Norfolk City Council: 3.29.11

By Tommy Smigiel There are a lot of healthy discussions happening within the City of Norfolk right now.  I call it healthy, but some might look at it as just more controversy.  However you might feel, I am happy that more citizens are getting engaged.  We need citizens involved in their government.  The council will take up … Continue reading Norfolk City Council: 3.29.11 →

Quick links 03/25/11

From around the 'net: Rep. Bobby Scott considering Senate bid. This ought to be interesting. I'm convinced, though, that Dems need to wait until after November to announce a candidate. Let's not lose focus on the General Assembly races this fall. Besides, it's be fun watching the Republicans beat each other up for a while … Continue reading Quick links 03/25/11 →

American Idol results 03/24/11

Wednesday night, the remaining 11 contestants took on the songs of Motown. Some of them did better than others but that doesn't seem to matter to the voting public. In the bottom three were Thia, Stefano and Casey. Casey and not Paul? C'mon. Paul is a bad Rod Stewart imitator. And while I like Scotty, … Continue reading American Idol results 03/24/11 →

Yochum named ODU business school dean

Dr. Gilbert Yochum, professor of economics, has been named the Dean of the College of Business and Public Administration at Old Dominion University. It's really good to see that, after a nationwide search, ODU found its next dean right here at home. Yochum has been at ODU since 1975 and has been the acting dean … Continue reading Yochum named ODU business school dean →

An effort in futility

Leonard Pitts of the Miami Herald wrote an interesting article on futility, opening with this: This will be a futile column. Experience dictates that it will change no minds, inspire no reconsideration among those who disagree. It will sit on the computer screen or the newspaper page taking up space, affecting nothing, until another column … Continue reading An effort in futility →

Quick links 3/22/11

By the time I got home from work today, wordpress.com, where this blog is hosted, was having some kind of meltdown, which made the backend inaccessible. In any event, here are a few posts that caught my eye as I waited for it to get back up: VLBC calls for second Congressional district with high … Continue reading Quick links 3/22/11 →

Please split up my ‘community of interest’

By Steve Vaughan It's  redistricting time. The General Assembly meets next month to draw the new lines for the state's 11 Congressional districts, 100 House of Delegates district and 40 State Senate districts. This year we've had an appetizer, since the governor's commission on redistricting (which only has advisory status), college students participating in a … Continue reading Please split up my ‘community of interest’ →

Concert review: Elton John

Sir Elton John performed for a sold-out audience Friday evening in Norfolk.  I was among the 10,000 crammed into ODU's Ted Constant Center for three hours, a welcome break from tax season. I enjoyed the concert but wish he had ditched the entire segment of songs with Leon Russell (the set list is here) and … Continue reading Concert review: Elton John →

Norfolk City Council: 3.22.11

By Tommy Smigiel Norfolk government managed to stay out of the headlines this past week for controversial matters.  It was nice to read a positive story this weekend.  I was happy to hear that the Jacoby Development Group finalized plans for the old Ford Motor Company plant and announced that a Belgian logistics company will bring over 225 jobs back to Norfolk.  This … Continue reading Norfolk City Council: 3.22.11 →