Volunteers Wanted for Environmental Focus Group at UVA-Oyster in October

Researchers from the University of Connecticut in conjunction with the Long-Term Ecological Research site operated by the University of Virginia at the Virginia Coastal Reserve are conducting an environmental economics focus group on October 9, 11, or 16. [Read more…]

SUNDAY 10/7: Youth Tennis Camp Begins

The Town of Cape Charles offers a tennis camp every Sunday in October.  Starting October 7, ages 5-11 will meet at the tennis court from 2-3 p.m., and ages 12-18 will meet from 3:30-4:30 p.m. [Read more…]

WEDNESDAY 10/10: Dedication Service for Cape Charles Policeman Slain in 1918

Cape Charles Police Department and fellow law enforcement officers are holding a dedication service 2 p.m. Wednesday, October 10, at Central Park. [Read more…]

SATURDAY 9/29: Harvest Dinner & Auction at Palace Theatre

“Cream of the Crop,” a harvest dinner and live auction, is 6 p.m. Saturday, September 29, at the Historic Palace Theatre. Enjoy a harvest dinner with complimentary wine and beer. Live music by pianist William Neill. Pulled BBQ and she crab soup from Big’s Place, creamed sweet potatoes from Pickett’s Harbor and Aqua, green beans from C&E Farms, prepared by Hook U Up, sweet potato biscuits from Yuk Yuk and Joe’s, Luisa’s homemade bread, apple pie and homemade ice cream from Brown Dog. Live and silent auction.Tickets $35, call 757-331-2787.

 

 

Town Council Casts Away Boat Parking Issue

By DORIE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave

September 28, 2012

Cape Charles Town Council concluded yesterday that boat trailer parking on Town streets is not a serious problem.

The Town has no authority to regulate boat parking, and the only way to change that is for the General Assembly to pass a bill modifying the State code. Town staff would need to lobby Delegate Lynwood Lewis to introduce a bill during the 2013 session.

At yesterday’s Council work session, Police Chief Sambo Brown noted that the Wave had canvassed the Historic District on Sunday and found only 12 boats parked on the streets. A year ago, 22 boats had been counted.

Town Manager Heather Arcos reported that 110 boats are registered in the Town, down from 182 a year ago.

Council member Larry Veber was concerned about wide trailers preventing access to emergency vehicles. Chief Brown recalled a recent problem on Monroe Avenue when an ambulance had to go around the block to reach a house. However, the blockage was caused by a construction trailer, not a boat, he said.

Brown said that in cases where a boat is a problem, police ask the owner to move it. No owner has ever refused a police request. However, if safety is not an issue, police are not authorized to ask an owner to move a boat, he said. [Read more…]

Developer Pays Blackstone Tap Fee Day before Deadline

J. David McCormack, developer of Blackstone Lofts, is a partner in Echelon Resources, which proposes to develop Cape Charles Lofts in the old school at Central Park. (Wave photo)

By GEORGE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave

September 27, 2012

Today is the day that residents of Blackstone Lofts were dreading.

Blackstone VA Town Council voted a month ago to turn off the Lofts’ water supply if the developer did not pay the connection fee by September 27.

The Blackstone Lofts developer is J. David McCormack, who is also a partner in Echelon Resources, Inc.

Echelon has a contract with the Town of Cape Charles to convert the old school at Central Park into an apartment building to be called Cape Charles Lofts.

According to Blackstone Town Council minutes, Town Manager Philip Vannoorbeeck admitted that the town was at fault for issuing a building permit for Blackstone Lofts without first receiving payment for the water and sewer connection fees.

The town has been trying to get McCormack to pay ever since. Last March, the town council gave him 30 days to pay, but did not enforce its demand.

Manager Vannoorbeeck told the town council he had both talked to McCormack and informed him in writing, “which is not endearing him to the town,” according to the minutes.

On August 27, the town council gave McCormack another 30-day deadline, and this time made sure he knew they meant it. Failure to pay meant the water would be turned off, period.

McCormack told the Wave September 3 that he definitely intended to pay the connection fee but was negotiating the terms.

Yesterday Blackstone Mayor Billy Coleburn told the Wave that McCormack had just delivered a check to the town manager for $38,000. He earlier had paid $2,000, and this covered the balance.

The Wave has been covering the Blackstone connection fee issue because of the parallels with Cape Charles. [Read more…]

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LINDEMAN: The Summer of Our Discontent

Day lilies in the Lindemans’ newly weeded garden on Tazewell Avenue.

By BRUCE LINDEMAN

September 26, 2012

“I wonder what this is — hope it’s not something that belongs here,” my neighbor Dave observed. I looked at the plant he had just pulled out of my yard.

“No, it’s definitely a weed.”

I had just arrived back in town to attend to the chores of moving to a new vacation home.  Although we were only moving from Monroe to Tazewell, there was still plenty to do.

We’re not full-timers in Cape Charles yet, but we’ll get there eventually.  We had kids a little later in life and they’re entrenched in their Richmond school and friends.

So, we come and go, but we come and go often.  We relish the moment we reach the bridge-tunnel, as the temperature drops and the briny scent tells us we’ve left the hustle and bustle of city life — if just for a while.

I had been weed-whacking our flowerbeds left unattended by the previous owners, who were residents for some 20 years.  Along the way they lovingly restored their home – our new home – to its 1890s glory.  But after time the flower beds had languished.

Dave had ridden his bicycle into our yard, beer in hand, and begun pulling weeds.  Almost an hour later, he was still weeding.

What Dave was doing would never play out back home in Richmond — at least not where we live.

Don’t get me wrong.  Richmonders are a friendly lot.  My wife and I love our neighborhood for its handsome architecture and abundance of neighbors out and about, quick to stop and chat. We have great neighbors.  But I can’t recall anyone pulling up in my yard and weeding our flowerbeds. [Read more…]

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Moonrise Jewelry to Toast Success at Grand Opening

Moonrise Jewelry founder Meredith Restein is holding a grand opening for her Strawberry Street shop Friday, September 28, from 5-9 p.m. in celebration of the national recognition she is receiving for her coastal designs.

By DONNA BOZZA
Special to the Cape Charles Wave

September 25, 2012

Two months ago, 7th generation Shore native Meredith Restein took a chance and expanded her wholesale jewelry business by opening a retail showroom and working studio in Cape Charles on Strawberry Street.

Since then, Restein says, her Moonrise Jewelry business has been phenomenal.

“It’s far exceeded my most optimistic expectations — it’s been so outstanding we’re expanding to the next building so we have more room for production,” she said.

Customers have been mostly tourists, folks with second homes here, and boaters — along with local people bringing in visiting family and friends.

But “it was my Shore customers who kept me going in a down economy,” said Restein. “They didn’t let me lose faith.”

Restein has heard many women express surprise to find a sophisticated shop like Moonrise Jewelry in the area.

The same can be said for her Strawberry Street neighbor, “Drizzles,” which markets upscale oils, coffee, and condiments. Drizzles opened only a few months before Moonrise Jewelry, and together, the two shops are transforming Strawberry Street.

Restein started her Shore-based business 10 years ago. But her big break came this spring, when her coastal-inspired jewelry was hand-picked by the “queen of women’s shapewear,” Spanx founder Sara Blakely, for the company’s Leg Up promotion. [Read more…]

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