The Virginian-Pilot

urn:publicid:pilotonline.com:1234 HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com http://www.pilotonline.com The Virginian-Pilot 2010-02-09T15:06:01-05:00 Copyright The Virginian-Pilot urn:publicid:pilotonline.com:541383 Architect-engineer's work spanned ships, tunnel 2010-02-09T20:14:51-05:00 2010-02-09T20:05:21-05:00 Copyright The Virginian-Pilot

By Brown Carpenter Correspondent VIRGINIA BEACH Growing up in Norfolk, surrounded by water, Adin Woodward knew his life's calling would be tied up with this coastal geography. As a naval architect and maritime engineer, he designed and built seaworthy vessels ranging from hard-laboring scows to luxury pleasure boats. He also put together the engines that powered them. The expertise of Woodward, who died Jan. 26 at age 89, was legendary. His advice was sought when the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel was under construction. He helped local waterm en improve their dredges to boost catches of clams and oysters. He co-owned a shipyard in North Carolina. He helped oversee the restoration of the Monitor. "He did it all," said Alyn Fife, a marine surveyor who worked with Woodward. "From barges to warships." Woodward kept his own boat on Crystal Lake and estimated that he and his wife, Cindy, had logged 36,000 miles on the waterways between Maryland and Florida. A 1943 graduate of the Webb Institute in New York, Woodward served two years on active duty with the Navy and later retired as a captain in the Reserve. In the beginning, the duality of his profession could cause confusion. "When I applied for registration in North Carolina, the Board of Engineers looked over my credentials and handed them back, saying I was an architect," Woodward told a trade publication in 1980. "Then I went to the division for architects; there I was told I was an engineer." Woodward was frequently an expert witness in trials involving maritime matters. He met one of his good friends that way during a lawsuit, although he was on the other side, recalls Bill Birkhead, the defendant's attorney. Housing developer William Levitt had accused a local shipyard of faulty construction of his yacht. "The only part of the suit we lost was the teak deck," Birkhead said. "That was Adin's testimony. It cost the shipyard an $80,000 discount off the price of the yacht." Kent Woodward, Adin's son, noted that his father's cruises offered a reminder of his accomplishments: "Often, he would see a vessel that he had been involved with. Or on the way to Florida he might pass a dredge that he had helped with the design or modification." Postscripts, (757) 446-2021, postscripts@pilotonline.com Norfolk, VA Anonymous Architect-engineer's work spanned ships, tunnel The Virginian-Pilot urn:publicid:pilotonline.com:541383 Change 0 Usable urn:publicid:pilotonline.com:541365 Child abuser's light sentence 2010-02-09T17:35:27-05:00 2010-02-09T17:33:11-05:00 Copyright The Virginian-Pilot

The wreckage of mangled bodies that Walter Z. Speller has left behind is undeniable. Three young children, defenseless, tiny and innocent, endured repeated beatings at the hands of a vicious man. In Speller's case, history repeated itself in grisly fashion. He beat his then-toddler son in Virginia Beach in 2002, leaving him partially paralyzed, brain damaged and blind. After receiving an unbelievably light sentence of two years in prison, Speller did it again, this time in Norfolk: He beat another son by another woman, as well as that woman's daughter. The younger son is paralyzed and suffered brain injuries. The girl suffered brain damage. Despite all of that, despite his threats and the physical and mental abuse he inflicted against women as well as the repeated assaults on children, Speller denied it all on the stand last week in Norfolk Circuit Court. He pleaded guilty to the latest charges, accepting a sentence of 21 years behind bars as part of a plea agreement. As if showing his contempt for the sentence, Speller used his moments before the court to blame others. It was all a mistake, he claimed. An infection could have damaged the younger son. The mother might have inflicted the injuries on the girl. The prosecutor was out to get him. His own lawyer coerced him into pleading guilty - even though had Speller been found guilty, he could've received two life terms. Speller even had the gall, in a rambling fashion, to liken his fate to that of Jesus at Gethsemane: "If the cup can't pass from me, let me drink from the cup, and let it be the Lord's will." His comment was despicable, as was his behavior and his convenient persecution complex. Speller, 30, is likely to get out of prison at age 51. Judge Mary Jane Hall also ordered 15 years of probation after his release. During that time, Speller is not permitted to live in a household or work where there are children younger than 18. But who will monitor that? Will women know about his predatory past and disregard for the lives of children? Speller, it is clear, won't be away from us long enough. If he does every moment of his sentence, he will still have an opportunity to do more damage to more children, wreck more lives and more futures. His words provide no comfort to his victims or to the rest of the community. Prosecutors made the best deal they thought they could given the evidence and the witnesses. But if ever there were a reason to revise the punishments Virginia levels on child abusers, if ever there were a reason to hold out for as much prison time as possible, his name is Walter Z. Speller. Norfolk, VA Anonymous Child abuser's light sentence The Virginian-Pilot urn:publicid:pilotonline.com:541365 Change 0 Usable urn:publicid:pilotonline.com:541364 A modest proposal: Guns in every bar 2010-02-09T17:37:14-05:00 2010-02-09T17:28:15-05:00 Copyright The Virginian-Pilot

