DATE: Wednesday, March 12, 1997             TAG: 9703120492

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B2   EDITION: FINAL 

                                            LENGTH:  151 lines

HAMPTON ROADS

Another anonymous letter alleging racial disparities at the Suffolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority has been sent to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The letter asks the federal agency to investigate discrimination against African Americans in hiring practices, salary assessments and general treatment.

It is the second such letter sent to HUD in four months. The first claimed racial discrimination against white employees of SRHA.

The latest letter alleges that SRHA deliberately puts whites in top positions even though many African-American workers have more education, that minorities in managerial positions are paid less than whites and that some meetings exclude African-American employees. VIRGINIA BEACH Construction may cause discolored drinking water

The Department of Public Utilities' water crews will install blow-off valves in the subdivisions between First Colonial Road and Mill Dam Road this month. This work will provide the ability to improve management of water quality.

Officials say that the construction activity could cause discolored water, but it is not harmful. If discoloration occurs, give the water time to clear by not using it for one to two hours.

For more information, call 563-1400. President of car dealership is honored as First Citizen

Ed Snyder, president of Checkered Car Motor Co., has been named Virginia Beach's First Citizen for 1997.

Snyder, who left his family's retail business to establish one of Hampton Roads first foreign car dealerships more than 30 years ago, was chosen for the honor on the basis of his contributions to civic and business life in the community. His civic involvement has included board positions with the Virginia Marine Science Museum, DePaul Medical Center, the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce and the Virginia Opera.

Snyder also has been among the major advocates and benefactors of such projects as the Virginia Beach Center for Contemporary Arts, the Tidewater Veterans Memorial, United Way and 24th Street Oceanfront Park.

As King Neptune XIX, he reigned over the 1992 Neptune Festival. NORFOLK Chrysler Museum of Art receives $100,000 gift

The NationsBank Foundation recently announced a $100,000 gift to The Chrysler Museum of Art to support the permanent installation of the museum's James H. Ricau Collection of Sculpture.

It is the largest corporate gift ever received by the museum.

Ranked as one of the five most important collections of 19th century American sculptures in the country, the Ricau Collection was acquired by the museum in 1986. It will be permanently installed in the new $1.5 million skylit galleries and education wing scheduled to open in fall. GLOUCESTER Teens' battery-powered car fares well in competition

A team of 12 volunteer students from Gloucester High School defeated 33 other high school teams from around the country in four days of competition for battery-powered vehicles.

The students returned Monday from the six events at Phoenix Firebird International Raceway in Arizona. The only other team from Virginia, Central Shenandoah in Fishersville, finished 21st overall.

The Gloucester team's car, a converted 1983 Mercury Lynx, finished 10th in the featured 25.3-mile race after experiencing motor problems.

But it was first in a one-eighth of a mile drag race and second in the design and endurance categories. CHESAPEAKE Planning staff proposes delay in public hearing

The city's planning staff will ask the Planning Commission to delay a public hearing scheduled for today on what could be the city's largest planned residential-recreational development.

More time is needed to make sure the proposal for Cahoon Plantation - a 472-acre mixed-use development that may include golf courses, swimming pools, homes and condominiums - meets the city's planning requirements. The application asks the city to change Cahoon Plantation's zoning on land southeast of Dominion Boulevard and Cedar Road, said city Planning Director Brent R. Nielson.

The proposal for Cahoon Plantation, which was withdrawn from City Council consideration earlier this year, later returned to the planning commission for its review as a planned unit development - a specific zoning that mixes traditional residential development with commercial and townhouse zoning.

If the delay is granted, the Cahoon application will be scheduled for the commission's April 9 public meeting. PORTSMOUTH Task force looks into need for adult day-care services

The Portsmouth Task Force on Aging is interested in getting feedback from Portsmouth residents who could use adult day-care services.

A committee looking into the need for such a service would like residents to call the Portsmouth Senior Center with answers to these questions:

How many days a week would the service be used?

At what hours of the day?

Will transportation be needed?

What special needs would the individual participating in the program have?

What would the family be willing to pay per day for this service?

Residents are asked to call the senior center at 398-3777, preferably between 9 a.m. and noon Monday through Friday. COMING UP Thursday

Norfolk - The Norfolk Regional Office of the Virginia Department for the Visually Handicapped, at 5505 Robin Hood Road, will have its open house from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. All day, instructors will demonstrate the adapted equipment used by blind and severely visually impaired people. Friday

Suffolk - Obici Hospital and the American Cancer Society will sponsor the 4th annual cancer survivors' reception at 12:30 p.m. Friday in the front lobby of the hospital, 1900 N. Main St. Friday is Daffodil Day - A Day of Hope, and all Obici patients will get a vase of the flowers. Speakers will be Dr. David Foreman, Jacque Edwards and Alice Forrester, all cancer survivors. For information, call Frances Carr, 934-4628.

Hampton - The 6th Annual Virginia Association of Marine Industries Boat Show and Sale will be held at Hampton Coliseum this weekend. The show, which will feature boats from more than 30 local dealers, will be Friday from 5 to 10 p.m.; Saturday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.; and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. TRAFFIC WATCH

The 26th Street Bridge over the Lafayette River in Norfolk will be closed, beginning before rush hour today and ending by the end of the day Thursday. All through traffic on Lafayette Boulevard and 26th Street will be detoured to Lindenwood Avenue to 26th Street. CORRECTION

``Community Policing and Community Neighborhoods: Let's Tackle Crime Together,'' will be the topic of a public forum in City Council Chambers in the Municipal Center of Virginia Beach today at 7:30 p.m. MEMO: Staff writers Katrice Franklin, Matt Dolan, Jo-Ann Clegg and

Rebecca Myers Cutchins contributed to this report.

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