Hampton Roads News 
HR Partnership | September 30, 2009
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In celebration of National Arts and Humanities Month in October, the Cultural Alliance of Greater Hampton Roads has developed a series of community-based “Creative Conversations” to be held throughout the month and throughout the region. A schedule follows…. |
For more details, visit the Cultural Alliance website.
HR Partnership | September 30, 2009
U.S. Joint Forces Command will host its 14th annual Salute to Veterans (STV) concert on Friday, November 6th at 7 p.m. at Chrysler Hall, 215 St. Paul’s Blvd., Norfolk, Virginia. The event is free and open to the public. Tickets are encouraged to ensure seating.
The concert features patriotic music performed by a combined military band, made up of select armed forces musicians from all of the Services.
People may get the free tickets at Morale, Welfare and Recreation Information, Tours, and Travel (MWR ITT) offices at military installations in Hampton Roads (NAB Little Creek, NAS Oceana, Naval Station Norfolk, Fort Eustis, Fort Monroe and Langley AFB, U.S. Coast Guard Integrated Support Command), at the Chrysler Hall Box Office, or by sending a self-addressed, stamped envelope to: USJFCOM Public Affairs Office, Attn: STV Tickets, 1562 Mitscher Ave Ste 200, Norfolk VA 23551. (Please indicate the number of tickets needed when requesting via mail.)
For more ticket information or any questions, call the STV Information Line at (757) 836-2118, or to download tickets, go to the JFCOM website at http://www.jfcom.mil/newslink/storyarchive/2009/pa081709.html. Just follow the instructions to validate the tickets printed.
HR Partnership | September 30, 2009
Letter from former U.S. senator John Warner:
Dear Hampton Roads,
I am proud to have served the Commonwealth of Virginia for 30 years in the United States Senate and, during that time, I was privileged to serve on the Senate Armed Services Committee, including many years as either the Chairman or the Ranking Member…
Since my retirement from the Senate, I have been privileged to work with the Pew Charitable Trusts through the Pew Project on National Security, Energy and Climate to hold forums and town halls around the country to discuss the national security implications of climate change. I cordially invite you to join us on the afternoon of October 6th, 2009 at the Chrysler Museum in Norfolk to learn more about climate change, energy security and the challenges they present to our national security. I will be joined in Norfolk by several distinguished guests, including Admiral John Nathman (Ret.), now affiliated with the Center for Naval Analyses.
The forum will consist largely of two panels. One will explore the national and regional security implications of global warming, and another panel will have local experts and leaders to talk not just about the impacts to the nation at large, but also specifically about the impacts to the Hampton Roads region.
On our agenda will include a discussion about the potential rise of sea level – in the coming years – which could become a severe crisis to much of your region of Virginia.
HR Partnership | September 29, 2009
by Elizabeth Farry, Community Relations Manager for the Girl Scout Council of Colonial Coast, elizabethf@gsccc.org
The annual Helping Hands Food Drive is back again!
Girl Scouts and volunteers will collect non-perishable food items on Saturday, October 24th to support local food banks. Fill a bag with non-perishable food items (no glass please) and place them on your doorstep by 9 a.m. on October 24th.
Girl Scouts will pick up your donations between 9 a.m. and noon to . If you miss the day of the drive you can bring your bagged donation to any Farm Fresh in Hampton Roads or RBC Banks in North Carolina throughout the month of October.
All donations will be sent to the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia, the Foodbank of the Virginia Peninsula, and the Foodbank of the Albemarle. With the sponsorship of Farm Fresh Supermarkets, WAVY-TV 10, The Virginian-Pilot, the Daily Press, Kellogg’s, and Dasani, the Girl Scout Council of Colonial Coast hopes to make this year’s drive the best yet.
The Girl Scout Council of Colonial Coast, a United Way agency, serves over 16,000 girls in grades K through 12, and 6,000 adult volunteers in southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina.
For more information about the Helping Hands Food Drive, visit the Girl Scout Council of Colonial Coast at www.gsccc.org.
HR Partnership | September 28, 2009
Featuring:
Senator Mark R. Warner
U.S. Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra
General James Mattis, Commander, U.S. Joint Forces Command
To kick-off the 2009 ModSim World Conference & Expo, Senator Warner will host the Virginia Summit on Modeling & Simulation to help Virginians connect and continue to be a leader in modeling and simulation.