A Senate committee is expected to hear a bill today that would allow people with concealed weapons permits to carry their guns into Virginia's bars. If lawmakers pass the legislation, Gov. Bob McDonnell, who has supported the measure, is likely to sign it. Restaurateurs and others are outraged by the possibility, noting security issues. Some also worry because the bill contains no provisions for keeping out gun-carrying customers and is a threat to property rights. But they may be missing the benefits and opportunities such legislation presents. To begin with, the proposed law would allow 214,000 Virginians to carry hidden weapons into any establishment that has an ABC license: pizza parlors, bowling alleys, sports bars, nightclubs, country clubs, fine restaurants. In case anyone is worried about the volatile mix of alcohol and firearms, naysayers should know that the Senate bill requires gun toters to abstain and threatens them with - shudder! - misdemeanors if they don't. Such a law would undoubtedly be good for tourism in the Old Dominion. Forget "Virginia is for Lovers." Forget eco-tourism. Virginia could make a name for itself in the emerging market for armed tourism: Virginia is for self-defense. Twenty-three states, including North Carolina, expressly prohibit loaded guns in bars. Virginia, already known as the armory to countless East Coast cities, could cement its reputation as a gun-friendly state, welcoming to all and anyone frustrated by laws back home. Think of the conventions we could attract! Nashville's visitors bureau bemoaned the loss of business when Tennessee passed this law last year. Virginia should look on the bright side. The commonwealth could market itself as the Wild West of the East, with Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli keeping order as Marshal Matt Dillon in a dark business suit. The possibilities for creating jobs and stimulating the economy are endless. Nightclubs worried about enforcing the law will be looking to hire more security officers, just in case. Instead of offering coats and ties for under-dressed men to borrow, swank restaurants could offer bulletproof vests. Serving shots would take on a new meaning. Get in a fight over a girl or guy? Call in your armed wingman. When then-Gov. Tim Kaine vetoed the measure last year, he warned that allowing it to become law would put the public, employees and public safety officers at risk. Restaurateurs argue that they will have no way of knowing whether to serve an alcoholic beverage to a customer because they won't know who has a weapon. Here's a hint: Given the law, it'll be the one drinking club soda. That might put a dent in a restaurant's receipts, but it'll do the same for Virginia's drunken-driving rate. See how that works? With the right marketing, even good sense's loss can be Virginia's gain. Norfolk, VA Anonymous A modest proposal: Guns in every bar The Virginian-Pilot urn:publicid:pilotonline.com:541364 Change 0 Usable urn:publicid:pilotonline.com:541201 Meet the 71-year-old Dominion Power lineman 2010-02-09T13:10:23-05:00 2010-02-09T00:00:00-05:00 Copyright The Virginian-Pilot

VIRGINIA BEACH Wardell Driver joined his trainee on the truck in the Dominion Virginia Power lot shortly before 7:30 a.m. They tested the lights, the brakes, the stabilizing jacks - everything before heading out on a call this Wednesday. The trainee, Kenneth Johnson, could've handled the work in the early-morning cold. But it wasn't like 71-year-old Driver to be idle. "The legend!" shouted lineman W.R. Welch, pointing at Driver as he walked by. Driver smiled. Driver is Dominion's most senior field employee, and he says his 50 years with the company feel more like five minutes. In that time his name has become interchangeable with the word "reliable." He was with the company before it became Dominion, before the bucket trucks, when he scaled poles with belts around his waist and hooks attached to his legs. Driver has been on the job longer than many of his co-workers have been alive, and many ask Driver why he stays. For Driver, it's simple. By 7:45, Driver clicked on the laptop mounted in the cab and typed in "2700 River Road," a trouble spot for the past three weeks. Driver is a lead lineman and will redirect tens of thousands of volts as crews replace two transformers to stabilize service. An automated voice led him to the interstate. When Driver first started with the company - in what some refer to as the "when-linemen-were-linemen" era - crews got directions from map books or a dispatcher yelling, "Turn right at Mr. Jones' barn!" Driver was 20 then and was working at a Portsmouth drugstore when he heard about hiring at Virginia Electric and Power Co., or VEPCO, the company's old moniker. It was hard work, but that didn't bother him. Driver had been working since he was 10. He'd left high school early and gotten his GED because his family needed the money. Driver started out as a laborer cleaning the yard and worked his way to groundsman, assisting the linemen. When he found out linemen made three times as much, he went through the training. He saw himself as someone who puts in a good day's work to support his wife and children, but others saw him as dependable as the sunrise. His faith grew, which helped him see his job as a ministry as much as a paycheck. When a family's power went out on Christmas Eve before Santa's cookies were baked, he knew he was making a difference if he could help. Through the years, he kept at it, as the company's name, colors and logos morphed; as advancements caused shifts from paper to computer; as heavier porcelain materials gave way to poly. But some things never changed. By 10:30, Driver was in the bucket, maneuvering skyward, careful not to hit the hot lines. He grounded the truck, before cutting off power so workers could swap the old for new 4,000-pound transformers. Supervisor Johnny Walker watched from below. He had met Driver on his own first day on the job 24 years ago. Walker remembers Driver scaling a pole in a trench coat and Florsheim dress shoes. Driver has always been steady in the field, Walker said, which is especially important during the dizzying heat of summer and the numbing chill of winter. He, and several others, find Driver's work ethic inspiring. Driver often volunteers for standby work, which means he makes himself available for emergency calls. "You look at the old guys and you think they wouldn't volunteer, but Wardell does it," Walker said. Driver eased the bucket down and watched the younger men jostle the transformers in place and replace cables. The crews joke and kid around, but in this dangerous line of work, they rely on each other. And several of them, like Driver, understand the love of working outdoors. It's a freedom he can't put a price tag on. Within minutes, the transformers were set and Driver was back in the air to reconnect the power. Walker and another supervisor watched as Driver took a hot stick and reached for the hook. Then they looked away. It's one of the most dangerous moments of the job. A small spark jumped, but Driver didn't flinch. Then he was done. He descended as the men packed up. One guy talked about retiring, how it was time for him to go. Driver only smiled, as if he were listening to someone speak a foreign language. "What I want to do is make the best of the days I have left, whether I live to be 80, 90, whatever," Driver said. "Just trying to help people." Denise Watson Batts, (757) 446-2504, denise.batts@pilotonline.com Norfolk, VA Anonymous Meet the 71-year-old Dominion Power lineman The Virginian-Pilot urn:publicid:pilotonline.com:541201 Change 0 Usable urn:publicid:pilotonline.com:541195 Couple's DIY project restores home to its original glory 2010-02-08T18:31:37-05:00 2010-02-09T00:00:00-05:00 Copyright The Virginian-Pilot

