Hampton Matters Blog - dailypress.com

Hampton police honored for heroism

Wed, 22 May 2013 14:43:00 GMT

Most days, police officers are the public face of government. And chances are, if you run into a uniformed officer, you’re not having a good day.

Buckroe sees gain in momentum

Mon, 13 May 2013 16:28:00 GMT

"That was the largest crowd I've ever seen in Buckroe."

Another review at Hampton's capital projects

Fri, 10 May 2013 19:04:00 GMT

Now is a great time to take another in-depth look at the city's 2014 fiscal year capital budget, and projects the city hopes to undertake.

Hampton has a new website

Wed, 01 May 2013 15:31:00 GMT

City of Hampton has created a new website.

Boston manhunt hits close to home

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 12:40:00 GMT

The world became a little smaller the moment those events spilled into Watertown, Mass. I had just visited that city of about 31,000 people last November to work on a series of articles about Fort Monroe.

Fort Monroe group meets behind closed doors

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 20:38:00 GMT

Wednesday was one of the shortest public meetings I've ever attended, and yet it felt like it went on for hours.

Kite Day on Fort Monroe

Robert Brauchle — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 18:30:00 GMT

Short 311 disruption expected Wednesday

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 18:03:00 GMT

Phone service at the city's 3-1-1 Call Center will be disrupted briefly Wednesday, April 24 at 4:30 p.m. when the service is switched to a new carrier. The disruption is expected to last for about 15-20 minutes and callers should hear a busy signal until service returns.

Mayor Ward to testify on Capital Hill on Tuesday

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 19:39:00 GMT

Per a city of Hampton news release:

How did the city's meal tax fare after rate increase?

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 14:56:00 GMT

Last June, the Hampton City Council agreed to increase the tax rate on people choosing to order their food at restaurants and diners as a way to help close a multi-million budget gap.

Fort Monroe's Casemate Museum may close Mondays

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 16:53:00 GMT

After researching the opening hours of other museums in the region, including other state museums, Casemate Museum staff propose that the house of operation at the museum be changes to closing to the public on Mondays beginning during the month of May 2013.

Are polling questions the right ones to be asking?

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 15:47:00 GMT

More people are going online to tell the city how they feel, at least when it comes to the proposed budget.

Waiting on plans for Fort Monroe's Wherry Quarter

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 13:08:00 GMT

The Fort Monroe Authority's short-term goals have been pretty apparent for the past eight months, even if they aren't necessarily laid out in a formal master plan.

City budgets: A numbers game

Robert Brauchle — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 16:50:00 GMT

Do you remember the good times before the Great Recession - when property values were on the rise and a job well done was occasionally followed by a bump in your paycheck?

On the move

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 21:08:07 GMT

Good afternoon, Hampton Matters readers. We're doing some shuffling here at the Daily Press. And while I'm still covering Hampton, the address of this blog will be changing. Feel free to follow Hampton matters here: http://www.dailypress.com/news/hampton/hampton-matters-blog/ Thanks, and I look forward to seeing your at the new location.

Fort Monroe walking tour this weekend

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 17:56:16 GMT

Walking tours of Fort Monroe will be held at 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 31. The tours entitled “Fort Monroe: Freedom’s Fortress in the Spring of 1862” will commemorate the 150th anniversary of Union General George B. McClellan’s arrival at Fort Monroe. The 90-minute tour is free and open to the public. Reservations are not required. The tour will visit several historic sites and describe their role during the Civil War, as well as the important people at the fort during that time period. The tour will meet at the Outlook Beach parking lot along Fenwick Road, just outside the east gate of the fort. The program is being put on by the National Park Service and Fort Monroe Authority.

