the Board of Supervisors and taken into consideration by them. (As a matter of fact, Mr. Kellam’s assertion that the proposed rezoning would prohibit “the sale of crops” is categorically false.)
Unfortunately, though, Mr. Kellam’s letter also includes defamatory allegations about the Board of Supervisors and, inferentially, its staff which are profoundly, dangerously and unjustly divisive of and corrosive to the relations between the citizens of Northampton County who are of different races. Mr. Kellam goes so far as to allege that “the sitting Board is engaged in a war on the minority population.” It is hard to imagine a more baseless and irresponsible accusation; an accusation which follows the similarly despicable and racially inflammatory remarks made by Mr. Ken Dufty at the public hearing on November 2, 201 5, regarding the proposed zoning ordinance.
I advise the readers of this letter that I was present at virtually every meeting at which the County’s staff worked on the proposed rezoning. No one ever even remarked on the race of any owner of property and, indeed, in the giant majority of cases no one was even consciously aware of the name, much less the race, of the property owners. I have never seen the slightest sign that any of the staff members who worked on this project has any animus toward anyone based on race or anything else.
As to the Board of Supervisors, their meetings are matters of public record with all remarks being audio recorded and minutes being maintained. While there has been enthusiastic disagreement among members of the Board about some provisions of the proposed ordinance, not a single member of the Board has ever suggested that any change be made based on racial considerations nor has any member ever suggested that any of his colleagues might be so motivated. I personally attended virtually every single executive session attended by the Board of Supervisors and I unambiguously and without reservation report that the substance of the proposed rezoning was never discussed and, if it ever came up in some peripheral sense, no member of the Board of Supervisors ever exhibited even the slightest indication that he was motivated in any way by racial considerations or was even mindful of the race of any interested party.
It is natural that a general rezoning of the real estate in the County would give rise to passions among some or even many people. But it is worthy of note that over a process which has extended for most of two years (the first public hearing was held in March of 2014), Ken Dufty’s noxious statement on November 2, 2015, was the first time anyone suggested that there was some racial dimension to the proposed rezoning. It cannot be a coincidence that that theme was unleashed at exactly the time when it became apparent that the Board may well vote on the proposed map and ordinance. The fomenting of racial animus to gain some perceived advantage on a public policy question is a truly nasty tactic engaged in with reckless disregard for the welfare of Northampton County. Mr. Dufty and Mr. Kellam should be ashamed of themselves.
County: Citizens protest racial bias in new zoning
Tuesday’s regular meeting of the Northampton Board of Supervisors was once again dominated by opposition to proposed changes to the county zoning ordinance. Where other meetings have focused on the issues such as losing the Bay Act protections on the seaside, Planned Unit Development inconsistencies, waste and incineration process, and even intensive poultry farming, this meeting focused on what some in the county feel is an innate racial bias woven into the text and metanarrative of the current document.
HDRB moves forward on Peach Street Brew Pub
With Chairman Joe Ferrer unable to attend, Terry Strub took the reins for this month’s Historic District Review Board. On the agenda was another application for a Certificate of Appropriateness for the new brew pub at 8 Peach Street – this time for an addition to rear of the building, as well as some façade improvements. The applicant proposes opening the rear wall as a means of expansion by installing a refrigerated cooler room. The addition of the cooler does change the footprint of the structure. The addition is not visible from Peach Street, however it will be somewhat visible from Mason Avenue. Relative to the Guidelines, they state that : New additions, exterior alterations, or related new construction shall not destroy historic materials that characterize the property. The new work shall be compatible with the massing, size, scale, and architectural features of the old work to protect the historic integrity of the property and its environment. New additions and adjacent or related new construction shall be undertaken in such a manner that if removed in the future, the essential form and integrity of the historic property and its environment would be unimpaired. (Building Element 4, page 21).
