Chesapeake Pirate

Do you think that everyone who works in restaurants which allow smoking have a lot of choice as to their employment? I think not.

I hear what you are saying, but I don't think any job in the USA should come with a known serious health risk as part of the job conditions. If we were talking about some small, niche business or industry, perhaps I might think otherwise and agree with you. However, we are talking about a category that must employee hundreds of thousands across the country. These people contribute to high health costs due to smoking by their exposure, and there is untold impact on lives and families. So, I think an outright ban on smoking in restaurants implemented today would be a day too late.

What choice do the employees have?

While change can be scary, none of these restaurantors is really considering the health of their workers nor the current opportunity cost of lost business that may be going elsewhere or not going anywhere because of the possibility of having to breath someone else's tobacco smoke while enjoying and paying for a delicious dinner.

I have been to both Asian Grill and Rama Thai in the past month or so and this review pretty much nailed it. Asian Grill was average and borderline overpriced. Rama Thai is on the "gotta go back there" list, and high on it as well.

I think you are right when you use the term "expected", but it is not just as simple as what to "expect when they move to a downtown area". It's not as if this downtown Norfolk situation has a rich history that would make it easy for everyone to have known what to expect. The residential and the nightlife are both basically new and it is understandable that nightlife wants to be nightlife and that most residents would like to sleep at 2-3am. It is also understanble that residents would be unhappy with loud bositerous drunk people engaging in varieties of inappropriate behavior, nor are they idiots for not excpecting what they now find to be their present circumstances. I think that everyone needs to work together as per the wise words of Cathy Coleman, President of the Downtown Norfolk Council: "The late-night economy really adds to the vitality of downtown Norfolk. Our goal is for everyone to succeed, and everyone has a responsibility in that - the nightclub owners, the developers, the residential property owners. Across the board, expectations need to be set and understood."

I'm not sure how you define "primary access". There is an official entrance in the middle on the front side of each building. The rear access complements the parking in the rear. Don't hold your breath on the houses turning into slums. What a strange wish! Have you ever walked up and down Freemason St. I think they fit in pretty well with what was already on Freemason. It's just a small little niche project and Norfolk will survive just fine with them. I'll take that bet!

Could it be the exciting view of Pembroke Mall? Could it be the appeal of the chain restaurants? Could it be all the things to do like the comedy club and ................ Seriously, I wish nothing but success for Town Center but I find the suggestion that it will outgrow downtown Norfolk a real stretch.

Speaking of the Post Office, there was a comment made by someone from Goody Clancy that it was not inconceivable that the post office would move from it's site at Church and Brambleton and add that much more property to that which need to be planned. It was just an informal comment about how the planning process had very few limits, and all ideas should explored.

This meeting started at 7pm and lasted until 8:45pm. Hard to say what "usually" is since this was the first one.

I was able to attend the public meeting Thursday evening and overall was very impressed. Various city officials and representatives of the consultant, Goody Clancy, were on hand to explain what has been done so far, and how the rest of the process is expected to unfold. The meeting was attended by about 100-125 people, about half residents of Tidewater Gardens (the housing project within the Quadrant) and about half were others interested. Goody Clancy has been working on a major survey of the residents of Tidewater Gardens for several months, and administered that survey during October. The survey addressed demographics, household composition, income, employment, education, supportive services, home ownership, children and youth, safety and security, transportation, economic development, site and unit design and relocation preferences. A meeting was held just with the residents of Tidewater Gardens the night before, Wednesday, to report and discuss the results of the survey. A 10 page report of survey results, including summary information and all the raw data, was distributed Thursday night. Instead of having an "open mike" session, the consultants broke the group into four subgroups and sent them each to a different classroom with a facilitator to brainstorm all their ideas for the future of the Saint Paul's Quadrant and to summarize the top five ideas. Each subgroup reported back to the entire group and then the meeting was over. Because I had almost missed the meeting by not even knowing it was being held, I questioned a city official and a consultant official separately. The city official said that they had made all the stakeholders in the Quadrant aware of the meeting. I told him that this process involved and was important to the entire city and encouraged better publicity for future meetings. The consultant official was more candid. He stated the limited notice was intentional as they wanted the largest group of residents in the Quadrant, the residents of Tidewater Gardens, to feel like they had serious ownership and involvement in the plan. They were concerned that if this first meeting was widely advertised that the Tidewater Gardens residents would feel overwelmed and not participate, and they didn't want that to happen. I told him I understood that but stated this project was important to downtown Norfolk and all of Norfolk and it would be its best with everyone's ideas. He said to expect better publicity about future meetings. With that said, I would encourage all here who care about downtown Norfolk and have ideas about what ought to be planned for the Saint Paul's Quadrant to pay attention to this and get involved by attending meetings or sharing your thoughts with those responsible. The main city contact for this effort is Paula Shea, 757-664-4772, [email protected] The main Goody Clancy contact is Ben Carlson, 617-850-6583, [email protected]

I may try to go. My wife teaches at Ruffner Academy so we are very interested for that reason in addition to just general interest in the future of downtown Norfolk. I am surprised that there does not seem to be any notice of this meeting in the press, certainly nothing compared to the Mayor's town hall meetings in the various wards. Might be a small crowd .

At a meeting of the Downtown Norfolk Council membership this morning, Norfolk Director of Development Rod Woolard indicated that the city has received a couple of proposals for a public-private partnership on a new courts building for the General District Court, Circuit Court, and Juvenile & Domestic Relations Court, and that is actively being reviewed and considered.

