TOWN COUNCIL:
Final Appeal Tonight on Hotel Cape Charles
By GEORGE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave
February 21, 2013
The scene: A 1950s movie. Two teenagers in hotrods are playing a deadly game of chicken on a deserted dark highway. As they roar head-on toward one another, one of them has to swerve. If neither gives up, they both die.
Tonight, the Town of Cape Charles and Hotel Cape Charles face off in their own version of “chicken.” Either one party wins and the other loses, or if neither side gives in, they both go down in flames.
The stand-off is over the design of the hotel building — specifically the glass-walled balconies. When hotel owner David Gammino originally submitted his design proposals to the Town’s Historic District Review Board, the balconies were shown in wrought iron, and that’s what the Board approved.
Gammino later changed his mind, but never advised the Board. And although the Town was supposed to monitor the construction, no one noticed that the building didn’t look like the approved design until it was too late.
The hotel received a temporary occupancy permit, allowing it to open last summer. Meanwhile, the Historic Review Board instructed Gammino to go back to the drawing board and come up with balcony walls that looked more “historic.”
Gammino dutifully sent new architectural drawings showing wood surrounds on the glass. But the Review Board rejected the proposal, and turned the case over to Town Council.
And so tonight, six citizens who have never claimed any expertise in historic architectural style will determine whether Hotel Cape Charles is allowed to reopen. [Read more…]
Phyllis Jean Costin, 84, Eastville Great-Great Grandmother
February 19, 2013
Phyllis Jean Costin, 84, wife of E. A. “Sonny” Costin and a resident of Eastville, passed away Monday, February 18, at her residence.
The funeral will be 2 p.m. Thursday, February 21, at Lower Northampton Baptist Church with the Rev. Jeff Conrow and Rev. Dr. John Robertson officiating. Interment will follow in Capeville Masonic Cemetery.
Family will join friends at Wilkins-Doughty Funeral Home in Cape Charles on Wednesday evening from 7 to 8:30.
A native of Cashville, Mrs. Costin was the daughter of the late Robert S. Young and the late Nell Byrd Brown Young. She was a member of Lower Northampton Baptist Church, Mission Support Chairman of W.M.U., and past president of Capeville Pocahontas. [Read more…]
SATURDAY 2/23: Eastern Shore Heritage Celebration Features Music, Crafts, Literary Open Mic
The Eastern Shore Community College Foundation will host the 12th Annual Eastern Shore Heritage Celebration 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, February 23. [Read more…]
SHORE THING: The Troll Under the Bridge
By GEORGE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave
February 18, 2013
The Bridge-Tunnel Commission’s surprising decision to lower tolls for some commuters just might be like the first bricks chipped away from the Berlin Wall.
By itself it may not be that meaningful, but if it starts a trend, who knows where it might end?
Could the action escalate to the point that we no longer fear the “Toll Troll” under the bridge, lurking to gobble up travelers’ wallets?
I wonder why, after all these years, the Bridge-Tunnel Commission made a concession to Eastern Shore residents?
Is there finally a recognition that the crushing toll is the major reason that Northampton is the poorest county in the state of Virginia?
The $12 Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel (CBBT) toll is the highest in the United States by far.
The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge toll into New York City is $13, but the other direction is free, so the average toll is $6.50. Motorcyclists pay $5.50, or an average of $2.75 both ways.
(And why does our Bridge-Tunnel charge the same rate for a motorcycle as for a 2-axle truck?)
The Overseas Highway to Key West spans 127 miles, with the longest bridge in the chain stretching seven miles. The last toll was collected in 1954. Now it’s free.
FREE!
The CBBT carries like a badge of honor the distinction of being built and maintained totally by tolls.
As if that’s something to be proud of. [Read more…]
Hotel, Park Bathroom Appeals Challenge Historic Board
BY GEORGE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave
February 15, 2013
Two appeals will be heard on rulings by the Cape Charles Historic District Review Board — one regarding Hotel Cape Charles, and the other a bathroom in Central Park.
Cape Charles Town Council will hear the appeal concerning Hotel Cape Charles 6 p.m. Thursday, February 21, during the regular council meeting at Saint Charles Parish Hall.
The hotel owners, David and Kathryn Gammino, are appealing the final decision of the Historic District Review Board.
The Review Board ruled last November 20 that the hotel as constructed failed to comply with the plans submitted and approved by the Board.
The hotel has not been granted a permanent certificate of occupancy. It is closed for the winter but due to reopen March 1.
Unless Town Council overturns the Historic District Review Board decision, the hotel will not receive permission to reopen.
In a 35-page submission to the Town, the Gamminos argue that the Review Board failed to follow the Cape Charles Historic District Guidelines. “The denial was based on subjective impressions rather than [the] Guidelines,” the Gamminos wrote.
The Gamminos’ letter to the Town may be read here.
Meanwhile, another appeal of the Review Board’s decision has been filed in Northampton County Circuit Court.
The Circuit Court appeal is over a decision by the Historic District Review Board to approve a bathroom design adjacent to the pergola in Central Park.
The bathroom is planned to duplicate the design of an existing sewage pump station north of the pergola. [Read more…]
Seeking Enlightenment? Join ‘Circle of Friends’
February 15, 2013
A circle of friends old and new in and around Cape Charles is forming to share and openly discuss some of the most fundamental questions of life: who are we; how does life unfold before us; does our Creator have a master design, and how is it manifest?
The Circle will seek to stimulate curiosity and expand philosophical and metaphysical knowledge through discussions based on the studies, experiences, and observations of participants and presenters.
The overarching objective is “to find the spiritual meaning of connectedness wherein we are all part of something much larger.”
The Circle will gather a couple times a month for about two hours in the evening to hear a brief presentation by a member or invited guest, hear a short reading, or watch a video. [Read more…]
WEDNESDAY 2/20: Line Dancing Lessons at Recreation Center
Line Dancing lessons at the Northampton County Recreation Center every Wednesday at 7 p.m. [Read more…]
SATURDAY 2/23: Beekeepers Guild Bringing Honey Queen to Heritage Festival
The 2013 American Honey Queen, a guest of the Beekeepers Guild of the Eastern Shore, will participate in the Heritage Festival Saturday, February 23, at Eastern Shore Community College in Melfa. [Read more…]