A rundown on Hampton's campaign fundraising

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 01:32:07 GMT

As the full flare of Hampton’s political season begins to shine this spring, I thought it might be a good time to look at some of the money being passed around to help the candidates running in the City Council and mayoral elections. Among the myriad active political action and candidate campaign committees found on the Virginia Public Access Project’s website, I found a few gems I’d like to share: * Hugh Bassette referred to himself at a forum last Wednesday as “the poor candidate” because of his self-described inability to raise funds as well as some of his better-healed opponents. Bassette for Hampton City Council had just $25 to its coffers, so that support’s his claim of poverty. It should be noted the $25 was a Jan. 3 loan that came from none other than the candidate himself. * Democratic Party – Hampton, Va., received money from a pair of candidates appearing on the May 1 ballot. Mayor Molly Joseph Ward contributed $250 on May 17, 2011 to the committee. Vice Mayor George Wallace gave $295 to the committee in separate donations, the most recent being on May 27, 2011. Oddly enough, VPAP’s website does not list a single donation from the committee to City Council or mayoral candidates this season. The group reported having $8,380 in hand on Dec. 31, so it has the ability to move some money is it feels the need to. * Hampton Watch has remained financially inactive this political season, according to VPAP’s website. The group did donate $654 to Wallace in 2008 during his run for City Council. Future finance disclosure reports may tell a better story about the group’s involvement in this year’s races. The group reported having $22 in hand on Dec. 31. William Smith and Gaylene Kanoyton are registered to the group. * Hampton Open Government PAC was born on Nov. 30 of last year and it looks like Eddie Deerfield, of the Buckroe Improvement League, is its creator. The group had $3,377 in hand on Dec. 31. That’s after receiving a $5,000 donation from “Merrimac Apartments” and $500 from Joan Charles, both of Hampton. The group then lists $2,122 in itemized expenses, although it wasn’t clear where that money ended up going. * Hobbs For Hampton City Council by name alone appears to support William “Billy” Hobbs, although no meaningful paperwork has been filed to determine how much the group has raised or spent. * Hogan For Hampton City Council similarly appears to support former television reporter turned City Council candidate Kurt Hogan. No financial information was available at the time of writing this entry. * VA Peninsula Chamber of Commerce remains an active committee and reportedly had $1,150 in hand on Dec. 31. No donations to candidates are listed on VPAP’s website. * Republican Party – Hampton, Va. has not submitted paperwork to the state since 2005. Oddly enough, the committee lists its registered address as 22 Lincoln St., which is City Hall. I’m still new to the state’s finance laws, but I’m pretty sure political groups are supposed to stay outside of City Hall’s doors. Also, in 2005, the committee donated $1,000 to Tom Gear’s campaign for Delegate. He’s now running for City Council. * Theresa Vanasse Schmidt is running for Hampton City Council. In previous years she has also unsuccessfully attempted to take a Delegate seat, so she has two active committees in her name. Schmidt for Delegate had $355 in hand on Feb. 25, 2011. Oddly enough, this committee took in a $2,000 contribution from the Gear for Delegate committee in January 2011. Tom Gear announced in late March he would run for City Council, so I’m sure he wouldn’t mind having that money back. * Schmidt for Hampton City Council is also an active committee, although it has not submitted an financial reports to the state, according to VPAP. * Sellers for Hampton City Council was created by City Council candidate Theresa Sellers. The group has $4 in hand on Dec. 31, 2010, the last time paperwork was submitted to the state, according to VPAP. * Snead for Hampton City Council had $2,242 in hand on Dec. 31, 2011. The group formed by Hampton City Council candidate Chris Snead received donations from the Boo Williams Sportsplex, Hampton Treasurer Robert S. Williams, Family Redirection Institute Inc., and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. On to the mayoral race: * Tuck for Mayor had $784 in hand on Dec. 31. This is Councilman Donnie Tuck’s first attempt at the mayor’s seat after spending two years on the City Council. The committee received a $500 donation in December from Ocean Properties, of Virginia Beach. Tuck’s held quite a few fundraisers this year, so expect his donation list to increase in the next financial disclosure report. * Together Fort Hampton was formed March 7, and lists its purpose as opposing Tuck as a candidate for mayor. The group has not filed any financial reports and lists its treasurer as Adam Tyler Jordan. Interestingly enough, VPAP lists Jordan as receiving $2,395 in 2011 from Del. Mike Watson, R-James City, for political consulting and events/catering. * Va Leadership Inc. is a Hampton-based committee that has contributed to the campaigns of Democrats, Republicans and Independents alike. Most recently the group donated $500 to Molly Ward in December 2011. It also donated to Councilman Christ Stuart’s City Council campaign in 2010. The committee reported having $8,822 in hand on Dec. 31, so expect it to remain active this spring. * Ward for Mayor of Hampton took in $4,000 in 2011 and reported having in excess of $30,000 at the end of 2011. The committee received separate $1,000 donations during that period from Susan Bentley Joseph, Patten Wornom Hatten & Diamonstein and Pomoco Group Inc. This is the end of Molly Ward’s freshman year as mayor and she is being challenged by Donnie Tuck. I’ll keep an eye on campaign finance reports and update them when better information becomes available.

Aerospace facility opening in Hampton

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 22:50:33 GMT

An aerospace research facility being built by Virginia Tech in the Hampton Roads Center North Campus will be unveiled during an April 12 dedication ceremony. Contractors have been working since August to complete the 60,000-square-foot building off Magruder Boulevard for the National Institute of Aerospace. The Peninsula Technology Incubator located within the facility will allow private companies participating in the program to have access to the institute’s faculty as well as potential private investors, Executive Director Robert Lindberg told the Hampton Federal Area Development Authority on Monday. The aerospace institute is a $30 million non-profit research and graduate education program including more than 200 professors, researchers, staff and students. It is designed to allow private companies and university researchers access to facilities at the NASA Langley Research Center and to help transfer NASA technology to the private sector. Virginia Tech is one of nine colleges and universities included in the research project that aims to be a research hub for aerospace and atmospheric studies.

