Hampton City Council Withdraws "Gun Sanctuary City" Resolution

Downtown Hampton, VA.

While Hampton City Council withdrew a "sanctuary city" resolution to the outrage of gun fanatics and likely white supremacy last night, it is still troubling that any such resolution was ever put into motion, especially because it was the white city council members in a majority black city who first brought up the resolution.  The optics were terrible and many blacks residents, rightly in my view, saw racism in the move to consider the resolution. The fact that the resolution - which would have had no legal basis  and arguably would have encourage extremists to ignore new gun control laws likely to be passed by the General Assembly - was ever brought up in the first place is a study in cowardice.  Thankfully, after reflection, City Council unanimously withdrew the resolution.  The move is in sharp contrast to action taken by the City of Virginia Beach recently that saw city council cave to the demands of gun nuts and extremists. WAVY-TV looks at the action in Hampton and also has a listing of localities who have pandered to gun extremists and, in my view, white supremacists.  Here are highlights:

Hampton City Council has signed onto a letter supporting Second Amendment rights, without actually voting on anything.

The move was met with “boos” from the hundred or so gun-rights supporters that gathered in council chambers Wednesday night in hopes of seeing an official resolution passed supporting Second Amendment rights.

For nearly two hours speakers on both sides of the issue spoke in front of the council.

The resolution as initially proposed expressed support for law-abiding citizens to keep their guns. It also urged the General Assembly and Gov. Ralph Northam to not take any action that would violate freedoms guaranteed in the state or federal Bill of Rights.

Council members Linda Curtis, Eleanor Weston Brown and Billy Hobbs brought forward the resolution.

But when it came time for a vote, Brown withdrew the resolution citing fear it “is perceived we would undermine the rule of law with this.”

“Because we did not want to create misunderstanding in the general Public’s we decided that it was best to withdraw the resolution and not create that misunderstanding or give the inference that Hampton could be a second amendment sanctuary city,” Brown said.

Localities across Virginia are considering the idea of becoming Second Amendment sanctuaries, which are localities that have pledged not to use public resources to enforce any laws they see as unconstitutional. Some have passed resolutions simply in support of citizens’ Second Amendment rights, while others have said discussions on gun laws belong in Richmond.

Here’s the rundown on where area localities stand:

• Accomack County: The Board of Supervisors did not make the county a “sanctuary,” but approved a resolution affirming its commitment to citizens’ rights under the Second Amendment Dec. 18.

• Chesapeake: City Council did not make the city a “sanctuary,” but approved a resolution affirming its commitment to citizens’ rights under the Second Amendment Dec. 10.

• Exmore: Exmore officials have passed a resolution to become a Second Amendment sanctuary city.

• Gloucester County: The Board of Supervisors voted to become a Second Amendment sanctuary.

• Hampton: City Council has not voted on any Second Amendment-related resolution, but hundreds voiced their support at the council meeting Dec. 11. The NAACP also attended and came out against the idea. Mayor said the issue is “premature.”

• James City County: The Board of Supervisors did not make the county a “sanctuary,” but approved a resolution affirming its commitment to citizens’ rights under the Second Amendment Dec. 10.

• Isle of Wight: The Board of Supervisors did not make the county a “sanctuary,” but approved a resolution to affirm its commitments to citizens’ rights under the Second Amendment.

• Mathews County: The Board of Supervisors voted Dec. 17 to become a Second Amendment sanctuary.

• Newport News: City Council has not voted on any Second Amendment-related resolution, but a large crowd attended a Dec. 10 meeting to voice support for gun rights.

• Norfolk: City Council has not voted on any Second Amendment-related resolution, but a large crowd of residents voiced their support Dec. 10.

• Northampton County: The Board of Supervisors passed a resolution expressing its support for the rights of citizens to bear arms under the Second Amendment Dec. 10, but the resolution did not declare it a “sanctuary.”

• Poquoson: Poquoson City Council voted to become a “Constitutional City” and uphold citizens’ rights under the Second Amendment Dec. 9.

• Southampton County: Southampton officials have passed a resolution to become a Second Amendment sanctuary city.

• Suffolk: City Council voted on December 16, 2019 in support of a resolution reaffirming Suffolk’s commitment to the Constitutions of the United States and the Commonwealth of Virginia.