Cape Charles Historic District Expansion and Update and Information Workshop
This week, Planner Larry DiRE received and unexpected windfall courtesy of the Virginia Department of Historic Resources. With additional funding available, the DHR has offered to use the funds to include the town in a workshop that would aid the Historic District Review Board with the nomination form and other responsibilities. See letter below for details:
Mr. DiRe –
My name is Carey L. Jones and I am the Architectural Survey Coordinator at the Virginia Department of Historic Resources. In addition to managing the architectural survey program, I am assisting with the administration of funds DHR received from the National Park Service to address damage from Hurricane Sandy and assist with planning for future disasters. DHR is currently undertaking an architectural survey of the Eastern Shore in partnership with the Eastern Shore Planning District Commission. We have additional funding available and are interested in using this funding to update and expand the nomination form for the Cape Charles Historic District in order to assist you and the Historic District Review Board with decision making. In addition to funding an update and expansion of the district we also have funding available for an information workshop for the Historic District Review Board members. This workshop could be similar to what was proposed in the recent CLG application with an added emphasis on disaster planning and management. DHR has funds available to completely cover the costs of the nomination update and expansion and the information workshop and will handle all administrative responsibilities. We will not look to the Town to fund any part of this project. We will ask your support for this effort in terms of meeting arrangements, informing residents, and GIS/mapping assistance for the nomination.
Thank you for your consideration of this project. I look forward to discussing this with you and members of your community.
Thank you and I look forward to hearing from you.
-Carey
Carey L. Jones, Architectural Survey Coordinator and Cost Share Program Manager
Division of Survey and Register
Department of Historic Resources
2801 Kensington Avenue, Richmond, VA 23221
Brown Dog wins 2015 Made in Virginia Award
Earlier this fall, while in the midst of one of our rehearsals for the Palace Theater show Christmas in New York, there was a commotion amongst several of my young ‘divas’. Thinking I was going to have to break up yet another ‘artistic dispute’, I was instead informed that they were all leaving the rehearsal whether I liked it or not.
“Oh yeah?” I said.
“Oh, yeah,” I was once again informed.
“It’s your funeral,” I said. “You’re the ones who are going to look stupid on stage when you don’t know your lines.”
“We don’t care. Today is the last day for Brown Dog, and if we don’t hurry, they will be closed before we get there!”
“Well, that’s different,” I said. “Get your stuff and get out of here. You better hurry, they close for the season at 3:00!”
As obnoxious as this scene was, it serves to highlight the passion, joy and loyalty that our kids have for Brown Dog Ice Cream. And they are not alone. This year, Brown Dog was winner of the Virginia Living Made in Virginia award for best food, beating out favorites in Surry, Edinburg and Virginia Beach. For many of us living on the shore, Brown Dog represents so much more than delicious and artistic ice cream, but it is also an example of a sustainable, local farm to table operation. Brown dog is defining just how businesses should operate here the shore – creating a product that is woven into the fabric of the region where it lives. Brown Dog’s appeal is that it is unique, yet it is unique to this place, making it the perfect ambassador for not just Cape Charles, but the entire Lower Shore.
Congratulations Foster! You did it again.
Read the excerpt from Virginia Living magazine below:
About five years ago, Miriam Elton set out to solve a problem: Her small Eastern Shore beach town was in need of a premium ice cream store. The result? Ice cream done right. At Brown Dog Ice Cream in Cape Charles, Elton treats her creamy creations with care—no artificial flavors, just fresh ingredients that are prepared and cooked for you to see and feel and taste.
The varieties on offer at Brown Dog Ice Cream, like beet and goat cheese with pistachio, or avocado with strawberry, lime and jalapeno, sound more farm-to-table restaurant than seaside ice cream store, and that’s no accident. “We try to be creative and we try to use local fruit and vegetables,” says Elton, 53, originally from Loudoun County. “So whatever becomes available from local farmers, I try to create a recipe.”
Elton does the prep work in the kitchen, roasting and cooking ingredients like local apricots, peaches, wineberries, plums, corn, figs, strawberries and blackberries. She then incorporates them into the ice cream during the freezing process. In the end, the formula is pretty simple: “The best ingredients equal the best ice cream,” says Elton. Kids, she adds, particularly enjoy chilling out in her shop with the real brown dog, Foster.
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