By Staci Dennis Correspondent NORFOLK For Justin Hickman and Terresa Landess, finding their first home was more of a hunt for the perfect diamond in the rough, rather than a quest for a shining gem. The duo set their minds on buying a place they could fix up and eventually resell for a profit. But the search proved harder than they thought. "We looked at so many houses, and they all were the same," Hickman said. "They were cookie cutter and generic. We wanted something different." Their agent suggested looking beyond traditional neighborhoods and suggested older homes in Norfolk's Ocean View community. When the couple walked into the 3,070-square -foot home on West Seaview Avenue in spring 2005, they knew it was a perfect fit. "It needed a lot of work but we both knew it could look beautiful when finished," Hickman, 30, said of the circa-1912 dwelling. "This place was built like a fortress, and we wanted to bring it back to its original beauty." The couple immediately started working on fixing it up, beginning with the hardwood floors and then installing a fence. Since the house is a historic site, they applied for grants to help restore the exterior, including a new roof, porch renovation and fresh coat of paint. "When we bought the house, we used all our assets to get into it," Hickman said, " so we couldn't do all the updates right away." To help pay the mortgage and raise money for future repairs, the couple rented out rooms in the house. When they saved up enough to start new projects, they said "goodbye" to the roommates and started construction. Updates include a kitchen rebuild and all the bathrooms, as well as adding a loft on the third floor. The efforts cost them about $100,000. "We didn't have a working shower for six months," Hickman said. "We had to make due." During the next five years, the couple worked on the house a little at a time, sometimes starting one project before another one was complete. "We would have to stop some of the projects right in the middle of doing them because we would get frustrated and couldn't figure things out," Hickman said. "So we always had a few things going at one time." The duo did its best to keep the house's original integrity. They added some special touches, such as swirled plaster ceilings, and repaired walls with plaster to keep the same look and feel. "I did some construction in high school, but nothing like this," said Hickman, a massage therapist. "I had to do a lot of reading and research to make sure I was doing things right." Hickman and Landess recently put their house up for sale. They plan to move to France so Hickman can continue his education in the medical field. The couple paid $250,000 for the house and hope to sell it for $425,000. "I'm glad we decided to do this," said Landess, 30. "It was a huge project and a great learning experience." Staci Dennis, sdennis@cox.net Norfolk, VA Anonymous Couple's DIY project restores home to its original glory The Virginian-Pilot urn:publicid:pilotonline.com:541195 Change 0 Usable urn:publicid:pilotonline.com:541247 GOP plan emerges to fix Va. shortfall 2010-02-09T16:44:06-05:00 2010-02-08T23:47:58-05:00 Copyright The Virginian-Pilot