• Surry County: County officials did not make the county a “sanctuary,” but approved a resolution affirming its commitment to citizens’ rights under the Second Amendment Dec. 5.

• Virginia Beach: City Council voted Jan. 6 to become a “Second Amendment Constitutional City.”

• York County: The Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 Dec. 17 to become a “Constitutional City” and uphold citizens’ rights under the Second Amendment.

The vast majority of Virginians support common sense gun control laws - something Republicans have blocked for many years.  That so many localities have felt the need to pander to extremist minorities is a testimony in how ready too many elected officials are to prostitute themselves to extreme and unsavory groups.

Norfolk Wants to Replace Oldest Lesbian Bar on East Coast with a Dog Park

Patrons comfort one another on Oct. 31 as the Hershee Bar prepares to close.

The City of Norfolk, Virginia has moved light years from where it was 15 years or more ago when the then mayor acted as if LGBT individuals were radioactive. Now, the City is the largest sponsor of Pride Fest and the Norfolk police department has moved from harassing gays for laughs and giggles to now having a facilitator with LGBT community.  That said, the City remains stone deaf in other ways and its alliance with the LGBT community would appear to be a fraud.  The ongoing drama surrounding the Hershee Bar - the oldest lesbian bar on the East Coast is a case in point.  The City is purchasing the property where the Hershee Bar is located as part of a "redevelopment plan."  Unfortunately, the City wants to replace the Hershee Bar with a dog park.  The message could not be much more derogatory towards the local LGBT community. A piece in the Washington Post looks at the disturbing plans of the City of Norfolk and, in the process gives Norfolk negative publicity across America and the globe.  Personally, I believe it is time for Hampton Roads Pride to approach the City of Virginia Beach or perhaps the City of Hampton to host the 2019 Pride Fest event. Perhaps that would send a much needed message to Norfolk.  If you agree, please share this post.  Here are excerpts from the Post article: 

Two days before learning what would become of Norfolk’s embattled lesbian bar, a group of students and activists toured the city’s LGBTQ history.

It was filled with graveyards — a hotel that used to be a gay bookstore, a parking garage where drag queens used to dance.

When the group stopped at the Hershee Bar — Norfolk’s only dedicated space for bisexual, lesbian and queer-identifying women — the owners were packing up 35 years of history, piling it on tables around the bar.

The last of its kind in Norfolk and one of the oldest lesbian bars on the East Coast, the Hershee Bar was shuttered Oct. 31 to make way for a planned revitalization of the Five Points corridor. Last week, activists who spent months trying to persuade Norfolk officials to save the bar learned what would replace it: A dog park.

The announcement rattled those at a Norfolk City Council meeting who were prepared to continue lobbying city leaders for an alternative plan that didn’t involve razing the property. Several people cried.

It means a little more to some of us than a place for people to walk their dogs,” said Jennifer Alomari, who stood before the council in a white T-shirt that bore the words “We are Hershee bar.” She took deep breaths to steady herself before continuing. “It’s a little more than a park. They closed the door to our home.”

Council members and Norfolk Mayor Kenny Alexander (D) didn’t respond to requests for comment about the bar, the park or redevelopment plans.

Activists who have lobbied them since June said they have been denied meetings with city officials. Until last week, they said, they didn’t know a plan was in the works.

Jackie Rochelle, who addressed the council on behalf of the Five Points task force, which has been forming a revitalization strategy for the area, said the dog park was “an accumulation of years of planning.”

“We did . . . decide that the property’s best use should be for all citizens,” Rochelle said at the council meeting last week. “A dog park, for our friends that have four legs and wear fur outfits as well, and for many of us who feel that this is also our family.”

In February, council members unanimously voted to purchase for $1.5 million the four-building lot where the Hershee Bar had operated since 1983. There was no discussion about the potential impact on Norfolk’s LGBTQ community.

There are three dog parks within three miles of the bar’s longtime home at 6107 Sewells Point Rd.

Norfolk council member Andria McClellan wrote on Facebook that she was blindsided by the dog park announcement.  “For the record, I don’t support paying $1.5M for a dog park,” McClellan wrote. “I had not heard of these plans before they were presented this week and I don’t agree with this direction at all.”

