HR Partnership | December 30, 2009

Focused on student success, TCC noted for outstanding digital resources

Tidewater Community College has been named a leading community college in the nation for exceptional technology support for students and educators. TCC’s focus on student success – from innovative online freshman orientation to pioneering medical simulations – has earned top recognition from the Center for Digital Education.

The Center for Digital Education and Converge magazine’s 5th Annual Digital Community Colleges Survey placed TCC third in foremost use of digital technology among large community colleges (7,500 or more students)….

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Category: Education & Workforce | 2 Comments »
Tags: Education, Hampton Roads, TCC, Tidewater Community College

HR Partnership | December 29, 2009

excerpts from David Cartier’s blog “What’s New in Olde Towne”

The Schooner Virginia is headed into rough waters due to the economy. The 122-foot wooden sailboat, built on the neighboring Norfolk waterfront five years ago, is halting operations indefinitely because of money problems. The story made the front page of The Virginian-Pilot on Thursday, December 17, 2009.

The Virginia Maritime Heritage Foundation plans to lay off 15 people, including the crew and two captains. The Schooner Virginia is expected to arrive back in its homeport of Norfolk from the Virgin Islands where it will be stored at a boat yard. All winter programming has been canceled. According to Will King, executive director of the non-profit foundation which owns the vessel, they need $300,000 to $400,000 for the vessel to sail again. The budget for the Schooner Virginia is $1 million.

There are several reasons why the Schooner Virginia needs to stay on course….

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Tags: Hampton Roads, Maritime, Military Bastion

HR Partnership | December 28, 2009

Photo credit: Alelo http://alelo.com

Alelo, a Los Angeles-based technology firm born out of a research project at the University of Southern California, has expanded to the East Coast with an office in Suffolk. It hopes to grow its client base and immerse itself in the modeling and simulation community in Hampton Roads.

The company was founded in 2004 with the help of research funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) at USC to develop game-based simulations that help users learn foreign languages and immerse themselves in a simulated version of the foreign culture to learn how to use the language in social interactions.

The technology lends itself well to some of the current foreign conflicts, Iraq and Afghanistan, for example, places where language and customs are not easily taught.

“You want to teach language and culture together,” said Andre Valente, co-founder and CEO. “You can know the words but if you don’t know when to say them you can create enemies as opposed to friends. We want to immerse you in a situation that’s as close as possible to what you are going to do.”

The military has continued to take notice of Alelo’s products, a big reason why the company chose to open its first East Coast office in Hampton Roads at the Virginia Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Center (VMASC) in Suffolk. Its local clients include the U.S. Joint Forces Command and the Navy Expeditionary Combat Command.

The company also does work with the Australian Defense Force, the United Kingdom Ministry of Defense and Norway and is pursuing others.

Its simulation capabilities are consistent with the emerging M&S industry, which aims to cut costs associated with personnel and infrastructure by using virtual training.

includes excerpts by Michael Schwartz, Inside Business

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Category: Business Community, Military Bastion, Research & Technology | No Comments »
Tags: Military Bastion, Modeling, Research, Simulation, Technology

HR Partnership | December 27, 2009

The Courthouse Galleries in Portsmouth celebrate the season with WINTER WONDERLAND: The Coleman Collection, a holiday classic for generations of Hampton Roads visitors and residents. From Victorian scenes of animated skaters and carolers to the enchanted forest of bears, deer and Santa’s workshop, the displays delight visitors of all ages. The Coleman Garden Nursery Yuletide displays began in the mid-1960s when owner, A.J. Lancaster was inspired by the animated Disneyland exhibit at the New York World’s Fair. Coleman’s first figure was a sleeping Santa. Over the years, several hundred figures were added to include animated elves, snow babies, woodland creatures, Santa’s toy and candy factories, a bakery and carolers, amongst others.

Housed in the 1846 Courthouse in historic Olde Towne, the Galleries are devoted to offering quality educational, cultural and aesthetic experiences in the arts through rotating visual art exhibits, lectures, classes and performances. The exhibits featured in this dramatic setting encompass traditional and contemporary art forms that inspire interest and understanding of our rich and diverse global heritage. The Courthouse Galleries provide quality programming that entertains and promotes a greater knowledge and understanding of the visual arts.

While in Portsmouth, check out other things to do and see at: http://www.visitportsva.com/

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HR Partnership | December 27, 2009

The Peninsula Fine Arts Center (PFAC), located on Museum Drive in Newport News, is the premier arts advocate on the Peninsula of Virginia in Hampton Roads working to create a stronger community through art.

