Thursday, June 30, 2011

Political Surveys...the First of Many

Quinnipiac University has released the results on a bushel of survey questions on Virginia politics.
  • In the race for Jim Webb's U.S. Senate seat involving two former governors, the survey found 43% supported  Democrat Tim Kaine and 42% supported Republican George Allen, a statistical dead heat.
  • The survey also found an almost even split in support for President Obama and a generic, unnamed Republican candidate.
  • Quinnipiac's pollsters found a majority of Virginians, 52%, oppose gay marriage while 41% support it.
  • A slim majority of Virginians said they would support allowing same-sex couples to adopt.
  • 55% said they approved of the job Governor Bob McDonnell is doing.
  • The Quinnipiac polls also found 55% of Virginians want the U.S. military out of Afghanistan and even more (60%) want the U.S. out of Libya.
  • 49% percent said the 2010 Federal Health Care Law should be repealed, while 42% said it should not be repealed.
You may be wondering just what is this Quinnipiac University that seems to have its finger on the pulse of Virginia politics.  It's a private school in Connecticut and is home to the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.  In a post-election analysis of the 2010 Senate elections, the website Electoral-vote.com found Quinnipiac's polls to be the most accurate.

Link:
Quinnipiac University Polling Institute

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Now Hear This: Lyme Disease is in Hampton Roads

It now appears that Lyme Disease, a condition long associated with the region of it's origin, New England, is now firmly entrenched in Virginia.  The Virginia Department of Health reported a dramatic increase in Lyme cases between 2006 and 2007.  There were 1,245 cases of Lyme last year, including 37 reported incidents in the Hampton Roads area.  The disease has arrived.

Lyme Disease is named for the city in Connecticut where it was first identified in the 1970's.  Doctors there initially mistook the stiff joints often reported by Lyme patients for juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.  The real culprit, the bacterium Borrelia, wasn't found until 1980.


Lyme can seriously affect a person's health if left untreated, but patients usually respond well if the disease is diagnosed and treated with antibiotics early.  Early detection can be difficult because of the small size of its most common carrier, the deer tick.  Adult deer ticks are about 1/4 inch in length; nymphs can be as small as 1/8 of an inch.  Both can carry Lyme.

Despite its name, the deer tick also feeds on small mammals, birds and people, as well as deer.  Any area with wild animals can harbor deer ticks.

Scientists say ticks must be attached to a host for two to three days for it to transmit the bacteria.  Even then infection is rare; only about 1% percent of people with confirmed tick bites develop Lyme Disease.

Preventing Lyme Disease involves using insect repellent contained DEET and keeping exposed skin to a minimum when in areas with tall grass or dense trees.  Periodic checks for tick bites are recommended following visits to such areas.

More bad news:  the state's tick population is increasing.  Dr. Laura Gateley of the Virginia Department of Health tells the Danville Register & Bee that a wet spring led to taller grasses and weeds where ticks like to hide.  Who has the job of "tick census taker", by the way?

Links:
Lyme information from the Virginia Department of Health
Information and photos of the deer tick.
The Hampton Roads Chapter of the National Capital Lyme Disease Association

Monday, June 27, 2011

Good Newz at the Former Bad Newz Kennels

Dogs Deserve Better, an animal rights group based in Pennyslvania, is in the process of moving into one of the area's most notorious properties:  Bad Newz Kennels, the former headquarters of Michael Vick's dog fighting operation in Surry County.  The organization, which has a mission of taking dogs from owners who keep them continually in chains or in pens, closed on the property last month.

Dogs Deserve Better will turn the former dog fighting center into the Good Newz Rehab Center, a state of the art facility for caring for abused dogs.  The group adds that a memorial will be built for the dogs that were killed on the property.

In case you don't remember, Vick's career began to crumble in April of 2007, when a drug investigation of Davon Boddie, Vick's cousin, led to a search of Vick's Surry County property.  Investigators found strong evidence of a dog fighting operation.  Vick later admitted to financing the operation and personally participating in dog fights and in the killing of dogs.  The NFL superstar temporarily lost his career and most of his money while serving 19 months in federal prison.  He has since renounced dog fighting and is working with the Humane Society of the United States to discourage it.

Vick, a former star athlete at Warwick High School in Newport News and at Virginia Tech, has worked hard to resurrect his NFL career and his public image but has had a difficult time winning over some animal lovers.  Several dog owners I've talked to, including an official with a local animal rights organization, consider what Vick did to be unforgivable, no matter what he now says.   However, the Humane Society of the U.S. considers Vick an asset in the fight about dog fighting.  From their website:  "Just as former drug addicts are able to reach people struggling with addiction, former dogfighters are some of the most effective voices against this crime. We realized the potential that Vick has to reach at-risk youth and pull them out of the quicksand of animal fighting."

