Some Virginia homeowners who have fallen behind in their mortgage payments may soon get a letter offering help. It won't be a ruse or a scam. A change in state law Tuesday requires that lenders and mortgage-servicing companies send delinquent borrowers with high-interest loans the names of housing counselors who can provide foreclosure-prevention guidance.

A little piece of Americana has been carved out of a tract of land in northern Virginia Beach. Sajo Farm, located off  Diamond Springs  Road, is named for  industrialist Sam Jones, who died in 1977.  After the death of Jones’ widow, Ursala, the 78 acres was sold in 2005. 

A Norfolk couple donated a 1989 Ford Crown Victoria they weren't using. A Suffolk artist contributed a painting to be raffled. And residents around South Hampton Roads gave pocket change, cash, checks and yard sale treasures to raise money for a Suffolk family that needed a wheelchair-accessible van.

By Phyllis Speidell The Virginia-Pilot SMITHFIELD Ragtime fades from Main Street at the end of June when Trey Gwaltney closes his Antiques Emporium. The syncopated melodies are as much a signature of Smithfield as his antiques mall from where the vintage tunes waft into the street.

SUFFOLK A looming deadline on a stalled development project could lead to a major decision for the City Council. Should they stick it out with their first choice and allow the developer more time to pull through? Or do they call in Bruce Smith?

When Ian Hill talks about building his dream home in Cooper’s Creek Manor, it’s reminiscent of a Goldilocks fairy tale.

“We used to live in another part of Chesapeake, but it had a crowded feel to it. So, we moved to Currituck, but it was too rural,” said Hill, vice president of A & W Contractors.

Huntersville, a small Suffolk neighborhood that has struggled over the years, will enjoy a population boom as families move into 16 Habitat for Humanity houses built this month. Jonathan Reckford, chief executive officer of Habitat for Humanity International, spent a day at the Suffolk home-building blitz on June 4, meeting with builders and future homeowners.

VIRGINIA BEACH The houses will be extravagant. The prices promise to be as dizzying as ever. Only this year's Homearama - the annual showcasing of the latest high-end developments - will be much smaller, a victim of the sluggish economy.

Cobb, who lived in Birdneck Point, was a real estate broker with Cobb, Maxey and Nicholson Real Estate in the 1970s when she purchased an 8-acre parcel bordering Birdneck Point, just off Laskin Road. "I grew up in the building business, and all my life all I knew were men building things. I thought, 'Why can't a woman do something like that?' " she said.

When Tom Edwards and Cyndi Culpepper put a house in Port Norfolk up for sale last summer, they thought it would easily bring $330,000. Edwards had bought the Victorian on Douglas Avenue in Portsmouth in rough shape for about $90,000 in 2004. He and his wife invested about $110,000 more to refurbish the place.