By April Phillips Correspondent NORFOLK Bill Portlock has a passion for the Chesapeake Bay and an eye for photography. As a senior educator for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, he uses his love of nature and his photography skills to convince others of the importance of caring for the Bay and treasuring it as one of the region’s greatest natural resources.

NORFOLK
During the War of 1812, Brig. Gen. Robert B. Taylor commanded troops from Fort Norfolk that helped defeat the British at the Battle of Craney Island.
The four-acre fort stands on the banks of the Elizabeth River off of what is now Front Street, near Colley Avenue.

It's OK to mouth off in Gary Morton's class. In fact, he encourages it. "Your parents might call it being a smart-butt," said the 50-year-old actor, director and producer. "I call it improv."

By Jan Gaillard
The Virginian-Pilot
 Honk if you've ever been an ugly duckling.
If that sentiment was made into a bumper sticker, chances are Hampton Roads would be a pretty noisy place.
Though most people can relate to Hans Christian Andersen's classic tale of "The Ugly Duckling," Ellis Dawson positively fits the bill.

NORFOLK
New exhibits, baby animals and a train fueled a hefty boost in attendance over the last two years at the Virginia Zoo, already Norfolk's most popular attraction.

NORFOLK
The sounds emanating from Ruffner Academy's music room were unfamiliar to those who passed in the hall.
The harp, after all, is not a typical middle school band instrument.
And that's the purpose of the Delta Arts in the Schools program - to introduce a non-traditional instrument to students who may otherwise never experience it.

A special program and community dialogue covering 50 years of public education in Norfolk since the end of Massive Resistance will be at the Naro Expanded Cinema in Ghent at 7:15 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 25.

By Greg Goldfarb
Correspondent
It's almost noon on a Saturday morning and all four styling chairs at Village Hair Designs in Port Norfolk are filled.
But across the street at Lee's Hot Dogs and Subs, it's practically empty and down the block at what used to be a bakery, a "for rent" hangs in the vacant building's front window.

  "We need money and don't let gas prices get to high," wrote 7-year-old Xavier Bell in his letter to President Barack Obama. His second-grade classmate at Crossroads Elementary School, Brittany Taylor, 8, wrote, "I think you should help people get money. Then they can get food. And get a house."

The meeting Monday night at the East Ocean View Recreation Center could have been a rough and tumble affair.
On one side was City Councilman W. Randy Wright and half a dozen city officials, including City Manager Regina V.K. Williams, who have overseen the city's redevelopment efforts in East Ocean View.