On the LGBTQ history tour through Norfolk last week, the lost history was on display. Students from Old Dominion University and Virginia Wesleyan University were joined by activists, community members and historians.

They wanted the same thing: to see where their history once stood — even if all that’s left is a vacant building or an empty lot.

“One of those things that’s meaningful to people when we go on our queer history tours is they get to stand in the places where other LGBTQ people stood,” said Cathleen Rhodes, a professor at Old Dominion whose students orchestrated the tour. “We don’t have monuments. We don’t have museums. There really aren’t many places where we can go and stand in our own history.”

When they got to the Hershee Bar, the owners invited them inside. The place was dark and quiet. A heavy stillness hung in the air. The space, usually full of life, felt odd and eerie.

“One of my students said to me at one point, ‘I feel like I’m walking through a funeral,’ ” Rhodes said. “And we were.”

Hampton's Battle Against Sea-Level Rise - Lessons for Others

Map of Hampton - our home is at the bottom of the map near the designation :elevation in progress."

2009 Nor'Ida storm flooding.

As I have noted in numerous posts on this blog, climate change and rising sea levels are real for those living on the Virginia coast as my husband and I do even if Donald Trump and most Republicans (including those in the Virginia General Assembly) deny these objective realities.   The image above shows our home during the 2009 Nor'Ida storm - a northeaster which teamed up with the remnants of Hurricane Ida to wreak havoc on many coastal properties in Virginia.  Repairs to our home - which took 6 months to complete  - made our home flood resistant to minimize future flood damage.  Later additions included industrial sump pumps to fend off standing water in our home and a whole house generator to power the pumps.  As a piece in the Washington Post reports, across the City of Hampton, both city officials and private citizens are working to deal with the reality that Republicans and Trump deny is occurring. Here are article highlights (read the entire piece and keep in mind that our home is NOT as low lying as some addressed in the article):

HAMPTON, Va. — A pair of nor’easters in early 1998, and Hurricane Isabel in 2003, awoke this low-lying Chesapeake Bay city to the impact of rising waters caused by climate change. A few years later, as Hurricane Katrina swamped New Orleans, and Hurricane Sandy raked the New Jersey-New York coastline, scientists warned that Hampton and its neighbors could be next.

So this small city, about the size of Alexandria, embarked on studies of what was happening and what it could do.

Six years later, the city has changed its building codes, razed some houses and elevated others, and is finalizing a plan to address the oft-flooded Newmarket Creek in its densely developed center. In neighborhoods that line the bay, homeowners are taking action, too.

How Hampton copes with rising sea levels could provide lessons for other localities at a critical time: A recent study by the Union of Concerned Scientists predicted that 300,000 existing homes and businesses in the United States will be at risk of chronic, disruptive flooding within the next 30 years.

“Nobody is underestimating what this is,” said Terry O’Neill, director of community development in Hampton and the lead person shaping the city’s response to sea-level rise. “If you make smart decisions and change the way you think about living with water, you can find solutions.”

In forming their plans, city leaders gleaned ideas from Dutch engineers who have protected their low-lying country from seawater inundation for centuries, as well as scientific gatherings and community meetings.

They now require first floors of new buildings to be three feet higher than the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) requirement, and they are considering “no-runoff” pervious pavement for sidewalks and parking lots, which will allow standing water to drain into the soil slowly. The city is working on creating breakwaters in parts of the bay, dredging certain channels and replenishing beaches to make them more resilient to waves.

No matter how it’s done, addressing sea level rise is expensive. In November, the Army Corps of Engineers told the much-larger city of Norfolk, just across the James River, that it would cost $1.8 billion to build flood walls, storm-surge barriers and tidal gates around the city. Norfolk has secured a $120 million grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Rockefeller Foundation to begin that work.

Both Hampton and Norfolk participate in the 17-city Hampton Roads Regional Planning Commission, which focuses on research and coordination rather than setting standards or requirements for addressing sea level rise.

City officials also are banking on the fact that if their flood-mitigation plans work, property values will rise, boosting tax revenue that could help pay for the effort.

