http://hamptonroads.com/node/355378 Local News en-us Copyright 2012 PilotOnline.com / HamptonRoads.com. Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:41:50 -0500 What is it about $40 million and Virginia Beach? As I went to sleep last night I was haunted by that number. After all, that's the approximate amount of money the city's schools need to slash from next year's budget. When I got up this morning and Googled "$40 million" and "Virginia Beach" I stumbled on an amazing coincidence. http://hamptonroads.com/2012/02/40-million-question Wed, 08 Feb 2012 10:12:49 -0500 I'm trying to imagine the world without Pete Decker in it. Sorry, can't do it. This Norfolk lawyer - who seemed to be on a first-name basis with the world - literally raised untold millions for charity. His smile, his generous spirit, his infectuous laugh and, of course, his singing will be missed by everyone who knew him and millions who never had the privilege.     http://hamptonroads.com/2012/02/rip-uncle-pete Fri, 03 Feb 2012 07:14:01 -0500 What is it about Sandra Smith-Jones? After she was shamed into resigning from the Virginia Beach School Board - because she'd accepted a job 7,000 miles away, in Saudi Arabia - she finds herself now on the governor's Council on the Status of Women. A state advisory board. Emphasis on "advisory." http://hamptonroads.com/2012/01/longdistance-lady Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:51:34 -0500 Town Center STATION? Looks like the bring-light-rail-to-Virginia-Beach-at-any-cost crowd got the naming rights to the little strip mall next to Town Center.     http://hamptonroads.com/2012/01/whats-name Wed, 18 Jan 2012 14:40:26 -0500 Well what do you know. It looks like the mayor of Virginia Beach has been counting noses. When he couldn't get to six on City Council, he hastily pulled the plug on that $109 million boondoggle of a convention center hotel project. "The deal that is in front of us now just does not have the support of council," said Sessoms. Hallelujah. http://hamptonroads.com/2012/01/was-close Wed, 04 Jan 2012 14:35:28 -0500 Uh-oh. Looks like a couple of prominent hurricane predictors are getting out of the cyclone crystal ball business. The Ottawa Citizen is reporting that William Gray and Phil Klotzbach are calling it quits after a couple of decades of scaring the bejabbers out of coastal dwellers. http://hamptonroads.com/2011/12/hurricane-hype Tue, 13 Dec 2011 11:46:37 -0500 Well, whaddya know, Slate Magazine, that mildly entertaining online publication I once read faithfully but rarely bother with anymore, has just learned that Virginia law does not allow public schools to open until after Labor Day. Stop the presses! http://hamptonroads.com/2011/12/old-news Tue, 06 Dec 2011 10:56:42 -0500 After a week of unrelenting rants - with one more to come on Sunday - it's nice to find some news that's, well, heartwarming. And here it is: According to The Washington Post, law students at George Mason University are destressing before exams by playing with puppies. http://hamptonroads.com/2011/12/legal-beagles-frolic-furballs Fri, 02 Dec 2011 12:18:48 -0500 Good morning good-government wonks.  Yes, you who have learned to tremble every time the Virginia Beach City Council becomes hypnotized by some new shiny object.   http://hamptonroads.com/2011/12/good-money-after-bad Thu, 01 Dec 2011 10:35:08 -0500 Where did you spend the Fourth of July in 1999? If you were in Virginia Beach you're a survivor of what we was unquestionably The Worst Holiday Weekend. Ever. http://hamptonroads.com/2011/11/beach-blanket-buses Mon, 28 Nov 2011 15:56:47 -0500