Submit your Letter to The Editor of the Virginia-Pilot, The Beacon and to SDCC.

SDCC will in all likelyhood post it.

[encode=dennis.hartig@pilotonline.com?Subject=Letter to Editor]Email to Dennis Hartig[/encode] – Editorial Page Editor.
[encode=victoria.hecht@pilotonline.com?Subject=Letter to Editor]Email to Victoria Hecht[/encode] – Beacon Editor.
[encode=letters@pilotonline.com?Subject=Letter to bLetters]Email bLetters[/encode] – a new Bletters project by the Virginian-Pilot.
[encode=tim@sdcc.info?Subject=Letter to Editor]Email Tim[/encode] – SDCC.info Editor.

Press Release from the City explaining recent improvements to Shore Drive.

More Police Officers:  Thanks to a grant from the state, 375 more hours of police time will be devoted to enforcing traffic laws along Shore Drive.  Additional patrols began in early November.

Read entire Press Release.

…it has been determined by our technical advisors that there are numerous inconsistencies throughout the document which make the review and interpretation of the facts presented very confusing.

Read on to check out the document we’ve sent to the Virginia Marine Resource Commission & City’s Wetlands Board.

The partners, Starbucks employees, have donated various items to create a basket valued at $175 to raise funds for the Joy Fund.

Make a donation of $5 for a chance to win it!

Visit Starbucks at the Lesner Bridge to check out what’s inside.

Safety improvements to Shore Drive and retiree health care got the most attention. Henley suggested spending $3.5 million on Shore Drive and $3.26 million for future health care costs.
Read entire article at Pilotonline.com.

Looks like VBGov.com has changed in a big way.

Seems it’s still being worked on as a lot of links are dead right now.

Unfortunately the News Feeds and Useful Links we had for VBGov.com has also changed so they are dead as well. We’ll fix them as soon as we can.

Looks like they’ve finally chosen to use Google as their search engine so at least that change will have an enourmous positive affect on the usability of the site.

Charlie sent me this when he heard of it…Thank you Charlie!

Xerox has developed a website that gives you an opportunity to mail, for free, a postcard to our service men & women over seas.

No matter what you think of the politics, this sounds like a terrific way to thank those who really deserve our support.
Check out the website.

[Note: I personally haven’t tried out the site yet.]

ICE – In Case of Emergency                                
                                                 
A recent article from the Toronto Star, “the ICE idea”, is catching on and
it is a very simple, yet important method of contact for you or a loved  
one in case of an emergency.                             
                                                 
As cell phones are carried by the majority of the population, all you need
to do is program the number of a contact person or persons and store the
name as “ICE”. 

You may have heard of a new Subcommittee recently started by the City.

Their charge is to make recommendations on how the city can improve water quality.

Their comprehensive up to date website is located at VBGov.com here: Gree Ribbon Committee.

You’ve surely seen the growing number of NoIndigoDunes.com signs around town.

You can help fund the opposition to Indigo Dunes by donating outright, also by purchasing decals, bumper stickers, yard signs by [encode=SAVEShoreDrive@AOL.com]emailing[/encode].

During the Thanksgiving Nor’easter, my kayak was washed off the dunes at the Walke Street access along with several others.

Councilman Bob Dyer said the city’s ability to take on more debt is limited, and other projects, such as improving Shore Drive, dealing with flood-prone neighborhoods…
Read entire article about a proposed Dome project at the Ocean Front.

According to the Pilot article, a man from Bayville Road attacked a woman in First Landing State Park & was driven off when 2 other women came to help.

Please be aware of your surroundings when walking alone in the park!

Just a reminder that Lynnhaven River 2007’s final Public Meeting for the year will be held Thursday, December 7, 2006, 8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m., at the Dockside Inn at 3311 Shore Drive, Virginia Beach.  Light breakfast refreshments and beverages provided.

We will be unveiling the 2006 State of the River Report at this meeting.  All welcome!

Laura Baity, Administrative Assistant
LYNNHAVEN River 2007

telephone:          (757) 962-5398
fax:                  (757) 422-9815
address:            PO Box 584,  Virginia Beach, VA 23451
email:              [encode=lbaity@lynnhaven2007.com]Email Laura[/encode]
visit our web site:  LynnhavenRiver2007.org

The Virginia Beach Wetlands Board will hold a Public Meeting on December 11, 2006 at 9:00 a.m.  at the City of Virginia Beach Pump Station, located at 3661 E. Stratford Road, Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Along with having a Closed Session if they feel it’s needed, & Old Business…New Business includes a site walk of Pleasure House Point with discussion. The public is invited to attend. 

Virginia Beach got a F on its stormwater rules. The Beach posted a 49 out of 100 on the Center for Watershed Protection?s scorecard, called a Code & Ordinance Worksheet.

Read entire blog entry entitled Holy Cow at Pilotonline.com’s Blogs.
Under The Boardwalk Blog at Pilotonline.com.

Shore Drive Community Coalition (SDCC)- General Meeting, Monday November 27, 2006 at 7:30pm to 9:00pm at Ocean Park Fire & Rescue Hall.

This month we will discuss plans and actions for the upcoming Monday December 18th Wetlands Board Hearing on the Indigo Dunes Project.  The Wetlands Board meets at 9:30am in the City Council Chambers.  We will discuss methods of action including hearing attendance (each group should have gathered 5 to 10 names of people willing to attend these hearings), bus rental for the day of the event, emails to board members, phone calls to board members, speakers and planned topics.

The Joint Permit Application [JPA] is now available online. This Application is required to be submitted to various City & State Agencies for their approval.

Some highlights:
# raise Pleasure House Point[PHP] 5 to 7 feet
# require about 39,800 dump trucks of still undefined fill to travel on Shore Drive
# fill acres of existing wetlands
# major removal of trees, bushes and grasses that provide homes for wetlands birds and wildlife
# encroach in acres of wetland buffer zones
# violate Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act laws
# violate Federal,State & Local Wetlands laws
# opposes the City’s Outdoor Plan that recommends this property be acquired 100% as Open Space
# includes an attempt to acquire City property to become private property as part of the project
# requested density is 4 times greater than the Bayfront average and 2 times greater than the density of Ocean Park
# pave or concrete more than 50% of PHP that is currently 100% non-paved open space
# build 1,096 units that will create about 8 to 9,000 vehicle trips per day on Shore Drive
# and much, much more.

To read the entire JPA use the links below. The total JPA is about 220+ pages.
Indigo Dunes JPA 1 [13M PDF]
Indigo Dunes JPA 2 [12M PDF]
Indigo Dunes JPA 3 [7M PDF]

Cape Henry high tide today is 9:35am and again at 9:55pm.

Check out the tidal charts.

“We have an interval, and then our place knows us no more.”