House of Delegates budget negotiators hope to overcome a multibillion-dollar budget shortfall in part by deeper cuts at state agencies, bigger contributions from state workers to their pension plans and more federal money to pay for Medicaid. Each of those items are landmarks on a "road map" the Republican-controlled House is using to produce a budget by Feb. 21, the day both chambers are scheduled to release their spending plans. The House spending plan, and the Senate's counterpart, have to compensate for a $4.2 billion shortfall. Former Gov. Timothy M. Kaine's outgoing budget contains more than half of those cuts, but legislators still need to find another $1.9 billion. Kaine proposed finding the money by eliminating the state's car tax relief subsidy to localities, but Republicans have dismissed that idea. Senate Democrats continued Monday to tee off on Gov. Bob McDonnell for what they characterized as his delay in releasing budget amendments illustrating where he wants to cut. And McDonnell announced that he plans to continue a school funding formula that will give Northern Virginia schools $128 million more in state aid but cost South Hampton Roads localities. The House budget plan is based in part on a bill from Del. Lacey Putney, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. It would require new government workers to contribute more toward their pension benefits, roll back cost-of-living adjustments and alter how a worker's age and years of service count toward retirement. While it's envisioned as more of a long-range strategy, one estimate suggests it could free up as much as $200 million to $300 million in the near term. Officials also are anticipating approval of billions more in federal dollars to help states cover a share of Medicaid dollars until 2011. Those funds are part of the budget proposal President Barack Obama unveiled recently. That will free up state dollars that otherwise might have been used on health care costs. Also being considered are proposals crafted by state department heads at the instruction of Kaine to show how agencies would function with graduated funding cuts up to 15 percent. Deep cuts to education, public safety and health care were part of the Kaine plan. And tough choices about deeper cuts are on the horizon. "We haven't had it as bad as we have it with a hole this big in the budget from one governor to the next," said Appropriations Committee staff director Robert Vaughn, who nevertheless said the House is far enough along that it could produce a balanced budget by the end of this week if it had to. A plan to offset the $1.9 billion with hundreds of millions in cuts to education and health and human services leaked from the Senate last week. But Senate officials said that is only one "scenario" that might not reflect their final proposal. In that chamber Monday, Sen. Janet Howell said McDonnell's opposition to new revenues and his insistence that car tax relief continue "has boxed us in so that the only choice is cutting vital state services." "The people of Virginia deserve to know how he will live up to his election promises," added Howell, a Fairfax County Democrat. "They deserve to know which state programs he wants us to cut. It is time, it is past time, for the governor to do the job he asked voters to elect him to do." That rhetoric, Putney said, is motivated by Democrats' concerns that McDonnell hasn't presented his budget ideas "for them to throw rocks at and complain about on the floor." "The way the governor is going about this deliberately and slowly working with both sides, both houses, I think it makes sense to approach the budget and the shortfall in that fashion," added Putney, a Bedford County independent who caucuses with the GOP. McDonnell has rolled out some budget proposals in methodical fashion, but most have been new spending initiatives to fund his economic growth agenda. Monday, he proposed another $29 million in spending to continue a state education funding formula that determines what share state and local government pay based on a wealth calculation. Last fall, school officials estimated that the formula would cost Virginia Beach $15.5 million, Chesapeake $9.5 million, Norfolk $7.2 million and Suffolk and Portsmouth $4 million each. Earlier in the day, Hampton Democratic Sen. Mamie Locke and education advocates lobbied for passage of legislation that would pump money into education with a menu of new levies, including collections of certain corporate, estate and income taxes. McDonnell has said he will not support any tax increases. Julian Walker, (804) 697-1564, julian.walker@pilotonline.com Norfolk, VA Anonymous GOP plan emerges to fix Va. shortfall The Virginian-Pilot urn:publicid:pilotonline.com:541247 Change 0 Usable urn:publicid:pilotonline.com:541246 Portsmouth council seeks quicker action on plan 2010-02-08T23:47:35-05:00 2010-02-08T23:45:54-05:00 Copyright The Virginian-Pilot

PORTSMOUTH City Council members demanded faster action Monday on an ambitious economic development plan that they had asked staff to begin drafting in November. So far, the plan involves a list of goals with deadlines ranging from 45 days to six months. The timelines didn't thrill council members, who were briefed in a presentation from economic development director Patrick Small. "Another six months of planning - we don't have that much time," Councilman Charles B. Whitehurst Sr. said. Vice Mayor Bill Moody Jr., Councilman Doug Smith and Councilwoman Elizabeth Psimas echoed Whitehurst's push for speed. They also stressed that the plan should involve more frequent briefings between staff and officials. Rather than quarterly updates, council members and other city officials should meet every month, Moody said. "We need to know what kind of activities are going on to lure industries," he said. City Manager Kenneth Chandler told council members that their direction in November was to return with a plan to achieve the objectives that council members had discussed that month at a retreat. Small's report included eight main goals. Among them: action plans to target certain industries, a communications strategy to work with state officials, a positive media campaign and more current demographic data. Whitehurst said the presentation was good but not quite what he was expecting. "I don't think we gave the city manager clear instructions on what we were looking for," he said. Smith said the city needs to do a better job of telling the public about its successes. He gave as an example the work done in Victory Crossing, which boasts the new Tidewater Community College campus, new housing and more projects on the drawing board. Smith said that's one of the biggest mixed-use redevelopment projects in Virginia, "but we haven't told the story very well." Council members pushed staff to aggressively market the land that the city owns and wants to develop. Small, who started as the city's economic development director in November, said the new economic development plan will give officials a document they can track and benchmark for progress. In the meantime, Small and his staff are still working on business deals, he told council members. "Don't think we're just sitting around planning," he said. Dave Forster, (757) 446-2627, dave.forster@pilotonline.com Norfolk, VA Anonymous Portsmouth council seeks quicker action on plan The Virginian-Pilot urn:publicid:pilotonline.com:541246 Change 0 Usable urn:publicid:pilotonline.com:541242 Ensnared in hazing scandal, sailor relieved to tell his story 2010-02-09T15:29:33-05:00 2010-02-08T23:31:13-05:00 Copyright The Virginian-Pilot