Unlike some of the homes in the article, our home cannot be readily raised due to the nature of its construction.  Therefore, we had to improvise and find others methods for dealing with flood threats.  Thus, after the 2009 Nor'Ida storm, everything on the first floor from the chair rail level down is non-water absorbent - living areas, laundry room, pantry.  Everywhere. Similarly, all water absorbent flooring was removed and marble floors were added in their place. The marble floors throughout do not absorb water and require a simple sweep of a mop for clean up.  The generator powered sump pumps should prevent standing water in the house from ever occurring in future storms.  The overall effect is elegant but so very practical and purpose designed.

A large industrial sump pump sits under the multi-color vase.

The marble floors and composite/PVC wainscoting do not absorb water.

2016 Hampton Road Pride Pride

A week from today the main event of 2016 Hampton Roads Pride Fest will take place in downtown Norfolk's Town Point Park, one of the region's premier outdoor venues. The transformation of Pride Fest from when I first attended after "coming out" 14 years ago is nothing short of amazing.  In 2003, the event consisted of a single day event with few hundred people tucked away in a hidden part of Lakewood Part in Norfolk.  This year's event may see 20,000 attendees with the nation's only Pride boat parade (the husband is pictured in the red tank to the left in the photo above from 2014) and events will take place throughout the coming week.  There will be an event on the Hampton Waterfront on Wednesday, Thursday, HRBOR, the local LGBT chamber of commerce holds an event at O'Connor Brewing in Norfolk, and Friday night the block party at Scope, Norfolk's downtown coliseum takes place.  Smaller events are taking place starting today.  

As a sign that Hampton Roads Pride has made the big time, the event site GayCities is even advertising the event with details here. 

If you have never attended a Pride event, consider attending this year. If you cannot make the Saturday event, consider the block party at Scope.  Last year's block party - the first in Scope - was truly spectacular and we had to keep reminding ourselves that we were in Norfolk and not some European capital.  

Yes, Newport News Shipbuilding is a major sponsor.  The changes have been incredible.

Norfolk Seeks to Promote Its LGBT Municipal Equality Index

With the Commonwealth of Virginia launching a new LGBT Tourism Task Force, it seems that at least one Hampton Roads city is trying to make itself more attractive to would be LGBT tourists by playing up its score on HRC's latest Municipal Equality Index for 353 cities across America.  The city?  Norfolk, which with a score of 59 out scores all other Hampton Roads cities.  What's left out of the City's press release is that the top scores in Virginia came in Alexandria and Arlington which scored 94 and 96, respectively.  Sadly, the City of Hampton where the husband and I live scored a pitiful 32 in part I suspect because when Molly Joseph Ward left the mayor's office, all meaningful efforts to regularly build a relationship with the LGBT community ceased (Molly Ward now serves as Virginia's Secretary of Natural Resources).  The irony for Hampton municipal officials is that they are lagging behind organizations like the Hampton Yacht Club which has a growing LGBT membership.  In contrast, Norfolk mayor Paul Fraim has gone from acting as if gays are radioactive to being a personal sponsor of this year's PrideFest.  Here are highlights from Norfolk's press release.

The 2014 Municipal Equality Index evaluates a city’s laws and policies then examines how inclusive city services are of LGBT people.  The MEI rated 353 municipalities of varying sizes throughout the United States.  Read the MEI http://www.hrc.org/campaigns/municipal-equality-index

Norfolk scored 59 points out of a possible 100.  The score equals the national average and put Norfolk fourth out of the nine cities scored in Virginia.   Norfolk significantly increased its 2013 score by raising the Human Right Campaign’s awareness of many policies already in place in Norfolk.  Those include:

• Equal employment opportunities
• Anti-bullying policies
• City of Norfolk as an inclusive workplace
• City leadership’s position on equality

Norfolk, along with all other Virginia localities, received recognition for marriage equality when the U.S. Supreme Court in October denied review of cases challenging state constitutional amendments which resulted in the recognition of same-sex marriage in Virginia.

Obviously, Hampton Roads has a long way to go in terms of making itself truly LGBT friendly and accepting.  That said, outside of the greater DC area, Hampton Roads is the bright center of the gay universe when compared to the ignorance embracing, Bible thumping regions of Southwest Virginia which not coincidentally find it difficult to attract new business and/or forward thinking entrepreneurs.    

