BY JOHN-HENRY DOUCETTE COURTHOUSE – About 300 homeowners in Ashville Park, a subdivision near Pungo, will be helped by taxpayer-funded fixes to a flawed drainage system that was built by the community’s initial developer and accepted by the city officials… Continue Reading
BY JOHN-HENRY DOUCETTE COURTHOUSE – The City Council on Tuesday, June 19, voted to delay two related decisions that could determine how the flood-prone Ashville Park neighborhood near Pungo continues to develop. One item would fix flooding issues in the… Continue Reading
BY JOHN-HENRY DOUCETTE COURTHOUSE — Controversy over a description used in a text message between Virginia Beach city officials seems to have been resolved following an apology and a meeting with community leaders. The head of an organization that voiced… Continue Reading
BY JOHN-HENRY DOUCETTE COURTHOUSE – Virginia Beach Mayor Will Sessoms announced on Wednesday, April 18, that he will leave office at the end of the month. At City Hall, Sessoms said the decision to resign came after reflection with his… Continue Reading
BY JOHN-HENRY DOUCETTE COURTHOUSE — The Virginia Beach Agriculture Advisory Commission on Friday, April 13, voted to recommend that the City Council maintain the agricultural reserve program while supplying some money for a project to address flooding in Ashville Park… Continue Reading
That ending the agricultural reserve program was proposed at all — then argued with questionable logic — shows a troubling division between Virginia Beach government and the rural communities it takes for granted. THE INDEPENDENT NEWS PUNGO — Two years ago, following his appointment as… Continue Reading
BY SCOTT MORRIS PLEASANT RIDGE — I am a 12th-generation farmer of land in the Pungo area, and I would like for my son to have the option of being the 13th. We sat at the Virginia Beach Excellence in Agriculture… Continue Reading
Ed. — Virginia Beach Agriculture Advisory Commission Chairperson Diane Horsley and fellow members of the commission signed the following letter to Mayor Will Sessoms and members of the City Council on Monday, April 9, in opposition to a Friday, March 23,… Continue Reading
Dear Editor: Virginia Beach City Manager Dave Hansen believes that the agricultural reserve program, or ARP, is no longer needed. That statement in itself should set off flares. Remember that City Councilmember Barbara Henley, who represents the Princess Anne District,… Continue Reading
The author, the former Comprehensive Planning Coordinator in Virginia Beach, argues that preserving the Virginia Beach Agricultural Reserve Program within the proposed operating budget and capital improvement plan is consistent with the city’s Comprehensive Plan. BY JERYL ROSE PHILLIPS VIRGINIA… Continue Reading