Norfolk Purchases Military Circle Mall
The Norfolk Economic Development Authority (EDA) voted unanimously to move forward with the purchase of the Military Circle Shopping Mall, located on North Military Highway. The deal was closed on Thursday, April 30. In 2014, the EDA purchased the former JC Penney’s...
VIDEO INTERVIEW: National Recognition for Lynne Seagle
By Jeff Maisey Longtime Hope House Foundation Executive Director Lynne Seagle has been honored by the National Historic Recognition Project for her work from 2000 to 2020 contributing to the transformation of the Developmental Disability field. Here is our interview...
Boardwalk Art Show Moves to October 23-25
By Brad Tuggle The Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Boardwalk Art Show presented by PNC Bank is being rescheduled from the weekend of June 19-21 to October 23-25 given the continuing COVID-19 pandemic. This signature Virginia Beach event, now in its 65th...
ViBe Story Exchange: Open Call for Artists & Writers
By Kate Pittman The ViBe Creative District nonprofit announced a reenvisioned partnership for programming with ViBe Story Exchange for 2020. The partnership pairs selected visual and performing artists with the written word—a true arts & humanities collaboration....
Social Distancing
By Tom Robotham On March 6, I was scheduled to depart for Rome in the company of Jeff Maisey, the publisher of this magazine, and another friend. It was the beginning of my spring break, and I’d been looking forward not only to connecting with history, but also to...
VIEWPOINT: Keeping Up With Our Joneses
By Tench Phillips, Naro Cinema I like to do my writing in the mornings when I feel most clear-headed. I sit with my laptop accompanied by my cats and a hot cup of black coffee. My daily java ‘jones’ requires freshly ground French dark roast beans placed in our...
Virginia ABC Stores Reduce Hours
The Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority (ABC) will reduce operating hours at all of its stores statewide beginning Friday, March 27, due to the expanding nature of the COVID-19 outbreak. Like the reduced store hours already in place for 24 Virginia ABC...
NATO Staffer Tests Presumptive Positive in Norfolk
MARCH 22: A staff member at NATO’s Allied Command Transformation, headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia, has identified as “presumptive positive” on clinical grounds for the Coronavirus (COVID-19), marking the first potential case at the Command. The individual is in...
Utopian Visions and Harsh Realities
By Tom Robotham Much of the discussion about socialism…is entirely pointless, because of the failure to agree on terminology. ~ Theodore Roosevelt. In today’s political arena, no word is bandied about more carelessly than “socialism.” Diehard supporters...
The Future of Journalism
By Tom Robotham Recently I had the opportunity to moderate a panel discussion on the state of journalism. The event was timely. That very day, news had broken that The Virginian-Pilot building had been sold to a condo developer, and that longtime PBS news...
K’Bana Blaq: Death to Mindless Music
By Jeff Maisey K’Bana Blaq is perhaps one of the most prolific songwriters and creative music video artists in the 757. Known to many as one of the three dynamic upfront singers in the award-winning R&B group The Fuzz Band, K’Bana has also indulged fans...
FILM: The Woman Who Loves Giraffes
By Tench Phillips, Naro Cinema Towering over me was a massive elongated head whose six-foot-long neck stretched down to meet us. This giant creature was so strange and intimidating when experienced up close that it might as well have been an alien being. And...
CONCERT: Pre-Festival Season Stop for Old Crow Medicine Show
By Jim Morrison Over the years since Ketch Secor and Critter Fuqua began playing together in the hills of the Shenandoah Mountains and then assembled Old Crow Medicine Show in the hippie sanctuary of Ithaca, New York, partly from buskers on the streets, the...
Family-Friendly and Very Funny: Virginia Opera’s Cinderella
(Cinderella promises to be a visual delight for all ages. Photo by Jimmy Lawlor courtesy of Virginia Opera) By Montague Gammon III A happy ending tale that’s also family friendly begins calendar year 2020 for the Virginia Opera, accompanied by a special event...
MUSIC: Songs In The Attic
Billy Joel’s original band will bring hits—and some deep cuts—to Newport News By Jim Roberts Liberty DeVitto played drums for Billy Joel for 30 years—a time span that included nine Platinum albums, three of which won Grammy Awards. In 2014, DeVitto and the...