Gaynette LaRue for Hampton City Council

In Virginia, elections seem to be non-stop what with alternating years on state and federal elections and city and county elections thrown in for good measure.  For those politically involved, it is sometimes exhausting and expensive if one puts their money where there mouth is.  Yet political involvement is crucial if we are to see the right people elected to office.  As LGBT voters are seeing at the state level, having Terry McAuliffe holding the governorship and Mark Herring serving as Attorney General makes for a sea change here in Virginia and I shudder to think what things would be like if instead we had Ken Cuccinelli as governor and the equally extreme Mark Obenshain as attorney general.  But politics doesn't stop at the state level.  Local elections are crucial as well.  Hence why the boyfriend - now fiance - are involved in city counsel level elections.  And that is why we will be supporting Gaynette "Gay" LaRue for Hampton City Council.  She is a strong LGBT ally and HRBOR member and, like us, wants to see Hampton move to the next level.  Here are highlights from the Daily Press on her announcement that she is running for office:

Hampton Planning Chairwoman Gaynette LaRue has announced that she will run for City Council this spring.  LaRue said she will focus on schools, job creation and neighborhoods.

LaRue, a Linden Avenue resident, is also leaning on her career as a Wells Fargo financial adviser and an accredited asset management specialist. She says her career – she's worked in the financial field for 25 years – helps her understand budgets and the "complexities of municipal finance."

LaRue is running for one of three full-term City Council seats on the ballot in the May 6 election. A fourth, two-year City Council term and mayor's seat will also be on the ballot.

LaRue was named chairwoman of the Planning Commission in October, a month after being appointed to a second four-year term on the commission. The Planning Commission makes recommendations to the City Council concerning the city's community plan, zoning ordinance and land use requests.

LaRue has said she has a significant interest in downtown redevelopment and thinks the historic courthouse on Kings Way should become a haven for artists after the new downtown courthouse is built. She hopes to see the city make its waterfront more of a destination for visitors.  She is the founding president of the Downtown Hampton Development Partnership.

I hope Hampton readers will join us in backing her candidacy and will turn out to vote on May 6, 2014. 

HRBOR April Third Thursday Net Working Event - April 18, 2013

In April, HRBOR again returns to the Virginia peninsula and will hold its April 2013 business networking event at the Hampton History Museum in downtown Hampton.  For those not in the know, Hampton is the oldest continuous English speaking city in North America and the museum is a gem that tracks the city's history from its founding in 1610 - yes, 10 years before the Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth Rock - up through the Civil War and it's current high tech facilities such as NASA Langley.  I sincerely hoe that local readers, especially those living in Hampton, Newport News, York County or Williamsburg will make an effort to attend.  I truly believe you will enjoy the experience.

Here are the pertinent details:

Host : Hampton History Museum, Hampton Virginia 757-727-1610 http://www.hampton.gov/history_museum

Where: 120 Old Hampton Lane, Hampton Virginia 23669 757-727-1610

When: Business Networking: April 18th, 2013, 6 - 8 pm

Bar Sponsor: Virginia Company Bank 2198 Coliseum Drive, Hampton VA 23666 757-224-4300 www.vacompanybank.com

Parking: the Parking Garage near the front of the museum is convenient and free to the public

Featured Non-profit : The Hampton History Museum 

Third Thursday Cost: Free to Members, $15 Guest Fee for Guests and Prospective Members

Sailing 101, Etc.

I've mentioned in previous posts that the boyfriend and I recently joined the Hampton Yacht Club and found ourselves announce as the first gay couple to be announced as members in the club newsletter.   I've sailed before, both at the family lake house in the Adirondack Mountains of New York and later in Virginia Beach when my parents owned a 25' Cape Dory, but one of the attractions of the yacht club membership is that the club currently owns five (5) sonar sailboats (a groups of Sonars are pictured above) - a 6th boat is going to be purchased - that club members can sign out once they have been certified by attending a class put on by the club's sailing director.  Hence I am taking the certification class and had my second class tonight.  Starting next week, we will spend all of our class time out on the water in the boats.  And when my schedule permits, I plan on signing on as crew for one of the evening or Saturday races that the club puts on for is own small fleet of Sonars on Hampton Roads Harbor.