The key players in a hazing scandal among Navy dog handlers in Bahrain finally had their day in court, three years after the original investigation ended and one implicated sailor killed herself. The venue wasn't a court-martial; it was a retirement pay hearing for the unit's enlisted leader, Senior Chief Petty Officer Michael Toussaint. The case drew public scrutiny last year after media reports revealed that Toussaint had been promoted despite an investigator's finding that numerous incidents of hazing, some of them sexually charged, had occurred under his leadership. Top naval officials decided not to court-martial Toussaint because he was too close to retirement and too much time had passed since the alleged offenses of hazing and abuse occurred. Instead, they issued a letter of censure, forced him to retire and argued that he shouldn't receive his full pension. Toussaint fought back Thursday and Friday at an administrative hearing at Norfolk Naval Station, denying the most serious allegations, explaining that other actions had been misconstrued and insisting he never intended to humiliate anyone. Toussaint's lawyers attempted to poke holes in the claims of four former sailors who testified, including one whose commentary has been featured in The Washington Post and is campaigning to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" law. Defense lawyers accused a female sailor who claimed to have been assaulted by a higher ranking sailor in the kennel of "crying wolf." They insinuated that Joseph Rocha, who is gay, made up a story about being forced to repeatedly simulate oral sex during a training exercise because it would make him a more sympathetic figure in the media. Rocha acknowledged under cross- examination that he exaggerated the number of times the exercise took place in his account for The Washington Post. There were also discrepancies between his account and those of two other sailors assigned to the kennel at the time. But what might have mattered most to those deciding Toussaint's future didn't happen in Bahrain - it occurred much later and thousands of miles away while he was serving in Afghanistan with an elite special warfare unit. Last summer, Toussaint and his attack dog, Remco, came under fire while on a combat mission with a SEAL team. Remco took the first two shots, which proved fatal; another bullet wounded SEAL James Hatch. Toussaint wasn't deterred, Hatch testified through tears to the three men conducting the hearing. Only after Toussaint killed the two enemy fighters did he return to his two fallen comrades. Cmdr. Aaron Rugh, one of Toussaint's lawyers, replayed the scene during closing arguments. "In those moments, after his friend has been shot and his dog has been killed, he takes his weapon and he tries to provide security. Few of us can claim to have had such an impact on another person," Rugh said. "Even if every scurrilous, nasty allegation were true, his dedication, his selflessness at that moment, outweighs everything else." After hearing more than 12 hours of testimony and reading through hundreds of pages of documents, the panel returned a unanimous verdict late Friday night, recommending that Toussaint retire as a senior chief petty officer. The government had sought a recommendation to retire Toussaint as a petty officer first class. The final decision rests with an assistant secretary of the Navy. Regardless, Toussaint and nine of the supporters who sat through the hearing Friday saw the verdict as vindication for a comrade who never had a chance to defend himself. They noted that the panel deliberated for only 30 minutes. Toussaint was serving in Afghanistan when the original investigation - conducted in 2006, after he'd left Bahrain - was made public. He didn't see a copy of it until Rugh obtained one in November, after Toussaint's censure by Ray Mabus, the secretary of the Navy. Rugh said that investigation was flawed. The Marine captain who handled it never interviewed Toussaint. Nor was there corroboration of some of the alleged offenses, Rugh said. But officials overseeing the base and their superiors - all the way up to the admiral in charge of Navy installations worldwide - signed off on its findings of fact, which included statements about prostitutes being invited to kennel functions; gambling and fraternization among personnel, and an environment in which senior leaders played favorites, made junior sailors sing and dance and warned them not to report abuse. When the previous investigation came to light through media coverage last August, Rugh said, the Navy should have ordered a fresh, thorough inquiry. Instead, Gary Roughead, the chief of naval operations, ordered the matter reviewed. He later ordered that the Navy captain in charge of the base and a now-retired admiral receive letters of counseling for letting the investigation fall through the cracks. Testimony during the hearing may have cast doubts on some of the allegations. For others, Toussaint insisted he was either not present or not aware of any misconduct. Some of the most pointed evidence involved statements by Petty Officer 1st Class Jennifer Valdivia, who took over the kennel when Toussaint left. Valdivia killed herself in January 2007 after learning she would likely be implicated in the hazing investigation. The investigation noted that Valdivia took part in one training scenario handcuffed to a bed, naked under a sheet. Toussaint testified that he believed she was clothed and that the exercise was her idea. Toussaint said he was not in the kennel at the time Rocha said he was duct-taped to a chair, rolled into a dog kennel and left there until someone released him. Nor was he aware of a sailor who reported being hog-tied and forced to bark like a dog while his mouth was stuffed with liver dog treats. Toussaint said he did have one sailor carry around an "excuse bucket" and periodically read aloud excuses from it. "It wasn't meant to humiliate him," Toussaint said. And he would ask sailors who'd gotten in trouble to apologize to the kennel as a whole, then had the group vote on whether to accept the apologies. "We achieved so much as a family," he said. "I wanted junior personnel to have a voice. It never was meant to ridicule or embarrass anybody." Toussaint didn't deny having his sailors sing and dance at various times but said it had a legitimate purpose - to calm them down before tests with their dogs. Military working dogs can sense a handler is nervous and sometimes will misidentify the presence of explosives, he explained. Toussaint said he never forced anyone to do it. He also denied the presence of prostitutes at parties he hosted, and said some foreign women who came to one party were airline flight attendants brought by single sailors. Rugh said he's glad Toussaint had a chance to tell his story and face his accusers, even if it was after months of negative stories about him. "I feel confident that if they'd done a real investigation, he would have been exonerated," Rugh said. "I think that it's clear from this board here that the testimony of the victims just didn't hold up to scrutiny." Rocha saw it differently. The board's decision condones mistreatment, he said. "Anyone who's doing this stuff out in the fleet, it's like, earn a medal and have someone testify about your honor and your valor and we'll forget it." Kate Wiltrout, (757) 446-2629, kate.wiltrout@pilotonline.com Norfolk, VA Anonymous Ensnared in hazing scandal, sailor relieved to tell his story The Virginian-Pilot urn:publicid:pilotonline.com:541242 Change 0 Usable urn:publicid:pilotonline.com:541241 Fewer civil cases go to juries due in large part to cost 2010-02-09T09:01:10-05:00 2010-02-08T23:31:10-05:00 Copyright The Virginian-Pilot

