Virginia Beach

After six years of organizing, a Baltimore group is set to take on Tampa, Fla., in an effort to land the retired aircraft carrier USS Forrestal as a museum in the city's Inner Harbor.Chaired by former crewman Frank J. Eurice of Abingdon, the USS Forrestal Museum Inc. will submit its bid to the Navy Sea Systems Command in Washington on Wednesday, the final day of the submission period."Our clock would start at that point, for anyone else to get in," Eurice said. Under the Navy's Ship Donation Program, once a party submits an application, others have six months to file competing bids.

VIRGINIA BEACH -- The spring night Ed Lindsley, a wily old land speculator, collapsed atop a pile of land deeds and slipped into a diabetic coma, some people in this resort town wondered if at last they were secure.For decades, Lindsley built his fortune using long-forgotten land deeds to force homeowners, developers and business people here to pay him for land they thought they owned. Now, he lay hurting over the very same deeds that he might one day use against some unwitting landowner.

CAPE CHARLES, Va. -- More than a century after two railroad men from up north put the place on the map -- literally -- the future is beginning to look a lot like the past in this bay-front town near the southern tip of Delmarva."

Virginia Ethel Robinson, 77,Tolchester seamstressVirginia Ethel Robinson, a homemaker and seamstress, died Sunday of heart failure at her Tolchester home. The former Hamilton resident was 77.A resident of Tolchester since 1972, Mrs. Robinson was an accomplished seamstress and an active member of Rock Hall United Methodist Church.The former Virginia Ethel Kuhn was born in Altoona, Pa., and moved to Northeast Baltimore as a child. A graduate of city public schools, she was married in 1942 to Julian T. Robinson, a retired Baltimore police officer.

During six years that Joseph Allen described as mostly darkness, speaking to Howard County students about the dangers of drinking and driving was a patch of sunlight.Allen, who lived with physical disability, depression and frustration after his car was struck by a drunken driver in 1993, would brighten when he helped students understand the dangers of mixing alcohol and automobiles, his friends remember."Joe's voice was very slurred, but [during a presentation] there was so much intensity in the room to listen to what he said," said Debbie Derwart, president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving Howard County.

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - The water is flowing and restrictions are lifted, but the battle over the Lake Gaston pipeline continues.Opponents in North Carolina and Southside Virginia took the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, contending that Virginia Beach should not be allowed to draw water from Lake Gaston without North Carolina's permission.Their request marks the second time opponents have turned to the nation's highest court.In 1992, the Supreme Court, which hears less than 2 percent of cases presented to it, declined to let North Carolina appeal a pipeline permit issued by the Army Corps of Engineers.

The sport of boxing is hard enough as it is, but having to fight with the name Bernice makes it doubly tough.Virginia middleweight Bernice Barber overcame that obstacle, plus a nine-pound weight discrepancy and a wealth of experience in scoring a shocking, fifth-round knockout over former champion Glenwood Brown at Martin's West last night.This was easily the most notable victory of Barber's 25-fight career. Recently, he had lost fights to two other ex-champions, Julio Cesar Green and Paul Vaden.

The week for Annapolis junior Misha Bilyeu started with final exams.This afternoon, she's leading the Panthers indoor track team in the Anne Arundel County Championships at the Fifth Regiment Armory in Baltimore, entering as the top seed in the 800 meters, third seed in the 1,600, and running a leg of the team's 1,600-meter relay squad.On Sunday, she'll be moving to Chesapeake, Va. -- near Virginia Beach -- to finish out the school year before moving to Brussels, Belgium, in the summer. Getting there in the summer will give her some time to adjust before attending an American college-prep school in the fall.

A GROUP of Arundel Middle School students, accompanied by North County High School students, braved cold rains and rough seas recently for a two-hour whale-watching trip off Virginia Beach, Va.Twenty students from each school, led by Valerie Wesner, toured the Virginia Beach Marine Science Museum and spent 1 1/2 hours on the water before they saw two whales.The Arundel Middle students were Tiffany Boller, Danielle Cole, Ashley Condict, Stephanie Dalnekoff, Amanda DeVan, Jessica Gouff, Sheila Hagan, Kerra Holtgren, Heather Keim, Jennifer Korvin, Erin Kutsch, Mindy Matanane, Amanda Medford, Heather Palmieri, Jaime Perez, Katrina Ogle, William Salo, Shannon Soper, Beth Vladich and Megan White.

OCEAN CITY -- The T-shirt joints, seashell shops and grease-soaked food stalls have put aside some of their legendary rivalries and united to reinvent the boardwalk. A Victorian theme, maybe, or something nautical, they're thinking, to re-energize the seaside boards and complement the coming street lamps, planters and kiosks.Hotel development, fueled in part by a $30 million convention center expansion, is surging. And marketing gurus now target baby boomers with their large disposable incomes rather than hordes of teen-agers.