Gear's six degrees of separation with the Hampton City Council

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 19:29:20 GMT

So goes the saying that all politics is local. So when former Del. Tom Gear announced his intention to run for Hampton City Council, I thought it would be prudent to dig up some of his past interactions with current members of the council. Here is what I was able to find: Mayor Molly Joseph Ward: Rewind to 2003, when Tom Gear beat Forrest Ward – Molly’s husband – in a Republican primary for the 91st District seat in the House of Delegates. Gear used name recognition from a previous term in the seat, a pledge against new taxes and a vocal opposition against a referendum to increase the state sales tax for road projects to help him coast to victory. Vice Mayor George Wallace: Wallace was Hampton’s city manager when he feuded with Gear about numerous issues while Gear was on the City Council. The relationship turned particularly sour when Wallace refused to give Gear and other council members a copy of a city-financed feasibility study on a new convention center. While in the General Assembly, Gear later expressed sympathy toward Wallace’s firing from the city manager position in 2005. Ross Kearney II: Kearney and Gear were both on the City Council from 1998 to 2001 and each have spent significant parts of their lives in Phoebus. Kearney is not seeking another term on the council. Christopher Stuart: After Gear resigned from the General Assembly in 2010, Stuart unsuccessfully ran in a four-way GOP primary for the 91st District seat. Poquoson Mayor Gordon C. Helsel won the primary and subsequently took Gear’s seat in Richmond. Donnie Tuck: Tuck is running for mayor against Ward this season. Gear attended a speaking event held by Tuck last weekend, so there is apparently a cordial relationship between the pair. Gear and Tuck have never crossed paths on the same elected board. Will Moffett: Moffett is at the midway point of his first term on City Council and has apparently not served on an elected board with Gear. Joseph Spencer II: Spencer left the City Council in 2000, but was asked to serve the remaining six months of former council member Tom Gear's term when he was elected state delegate in 2002. Spencer successfully ran for council that year and was re-elected in 2006. He again accepted an invitation to return to the council when Angela Leary resigned last fall to fill the remainder of her term. He is not running for another term.

Pleasant Shade Cemtery's maintenance a community affair

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 15:46:50 GMT

Pleasant Shade Cemetery has found itself in caring hands - a lot of them - now that the Newport News Chapter of The Links Inc. is taking on the nearly 20-acre property as a service project. I mentioned in my article this week that Pleasant Shade has had numerous ownership issues in the past decade, which probably won’t be resolved any time soon. The local Links Inc. chapter, however, is making the cemetery its long term service project, meaning members will mow the grass and care for the headstones for the time being. “Collectively, we are working to bring dignity and respect to a cemetery that should be included in the historical accounts of Hampton and Newport News, Virginia,” wrote Phyllis M. Henderson, Newport News Links Inc. president. The group is also celebrating 60 years of service in the Hampton Roads area. To make sure the cemetery is cared for, Links is partnering with members of numerous other committee groups to create the Pleasant Shade Cemetery Restoration Project Committee. The first event on the list is an April 21 meeting at the cemetery where members will chart where the various burial plots are located.

No-kill shelters providing a home for animals

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 14:06:59 GMT

Like a lot of non-profit groups in the region, Animal Aid Society is run solely by volunteers. Any financial help it receives goes into supplies and food for the dogs it houses. The 40-gallon pales of dog food separated based on the dogs' dietary needs that sits in the group's office is telling of the detail needed to take care of these dogs while doing it on a large-scale basis. A feel-good story that I mentioned briefly in my recent article, but didn't quite elaborate on, is a local contractor is providing discounts and donating some work toward the construction of those three dog runs being built at Animal Aid Society. RA Jones Inc. workers have built the masonry walls, installed the windows and were working on the electrical components last week when I visited. And even though they were more interested in building than talking to the media, Animal Aid Society president Kathy Fleming heaped praise on the Newport News construction company. We'll continue to follow the increasing demand on these non-profit shelters in the upcoming years, and with a little luck, they'll find partners such as RA Jones to make the burden of expanding a little easier.

