We’ll get the new JPA online as soon as we have it.
It was submitted last Thursday.

Read an email from Karen from LRNow about the action going on lately in the Lynnhaven:

I am happy to bring you more good news!

You may have seen cranes and other equipment entering the Lynnhaven River over the past couple of days.  This is the first step in the Army Corps of Engineers Oyster Restoration Project for the Lynnhaven.  They will be constructing approximately 35 acres of SANCTUARY REEF over the next few weeks.  These reefs will remain sanctuary reef forever and help to continue the restoration of water quality in the Lynnhaven.

VBHMA 6th Annual Food Drive [1pg pdf] flyer. Print it, email it – spread the word.

Dear VBHMA Members and Associates,

VBHMA kicked off its 6th Annual Food Drive At our General Meeting on October 18th.  Over the past five years, VBHMA Members and Associates have collected thousands of pounds of food to benefit the Southeastern Virginia Food Bank

THANK YOU FOR HELPING THE NEEDY!

Stacey S. Patrick
General Manager

Virginia Beach Resort Hotel and Conference Center
2800 Shore Drive
Virginia Beach, VA 23451
757-481-9000 ext. 2001
VirginiaBeachResort.com

Dear Shore Drive Residents,

On Monday November 26th at 7:30pm in the Ocean Park Volunteer Rescue Squad,
Mr. Barry Frankenfield of the City’s Park and Recreation department will be
the guest speaker at the SDCC general meeting.  Mr. Frankenfield will be
explaining the plan to have a private company operate the City marina near
Chick’s Oyster Bar & Vista Circle.  Mr. Frankenfield will discuss the reason
for this plan, any cost benefits, how it relates to the Shore Drive ULI
study regarding Fisherman’s Walk and how the plan may impact the adjacent
neighborhoods.

A questions and answer session will follow the presentation.  If you have
any specific questions on this plan, you are encouraged to send them to me
early and I will pass them on to Mr. Frankenfield so he may prepare your
answers.

Send questions to todd@sdcc.info

See you there,

Todd Solomon

5k Run, 32k Bike and 5k Run at Fort Story this weekend.

Presented by The Friends of the Virginia Beach Juvenile & Domestic Relations District Court.
Check out the entire scoop.

His wife, Maxine, was hit by two cars Oct. 29 while riding her bike on Shore Drive, near the Lesner Bridge in Virginia Beach.  She sustained a broken collarbone, a broken femur, six broken ribs, two collapsed lungs and a massive laceration on her left side. She likely survived only because she was wearing a helmet, which was destroyed in the accident.

Read entire article & comment at Pilotonline.com.

The North American Association for Environmental Education is having their Convention at our Virginia Green Convention Center.

A benefit included national news about a Wisconsin school teacher who is being awarded the nation’s first Bartlett Award to honor leadership in environmental education at a ceremony in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

The teacher states:

“Kids are very, very capable,” Weitzel said. “They love being outdoors, and making the connections between what they’ve learned in class and being able to apply that knowledge to a real world situation.”

Read the entire article in The Capital Times.
Learn more about the NAAEE.

Imagine having an Environmental Learning Center on PHP that draws educators, scientists, researchers, & publicity to Virginia Beach.

Lost dog found on Maple Street small brown/white female mix, mostly beagle look.  Four white paws and white tip on tail and white chest.  Very friendly, no collar.

    Call Sally at 481-1480 or Call Empsy at 869-5785.

LRNow has an exciting press release:

###

The Virginia Department of Health regulates safe shellfish harvest areas.  As you know, most of the Lynnhaven River has been closed to shellfish harvest because of high bacteria levels for a long time.

The new closure maps from the Department of Health were released today and we have great news! 

1462 ACRES OF THE LYNNHAVEN RIVER HAVE MET THE RIGOROUS STANDARD FOR SHELLFISH HARVEST AND HAVE BEEN OPENED TO SHELLFISH CONSUMPTION.

1,462 acres equals over 28% of the Lynnhaven River!

THIS IS THE LARGEST PART OF THE RIVER OPEN SINCE 1930!!

To see the maps, go to our website, http://www.lynnhavenrivernow.org,

or use these Virginia Department of Health links below – (The maps follow the documentation)

Lynnhaven Bay:  http://www.vdh.state.va.us/EnvironmentalHealth/Shellfish/closureSurvey/virginiabeach/cond070-025.pdf

Broad Bay:  http://www.vdh.state.va.us/EnvironmentalHealth/Shellfish/closureSurvey/virginiabeach/cond071-095.pdf

Linkhorn Bay:  http://www.vdh.state.va.us/EnvironmentalHealth/Shellfish/closureSurvey/virginiabeach/cond071-010.pdf

Congratulations to everyone on this milestone.  In 2003, when eating an oyster from the Lynnhaven was chosen as a goal,

not many people really thought that would happen.  Thanks to the City of Virginia Beach, all of our partner

organizations and you, our terrific members and volunteers, for helping to reach this milestone.

This is just the beginning of the success we expect in restoring and protecting the beautiful Lynnhaven River.

Karen Wilson Forget
Executive Director
LYNNHAVEN RIVER NOW

1608 Pleasure House Road, Suite 108
Virginia Beach, VA 23455
757-962-5398

kforget@lynnhaven2007.com

http://www.lynnhavenrivernow.org

###

Screenshot of the Lynnhaven Bay Map.

Article at Pilotline.com added at 6:32pm.

The agenda for the meeting will cover the following:

  * receive updates from Committee members concerning design, communications and fiscal matters identified as part of the work plan for the coming year
  * receive updates from City staff on the status of private and public development projects and enforcement issues
  * receive briefings from private developers on proposed projects

Partial shot of calendar cover. Please visit LynnhavenRiverNow.org to view entire cover!