In addition to the boats and opportunities to sail and crew, the club also has a great social life and the boyfriend and I are working to take advantage of it.  The photos below are from Easter Brunch at the club (the boyfriend not surprisingly knows many of the members who are patrons of his salon) with my sweet granddaughter:

 

Yes, the boyfriend is going to spoil her

Gay Marriage and the Supreme Court

Blogger Friend Jeremy Hooper and his husband Andrew

Oral arguments take place this week before the U.S. Supreme Court in the cases of United States v. Windsor  (Docket 12-307), which challenges the constitutionality of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”), and Hollingsworth v. Perry (Docket 12-144), which challenges the constitutionality of California’s Proposition 8.  I, like many, am nervous as to how the arguments will be received not to mention how the court will rule in June.  But, as an op-ed in the New York Times notes, even if the Court punts on the issue using the technical issue of standing to avoid a substantive ruling or refuses at this point to find a national right to gay marriage, with the manner in which public opinion is changing, gay marriage will be a reality nationwide someday and probably some day soon.  If nothing else, we simply have to wait for the aging gay haters to die off.  Thus, as the columnist notes, the real question for the Supreme Court justices is this:  "whether to be handmaidens to history, or whether to sit it out."  Here are column excerpts:

But while [advocates of gay rights] they’re watching this moment raptly and hopefully, it’s not with a sense that the fate of the cause hangs in the balance. Quite the opposite. They’re watching it with an entirely warranted confidence, verging on certainty, that no matter what the justices say during this coming week’s hearings and no matter how they rule months from now, the final chapter of this story has in fact been written. The question isn’t whether there will be a happy ending. The question is when. 

That’s what’s truly remarkable about this juncture: the aura of inevitability that hovers over it. In an astonishingly brief period of time, this country has experienced a seismic shift in opinion — a profound social and political revolution — when it comes to gay and lesbian people. And it’s worth pausing, on the cusp of the court hearings, to take note of this change and to mull what’s behind it.

Although its 2012 platform called for a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, scores of prominent Republicans, including a few senior advisers to Mitt Romney’s campaign, broke ranks in late February and put their names to a Supreme Court amicus brief in favor of marriage equality.  That these dissidents can’t be dismissed as pure anomalies was made clear at the annual gathering of the Conservative Political Action Conference last weekend.  .  .  .   as BuzzFeed’s Chris Geidner, who covered the conference, noted, “Opponents of gay rights spoke to a nearly empty room, while supporters had a standing-room-only crowd.” 

The buildup to the Supreme Court hearings has demonstrated the breadth of diversity of support for it. There have been amicus briefs signed, or proclamations of solidarity issued, by dozens of professional athletes and by the American Academy of Pediatrics, by tech giants and accounting firms and retailers and airlines. Somewhere along the way, standing up for gay marriage went from nervy to trendy. It’s the Harlem Shake of political engagement. 

THESE advances happened in largest part because of the increased visibility of gay people who have had the courage and optimism to share their lives and truths with family, friends, colleagues. Although many critics nitpicked [Senator Rob] Portman for changing his views only out of what was deemed a selfish concern for his own gay son, that’s precisely the way many people are illuminated and tugged along: by emotion, not abstraction; by what’s immediate and personal, not what’s foreign and theoretical.

Additionally, the quest for same-sex marriage has forced many Americans to view gays and lesbians in a fresh light. We’re no longer so easily stereotyped and dismissed as rebels atop parade floats, demanding permission to behave outside society’s norms. We’re aspirants to tradition, communicating shared values and asserting a fundamentally conservative desire, at least among many of us, for families, stability, commitment. What’s so threatening about any of that?

[T]he legalization of same-sex marriage takes nothing from anyone, other than the illusion, which is all it is and ever was, that healthy, nurturing relationships are reserved for people of opposite sexes. 

[F]airness is where we’re heading, at least in regard to marriage, which has emerged as the terrain on which Americans are hashing out their feelings about gays and lesbians. The trajectory is undeniable. The trend line is clear. And the choice before the justices is whether to be handmaidens to history, or whether to sit it out. 

The author is right on the role that the rise of open and visible gays have played.  Recently, the boyfriend and I were announced as the first gay couple to join the 87 year old Hampton Yacht Club.  Yes, some old dinosaurs had a cow, but we have been showered with congratulations and many members have said it was about time for this to happen.  Attitudes are changing even in largely conservative Hampton, Virginia.  