Two years ago, Norfolk businessman Eric Stevens was broad-sided by a motorist who ran a red light. After surgery for a ruptured disc and other medical costs, he filed a lawsuit and entered the world of civil litigation. Two days before his case was to go to trial, Stevens was offered $70,000. He settled. Stevens isn't alone. In cities across the state and beyond, the number of juries deciding civil cases has plummeted over the past 10 years. In Virginia, civil jury trials, which typically number seven members, dropped 72 percent from 2,042 in 1999 to 570 last year, according to state Supreme Court statistics. It's a nationwide trend that legal experts refer to as the vanishing jury, evident in both state and federal courts. It's even found its way to the Yellow Pages, where some lawyers advertise quick results and cash settlements "without going to court." Some see detrimental consequences to the trend. "Our position here is the right to trial by jury is kind of the bedrock of not only Virginia but the U.S. Constitution," said Jack Harris, director of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association. "If it just basically becomes an anachronism, I think we've lost something." The reasons are varied, but Harris said he believes the cost of taking a case to trial is the biggest factor. Stevens settled after figuring he could have ended up with a lot less once he got inside a courtroom. Just the cost of having two of his doctors testify would have been $15,000. "I really did want a day in court," he said. "I thought this would be a great case to try. But on the flip side, the additional expense I was going to incur and the fact that any jury on any given day can swing one way or the other, it seemed like - why roll the dice when you don't have to?" That assessment may be one of the few things that both defendants and plaintiffs agree on. Resolving a civil case by trial is a big, expensive gamble, said Robert P. Hartwig, president of the Insurance Information Institute. The tab grows with every hour spent on trial preparation, every filing fee and every player in the legal drama who has to be paid, including court reporters, doctors and other expert witnesses. Some cases can run into the millions of dollars. The five South Hampton Roads cities have mirrored the decline in civil jury trials in Virginia. For years, Portsmouth was considered a mecca for plaintiffs looking for a sympathetic jury. At one time the city was flooded with so many railroad workers' lawsuits that some state Supreme Court justices described the city's court system as a "happy hunting ground." Changes in law stemmed the tide of injury cases from other states being heard in Portsmouth courts. Still, Virginia Beach attorney John Cooper will file a lawsuit to Portsmouth if he can. Just the threat of a Portsmouth jury can lead to a better settlement, he said. The working-class population in the city offers a better chance of getting jurors sympathetic to the underdog position of the injured person, he said. Yet even Portsmouth has seen civil juries drop sharply, from 84 in 1999 to 8 in 2009. Portsmouth Judge James A. Cales Jr. remembers years ago when every judge there had at least one personal injury lawsuit trial a week. "A lot of those were going to trial, and they don't seem to be now," he said. Cales said he could not say why but has always assumed it was economics-driven. Time also takes a toll on the desire to wait for trial. Some cases can take years. Harris said the increased use of other forms of resolution, such as arbitration and mediation, also is a factor. Sometimes, courts require the two sides to go into mediation, in which a third party makes an impartial assessment in an attempt to settle a dispute. Further, many banks, credit card companies and other commercial entities have contracts with customers that call for mandatory binding arbitration, Harris said. In those cases, that means average consumers have forfeited the chance to argue their case to a jury of their peers in their community. Instead, the issue is decided by one or more arbitrators probably in a different state where the corporation is located, he said. While civil jury trials have declined in Virginia, the state's civil case load has remained steady, averaging just more than 100,000 a year. Settlement amounts in the long term have increased, even when indexed for inflation, said Kenneth S. Abraham, a law professor at the University of Virginia. Abraham said it's not necessarily a good or bad thing if most lawsuits are settled before they get to a jury. He noted that the number of cases that actually went to trial was always small. The question it comes down to is, he said, whether someone felt pressured to settle or whether the settlement represented a kind of compromise. "I think people have different views of that," he said. "And probably it's some of each." But as the number of juries dwindles further, some point to another downside to the vacant jury box: a new generation of lawyers who don't get much experience pitching their case in a courtroom. "The old guys used to try dozens and dozens a year," said Cooper, who has been doing personal injury work for more than 20 years. Trial work, he said, is "becoming a lost art." Janie Bryant, (757) 446-2453, janie.bryant@pilotonline.com Norfolk, VA Anonymous Fewer civil cases go to juries due in large part to cost The Virginian-Pilot urn:publicid:pilotonline.com:541241 Change 0 Usable urn:publicid:pilotonline.com:541234 Officials warn of group soliciting donations 2010-02-09T00:36:51-05:00 2010-02-08T23:01:01-05:00 Copyright The Virginian-Pilot