STAGE: Finding Balance in Sense & Sensibility
(SENSE & SENSIBILITY, actresses Manna Nichols and Ally Farzetta. Photo by Crystal Tuxhorn) By Jerome Langston Getting to interview director Jessica Holt about the latest big show that she’s directing at the Wells Theatre, for the Virginia Stage Company, is...
Queen of Bluegrass Headlines in Hampton
By Jim Morrison Rhonda Vincent tried to turn away from bluegrass and to the green fields of country, but the transformation didn’t hold. She’s blue through and through. Over a three-decade career, Vincent has been dubbed “The Queen of Bluegrass” by the Wall...
Veer Music Awards Nominees: Live Photography
The following are finalists in the Live Photography category for the 2020 Veer Music Awards. ...
Veer Music Awards Nominees: Photography Posed
The following entries are finalists in the Posed Photography category for the 2020 Veer Music Awards. ...
Three Dog Night Brings the Hits of the 1970s
(Three Dog Night’s current lineup continue to perform to sold-out crowds) By Jeff Maisey Music has always had a big impact on my life. As a child in the 1960s, I was exposed to my father’s record collection with an abundance of Herb Albert, Perry Como, and Dixieland...
2019 Distilled
(In 2020, make it your New Year’s Resolution to tour Virginia’s distilleries. Photo by Revel Photo Co.) BY JIM ROBERTS General Assembly Increases Commission For Distillery Stores The Virginia General Assembly passed a bill in March raising the commission for licensed...
Brews News and Clues
(New Realm Brewing Co will be expanding distribution of its popular products like Hazy Like a Fox IPA to the Roanoke region. Photo courtesy of New Realm.) By Chris Jones and Diane Catanzaro Does spending a billion dollars to buy a brewery bring you beer bliss?...
BEER REVIEWS: Guinness, O’Connor, Cape Charles
Stock Ale Guinness Open Gate Brewery Baltimore, MD I’m a longtime fan of Guinness Extra Stout. It was one of the first European beers I tried back in the 1980s and remains a tried-and-true favorite. When in Ireland, it’s my go-to brew, along with Murphy’s. As...
Coelacanth to Close in Norfolk
STAFF REPORT Days before its fourth anniversary celebration (December 14), Norfolk independent craft brewery Coelacanth announced on Facebook it will close its doors at year's end. "It’s been an amazing, crazy, fun, hard, interesting, fulfilling and stressful 4 years....
VEGAN: The Bumbling Bee by Cast Iron Catering
By Betsy DiJulio There are no bumbles—or grumbles—here, just delicious scratch-made vegan “junk” food and burgers, served up with a side of style and genuinely friendly service. Oh, and lots of craft beers and ciders, milkshakes, and sweets. “Dealing weed...
Catch the Vibe at Vibrant Shore Brewing Company
(Exterior of Vibrant Shore Brewing Company in Virginia Beach) By Diane Catanzaro and Chris Jones Let’s go back, back into time, back to 1995. “Gangsta’s Paradise” by Coolio was number 1 on the Top 100 songs of the year, and somehow Van Halen was number 100 with, we...
Sly Clyde Hosts CoVA Cider Fest
(Cider will flow in many varieties during the Coastal VA CiderFest. Photo by Michael Williams) By Jeff Maisey How ‘bout them apples? In the last five year demand for what was once referred to as British pub cider, or hard cider, has dramatically increased across the...
Bold Mariner Anchors in Ocean View
(Behind the scenes in the brewhouse: Michael Stacks and John O’Reilly) By Jeff Maisey There’s a famous proverb that proclaims “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” It can be said this was true for Michael Stacks, founder and president of The Bold Mariner...
The Garage Brewery, Tradition & Big Ugly Win Gold
(Beach Ambassadors and the medalists in the People's Choice category. Photograph by Sean Chagnon/Eye of the Storm Photography) STAFF REPORT Beach Ambassadors presented its 7th Annual 757 Battle of the Beers competition in a festival setting on the grounds of Camp...
DINING: Say 350 Grace
(Michelle and Willie Moats offer the community a delicious gluten-free dining experience with 350 Grace in Ghent) By Marisa Marsey “When I made the commitment to go 100 percent gluten-free with this restaurant, everyone laughed,” recalls Willie Moats. “I felt like...