Hampton Arts 25th Anniversary Celebration and Silent Auction

The boyfriend and several of our friends are serving on the planning committee for the Hampton Arts 25th Anniversary Celebration and Silent Auction which will be held on April 13, 2013 at the C. H. Taylor Arts Center located near downtown Hampton.  The silent auction will include artworks in all media by local artist friends which have been donated for this first ever event. Other items will include weekend beach, golf and ski getaways, fine dining experiences and personal services. All the proceeds will benefit the Hampton Arts Foundation.  Information on the event and ticket purchases can be found here. Here is some information on the work that the Foundation sponsors:

Now widely known and loved for the quality, innovation and diversity of its programs and exhibitions, The Hampton Arts Foundation is unique among non profit organizations. In partnership with the City of Hampton, the Foundation has saved and preserved two of Hampton's most historic buildings - The American Theatre and The Charles H. Taylor Arts Center.  Hampton Arts offers a wide variety of fun and enlightening classes at The American Theatre and The Charles H. Taylor Arts Center.

Information on the performing arts at The American Theatre in historic Phoebes and other programing can be found here.

 The boyfriend and I will be attending - I will probably be working a portion of the event - and I truly hope that local readers will make every effort to attend.  It should be a wonderful event and the funds raised will go towards offsetting reductions in state funding (the Virginia GOP always views the arts as unnecessary "fluff").  Your support will be most appreciated.

Sunrise Over Hampton Roads

Click image to enlarge

Living in Tidewater Virginia it is difficult not to be influenced by the abundance of water and, in general it adds a wonderful element to life - hurricanes and severe northeasters excepted, of course. The view above is from Chesapeake Avenue in Hampton (our street, which is sometimes referred to as "The Boulevard" since it runs for three miles along the north side of the road stead) looking south across Hampton Roads toward Norfolk.  Wikipedia describes Hampton Roads as follows:

The water area known as Hampton Roads is one of the world's largest natural harbors (more accurately a roadstead or "roads"), and incorporates the mouths of the Elizabeth River and James River with several smaller rivers and itself empties into the Chesapeake Bay near its mouth leading to the Atlantic Ocean.

Given that Hampton was founded in 1610 - that's right, a decade BEFORE the Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth Rock -  the body of water eventually took on the name "Hampton Roads" in 1755 when the Virginia General Assembly formally approved the name.  The image below is an satellite view of  the area.  Chesapeake Avenue runs along a section of the arch shaped shoreline of Hampton in the top portion of the image.  Our home is roughly half way between the Monitor Merrimac Bridge Tunnel to the left and the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel to the right in the photo.  The area to the south with the massive piers is the Norfolk Naval Base, the largest naval base in the world and source of many cute gay boys, and the adjacent Naval Air Station.  The seven mile long James River Bridge can be seen to the far left of the image.

Click image to enlarge

Hampton Roads from Chesapeake Avenue

As much as I complain about living in backwards Virginia, I will concede that our neighborhood known as Old Wythe in the City of Hampton is beautiful.  The scene above was taken by a neighbor down the street looking  across Hampton Roads harbor towards Norfolk and Portsmouth to the south.

Hampton Mayor Ward Signs Mayors for the Freedom to Marry Pledge

Mayor Molly Ward

Studies have shown that an openness to diversity and a welcoming atmosphere for LGBT citizens enhances a city or state's economic vibrancy and is in the final analysis good for business and economic well being.  Indeed, such an atmosphere makes a city more attractive to the so-called creative class and there is a strong correlation between how a city or region scores on Richard Florida's "gay index" and how it does with attracting high tech companies.  Sadly, this reality is largely lost on most political leaders in Virginia, especially those in the Republican Party who grovel to the reactionary and theocratic dictates of The Family Foundation based in Richmond.  But things are changing - even in Virginia.  This week Hampton Mayor Molly Ward (pictured) joined mayors across America who have signed the freedom to marry pledge originated by the organization Freedom to Marry.  In doing so, she joins Alexandria, Virginia mayor, William Euille, and Charlottesville mayor, Satyendra Singh Huja, the only other Virginia mayors who to my knowledge have likewise signed the pledge.  Here are key excerpts from the Mayors for Freedom to Marry Pledge:

As mayors of great American cities, we proudly stand together in support of the freedom of same-sex couples to marry. We personally know many gay and lesbian people living in our cities who are in committed, loving relationships, who are active participants in the civic life of our communities, and who deserve to be able to marry the person with whom they share their life.
  
