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By Philip Newswanger
philip.newswanger@insidebiz.com
Polls are all the rage this year as presidential candidates battle for the top spot in the country. A poll can strengthen or weaken a candidates' position and electability.
Or polls can measure the mood of a constituency. Are they happy, sad, angry or complacent? More so, what are their positions? Where do they stand on the issues?
This is the strategy of U.S. Rep. Scott Rigell, a Republican who represents all of Virginia Beach, the Eastern Shore and portions of Norfolk and Hampton.
By Mary Flachsenhaar
Mary.Flachsehaar@insidebiz.com
A Norfolk Circuit Court judge has denied the motion to strike filed in 2010 by Brian R. Dinning, a former Suffolk resident who is the defendant in a fraud and breach of contract case brought against him by a Pennsylvania couple who had sought legal guidance from Dinning, an attorney.
On Jan. 19, Judge Karen J. Burrell, in response to the motion that claimed the lawsuit and verdict were without merit and basis, ordered that the matter be stricken from the docket.
Carter Bohrer is a 6-year-old with a very old soul.
"I always say he's 6 going on 80," said Jennifer "Jeni" Bohrer, his mother. "He is not your typical child."
Since the age of 1, Carter has been fascinated by garbage trucks and recycling.
"When we lived in Texas, he would literally sit there on trash day and watch the trucks," Bohrer said. "He would see the recycling trucks and was very inquisitive about the process."
John R. Broderick
President
Old Dominion University
My wish for Hampton Roads in 2012 is a heightened commitment to grow and support economic development initiatives, and a regional effort to recognize and promote the significant contributions of the many colleges and universities in the area.
At Old Dominion University, we have invested strategically in key research areas to spur economic growth and solidify the university's role as an economic development leader.
Last March, news of a new Target store opening in Virginia Beach had retailers abuzz about how the addition would affect Pembroke Mall, the proposed location for the store.
The news broke after R. J. Nutter II, an attorney at Troutman Sanders who represented Pembroke Enterprises Inc., the mall’s owner, brought plans for the Target before the city’s zoning board. If opened, the Target, the city’s fourth location, would be located where Regal Cinemas 8 is at Pembroke Mall.
High-speed rail’s fate in Hampton Roads is unknown.
Shadowed by a $15 trillion debt, budget-conscious Congress has spiked $8 billion in funding for high-speed rail projects across the country.
The clawback in funds jeopardizes the future of a high-speed rail link between Washington, D.C., and Raleigh.
Yet rail enthusiasts in Virginia are hopeful.
President Obama announced the first $8 billion funding slice in 2009 and many states jumped onboard.
But some didn’t.
The city of Norfolk is preparing to host passenger trains from Richmond, with the construction of a platform and small station adjacent to Harbor Park.
The daily service between Norfolk, Petersburg and Richmond is expected to begin in 2013.
The city’s original plan was to construct a rail, bus and ferry hub, so passengers could step from a train onto a bus or light rail train or ferry.
The original plan cost $16 million, supported by a federal grant.
It started in 2010 as an idea by the Asian Association of Hampton Roads: create a bustling Asian-themed commercial center in Hampton Roads.
By April 2011, Beach Development Group announced that it was developing “AsiaTown.”
The development company, headed by Kathy Owens, said the new complex, at the corner of Holland Road and Warwick Drive in Virginia Beach, will have “a mix of upscale retail and office space, as well as up to four outparcels in a pedestrian-friendly layout with a modern Asian flair throughout.”
The banking community lost a popular member when William F. “Tree” Rountree, 66, a founder, director and president of Monarch Bank, died after a long battle with cancer. He had been involved in the region’s banking industry for decades.
Localities and the Virginia Small Business Financing Authority have reached a tentative compromise over bond fees.
The battle over bond fees has been ongoing for the past few years. The fight reached a climax in the 2011 General Assembly session when Sen. Tommy Norment, R-3, told the Virginia Small Business Financing Authority to reach a compromise with the localities.
The fight involves the percentage that the VSBFA and the economic development authorities charge nonprofit organizations for bond issues.