If there were ever a time that we all needed a great escape - this would be it. But, you may be thinking, this is also the time when we can least afford to get away. Spending a few days at the beach doesn't have to break the bank. Waterfront hotels, restaurants and attractions are slathering on the deals and discounts as thickly as they can, especially on the Internet. We found fun, free and nearly free activities and events at popular beach destinations along the Mid-Atlantic coastline, from North Carolina to New Jersey.

The snake was motionless, curled around the branch of a bayberry bush on the bank of an inlet to Back Bay. Chuck Conley, kayak guide and naturalist, approached it quietly, his paddle dipping gently into the brown water. "It's not poisonous," he told us, "but it's got a mouthful of sharp needle-teeth. If one bit you, it'd be a bad day." Of all the exotic creatures you would expect to see catching rays on a summer's day in Virginia Beach, a native brown water snake is probably not among them.

Ready for the shore, but not sure you can afford to go? Our annual Beach Guide has the lowdown on how to have good, cheap fun in Ocean City, Rehoboth Beach, Del., Wildwood, N.J., and Virginia Beach, Va. Look for it in The Baltimore Sun on Wednesday.

40 Off in Virginia What's the deal?: Virginia tourism officials are celebrating the 40th anniversary of the "Virginia Is for Lovers" campaign with savings of 40 percent or $40 off hotels, inns, museums, outfitters and more. Some hotels are also offering a fourth night free, and restaurants and attractions have buy three, get a fourth free. What's the savings?: Varies, depending upon the deal. For example, you can get a fourth night free at the Founders Inn and Spa in Virginia Beach, a savings of about $100.

In Virginia, you can still get a smoking room at a hotel. I just thought I'd mention that, in case any of you are thinking: "Hey, I'd really like to get away and stay someplace that guarantees I'll have severe nasal drip and sinus congestion for several days after my trip." I guess I am used to Maryland, where we really don't allow anyone to smoke anywhere anymore. So I was genuinely surprised when I called a hotel in Virginia Beach and the reservations agent asked whether I wanted a smoking or nonsmoking room.

1 Beach, W Hotel, San Diego 2 Pavilion Bar & Cafe, Market Pavilion Hotel, Charleston, S.C. 3 Plunge, Hotel Gansevoort, New York 4 Castaways Bar & Grill, North Avenue Beach, Chicago 5 The Rooftop Surfclub, Sticky Wicket Pub & Restaurant, Victoria, British Columbia 6 Tarpon Club, Bud and Alley's Restaurant, Seaside, Fla. 7 Sky Bar, Hilton Virginia Beach Oceanfront, Virginia Beach, Va. 8 Rooftop Lounge, Townhouse Hotel, Miami Beach 9 ...

Virginia Beach doesn't get enough street cred, often playing second fiddle to its more popular cousins in the nearby Historic Triangle (Jamestown, Williamsburg and Yorktown). But dig deeper with those plastic shovels, and you'll find jewels along this stretch of Atlantic coast. Among them are a 12-ton King Neptune and other stony followers standing watch over the ocean and old-fashioned wooden Boardwalk, while a Venice Beach-esque bike path runs parallel to the action. As the state's largest city, Virginia Beach is enjoying a mini-renaissance, with new hotels, shopping districts and a "green"-certified convention center.

Is it possible to spend enough time at the beach? I don't think so. More often than not, whether your lounge chair is parked at Ocean City, Cape May, N.J., or the Outer Banks, N.C., you'll find that summer speeds by way too quickly. And even though the destination may be a perennial favorite, visited by generations of one family over many decades, each season dawns fresh with anticipation for both the well-tread path and the newly uncovered hot spot. The Sun's annual Beach Guide looks at what's old, new and improved at shore destinations from New Jersey to South Carolina.

It's a beautiful, breezy day along the Annapolis waterfront. No wonder it attracts beautiful, breezy UVA student Xandria Fleurke. She's spending the day with her aunt, who's spending a little money on this day out with her niece. Age: 21 Residence: Virginia Beach, Virginia Job: University of Virginia senior Self-described style: "I'm kind of preppy, but comfortable." The look: White button down J. Crew shirt. The Limited denim jacket. Gray striped Seven for All Mankind jeans. Antonio Melani tooled black and brown boots.

CHARLIE THOMAS GURGANUS, III, 54, of Owings Mills, known as Tom and Bud Tom by his many friends and family, passed away peacefully and unexpectedly on November 4, 2007. Tom was born in Rocky Mount, NC, and resided in Baltimore for the past 18 years employed as a Superintendent for Spiniello Companies. He was preceded in death by his father, Charlie Thomas Gurganus, Jr and is survived by his mother Louise Gurganus of Norfolk, VA. Left to cherish his memory, his life partner, Hope Ludwig, his only daughter Mrs. Leah Gurganus McLemore and husband Stuart of Loxahatchee, FL, two sisters and their husbands of Norfolk, VA, nieces and a nephew, several uncles and an aunt all of Virginia Beach.