Fort Monroe's caretakers

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 21:44:46 GMT

I found myself strolling around Fort Monroe the day after I moved to Hampton Roads. I don't know how I ended up enjoying the view along the boardwalk that day, but nerveless, something drew me to the site. Fort Monroe Authority Executive Director Glenn Oder doesn't want people to accidentally stumble on the grandeur that is Fort Monroe. He wants tourists to actively look for and enjoy the historic Army base. Oder is making some of his plans public. I wrote a story this week about the Authority's plans to have the Bay Breeze Community Center reopened by summer. Oder is also keeping a lot of his plans buried, at least until they've germinated enough for him to finally present a bouquet to the public. During a tour of the fort with some Daily Press staff, Oder revealed a few of his plans. I won't reveal them here, but i look forward to breaking the news when the announcements are finally made.

A buzz in the room

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 21:14:18 GMT

Sometimes, as a reporter on deadline, its hard to relay the interest of a particular subject or event onto paper. So this article is a good start to describe the turnout for the "Unknown No Longer" workshop help Monday night, but it doesn't give you the full story. There were more than 100 people who attended the event, many of whom arrived more than 30 minutes early to hear Lauranett L. Lee, curator of African history for the Virginia Historical Society, speak about the electronic database. Lee noted Fort Monroe's contribution to slavery during the Civil War and the decision to not return three escaped men to their owner because they were contraband of war. As well told as the contraband story is, Hampton's history with slavery is a little more murky. Many of the slave's records were lost to history when the town was burned by retreating Confederate soldiers in the 1860s, she said. During the event, the crowd spilled out of a lecture room at the Hampton History Museum and it remained engaged throughout the two-hour event. People asked more than a dozen questions and stayed late to speak to Lee following the formal presentation. The online tool will clearly be an asset to people who are interested in family research and genealogy. It will be interesting to see this tool grow.

An early look at Hampton election finance

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 17:55:13 GMT

The Virginia Public Access project has a wealth of information about the upcoming May 1 Hampton mayoral and City Council elections. If you are interested in following campaign cash and the people, companies and groups that donate to see their candidate win, then you will want to visit this site: The latest filing updates were due for Hampton City Council candidates on Dec. 31, 2011. Here is what they show: City Council: Hugh Bassette: He had $25 in hand on the filing date after reportedly lending himself $425 and spending $400 of it. Theresa Sellers: This repeat City Council candidate did not file a finance report with the state by Dec. 31. She did hold a fundraiser on Jan. 17 at La Bodega, so expect her upcoming reports to show some income. Chris Snead: She is reporting $2,242 in hand, the most out of any other City Council candidate as of Dec. 31. A chunk ($2,000) of her incoming cash was a loan from herself, although she did reportedly receive another $2,093 from in-kind and small cash contributions. Snead has also spent $1,850 since July 1. George Wallace: The vice mayor reportedly had $125 in hand and has had very few expenses and incoming cash to speak of - $31 that came in and $20 that went back out – since July. People who are noticeably absent from the finance reports include Councilman Ross Kearney who is not seeking re-election. Councilman Joe Spencer replaced an ailing Angela Leary last year and has said he will not run for City Council this May. In the mayoral race: Molly Joseph Ward: The mayor has, by far, the most cash on hand at the end of the last filing date. Combined with her previous years’ fundraising efforts, she had $30,264 in hand on Dec. 31. She also held a fundraiser in late January that was attended by more than 100 people, so expect her campaign coffers to grow. Donnie Tuck: Councilman Donnie Tuck reportedly received $500 in contributions and lent himself $350 in the past year. With just $85 in expenses, he had $784 in hand on Dec. 31.

A closer look at Hampton's capital plan

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 11:52:15 GMT

A $3 million pedestrian overpass that spans Mercury Boulevard, an exterior marquee on the Hampton Roads Convention Center and facade improvements for homes in Buckroe all have a common denominator – they’re all being considered as projects in the city’s capital budget. In Hampton, projects and programs get separated from the operating budgets when their cost exceeds $50,000 and their minimum life expectancy is five years or more. That capital plan, however, is also shrinking – to a level lower than what the city expected to spend as far back as the 2007-11 projections. Here are some raw spending statistics beginning with the capital plan that spans for 2007 to 2011: 2007-11: $265,100,000 2008-12: $302,200,000 2009-13: $257,000,000 2010-14: $239,600,000 2011-15: $160,600,000 The 20011-15 capital plan is a 33 percent decrease from the 2010-14 level. And as city budgets tighten because of increased costs and fewer aid dollars from Richmond, so will each city’s ability to maintain its facilities, underground utilities and schools. As for local impacts of the upcoming state budget, I’m being told that schools will likely be hit the hardest. Final figures won’t be determined until the General Assembly passes the budget and it’s signed by the governor. As a footnote - you can follow me on Twitter: @dp_brauchle