We are proud that at its 2009 annual meeting, the U.S. Conference of Mayors unanimously approved a resolution stating that: “The U.S. Conference of Mayors supports marriage equality for same-sex couples, and the recognition and extension of full equal rights to such unions, including family and medical leave, tax equity, and insurance and retirement benefits, and opposes the enshrinement of discrimination in the federal or state constitutions.”

Our cities derive great strength from their diversity, and gay and lesbian families are a crucial part. Studies have shown what we know through our hands-on experience—that cities that celebrate and cultivate diversity are the places where creativity and ideas thrive. They are the places where today’s entrepreneurs are most likely to choose to build the businesses of tomorrow. Allowing same-sex couples the right to marry enhances our ability to build this kind of environment, which is good for all of us.  

We stand for the freedom to marry because it enhances the economic competitiveness of our communities, improves the lives of families that call our cities home, and is simply the right thing to do.  We look forward to working to build an America where all people can share in the love and commitment of marriage with the person with whom they share their life.

Mayor Ward is a good friend and I am honored to know her.  She realizes that the City of Hampton's future is best served by supporting diversity and full equality of citizens under the civil laws in all their aspects.  Hopefully more mayors in Virginia will see this reality and have the courage to to refuse to continue looking backwards in time. 

 

Hampton Tornado Update

This video was filmed in front of one of our friend's home and is where we worked most of yesterday helping with clean up.

As a number of readers have gathered, tornadoes are very unusual events in this part of Virginia.  We are accustomed to northeasters, tropical storms and hurricanes - all of which have plenty of advanced warning associated with them - so Friday night's event caught everyone by total surprise.  The National Weather Service has confirmed that Friday night's tornado was an EF1 with winds of 98 miles per hour.  A small event by Mid-West standards, but again something that rarely is seen here.  The tornado came ashore about 2 miles to the east of our home on Chesapeake Avenue in the Old Wythe neighborhood first slamming into Chesapeake Avenue where it continues after a brief break in the Merrimac Shores neighborhood (all the news coverage mentioning Chesapeake Avenue caused us to receive a deluge of calls checking on our safety).  The storm then roughly followed the west bank of the Hampton River up into downtown passing over the Crowne Plaza Hotel before a brief jump to the east side of the river.    The map below shows the curse of the storm track.  

Click image to enlarge

Two of our good friends - the owner of the shop beneath the boyfriend's salon (which was totally fine) and Hampton's mayor, Molly Ward - live in the Park Place area of what's called Little England from the name of the colonial era estate that once encompassed the area which was very hard hit.   The boyfriend and I helped move a totally destroyed aluminum john boat that had come to rest on the shp owner's front steps - we never did figure out where it had come from.    The tree damage at the Ward residence and the adjoining home of the late mayor's mother was horrific: several 100+ year old live oaks uprooted, half of a giant magnolia down, and tree sized limbs ripped off of other century old trees.  The homes suffered relatively minor damage all things considered most likely because they were built in the 1800's when houses were built to truly last.  The boyfriend and I spent over 6 hours yesterday helping these two friends clean up the huge mess, with the boyfriend wielding a chain saw and yours truly dragging limbs and chunks of tree trunk to the huge pile that quickly developed on the corner of the park in the center of the neighborhood..  While a number of other friends assisted in the effort, some total strangers that none of us had previously met also pitched in to help.

The City of Hampton estimates 206 single family homes and 99 multi-family homes were damaged to varying degrees.  WTKR-TV (which filmed me briefly while I was hot and dirty!) reports that the two hardest-hit neighborhoods, Merrimac Shores and Victoria/Park Place are still without power as of last evening. Many poles were snapped and lines are down and both neighborhoods are blocked off to vehicles (even residents and we parked and walked in to Park Place) while power crews replace poles and lines.  We saw one friend that lives right near the Hampton Yacht Club who said their roof had blown off.  Below are some photos:

Near the yacht club

Hampton Yacht Club - friends were there went the tornado hit

Tree damage

Amory's Seafood plant near downtown