Through January 3, 2010, enjoy a special exhibit for the holidays: Season’s Greetings: Holiday Scenes from the Noland Company Collection.

PFAC features an ever-changing array of exhibitions, thought-provoking educational programs, a year-round studio art school, an interactive gallery for children, evening mixers and family friendly activities such as studio classes for kids and adults.

Their Studio Art School presents classes in oil and acrylic paint, watercolor, pottery, drawing, art appreciation and more. Taught by practicing artists, offerings range from one-day workshops to intensive ten-week courses with a new roster of classes each quarter.

PFAC also offers ARTventures Summer Camps which explores different themes in art each week for kids ages 6-13. And, their Hands On For Kids gallery has self-guided activities year-round.

Find PFAC in Mariners’ Museum Park along the Newport News Cultural Corridor and enjoy nearby Virginia Living Museum, The Mariners’ Museum and the Ferguson Center for the Performing Arts, too.

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HR Partnership | December 25, 2009

by Carson Hudson

It’s well known that the first permanent English settlement in America was established at Jamestown in 1607. Those first settlers who arrived here aboard those three small ships brought their English beliefs with them, among which was the tradition of keeping Christmas.

Because of several factors, however, such as the summer heat, bad water, lack of food, and not-so-good relations with the local Algonquian Indians, there was not much to celebrate during that first Christmas of 1607. Indeed, there were not many left around to even think about Christmas. Out of the original 104 men and boys, only 39 were still alive by December.

But new settlers arrived, and the colony slowly took root. By the next year, things were nowhere near certain, but a group of Englishmen under the command of Captain John Smith did manage to enjoy a Christmas party of sorts…

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Tags: Hampton Roads, History

HR Partnership | December 24, 2009

Map courtesy of Hampton Roads Economic Development Alliance (HREDA)

With its output of goods and services on the upswing, Hampton Roads continues to rank among the country’s 20 strongest metro areas in economic performance, according to analysis by the Brookings Institution.

The Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News VA-NC Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) was one of only six in the nation that regained peak output by the summer quarter, Brookings Institution said in its latest report on the economic health of the nation’s 100 largest metro areas.

Hampton Roads’ jobless rate of 6.7% for the July-through-September quarter was the 11th best…

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Category: Economy, Military Bastion | 3 Comments »
Tags: Economy, Hampton Roads

HR Partnership | December 23, 2009

AIM satellite has provided the first global-scale, full-season view of strange, iridescent polar clouds that form 50 miles above Earth’s surface.

Hampton University recently received a contract increase of $10.2 million from the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center to extend the NASA Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) satellite mission for three more years.

The HU led NASA AIM is the first satellite dedicated to the study of these noctilucent (NLC) or “night-shining” clouds. They are called “night shining” clouds by observers on the ground because their high altitude allows them to continue reflecting sunlight after the sun has set below the horizon. They form a spectacular silvery blue display visible well into the night.

“Hampton University is leading the way in innovative research,” said HU President Dr. William R. Harvey. “This mission is improving scientists’ understanding of global change.”

AIM has provided a global-scale view of the clouds over five complete cloud seasons covering both poles…

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Tags: Hampton Roads, NASA, Research

HR Partnership | December 22, 2009

Incomes for educated workers are growing fastest in these metros:
1. El Paso, TX
2. Bakersfield, CA
3. Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA
4. Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC
5. Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA

The news coming out of dusty border city El Paso, Texas, is usually pretty grim. The metro suffers from 9.5% unemployment, declining high-school graduation rates and inadequate infrastructure. But a closer look reveals an employment picture that, at least in one way, is improving. In the past four years, incomes for college graduates there have steadily grown more than any other major metropolitan area.

Indeed, it’s not always the most affluent or economically robust cities where incomes for professionals have jumped the most…

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HR Partnership | December 21, 2009

Governor-elect Bob McDonnell, a former Republican delegate from Virginia Beach, spoke during the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce 25th Annual Meeting on December 15th about his top priorities for local transportation.

Hampton Roads is being left off the list of areas in Virginia that are getting funding for road projects. At the same time, some areas like Northern Virginia and Richmond are getting millions. “This will no doubt be the toughest challenge in these difficult fiscal times that I will face in this first year,” McDonnell said.

When McDonnell is sworn in as governor he says one of his first actions will be…

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Category: Government & Citizens | No Comments »
Tags: Economy, Hampton Roads, Transportation, Virginia