Lynnhaven River Now, a non-profit group dedicated to cleaning up the river, has published a Lynnhaven River 2008 calendar featuring prizewinning photos, nature and environmental tips as well as a Lynnhaven Inlet Tide Chart.  The calendar photos are winners from a Lynnhaven River Now photography contest held last spring, co-sponsored by First Landing State Park and supported by a grant from Patagonia.

Sincere thanks to Linda of FIGG, Phil of Public Works of VB, Clark Nexsen, Randy Burkett-Aesthetic Lighting Design, InSites-Landscape Architecture, MAP Environmental and the entire team that put on the incredibly productive charette to work out the design features of the new Lesner Bridge replacement.

Also, special thanks to everyone who volunteered to stay & participate as long as they could in the new gorgeous convention center. The enlightening, fast paced & entertaining charette went from ~8:30am to ~4:30pm. Weren’t there? Shoulda been!

Quick shot of the book & Agenda pamphlet.

Shot of the constant depth modified cantilever construction with concrete box girder super structure that will have 9 piers – 150’ typical spans with a 225’ mainspan

image
Cross-section of the concrete box girder & pier.

This is a quick & dirty post about the process today.
We’ll link to sites of the Project Team & try to get as much on the web as possible about this exciting process – having serious input in the new signature bridge of our community.

As an example of the amount of detail that was discussed today…

We discussed at great length various elements of the new replacement bridge from aesthetic lighting, ensuring the bridge reflects a simple elegant design based on the Reflections – Natural/Recreational Theme, the pedestrian experience, landscaping… Did we mention you shoulda been there?!

Clark Nexsen & FIGG will no doubt present the experience of the charette & it’s results on the web as soon as possible.

Look for more info about the future opportunities you can have input including the public meeting schedule, alignment of the replacement, “the online experience” and more.

From a personal perspective, I really look forward to working with Clark Nexsen & FIGG going forward.

Oh yeah, funding for the bridge is currently only at the 35%-Design portion.
The ~$90+ million dollar project still needs help to secure 100% of the funding.

Dear Shore Drive Residents,

I wanted to take the opportunity to thank everyone that helpped make Monday
night’s fundraiser at the Green Parrot a big success.  With their
dedication, we were able to raise over $700 for the SDCC’s NoIndigoDunes
Legal Fund.

A special thanks to Liz Dyer for the time and effort she put into making
this event happen.  Walt Stone and Leslie Cornwell should also be
recongnized for selling T-shirts and keeping the SDCC accounting straight
during this event.

Our two celebrity guests, Joe Bouchard and Richard Whittemore, should be
thanked for stopping by and talking with our group.  There words of wisdom
were very encouraging.

And last but not least, I’d like to say thanks to all of you that took time
out of your Monday night to come out and support this noble cause.

Until the next event, keep up the good fight,

Todd Solomon

RE ‘WHO ARE THE SANDLERS?’ (front page, Oct. 29): The Sandler brothers are very impressive. They took the money they inherited to grow an empire of businesses as well as philanthropic endeavors. They also appear to be very nice people.

But today we recognize the impact that humans have had on our environment. It not only impacts the beauty we see but also the quality of life that our children and grandchildren will have.
Read & comment on letter to the editor at Pilotonline.com’ bLetters.

In ‘A kayak ride for the Sandlers’ (letter, Oct. 30), Barbara Gunn has a great idea to help the Sandler brothers continue the legacy their family started many decades ago. Give Indigo Dunes back to the people to enjoy as a nature reserve. There is an even greater legacy for the Sandler brothers. Come back to where the Sandler legacy started Norfolk.

Read the entire letter to the editor entitled “Wards Corner needs Sandlers”.

Mr. Spore’s letter [1pg pdf] in response to the Bayfront Advisory Committee’s letter about the proposed dredge spoils facility being located at the Lynnhaven Boat Ramp.

After seeing the last opinion review in the newspaper, I won’t bother going into detail about why the proposed Indigo Dunes development is so completely out of whack? with sensible community planning or any overall public benefit. 

Or how this Bayfront project is an outright defiance of every regulatory guideline to protect vulnerable watersheds and their wetland buffer areas against the #1 threat to their existence: developments like Indigo Dunes.

Be sure to check out a very cool walking tour of Pleasure House Point.

Since you can’t walk on PHP any more, this is one great way to check out some of it’s beauty.

Great White Heron cruising around Pleasure House Creek & PHP.
[Photo taken before PHP was no trespassing.]

There is still seating available for the Lesner Bridge Design Charette.  If you are interested, please RSVP to 385-4131 by Oct 31st.

It’s November 7th Wednesday, from 8:30am-4:30pm.

If you are planning to go and would like to attend a pre-meeting gathering of other SDCC/Shore Drive residents, please [encode=todd@sdcc.ino?Subject=Lesner Bridge]email Todd[/encode] and he’ll notify you of the time and place for this meeting.

View public notice. [1pg pdf]

BAYFRONT?ALL-U-CAN-EAT? SHRIMP COOKOUT & PARTY!! (with Happy Hour Drink Prices)

Come on Down to the Chesapeake Bayfront for a great cause: Raising money to preserve and protect our community and its remaining beach and wetland resources. All donations and proceeds will go to the Shore Drive Community Coalition?s defense and protection fund in support of the Shore Drive-Chesapeake Bayfront Coastal Preservation campaign. 

NOV 5th- Monday Night from 6 to 9:00 pm
$20/advance – $25/door per person @ The Green Parrot Grille,
4494 Lookout Rd., Chicks Beach
For Tickets & Details: Contact Manager/Lori @ 460-4640 or Liz @ 425-2123 

Print the Whole Flyer & hand it out, hang it, mail it…..get the word out!
See the Whole Flyer [ 1pg PDF ]