IF VIRGINIA PROCEEDS with plans for offshore exploration of gas and oil, it would be limited to a wedge-shaped area of about 3 million acres, between 50 and 140 miles offshore. A smaller wedge at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay would be off-limits, to provide unrestricted access for Navy and commercial ships.

Click on the interactive presentation below for a preview of the special report.

1859   First commercial oil well in the United States at Titusville, Pa., struck oil at 69 feet and could produce about 25 barrels a day.
1896/1897   First offshore oil production in California, from a wooden pier over 30 feet of water near Santa Barbara.

CLICK ON THE PRESENTATION ABOVE TO TEST YOUR SPELLING SKILLS.
 

Retiring U.S. Sen. John Warner, who has represented Virginia for 30 years, took PilotOnline.com on a tour of his Capitol Hill office before packing it up to return to his Fairfax County home. Displayed in his office are memorabilia from his many years of government service.
(Be sure to have your speakers turned on before starting the tour.)

How many of these objects can you find?
Wall 1

Click on the presentation below to learn about property transfers in the Portsmouth suburb of Cavalier Manor.

  Story: Portsmouth community is going from neighbors to strangers

  SPECIAL REPORT: Fighting Massive Resistance, A six-part series

AUDIO SLIDE SHOW: The Rev. E.C. Alexander has been preaching for since 1929, and he is not about to step aside any time soon. (Produced by Vicki Cronis-Nohe | The Virginian-Pilot)
By Frank Roberts
It's 11 a.m. on a Sunday morning at First Christian Church in Edenton, N.C., and the congregation is ready for some straightforward, direct-from-the-Bible preaching from the Rev. E.C. Alexander.

SINCE 1995, investors have spent and made millions launching large-scale restoration projects, known as “wetland mitigation banks.” Many of the projects restored drained forests and cropland to wetlands on large tracts surrounding the Great Dismal Swamp. For every acre of natural wetlands developers are allowed to destroy, they must create or restore an acre or two of wetlands.

Read the story: Lions and foxes and cat-dragons walk on two legs

Research and additional production by Stephanie M. Lee, a 2008 summer intern at The Virginian-Pilot and a student at the University of California-Berkeley.