12 The Hampton Roads Messenger


Volume 13 Number 11 Applicants Needed For City Around Hampton Roads


Boards and Commissions The Chesapeake City Council is seeking residents who may be interested in serving on various boards and commissions. Boards and commissions provide a vital service to various City departments, agencies and City Council.


Citizens wishing to serve must complete an application form. Applications are due in the City Clerk’s office by August 30, 2019. City Council will appoint candidates for these vacancies during its September 24, 2019 meeting.


Applications are currently being accepted for the following City Council appointed boards and commissions: Animal Services Advisory Board 1 vacancy (Humane Society Rep); Chesapeake Arboretum Advisory Board 1 vacancy; Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area Board 1 vacancy; Chesapeake Bicycle/Trails Advisory Committee 3 vacancies (1 Organized Trail User Group, 2 Citizens); Chesapeake Historic Preservation Commission 1 vacancy (Architect); Chesapeake Integrated Behavioral Healthcare Board 2 vacancies; Chesapeake Interagency Consortium 1 vacancy (Children/ Family Services Provider) *Agency must be located in Chesapeake*; Library Board 1 vacancy; Southeastern Virginia Alcohol Safety Action Program 1 vacancy; Transportation Toll Facility Advisory Committee 2 vacancies (1 Financial Background, 1 Business Owner); Utility Review Board 1 vacancy.


For more information or to apply, contact the City Clerk’s office at 382-6151, or visit Boards and Commissions at the City of Chesapeake’s website, cityofchesapeake.net


Common, Sounds of Blackness scheduled to appear at 1619


August 2019


Digital Summer Camp Showcases Students’ New Skills with Classroom Coding


Demonstration Coding camp recently received $3,000 in donations to purchase computers, drone and robotics kits


NORFOLK, VA – On Tuesday, August 6, students enrolled in Camp Digital will showcase their newly learned coding skills to parents and other community members. Camp participants are learning basic coding from Code for Hampton Roads volunteers at Young Terrace Community Center.


This summer, Code for Hampton Roads partnered with the City of Norfolk’s Department of Recreation, Parks and Open Space to host its first Camp Digital at Young Terrace Community Center. Code for Hampton Roads is a part of Code for America, a national nonprofit that pairs tech-savvy volunteers with civic-minded projects.


Most of the students attending the camp reside in the neighborhoods immediately around the community center. The camp helps bridge the digital divide by providing lessons in computer science to under-served children. According to Code.org, schools reaching the most diverse student groups are less likely to offer computer science courses. Code for Hampton Roads Founder Kevin Curry shares, “We’ve had a great response to our first camp. Being able to hold Camp Digital at Young Terrace allows us to bring computer science, technology and engineering directly to kids who may otherwise not have the opportunity to access these subjects.”


concert on Aug. 24 at Coliseum Free tickets are available now for the First African Landing Commemorative Concert, featuring rapper/actor Common and musical group the Sounds of Blackness, at the Hampton Coliseum on Aug. 24.


The concert is part of a series of events highlighting the 1619 arrival at Point Comfort of the first Africans in English-speaking North America. It is presented by the Hampton 2019 Commemorative Commission, the Virginia 2019 Commemoration, National Park Service, and the Fort Monroe Authority. You can go online to learn more about what happened in 1619. You can also go online to see a calendar of related events.


Concert tickets are available at the Hampton Coliseum (1000 Coliseum Drive) and The American Theatre (125 Mellen Street) box offices at no charge, and online at Ticketmaster.com for a small handling fee, with a limit of four tickets per person. Doors will open at 5 p.m. with seating on the arena floor. Artists scheduled to appear are subject to change. Accessible seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis.


For more event details, visit FirstAfricanLanding.com.


Seeds of Change Sprouting in Newport News Community


Camp Digital is available thanks to the committed volunteers of Code for Hampton Roads, PixelFest, OpenStreetMap Foundation and 757ColorCoded. The camp recently received donations of $1,500 each from the Franklin Johnston Group and Brinshore. The donation was used to purchase a dozen computers, robotics kits and drone kits that will be used in teaching students coding exercises. Councilwoman Andria McClellan, representing Superward 6 and Darrell Crittendon, Director of Recreation Parks and Open Spaces will be present to recognize the camp’s donors.


WHAT: Camp Digital Class Demonstration Event WHEN: Tuesday, August 6, 2019 at 4:00 p.m.


WHERE: Young Terrace Community Center, 804 Whitaker Lane, Norfolk, VA 23510


American Planning Association Recognizes City’s Build One Portsmouth Comprehensive


Garden The Choice Neighborhoods Initiative’s (CNI) Community Garden in the Southeast Community is in full bloom this summer. Raised garden beds were installed by volunteers from The Mission Continues, and volunteers from Serve the City and the CaTalyst Effect joined together to maintain the garden over the past several months with support from neighborhood volunteers.


This season, the garden has produced yellow squash, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, banana peppers, blackberries, raspberries, and peaches. Soon, watermelon will also be ready for harvest!


The CNI Community Garden provides a unique opportunity for residents to get involved and enjoy fellowship, as well as locally-grown fruits and veggies. To learn more about the CNI program and other initiatives taking place in the area, visit newportnewschoice.com.


Plan as Model for Resiliency PORTSMOUTH, VA– Portsmouth’s comprehensive plan, Build One Portsmouth has been recognized across the Commonwealth and has become nationally recognized as a model for a resilience-based comprehensive plan. The Build One Portsmouth Comprehensive Plan was recently recognized by the Virginia Chapter of the American Planning Association as the 2019 Resilient Virginia Community of the Year. Planning Administrator Brian Swets was also the recipient of the Nelsonite Award as Virginia’s Planning Advocate of the Year. The awards were presented at the chapter’s annual conference awards luncheon July 23, 2019. The Build One Portsmouth Comprehensive Plan categorizes strategies under four main themes . . . thriving, resilient, evolving and equitable. Each theme serves as an aspect of what it will take to improve Portsmouth over the life of the plan. Each theme is then represented by a vision statement and supported by goals all of which are outlined in the plan. Each goal contains strategies, specific tactics and possible metrics to be used to measure success. Portsmouth residents were invited, during the beginning phases of the process, to participate in the building of the new comprehensive plan. Public meetings were held and residents could weigh-in on topics via the internet. “We thank the citizens of Portsmouth for their participation in this entire Build One Portsmouth Comprehensive Plan process. We are truly proud of the city’s Planning Department under the direction of Deputy City Manager Bob Baldwin,” said City Manager Dr. L. Pettis Patton.


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