NHS Students Construct Cabinet for American Legion
Northampton High cabinetmakers (Photo courtesy Dave Steward)
By JOE VACCARO
American Legion Post 56
April 7, 2014
Despite being one of the oldest Posts in America, American Legion Post 56 had to literally restart from the ashes of a fire that completely consumed it decades ago when it was located in Cape Charles. The past few years have seen a transformation within the Post, including not only an internal structural change but also a collection of items and mementos that reflect the proud military service of its membership.
Ever mindful that Post 56 evolved from a well-known supermarket that was once a gas station and car dealership, the Post’s leadership, under the skillful direction of Commander Dave Steward, has made great efforts to preserve Post history. More important is the effort to preserve the veterans’ stories and the culture of the Shore where the veterans reside. [Read more…]
April Fool’s Comes but Once a Year
CAPE CHARLES WAVE
April 2, 2014
Quite a few more readers than we expected were fooled by yesterday’s story reporting that Town Council was selling the Inner Harbor for $10. We thought we had planted enough clues to make everybody realize it was a joke, but in retrospect we realize the story was close enough to reality to be somewhat believable.
For example, after the first sentence reporting the $10 sale, we wrote: “The original offer was $1, but was raised ten-fold as a demonstration of goodwill by the buyer.” But that’s exactly what happened with the old school property: the buyer originally offered $1 and then raised it to $10.
The next clue was the Harbor purchaser: J. David Schmick of St. Petersburg, Russia, owner of Sketch-Along Resourcing LLC. Readers who have closely followed the sale of the school and park property know the buyer was J. David McCormack of Petersburg, Virginia, owner of Echelon Resources LLC. But not everyone remembers that, so it wasn’t enough to give the hoax away.
But then we reported that Schmick planned to turn the Shanty into a Hong Kong style floating restaurant, and that he might rebrand it as a McCormick & Schmick’s restaurant. If that wasn’t a giveaway, we thought that surely the Disney waterslide, jet ski race course, and ferry boat casino would not pass the reality test. An added clue was that Charade Adventures LLC would operate the ferryboat casino. The contract to buy the old school was with Echelon Resources, but the town actually sold it to another McCormack company – Cheron Ventures. [Read more…]
Big Mason Avenue Project Raises Parking Concerns
Developer Patrick Hand supplied this sketch of one of the buildings he proposes to construct on the site of the old Be-Lo grocery.
By DORIE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave
March 31, 2014
Local real estate developer Patrick Hand outlined to Cape Charles Town Council last Thursday his plans to demolish the vacant grocery store building on Mason Avenue and replace it with two new buildings with stores on the ground floors and condos above. But while a prominent eyesore would disappear, so would more than 100 public parking spaces.
Hand envisions an extension of Strawberry Street running through the middle of where the 1950s-era grocery store building is located, with a new structure flanking each side of the street. He suggested that the town buy the property from him needed for the extension and turn it into a pedestrian mall.
The proposed buildings would be constructed and occupied in phases, beginning with a three-story structure across the street from the Wilson Building on the corner of Mason and Strawberry. A second building two to four stories high would be built later, east of the first building. The first building would contain 28 units, five of them ground-floor commercial storefronts and the rest mostly one-bedroom condo apartments. Some corner units would have two bedrooms.
Hand has a contract to buy the 1.45-acre Be-Lo building and parking lots for an undisclosed price. Although Hand does not yet own the property, he has been negotiating with the town to sell it a portion of the property to be turned into a pedestrian mall, and another portion to be used as public parking. Negotiations have so far not been successful.
Hand also is asking the town for several concessions, including a deferral of water and sewer connection fees, a reduced setback requirement, and a blanket parking variance. Hand said he has requested a hearing by the Board of Zoning Appeals, but there are no details on the town website. [Read more…]
Supervisors, PSA Hope to Resolve Town Problem
CAPE CHARLES WAVE
March 31, 2014
The Northampton Board of Supervisors met March 24 with the Public Service Authority in an effort to break the logjam in cooperation with the Town of Cape Charles. Their solution was to form a three-way committee composed of two Supervisors, two PSA members, and two Cape Charles Town Council members.