The state Office of Consumer Affairs has alerted consumers that a Virginia Beach company calling itself Veteran Services of Hampton Roads is soliciting contributions as a charity but has not registered as such with the state as required. Although the name is similar, the company is not affiliated with the state Department of Veterans Services, the Virginia agency that assists veterans. As of Monday, Veteran Services of Hampton Roads had not filed its registration as a charity with the Office of Consumer Affairs, part of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. According to the Consumer Affairs Office, the company could use consumer contributions for noncharitable purposes. Consumers can check the registration status for charitable organizations by visiting www.vdacs.virginia.gov/consumers and clicking on "Charitable Search." Norfolk, VA Anonymous Officials warn of group soliciting donations The Virginian-Pilot urn:publicid:pilotonline.com:541234 Change 0 Usable urn:publicid:pilotonline.com:541233 Madness of March toward expansion worth considering 2010-02-08T23:07:12-05:00 2010-02-08T23:00:51-05:00 Copyright The Virginian-Pilot

There's a move afoot to expand the NCAA men's basketball tournament to 96 teams. Too bad for Roy Williams and his floundering Tar Heels that expansion can't be implemented until 2011.

There's a move afoot to expand the NCAA men's basketball tournament to 96 teams. Too bad for Roy Williams and his floundering Tar Heels that expansion can't be implemented until 2011. It could happen that fast if the NCAA opts out of its current broadcast agreement with CBS following the Final Four in order to re format its television deal to include the larger tournament field and split-rights coverage between an over-the-air partner and a cable network. If TV and more money are involved, chances are very good that the NCAA's new motto will be, "Bigger is better." In that case, let the complaining begin. College fans in love with the current 65-team tournament are already expressing outrage over the alleged conspiracy to dilute a great event. That was my first reaction, but I'm trying to remain open-minded. There's a first for everything, right? Those of us opposed to expansion of the field will argue that it provides undeserving opportunity for too many relatively inferior teams. This, in turn, will produce too many unattractive match-ups. And everybody understands the damage a bigger bracket does to the regular season. It makes it even more meaningless. Besides, why fix what ain't broke? The sticky problem for dissenters, though, is that these are precisely the same arguments that were used when the tournament expanded from 48 teams to 64 in 1985. We complained then that the NCAA was inviting riff-raff, and that this would detract from the grandeur of the competition. Instead, the opposite reaction took place among fans. Office pools grew into a national phenomenon. Lowly, double-digit seeds were instantly embraced. Today, the highlights of every tournament include mid-majors taking down, or throwing a scare into, marquee teams. People love that, in case you hadn't noticed. Zealots will tell you that the tournament is the year's grandest sporting event. But they exaggerate. The first couple days of the tournament create most of the excitement. Interest peaks among casual observers when the plucky underdogs challenge the household names, but anticipation diminishes as the marquee teams move along, asserting their dominance. A larger field would mean 31 more games over an extra week. The top 32 teams would get byes. The tournament's configuration would require some adjustments by fans, but people would be left with more hoops - and perhaps more lovable overachievers. Would that really be a turn off? No, I'm not convinced that 96 is the way to go. But maybe we should resist knee-jerk reactions, especially when some of the outspoken supporters -Syracuse's Jim Boeheim and Duke's Mike Krzyzewski - have nothing to gain by expansion. Also, by creating a 96-team field, the NCAA could absorb the 32-team NIT, which it also owns. Eliminating the NIT isn't the worst idea. Krzyzewski is a recent convert to the 96-team concept. A few months ago, he warned against diluting the product, but recently said, "I don't think we put enough value on the regular season. By expanding to that - and not having the NIT - you reward everybody who wins the regular season." An automatic NCAA bid for the team that finishes first in the standings - in addition to the slot reserved for the conference tournament champion - would be an attractive proposition for mid-major leagues that struggle to get at-large invitations. "You're rewarding regular-season champs," Krzyzewski says. This, he notes, can only enhance the attractiveness of mid-major conference games in February's dead zone. It's a potentially effective rebuttal to objections over a 96-team field. While I'm not yet a convert, I can recognize another argument: Nothing succeeds like excess. It's a philosophy that has served big-time athletics very well over the years. Maybe it will again. Bob Molinaro, (757) 446-2373, bob.molinaro@pilotonline.com Norfolk, VA Anonymous Madness of March toward expansion worth considering The Virginian-Pilot urn:publicid:pilotonline.com:541233 Change 0 Usable urn:publicid:pilotonline.com:541232 Danica joins Earnhardt Jr. at Daytona 2010-02-08T23:05:21-05:00 2010-02-08T23:00:48-05:00 Copyright The Virginian-Pilot