Links:
www.dogsdeservebetter.com
Michael Vick and Ending Dog Fighting

Friday, June 24, 2011

On the Mark Summer Reading

This week on Hampton Roads Topics, I talk with Lorena Kelly, an elementary education coordinator with Virginia Beach Public Schools.  Lorena is using the Virginia Beach Schools education blog, On The Mark,  to post ideas for keeping kids reading during summer vacation.  She says reading will keep kids' brains active and help them get off to a good start in the new school year.

The blog includes reading suggestions for elementary, middle and high school age students.

Here's the link to the blog...
http://blogs.vbschools.com/vbschools

Hampton Roads Topics airs Sunday mornings at 6am on these stations:  92.9 The Wave, Star 1310, ESPN Radio 94.1 and 97.3 The Eagle.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

An Interview With the Frugal Chick

Here's the audio of my interview with coupon guru Laura Oliver of www.AFrugalChick.com. 

Today I learned first-hand what Laura means by, "be prepared."  I was at Rite Aid with Sunday's buy-one-get-one coupon on Kleenex.  Alas, the store was sold out.

Wanted: People Involved in the Space Shuttle Program

The Daily Press is looking for people who have played a role in NASA's Space Shuttle program.  With the shuttles soon going into retirement, the newspaper is putting together a special section devoted to the program's development, particularly the work done at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton.

One of my best days as a substitute teacher involved a 7th grade social studies class that was studying John F. Kennedy.  When we got to Kennedy's moon challenge, the students really responded well when I ad libed that much of the design work and training for the moon missions and the shuttle was done just up the road in Hampton.  NASA Langley also played a significant role in determining what went wrong in the final missions of the shuttles Challenger and Columbia.

The shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to begin NASA's final shuttle mission July 8th.

Link:
Information about the Daily Press shuttle commemoration.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Free Adoptions at the Portsmouth Humane Society

To celebrate the beginning of construction on its new facility, the Portsmouth Humane Society has announced it will waive adoption fees for animals over one year of age, in exchange for any donation toward the construction project.

The Portsmouth Humane Society is replacing its overcrowded 30 year old building on Frederick Boulevard with a larger, modern facility.  As a guest on my public affairs segment, Hampton Roads Topics, Executive Director Christie Chipps Peters has described how cages of homeless dogs and cats, stacked two-deep in some areas, fill the current shelter, the employee break room, and her office.  The facility also serves as the shelter for Portsmouth Animal Control.

The 1.9 million dollar shelter is being funded entirely through donations, but the organization is still about $400,000 short of its fundraising goal.  Peters says they hope to move into the new facility by November.

The free adoption special runs through the end of June.

Links:
www.portsmouthhumanesociety.org
Virginian-Pilot article about the shelter

Meet The Frugal Chick

This week on Hampton Roads Topics, I chat with Laura Oliver, the self-described "frugal chick" you've seen on WVEC-TV Sunday mornings.

Laura tells me she was born a penny-pincher and says she loves finding and talking about ideas on saving money.  Her relatives, who Laura says were becoming weary from all of the money-saving advice, pleaded with her to direct her energy elsewhere.  And thus the blog, www.AFrugalChick.com, was born.

Her blog has become a very popular destination for people looking for cost cutting ideas.  Page visits to her site have multiplied by six times over the past year. 

Saving money at the grocery store, she says, takes practice, planning, and knowledge of store policy.  All grocery stores accept coupons, but Harris Teeter, Farm Fresh and Bloom will double those coupons up to .99 cents every day.  She says double coupons at those stores can usually make the brand name item as cheap as or cheaper than the generic version.  Laura outlines the coupon policies of each grocery store on her website here.

Hampton Roads Topics with guest Laura Oliver will air this Sunday morning, June 19th, at 6am on these stations:  92.9 The Wave, Star 1310, ESPN Radio 94.1 and 97.3 The Eagle.

Link:
www.AFrugalChick.com -- Laura's blog

Monday, June 13, 2011

USS Wisconsin in Miniature

Now on display at Norfolk's Nauticus, a scale model of the Battleship Wisconsin.  The model makers BaD Ship Models of Arizona have built and donated a 1/96 scale of the battleship, which has served as a floating museum in Downtown Norfolk for a decade now.

John Sabatini of Richmond is a retired Navy man who installed some of the lighting on the model and acted as the project's spokesman.  He tells me the project initially was going to involve a scale model of the Missouri, but the curators of the Missouri at Pearl Harbor went with another company.  In their search for another project, the people at BaD Ship Models realized the Wisconsin was one of the few battleships never to had a model made of it.

The model is made by hand almost entirely from wood.  The actual battleship measures 887 feet in length.  At 1/96th scale, that's about ten feet.  Even in miniature, the Wisconsin is big.

The model went on display in late May on the third floor of Nauticus, adjacent to the window overlooking the actual battleship.

For photos of the model building process and the finished product, visit www.BaDShipModels.com

Hear my interview with John Sabatini below.


