Botanical Garden and the WPA - 09/28/08 04:50 PM
Wonder where the Nofolk Botanical Garden had its start?  It was part of the WPA 70 years ago.  It was created and dug out by over 220 African American women and men.  They worked for 25 cents an hour from dawn til dusk.  Now these people are being remembered with the WPA Memorial Garden.  The official opening will be next spring when the azaleas are in bloom.
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Pension Plan Hurts - 09/28/08 04:33 PM
Portsmouth pension plan has a bitter pill for those who go on social security.  There is an offset when they become eligible for social security.  It can be hundreds of dollars a month.  Many retirees say they did not know about the offset and would have opted for the the state system.
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Portsmouth Schools to sale land - 09/24/08 02:28 PM
Stephen H. Clarke school in Portsmouth is about to be 4.2 acres smaller.  School officials are thinking of selling the land to the Portsmouth Redevelopment and Housing Authority for $277,000.  The money will go back into the capital improvement fund.
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It takes legislation to sale land in Norfolk - 09/24/08 02:23 PM
Did you know that at times it takes an act of Congress to sell land.  Apparently NOAA owns a piece of land in downtown Norfolk on Front St that it bought from Norfolk back in the early 1970's.  Norfolk needs the piece of the land for its light rail system and the rest will be towards redevelopment.  Right now there is an empty warehouse on the lot.
http://www.geneallen.com/ Come and see ALL the Homes for Sale in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, as well as the rest of Hampton Roads. This site is updated daily with new real estate listings, pictures and … (1 comments)

18 Million Dollar Bike Path To Now Where - 09/24/08 01:46 PM
I wrote a post recently about a bike path for the new Dominion Blvd widening project in Chesapeake.  Well now the project has grown and that makes the bike path more expensive by $2 million dollars.  We are talking about 6,000 feet of bike path.  To the cities credit, they are trying to reduce the cost without doing away with the bike path which the state won't let happen anyway.  Stay tuned and we will see if it goes any higher.
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Send the kids to the park NOT!!! - 09/24/08 01:35 PM

When welcoming new buyers to Virginia Beach I would tell them to let the kids hit the park but no more.  Now along with all the normal things to worry about in parks we have a new and more dangerous one.  Fire Ants.
The fire ant is here and seems to like parks.  The latest park to be hit was the Charlestown Atheletic Park.  Fire ants made their way to Virginia Beach from mulch, shrubs and trees that are brought in from North Carolina, Texas and other southern states.  Originally the fire ants  were stowaways on ships from Brazil to Mobile, Ala. via … (1 comments)

Send the kids to the park - 09/24/08 01:20 PM
 


One thing I always do is tell the parent what fine parks we have in Virginia Beach but now I have to be careful.  Why?  Because along with the normal dangers that come with parks now we have to deal with fire ants.  The fire ant is here and seems to like parks.  The latest park to be hit was the Charlestown Atheletic Park.  Fire ants made their way to Virginia Beach from mulch, shrubs and trees that are brought in from North Carolina, Texas and other southern states.  Originally the fire ants  were stowaways on ships from Brazil to … (0 comments)

Fire Ants-The Unwanted Tourist - 09/24/08 01:09 PM
Virginia Beach normally welcomes tourist
but not this one.  The fire ant is here and seems to like parks.  The latest park to be hit was the Charlestontown Atheletic Park.  Fire ants make their way to Virginia Beach from mulch, shrubs and trees that are brought in from North Carolina, Texas and other southern states.  Originally the fire ants  were tourists on ships from Brazil to Mobile, Ala via dirt from the ships ballests.  From there the ants made it into the native soil and the rest is history.  Experts like to call these type ants RIFA's or Red Imported Fire Ants to … (0 comments)

Pop Up Shade For LCD - 09/17/08 07:25 PM
This is one of those got to have gadgets for your camera if it is a P & S or a DSLR.  It is a POP UP SHADE for the LCD on your camera.  It is a magnetic device that fits over your LCD and flips up to keep the sun out so you can compose your picture.  It comes in various sizes so you should be able to find one that fits your camera.  And yes, it comes in black. 
I have just spotted it and haven't bought one but the check is in the mail so to speak.  My DMC FZ … (4 comments)

Why I Like A Small Sensor Camera Part IV - 09/15/08 03:56 PM
My last post on the DMC FZ 18 was on an amusement park.  This time it is on spiders.  I went out back in my yard to get a butterfly picture and ended up with this spider pictures.  I know most of us don't like spiders but I can't resist pictures of the webs.  I took the first two with my handy P & S Kodak.  The second picture is with the Kodak on x zoom.   I took out my FZ 18 and took some telephoto shots.  I don't remember what zoom I was for the third shot but it was pretty long.  The fourth picture … (2 comments)

New Spider Pic - 09/15/08 03:32 PM
I went out this morning to take a picture of a butterfly in Glenwood in Virginia Beach but ended up with this little guy.  In the first picture I had to paint the body of the spider because I blew out the highlites.  All you could see was white.  Then I turned the picture 180 degrees because the spider was upside down.  The second picture is a crop of a different picture.  You can actually see the hair on the legs.  I love Elements. 

