http://hamptonroads.com/taxonomy/term/143 Category: Community News en-us Copyright 2012 PilotOnline.com / HamptonRoads.com. Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:49:37 -0500 The stores and restaurants are great, but something has to be done about the roads. That was the consensus of about 100 area residents who weighed in on existing conditions at Hilltop at a public meeting Jan. 26. It was the first of three planned public meetings designed to establish a plan for Hilltop, which is one of eight “strategic growth areas” designated by the city. http://hamptonroads.com/2012/02/beach-residents-hilltop-roads-need-fixing-now Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:46:43 -0500 VIRGINIA BEACH   Kathy Harrison heard about the children in Afghanistan who were using two sticks and a plastic bag as a makeshift kite. She also learned they had no school. “That sealed it for me,” Harrison said. “I had to do something.” She decided on a care package. Of kites. http://hamptonroads.com/2012/02/virginia-beach-generosity-lifts-afghan-kids Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:56:43 -0500 VIRGINIA BEACH Planning is under way to narrow a roadway for safety reasons in a neighborhood where a family was struck by a pickup about two weeks ago. South Plaza Trail will be shrunk from four lanes to three between Interstate 264 and Continental Street, likely after July 1, said Drew Lankford, a spokesman for the city’s Department of Public Works. http://hamptonroads.com/2012/02/virginia-beach-street-be-narrowed-slow-traffic Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:43:01 -0500 VIRGINIA BEACH A barren lot at the entrance to the Laskin Road Gateway project will soon be fertile ground for a public park. http://hamptonroads.com/2012/02/park-bridge-add-walking-space-laskin-gateway Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:16:35 -0500 EDITOR'S NOTE: Mike Hixenbaugh covers city government for The Virginian-Pilot. This piece was one of his "Above Board" columns published in the Beacon section of The Pilot. Ask most members of the City Council and the mayor if they want to raise property taxes this year, and you’re likely to hear variations of the same answer: “Of course not.” http://hamptonroads.com/2012/02/va-beach-councilman-proposes-pledge-against-tax-fee-hikes Tue, 07 Feb 2012 09:54:02 -0500 The "Today" show, "World News with Diane Sawyer," the Princess Anne High School faculty - everybody wants a piece of Huff the Great Dane and Jonathan Friedman, the local man who won $1 million with his Doritos commercial during the Super Bowl. http://hamptonroads.com/2012/02/va-beach-man-wins-1m-super-bowl-doritos-ad Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:54:06 -0500 When Harriet King - or Ms. Harriet as she is known to most of her McDonald’s customers - sees her regulars pull into the College Drive parking lot, she immediately sets about preparing their orders. http://hamptonroads.com/2012/02/college-drive-mcdonalds-its-good-be-harriet-king Mon, 06 Feb 2012 12:09:05 -0500 VIRGINIA BEACH Brian Hawkins can look at a piece of wood and envision the beautiful handcrafted guitar he can turn it into. “I don’t think I’d be as excited if I was making furniture,” Hawkins said. “This way people have something they can sit down with and make music with.” http://hamptonroads.com/2012/02/va-beach-woodcrafter-creates-oneofakind-guitars Mon, 06 Feb 2012 09:57:59 -0500 Without his companion and business partner, Keith Large said, keeping the Oasis Cafe going just became too difficult. On Jan. 27, less than four months after losing Richard Grether Jr. to lung cancer, Large closed the downtown breakfast and lunch restaurant. A few days later, the landlord locked the business. http://hamptonroads.com/2012/02/after-coowners-death-oasis-cafe-closes-its-doors Mon, 06 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 PORTLOCK Inside Fire Station 2, clumps of hair piled on the floor as firefighter Heather Callahan ran a pair of clippers across her husband's head. "It's just hair!" someone in the crowd of newly bald firefighters yelled at the couple. Callahan smiled. http://hamptonroads.com/2012/02/chesapeake-firefighters-get-shaved-baldathon Mon, 06 Feb 2012 12:14:11 -0500