Links:


Friday, June 10, 2011

Blood Donors Needed

This week on Hampton Roads Topics, I interview Stephanie Stay from the American Red Cross Mid-Atlantic Blood Services Region about their need for blood donors.

Summertime is one of the slowest times of the year for the Red Cross.  College students are some of their best blood donors, but with students on summer break, they're less likely to donate.  Summer travel also keeps some regular donors away.

The local Red Cross service area extends from Hampton Roads into Central Virginia and part of North Carolina.  It's a huge area.  Stay has told me they need 500 to 600 units of blood every day to meet demand.

The requirements for donating blood are pretty basic.  Donors must be at least 17 years old, weigh at least 110 pounds, and be in generally good health.  That's it.

The learn more about becoming a blood donor, visit the official website site for the Hampton Roads area Red Cross, www.RedCrossBlood.org

Hampton Roads Topics airs Sundays from 6am to 6:30am on Star 1310, ESPN Radio 94.1, 92.9 The Wave and 97.3 The Eagle.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

"Mailbox Quota Exceeded." Sure it is...

Here's a new scam that arrived in my work email this morning.  The message read,

"Mailbox Quota Exceeded
Our Message Center needs to be re-set because of the high amount of Spam mails we receive daily.
We have re-set our server to serve you more better and consistently; Please click the link below to re-set your mailbox to the new server."
It then listed a link where I was supposed to "re-set" my mail server.  

Of course it's a scam; the phrase, "to serve you more better," is a dead giveaway.  According to About.com, it's a phishing scam.  The scammers would have you believe that resetting a mail server involves giving them your user name, password and birth date.

And yet people fall for this stuff all the time.  North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper announced just today that scammers had stolen $100,000 from victims with this simple text message, "GATEWAY BANK ALERT: Your CARD starting with 4138** has been DEACTIVATED."

According to a 2009 study by cyber security firm Trusteer, phishing scams have a very low success rate.  Less than 1/10th of one percent of scam email recipients actually respond to the phony email.  But of those that do visit the phishing site, nearly half submitted personal information like passwords and user names.

Links:

Monday, June 6, 2011

Encouraging the Use of the Monitor Merrimac Bridge Tunnel

The Virginia Department of Transportation has produced a video promoting the Monitor-Merrimac Bridge Tunnel as a preferable way for tourists to get to the beach, both in Virginia Beach and on the Outer Banks.

The idea to encourage out of area drivers to use the Monitor-Merrimac is a sound one.  As any experienced traffic reporter will tell you (as I'm telling you now), summertime backups at the Monitor-Merrimac are rare while Interstate-64 eastbound is often backed up five to six miles at the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel.

Video Claim:  the video says using I-664 to get to the Oceanfront is, "only a few miles further." 
The Facts:  The extra distance is about 17 miles, or 17 more minutes of driving, assuming there are no backups on I-664, 264 or 64 in Suffolk and Chesapeake.

View the video below.

By the way, V-DOT spokeswoman Lauren Hansen tells me the video was produced in-house, so it didn't cost any extra.





Links:
www.virginiadot.org
V-DOT on Youtube
511Virginia.org -- V-DOT's real-time traffic page, which includes information on accidents, road work and drawbridge openings.

Rabies Problems in Suffolk

Animal control officials in Suffolk are busy dealing with an apparent outbreak of rabies in their city.  Two attacks by rabid foxes over Memorial Day weekend were just the latest in Suffolk this year.  Jay Duell with the Western Health District of the Virginia Department of Health tells me there have been five positive rabies cases in Suffolk since New Year's, involving three foxes, a skunk and a raccoon.  There was also a rabid fox attack in Chesapeake in late May.

WVEC-TV had a report this morning that suggested one possible contributing factor.  They reported that a growing population of coyotes is pushing foxes closer to the human population, thereby increasing the chance a person could encounter a fox.

The increase in rabies cases made me wonder just what the pet regulations are in Hampton Roads.  Turns out they vary, depending on the city.  In Virginia Beach, for example, rabies shots and pet licenses are required for dogs and cats.  In Portsmouth, though, vaccinations and licenses are required for dogs only.  There are no such rules for cats.

A rabies expert with the Virginia Beach Health Department once told me that our pets are the barrier between wild animals and us.  Whatever the rabies rules are in your city, health officials say that keeping your pets rabies shots up to date will protect you and your family.

Most people, it seems, are aware of the basic facts of rabies:  the disease is contagious in any mammal and it's almost always fatal.  Fortunately, only two human cases of rabies have been confirmed in Virginia since 1998, according to the State Health Department.

If you have questions about rabies or need to report an animal bite, contact your local health department or animal control bureau.

Links:

Peninsula
--Hampton Animal Control
--Newport News Animal Control
--Peninsula Health District

Chesapeake
--Health Department
--Animal Control

Norfolk
--Department of Health
--Animal Control

Portsmouth
--Health Department
--Portsmouth SCPA

Suffolk
--Health Department
--Animal Control

Virginia Beach
--Department of Public Health
--Animal Control