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Suffolk Settles Lawsuit - 09/14/08 11:26 AM
The ex-Suffolk assessor for Suffolk recently settled a lawsuit with Suffolk  The terms of the deal were not disclosed.  City officials would not comment.  The assessor was fired for recently changing the way homes had been assessed along waterfront property.  There were other issues to be sure but his was the most public display by the assessor.
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Hog Truck Overturns - 09/14/08 11:18 AM
A hog truck on the way to Smithfield recently overturned in Suffolk at the Intersection Godwin Blvd and Kingsdale Rd.  Several hogs were killed and several more escaped.  The road was closed for six hours.  The Chuckatuck Volunterr Fire Department kept the remaining hogs cool my spraying them with water while they were being transferered to another truck.   

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CM Developement Liable - 09/14/08 11:06 AM
CM Developments' president will be liable for $9.1 miillion in debt.  This was because of an agreement filed in bankruptcy court recently.  Once the bankruptcy case is closed, creditors will be allowed to file claims against Cary McEntee in civil court and place liens against his wages and any remaining property. 
The company at one time owned 250 properties in and around the Norfolk area but sold them in a pyrimid like scheme.  Eventually it came crashing down on the company like a house of cards.  Many investors were out a lot of money and the city is left trying to clean … (0 comments)

Whole House Surge Protection - 09/14/08 10:46 AM
Do you know how much money you have tied up in electronic equipment in your house?  How much of your real estate business would be affected by a strike?  I didn't but I do now after reading about some major hits people have taken because of lightening strikes recently.  I am considering putting in a whole house surge protection unit.  It sounds like a great idea but it is a two step process.  If you do it yourself, don't forget the second step.   The picture below shows what your voltage coming in looks like and what you are protecting against which … (0 comments)

Google Is Ten Years Old - 09/14/08 10:02 AM
To me it is hard to imagine that Google has only been around for ten years.  It seems to be such an entrenched part of anyones life that goes on the internet.  Even people who never go on the internet, like John McCain, want to say, "just google me"  I am guessing it will be dominating the internet for quite some time, especially now that they have a browser called Chrome. 
http://www.geneallen.com/  Come and see ALL the Homes for Sale in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, as well as the rest of Hampton Roads.  This site is updated daily with new real … (2 comments)

Buy and Bail - 09/09/08 07:49 PM
I seen this on TV the other day and was talking to a lawyer in Virginia Beach today when he said he had someone he thought was doing it.  What do you do if you know if some is going to "Buy and Bail"?
The scenario is a seller bought at the height of the real estate market and can't sell if his life depended on it.  So he goes and finds a great house in the same or general area that is priced much lower then his current house.  Of course now interest rates are better and he doesn't have … (3 comments)

Great Dismal Swamp Lake Is Open - 09/08/08 02:41 PM
Lake Drummond in Suffolk is open to the public for the first time in a while.  It had been closed because it was being used as a water source for the fire that started June 9, 2008.  At the height of the fire in the Great Dismal Swamp there were oaver 400 firefighters fighting the fire.  For a short time, the fire was the largest wild fire in the US.  Today there are less then 50 firefighters.  The fire will smolder until there is a big soaking rainfall.   Hopefully that will be soon.
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$16 Million Bike Path to Nowhere - 09/08/08 01:38 PM
Actually the bike path leads to somewhere but it is not the end of a rainbow but at that cost it should be.  Chesapeake is widening Dominion Blvd and the state requires a bike path be installed.  The cost is $16 million.  That seems like a lot of money but is only 4% of the total cost of the improvements.  The city had thought that it made the bike path go away earlier this year only to find it back this month.  As a bike rider myself, I like to see a nice path along a 55 mph road on which … (0 comments)

New School Zones For Norfolk - 09/08/08 01:20 PM
Norfolk schools will be getting new attendance zones by 2010 if school officials go through with plans recently announced.  The move could end crosstown busing that was imposed on the city decades ago by the courts.  Because the zones for the five hight schools haven't been redrawn in such a long time some schools are over utlized and some are underutilized.  Rezoning the schools would more evenly distribute the students and should make for shorter bus trips as a bonus.
 
http://www.geneallen.com/ Come and see ALL the Homes for Sale in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, as well as the rest of Hampton Roads. This site is … (0 comments)

Tax Alert For Virginia Beach - 09/08/08 01:06 PM
Projections this year for property tax assessments in Virginia Beach is that they will be flat.  That is good news for homeowners who have seen their real estate tax bills skyrocket in recent years but bad for the city coffers.  The schools will be especially hit hard as they were expecting an increase.  The other cities around the area are having the same problem.
 http://www.geneallen.com/ Come and see ALL the Homes for Sale in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, as well as the rest of Hampton Roads. This site is updated daily with new real estate listings, pictures and other information vital … (0 comments)

The Mother of All Cameras and Video Cameras - 09/04/08 07:33 PM
If you want to take great pictures of your listings in Virginia Beach and do a superb video tour, then SAVE YOUR MONEY AND BUY THE Nikon D90.   This is not your typical run of the mill camera that has all the bells and whistles and takes great pictures which it does.  What it does do is something no other Digital Single Reflex camera has done and that is to record VIDEO.  That is right VIDEO and in HIGH DEFINITION at 1024 by 724  at 24 fps.  Well you say your P & S camera can take VIDEO but can it do it with a 12mm by … (10 comments)

 
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Gene Allen Realtor Hampton Roads Real Estate

Virginia Beach, VA

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Resh Realty Group

Address: 192 Ballard Ct Ste 305, Virginia Beach , Va, 23462

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