Date: October 13, 2009
Time: 2:00pm to 6:00pm
Location: Virginia Beach Convention Center
1000 19th Street, Virginia Beach, Virginia 23451
To RSVP, visit http://warner.senate.gov/modsim
Tentative agenda for the summit:
2:00 pm: Introductory Remarks and Keynote
3:00pm: PANEL 1 – Defense & Homeland Security
4:00pm: PANEL 2 – Education & Training
5:00pm: PANEL 3 – Health & Medicine
You need not be registered to attend ModSim World to attend the Virginia Summit; however, if you would like to register online now, visit: http://modsimworld2009.com/register.html
HR Partnership | September 26, 2009
The ‘Learning Barge’ is christened and ready to teach about wetlands on the Elizabeth River
Excerpts by Scott Harper, The Virginian-Pilot
Photo: Elizabeth River Project and the University of Virginia at the High Street ferry landing in downtown Portsmouth. (L. Todd Spencer | The Virginian-Pilot)
It looks like a giant floating garden – big, wide and gray – with marsh plants growing on its deck amid walkways and oyster shells. Among its features: solar panels, compost toilets, sun-powered lights shaped like little fish, recycled water spouts, and two wind turbines whirling on top.
This quirky behemoth is called the Learning Barge, a $1.2 million vessel dedicated to environmental education and designed for a zero ecological footprint.
The official launch on Monday, Sept. 14, 2009 marked the end of more than three years of work and construction, much of it donated, led by the University of Virginia School of Architecture and the Elizabeth River Project, a local environmental group whose goal is to attain a “swimmable and fishable” river by 2020.
HR Partnership | September 25, 2009
U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Vanessa Goris, left, prepares to be hoisted into an HH-60J Jayhawk helicopter with the help of Coast Guard Aviation Survival Technician 3rd Class Michael Linehan Aug. 25, 2009, during water survival training at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. Members of the Coast Guard and the Hampton Police Department assisted with the training, which teaches students how to survive if they egress over water. Goris is the noncommissioned officer-in-charge of the 1st Aerospace Medicine Squadron’s human performance training team.
The 1st AMDS (Aerospace Medicine Squadron) provides a comprehensive aerospace medicine program that promotes fitness and wellness; enhances operational performance and medical readiness; provides primary care to flyers and their families; oversees 1,700 aerospace physiology trainees annually; maintains oversight of a 25-bed Expeditionary Medical Support (EMEDS) asset; and manages the Langley industrial hygiene and occupational medicine program.
HR Partnership | September 23, 2009
…the good news is, we live in Hampton Roads. And, we have a lot going for us.
Cox Communications has teamed with more than two dozen local business, academic and political leaders to produce a series of eight feel-good commercials promoting the region. The goals of this initiative,” Gary McCollum, Cox Senior Vice President and General Manager said, “are really to lift the spirits of the Hampton Roads citizens, to remind them of the value and beauty of our region and to re-energize the community to support our businesses…. I expect no less than a renewed confidence in the region’s economy.”
Click below for the series of public service announcements for more.
Support for local businesses keeps Hampton Roads going strong.
HR Partnership | September 22, 2009
Two major projects were approved September 17th at the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) meeting held in Richmond, Virginia. The Board approved the Gilmerton Bridge Replacement and the Fort Eustis Boulevard expansion projects, along with several paving maintenance projects, bringing over $150 million in highway construction and roadway maintenance spending to the Hampton Roads region.
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From the Daily Press: E. Dana Dickens III, an at-large representative on the transportation board, said the project is important to the military. “The military base is important to our economy, so anything that helps with transportation along that route is good,” he said. Aubrey Layne Jr., the Hampton Roads District board representative, said he was told that the Fort Eustis project could create 25 jobs over a two-year period and would have about 75 people working at its peak. Dickens said the James River Bridge project, which is expected to be completed by March 2011, would be geared primarily toward maintenance and upkeep. “You have to maintain what you have,” he said. |
HR Partnership | September 21, 2009
On July 2nd, 2009, a “perfect storm” of transportation nightmares occurred in Hampton Roads. Nearly simultaneous incidents conspired against holiday travelers in the region: 1 tube of the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel (HRBT) closed due to an undetected water main break, an overturned tractor trailer on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel (CBBT), the Monitor Merrimac Memorial Bridge Tunnel’s 3 car accident, the 1 car accident on the high rise bridge, a downed power line closure of the James River Bridge, and Waterside Drive closure for opening of Harborfest in downtown Norfolk.
At a follow-up meeting, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) got an earful of advice from elected officials and citizens. The following video, provided by the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning organization (HRTPO), is a summary of events concerning the incidents contributing to those traffic delays in Hampton Roads.
“Over the long term, we need credible alternatives to existing infrastructure if we’re serious about evacuation and economic development,” said Virginia’s Transportation Secretary Pierce Homer.
Norfolk Mayor Paul Fraim said he wanted to “make it forcably known that current conditions are not acceptable.”
“What can we fix one bite at a time?” asked Virginia Delegate John Cosgrove, Chair of the Hampton Roads Legislative Delegation.
For the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization, the time is now to prioritize the projects needed in the region to start the fixes “one bite at a time” by asking the public for their input.
Get involved before September 30th and take HRTPO’s Transportation Project Prioritization and Selection Process Survey.