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. Maybe you missed Danica Patrick's sixth-place finish in Saturday's ARCA race. Or maybe you didn't see her commercial during Sunday's Super Bowl. Maybe you won't have time to catch her Wednesday night on "CSI: NY" playing the top competitor of a racing star who suffers a suspicious death. No worries, there's always Saturday. JR Motorsports announced Patrick will make her Nationwide Series debut at Daytona as Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s teammate. The move isn't surprising. Last week, Patrick was in New York serving as a spokesperson for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, which is sponsoring the Daytona Nationwide race. After her performance in the ARCA race last weekend, when she rallied after being spun, the team's decision wasn't shocking. She acquitted herself well in the race and gained confidence as it progressed. "She did fantastic, her first stock-car race," co-owner Kelley Earnhardt said after the race. "She was aggressive and didn't back out of it." Patrick couldn't stop talking about how much fun she had and admitted to learning a lot about the cars. Her education continues Saturday at Daytona. Norfolk, VA Anonymous Danica joins Earnhardt Jr. at Daytona The Virginian-Pilot urn:publicid:pilotonline.com:541232 Change 0 Usable urn:publicid:pilotonline.com:541230 South Norfolk redevelopment project aims for revisions 2010-02-08T22:53:15-05:00 2010-02-08T22:47:24-05:00 Copyright The Virginian-Pilot

CHESAPEAKE Nearly three years since Belharbour Station at SoNo secured council approval, the $200 million redevelopment project isn't off the ground yet. The developer said he has spent more than $1 million removing truckloads of contaminated soil. But that's the only dirt that has moved so far on a mixed-use development that's the linchpin in the city's plan to revitalize South Norfolk. Soon, Truxton Development LLC will go in front of the council for the second time in two years to seek approval on a revised plan. Paylor Spruill, managing member for Truxton, said Monday that he is still trying to line up financing for the project but is confident Belharbour will succeed. "I think the project is a good project," Spruill said. "South Norfolk is one of the better redevelopment areas in all of Hampton Roads. We're excited about going for it, as soon as the economy can cooperate." The concept behind Belharbour has been contentious since it was proposed. Critics questioned who would want to live in condominiums and apartments situated in the middle of an industrial area in South Norfolk. City officials hailed it as visionary and signed off on $35 million in public improvements that will be funded by money from a special South Norfolk taxing district. In 2008, Truxton won the council's OK to delay building the project's first 120 condominiums by a year. Now, the firm is seeking to renew its expiring conditional-use permit and get permission to build 150 apartment units, 20,000 square feet of retail, and a marina before it begins work on a parking garage, office tower and condominiums. In total, the project is slated to have as many as 693 residential units, many of them condos. Spruill notes that the project will be enhanced by the construction of a new Jordan Bridge, which will send more drivers past the new development as they cross between South Norfolk and Portsmouth. The developer said he hopes to work on the first phase later this year, which could mean that the bridge and mixed-use project will be under construction at the same time. The economy isn't the only factor creating problems for Belharbour. Part of the holdup stems from a lawsuit over a piece of land, owned by a railroad, that the city wants to condemn for use as Belharbour's main entrance. The case is now pending before a U.S. District Court judge. Pilot writer Tim McGlone contributed to this report. Mike Saewitz, (757) 222-5207, mike.saewitz@pilotonline.com Norfolk, VA Anonymous South Norfolk redevelopment project aims for revisions The Virginian-Pilot urn:publicid:pilotonline.com:541230 Change 0 Usable urn:publicid:pilotonline.com:541229 Internet design firm purchases Granby Street spot 2010-02-09T15:06:01-05:00 2010-02-08T22:30:48-05:00 Copyright The Virginian-Pilot

NORFOLK A Web and graphics design firm has purchased a 92-year-old building in downtown Norfolk and plans to renovate the space and relocate its headquarters there. Grow Interactive purchased the former Altschul's clothing store at 427 Granby St. for $610,000 and will spend an additional $600,000 to renovate the property, said Drew Ungvarsky, the company's president. The nearly 5,000-square-foot building was formerly owned by Granby Street Investments LLC. Grow Interactive, which was founded in 2003 and employs 15 workers, specializes in designing Web sites and online advertising. The company currently leases about 2,900 square feet in a suite on West 22nd Street in Norfolk, Ungvarsky said. The firm plans to hire three workers after the renovation is completed in June, he said. "That's kind of what the move is for," Ungvarsky said. "We realized a year ago that we were in a place to outgrow our space. The goal is to give us enough room to expand for years to come." About 45 percent of the cost of renovation will be funded by selling historic tax credits, he said. The renovations will include adding a mezzanine area, refinishing hardwood floors and restoring other sections of the building. "We want to be part of an active downtown community and help contribute to the multiuse of Granby Street," Ungvarsky said. Josh Brown, (757) 446-2318, josh.brown@pilotonline.com Norfolk, VA Anonymous Internet design firm purchases Granby Street spot The Virginian-Pilot urn:publicid:pilotonline.com:541229 Change 0 Usable