Representing the Supervisors will be Granville Hogg and Rick Hubbard, and from the PSA are Bob Panek and Sean Ingram. It will be up to Cape Charles Town Council to decide who represents the Council. Recognizing that Town Council elections are May 6, the Supervisors recommended waiting until after that to convene the committee.
The March 24 meeting was the first since Bob Panek resigned as PSA chairman January 28. County Supervisors forced his resignation by cutting off PSA funding so long as Panek was chairman. Panek remains a member of the PSA, appointed by the Town of Cape Charles.
Panek reportedly has recommended that Town Council immediately appoint Joan Natali and Frank Wendell to the joint committee without waiting for elections. Natali is running for re-election and Wendell is running for mayor, creating the possibility that neither of them would continue as a Council member. [Read more…]
County Zoning Controversy Unresolved after Meeting
CAPE CHARLES WAVE
March 31, 2014
After hundreds of residents attended a March 11 public hearing to rally against proposed sweeping zoning changes, Northampton County Board of Supervisors sent the proposal to the County Planning Commission. The Supervisors met jointly with the Planning Commission March 24 to discuss next steps.
Opponents of the proposed zoning changes now worry that the Planning Commission will be forced into a hasty decision, and they blame County officials for not simply withdrawing the zoning amendment and resubmitting it later.
As the Wave reported March 13 (CLICK), the controversy is over sweeping proposed changes to the County zoning code, including removal of special seaside protections that under Federal law are afforded the bayside. CLICK for a comprehensive list of opponents’ concerns.
Inexplicably, although the proposed zoning amendments have been worked on for over a year, the Planning Commission was not involved. When opponents pointed out that under law the Planning Commission must be involved, the draft ordinance was “dropped in our laps with a 100-day review period,” in the words of one Commission member. [Read more…]
REVIEW: Odd Couple Brought Us Together for a Night
Seated Left to Right:
Mellisa Stein as Olive Madison
Fran Loper as Renee’
Susan Kovacs as Sylvie
Joanne Dean as Mickey
Sherri DeMarino as Vera
Christy Iversen as Florence Unger
Travis Handy, Stage Manager & Stage Hand
Standing Left to Right:
Kevin Schwenk, Hair & Make up
Victor Abrahamian as Manolo Constazuela
Clelia Sheppard, Director, Set Design & Decor
J.P. Pare as Jesus Constazuela
Rachel Attenberg, Stage Hand
Not pictured:
Chris & Walt Rool, Photograhy
Richard Spano, Lighting Tech
Rob Colls-CCC Renovations, Set Construction
By WAYNE CREED
March 29, 2014
The play The Odd Couple premiered on Broadway at the Plymouth Theatre on March 10, 1965, and later moved to the Eugene O’Neill Theatre where it closed on July 2, 1967 after 964 performances and two previews. Directed by Mike Nichols, the original cast starred Walter Matthau as Oscar Madison and Art Carney as Felix Ungar. The Nichols show produced Tony Awards for Walter Matthau as Best Actor, as well as Best Author for Simon, Best Direction of a Play for Nichols, and Best Scenic Design for Oliver Smith. In 1968, the film version, starring Matthau and Jack Lemon, cemented the iconic characters of Oscar Madison and Felix Unger. In 1970, the television show starring Jack Klugman and Tony Randall forever wove Oscar and Felix into the American consciousness.
The beauty of theater is that it is never static, whether it is recreating the Oresteia Trilogy, or Hamlet, or The Sound of Music. There’s always something new, a different angle, a new way to be fresh. That is just what we saw this last weekend with the Palace Theatre’s brilliant production of The Odd Couple: Female Version. Great productions always start at the top, and Clelia Shepherd’s vision, wit, and charm created the perfect pallet. The production had a firm, even pace, allowing each actor the room to breathe and find their space within this rather daunting script.