At a meeting of the Downtown Norfolk Council membership this morning, Norfolk Director of Development Rod Woolard indicated that completion is now slated for the "spring" of 2007, and that original completion date of March 2007 will likely not be met. Norfolk expects 92,000 cruise passengers in 2007, from 30 homeport cruises and 5 stopovers. They are getting great reactions from the cruise lines, and expect business to remain steady and improve.

I attended the monthly membership update meeting of the Downtown Norolk Council this morning. Rod Woolard, Norfolk's Director of Development compared the opportunity for revitalizing the St. Paul's Quadrant to the opportunity in the 1970's that Norfolk took on and which results in the downtown we now have. He noted that the St. Paul's quadrant is larger in area than the existing downtown area. One very preliminary thrust of the effort is expected to be a focus on preserving the four historic churches in that area and making improvements to the public space around them.

There will be a meeting on Thursday, November 2, for the general public to discuss the St. Paul's Quadrant planning process beginning at 6:45pm at Ruffner Academy Auditorium (610 May Avenue off Tidewater Drive). The meeting will provide a chance to learn more about how the planning process will work and offer ideas and suggestions for the revitalization. Officials will provide an overview of the planning schedule and process and address the opportunities and challenges of this effort. Initial findings and existing conditions will be presented, including housing, retail and commercial markets, transportation and infrastructure, and urban design. The meeting will include an "open mike" opportunity and a discussion of the next steps. [url=http://www.norfolk.gov/Planning/SaintPaulsQuadrant.asp]Saint Paul

This shot also illustrates what I have always thought was a questionable decision to isolate the Dominion Tower on the waterfront side of Waterside Drive, away from the rest of the business district. Here it sticks out to the right all by itself.

The Harbor Heights mixed use building will soon start to appear on the left side of this angle. I wonder if Granby Tower will appear even further left of will rise above Harbor Heights from this angle?

When the Commisioner of the NBA has to ask: "Where is Hampton Roads?"........you know there is a lot of work to do. Marketing "Hampton Roads"?? The NBA hasn't noticed This article relates to several topics, but I thought it really illustrates how enormous the challenge will be to ever get a professional team to this area that no one knows exists. I would love to see a Jay Leno street interview segment with folks being asked where Hampton Roads is.

Only agenda items were the Granby Street connection from Main Street to Waterside Drive, and Granby Tower.

Report from the meeting today: I arrived about 12:15, so I can't report on whatever happened in the first 15 minutes. This meeting was basically an information update and feel good session with a Q & A. Randy Wright spoke the majority of the time and answered most of the questions, but others from HRT and the city jumped in too on occasion. They expect final official approval this month, and that will allow them to immediately enter the final design phase which is expected to take 12 months. They expect to begin construction in mid 2007, beginning with utility relocation. They will only have to acquire/take seven private residences, three businesses and the library to do the project. They expect their FFGA (Full Funding Grant Agreement) to be finalized and approved in Spring 2007. They expect to complete construction and begin operation in late 2009. The light rail traincars will be ordered in 2007 for 2009 delivery. Norfolk will have the honor of beign the host city for the annual North American Transit Convention July 15-18, 2007, following the hosting of Seattle and Montreal in the past few years. Considered a real coup for Norfolk. Question about additional spurs in the future. Up to ODU, then the naval base was mentioned as possibilities, as was Virginia Beach Town Center and the oceanfront. It all depends on how the starter line does and what other cities want to do. They are very optimistic. Question about NET bus. It will continue. Route may be adjusted. New buses on order (hybrids) to replace battery buses which only run for four hours. Question on impacting ridership with affordable housing around stations and affordable fares. They expect to see quite a bit of TOD (Transit Oriented Development) based on what the expereince has been with light rail around the country. This would include apartments, condo's and even some SF homes. And businesses, of course. The national benchmark is that property assessments near stations are 27% higher. Fares are expected to be $1.50, same as current bus fare. Question on the library, as it is needed for the system and is a prime piece of downtown real estate. This will have to be looked at quickly. Among the sites for library relocation are the city complex, the bus station, and some alternate location in partnership with TCC. Still all to be decided. Question on risk of proceeding. Once get the final approval this month, only two systems (Hawaii and somehwere in Florida) have ever not been fully funded and completed, and both of those voluntarily dropped out. Question on York St elevation crossing from NOAA to Fort Norfolk area. Will follow same grade as Brambleton Bridge and be a separate bridge south of the existing bridge.

I'm a working man too rus, but I will try to attend as they say I can bring my lunch. A man has to eat!

"all them old people"? Are there age restrictions on who can take cruises? O, I forgot. Young people can't take cruises because they spend every last penny on overpriced housing. Back to solid information, the Nauticus parking lot is being reconfigured to eliminate the little traffic circle and create more of a large oval covering the entire parking area to better handle the dropping off and picking up process. Looks to be a nice improvement.

Exactly, all this knashing of teeth about action when those who did nothing for years now start to moan. If it was so wonderful and special, somebody would have done something with it long before August 2006. This has been nothing but a blight on the neighborhood, and I hope the action taken will be a catalyst for improvement.

Some one with your positive outlook used to own the Putt-Putt at Military Circle. When Putt-Putt goes downhill, you know the rest of Hampton Roads can't be far behind.