Special Reports

Forgotten engineer was key to space race success

mirandam — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:58:33 -0500

In the space race of the 1950s and ’60s, the leading voices were rocket scientist Wernher von Braun and … another guy.

Household names included Neil Armstrong, Alan Shepard and … oh, you know, the fellow who pushed the idea of a separate crew capsule and lunar lander.

Parallel park this!

mirandam — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 15:26:45 -0400

More than a dozen Pilot journalists helped create a presentation on the docking of the aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower.
On Sunday, see The Virginian-Pilot to learn what it takes to dock a warship the size of a skyscraper, and come back to PilotOnline.com to follow the Eisenhower’s docking as if you were on board.
Here’s a preview:

Interactive videos: Docking a carrier

mirandam — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 20:21:12 -0400

CLICK ON THE INTERACTIVE ABOVE TO WATCH VIDEOS AND LEARN MORE.

ABOARD THE EISENHOWER
After a journey of 56,000 miles, hundreds of combat flights and five months away from loved ones, the crew of the Dwight D. Eisenhower is within sight of home.

For Virginia Beach schools, racial divisions remain

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0400

VIRGINIA BEACH
E.E. Brickell integrated Virginia Beach schools in 1969, but he figured the first two generations of students would suffer.
Black students had to catch up to their white peers after decades of second hand books and second-class schools, Brickell said. "I thought it would take over twenty years," he said. "I was hopeful, but I was wrong."

The painful legacy of 1989's Greekfest endures

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0400

VIRGINIA BEACH Soldiers holding machine guns stood on street corners. Plywood covered more than 100 shattered storefronts, shards of glass sparkling on the sidewalk. It looked like a hurricane had struck a 10 -block stretch of Atlantic Avenue. In a way, it had.

Checkered History: For Va. Beach blacks, power still elusive

Sat, 05 Sep 2009 21:56:24 -0400

VIRGINIA BEACH
On the surface, this city looks like an American melting pot.
It ranks among the most integrated in the nation, with blacks, whites, Asians and a growing Hispanic population living side by side.
Virginia Beach schools have been integrated for 40 years and the city's work force matches the diversity of its population.

Hurricane Camille, Part 1: When the rain came

mow50981 — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0400

Aug. 19, 2009, marks the 40th anniversary of Hurricane Camille's assault on central Virginia, in which nearly 150 people died. This series was first published in The Virginian-Pilot 10 years ago to mark the 30th anniversary. By Earl Swift The drought has gone on for two summers now.

Hurricane Camille, Part 5: Clinging to life

jakon.hays — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0400

Hurricane Camille, Part 6: Revelations at morning

jakon.hays — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0400

Hurricane Camille, Part 7: A land transformed

jakon.hays — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0400

Aug. 19, 2009, marks the 40th anniversary of Hurricane Camille assault on central Virginia, in which nearly 150 people died. This series was first published in The Virginian-Pilot 10 years ago to mark the 30th anniversary. By Earl Swift At daybreak the rain had slowed to a drizzle. Tommy Huffman and his brother Russell stepped outside to a world changed.