This version of the Odd Couple differed from many I have scene, due to its visual brilliance — the actors literally popped on the stage, and the credit for this goes to one of the most talented and underrated artists on the Shore — the Palace Theatre costume mistress, Vera Miller. After every show, I always tell myself, there’s no way she’ll ever be able to top that, but somehow she always does, whether it is pitch-perfect historical such as Oliver or Piece of Eden, or the flat-out brilliance and style of Seussical the Musical. Here, once again, her eye was spot on. Working with Ms. Miller, Kevin Schwenk’s great work with hair and make-up truly lent an air of authenticity to the show.
The beauty of the Odd Couple is that it plays to America’s greatest theatrical strength — the ensemble comedic cast, and that strength was exploited to the fullest by Ms. Shepherd. The heart of the Odd Couple is the friendship and camaraderie that exists among the characters, especially when they meet for the weekly card games. In the female version, poker is exchanged for Trivial Pursuit, a savvy twist by the author, opening the door for numerous one-liners and zingers. [Read more…]
Council Deal to Buy Foster Lots Includes Back Tax
At Town Council meeting, New Roots Youth Garden volunteers Joann Fitchett, Jen Lewis, Tammy Holloway, and Brook Thomas receive town seal to display on the garden fence. (Wave photo)
By DORIE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave
March 24, 2014
In a 5-1 vote March 20, Town Council approved purchasing seven lots at the entrance to town for $100,000 from Bay Creek developer Richard “Dickie” Foster. Council member Frank Wendell opposed the purchase.
As partial payment, the deal includes $61,000 in back taxes owed the town by Foster’s company, Bay Creek LLC.
As reported in the Wave March 20, the town has been paying Foster’s county tax and town tax on the lots since 2010, as well as mowing the grass. A town welcome sign is erected on one of the lots.
The Wave has learned that a comparable lot on the other side of Randolph Avenue east of the Museum recently sold for $4,000 to the owner of Eastern Shore Custom Carts.
No use for the seven Foster lots has been stated, other than display of the welcome sign. Town Council members agreed at the meeting that they do not support the use of the lots for creating a traffic circle as proposed by VDOT and contained in the Comprehensive Plan. A traffic circle would also plow through the New Roots Youth Garden. [Read more…]
Public Hearing Set for Lodging Tax Increase
By DORIE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave
March 24, 2014
Cape Charles Town Council voted 5-1 March 20 to hold a public hearing on increasing the town lodging tax. Only Council member Frank Wendell opposed the action. The Town Code would be amended to raise the 3 percent transient occupancy tax to 3.7 percent, effective July 1, and cap the contribution to the ESVA Tourism Commission. The public hearing will be 6 p.m. April 17 at St. Charles Parish Hall.
In addition to raising the tax rate, Town Manager Heather Arcos is suggesting other “updates” to the Town Code – most significantly, deletion of language allowing Northampton County to levy a 2 percent lodging tax in the town. This provision in the Town Code is in fulfillment of the 1991 Annexation Agreement between the town and the county. Under state law, a county cannot levy a tax within a town without the town’s permission. The town granted that permission to the county when the county allowed the town to annex the property that became Bay Creek on the south side of Cape Charles.
Another “update” is deletion of a requirement that the town treasurer “ascertain the name of every person . . . who fails, refuses, or neglects to collect such tax. . . .”
Councilman Tom Godwin asked Arcos if she suspected there were many violators. Arcos responded, “I would say that the homeowners that rent without a Realtor or management company – yes.” She added that it was “very time-consuming” for staff to try to monitor the tax payments.
Council member Joan Natali noted that one way to monitor rental activity is by checking vacation websites. “If we have any good citizens who would like to dedicate a couple of hours a week, a month, or whatever, to do some of that research and then provide the treasurer with that information, it could then be followed up in a more targeted way,” she said. [Read more…]
