3 Candidates File for November Town Council Election
Larry Veber
Dan Burke
Steve Bennett
By GEORGE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave
August 20, 2012
When Cape Charles voters enter the election booth on November 6 to choose their next President, senator, congressman, and more, they will also see a local race that for the first time in Town history is sharing space with a national election.
Way down at the bottom of the ballot will be a three-way race for one Town Council seat. The candidates are: Steve Bennett, Dan Burke, and Larry Veber.
Unlike the national contests, the local candidates will not be identified by political party, since Council races in Cape Charles are non-partisan.
Because the special Town election will take place concurrent with the Presidential election, no extra expense is incurred.
Virginia election law does not provide for runoffs. Whichever candidate receives the most votes wins. Where three candidates are vying for one seat, the winner hypothetically could receive as little as 34 percent of the vote if each of the other candidates received 33 percent.
Town Council elections normally are in May. The November special election is due to the death of Don Clarke, who was elected May 1 to Town Council but passed away in June before taking office.
After Clarke’s death, Town Council appointed Veber to serve in an interim capacity until a special election could be held.
Steve Bennett and Larry Veber were both elected to Town Council in 2008, and were both defeated for re-election in May 2012. Of the five candidates running in May, three were elected, Veber placed 4th, and Bennett came in 5th.
When Town Council had to pick an interim replacement for Clarke, the majority supported Veber. [Read more…]
TUESDAY 8/21: Historic District Review Board Meeting
The Cape Charles Historic District Review Board will hold a regular session at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, August 21.
The Board will consider a request for roof line modification of the dwelling at 615 Jefferson Avenue.
TUESDAY 8/21: Focus Group on Coastal Environments
10 Volunteers Wanted for Focus Group Discussion
Coastal environments and ecosystems have been important to human communities and our quality of life, but are facing stress and change from intensifying human use.
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 Tuesday, August 21. [Read more…]
LETTER: Public Spaces Should Not Be Privatized
August 19, 2012
DEAR EDITOR,
We the people own a collective array of resources that should not be exploited for private gain.
For the Founding Fathers, and later the high court, this notion is the original countermeasure to governmental abuse.
This is the current struggle for the old Cape Charles School — should Town Council have the ability to control the access and use of public space and assets?
Yes, the old school, especially the gymtorium, is public space, and the building and grounds are public assets.
Our public spaces have always served as a metaphor for our shared participation in the American dream of equality.
Public spaces are meant to be places where people from different backgrounds create a Cape Charles that includes everyone, and excludes no one.
It also invokes the notion of Lawrence Lessing’s idea of the Commons, “a resource in joint use or possession to be held or enjoyed equally by a number of persons.”
According to the courts, generally accessible government-owned places are tradition puble fora, and the American “traditional public forum doctrine” emphasizes the government’s role in protecting citizens’ access to public spaces such as the old school. These are the basic building blocks of our democracy. [Read more…]
FRIDAY 8/24: Community Festival at Northampton High
The 2nd Annual Community Festival at Northampton High will be 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, August 24. Admission is free, and food and entertainment will be provided. Please bring a school supply donation for the “Fill the Coach Back to School Drive.”
SUNDAY 8/26: Crab Decks & Tiki Bars Book Signing at Sunset Grille
Sunset Grille in Kiptopeke is hosting a book signing for the new Virginia edition of Crab Decks & Tiki Bars of the Chesapeake Bay. The authors will be signing copies August 26 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Crab Decks & Tiki Bars of the Chesapeake Bay is a guide to 100 waterfront restaurants and tiki lounges that serve hot crabs and cool drinks in Virginia. Seafood fans can beat the heat at authentic gems where watermen deliver their daily catch and chefs prepare mouthwatering feasts.
Authors Susan and Bill Wade self-published the guide after spending 20+ years exploring each neck of the Bay.
For more about the book, click on www.crabdecksandtikibars.com.
SUNDAY 9/2: Support Eastern Shore Coalition Against Domestic Violence
Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Cape Charles, will have a Bucket Sunday on Labor Day weekend in support of the Eastern Shore Coalition Against Domestic Violence, which recently lost its public funding.
During the past year, a total of five women on the Eastern Shore reportedly have lost their lives from domestic violence.
Emmanuel Episcopal is encouraging other local churches to join in a special collection Labor Day weekend to support the Eastern Shore Coalition.
ESO LIVE
Flatpicking Guitar Opens Eastern Shore’s Own Arts Center
Father & Son duo Doug and Karl Hepler play old-time, new grass, folk, Celtic, and more. Click on photo for ESO website.
By DONNA BOZZA
August 18, 2012
Doug and Karl Hepler will bring flatpicking guitar at its fastest and best to kick off the new ESO LIVE Series next Saturday, August 25, at 7:30 p.m. at ESO Arts Center in Belle Haven.
As their first on-Shore performance, this award winning Richmond area father and son team will rock through high-energy tunes — a spectrum that includes old-time, New Grass, folk, Celtic, and original songs. This is family-friendly musical fare with a wide appeal.
ESO is proud to have these accomplished and crowd-pleasing performers launch the new ESO LIVE series, the renamed, re-energized version of the former ESO Cabaret program.
Doug Hepler has been playing guitar since the age of 13. He teaches at Allegheny Echoes, a renowned week-long music camp in Marlinton, WV. He also teaches guitar and mandolin in the Richmond area and plays in the Carriage House Band, a local favorite. Doug won 1st place in flatpicking at the Virginia Folk Music Association competition in 2002. [Read more…]
