THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 16, 1996 TAG: 9606140182
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Ida Kay Jordan
LENGTH: 72 lines
Around Town is a not-quite-newsy look behind the scenes from City Hall to City Park.
GOLD WATCHES: Mayor Gloria Webb and City Councilman Jim Hawks, who lost their seats in the May election, were presented ``gold watches'' at Tuesday's council meeting.
The watches feature the Seal of Portsmouth engraved in gold on the face. But that's all the gold in the $199.95 watches. City Clerk Sheila Pittman said the city bought a supply of the watches years ago to have them when council members retire.
Webb became the first woman to serve on the council when she was elected in 1980. She moved from vice mayor to mayor when James Holley was recalled three years later, then was elected to two terms as mayor. Holley came back this year to take the seat away from her.
Vice Mayor Johnny Clemons praised Webb as a ``tireless leader'' and a person ``of good moral character.'' He noted that she is still married to Dr. Tom Webb even after ``16 years in a fish bowl.''
Hawks served eight years on the council. Clemons called Hawks ``a true statesman'' with whom ``you can agree to disagree.''
FROM THE HEART: A new promotional piece touting Portsmouth as the heart of Hampton Roads begins with a greeting: ``Welcome Home!''
The slick, 10-page booklet emphasizes the city's relationship to the water and its history - all in living color.
Group III Communications created the booklet for the city's Economic Development Department.
The booklet contains some fabulous pictures of Portsmouth and some facts about the city's attractions.
Most of all, it shows the location of Portsmouth in the very center of Hampton Roads: ``the heart of Hampton Roads and the middle of the Mid-Atlantic.''
A NEW SPIN: City Councilman Cameron Pitts still is collecting information to support his notion of putting a carousel in the second-floor atrium at the Children's Museum, an idea favored by many but opposed by some members of the Museums and Fine Arts Commission, and of putting a tall tower somewhere on the waterfront to attract attention to the city.
His latest tidbit is a story from U.S. News & World Report about London's proposed plan to build the world's largest Ferris wheel across the Thames from Parliament.
The 500-foot-tall wheel would turn continuously, carrying 960 people at a speed of 1 foot per second and offer 60-mile views.
Pitts has pointed to the Eiffel Tower in Paris and similar structures around the world as precedents for his idea of putting a tower on the waterfront. In addition, he has cited merry-go-round and Ferris wheel construction in many places as good reasons to put a carousel in the Children's Museum.
WHO'S THAT? Although Museums Director Betty Burnell fired Arts Center Curator Peter Mooz some time ago, his name still appears on the agenda for the Museum and Fine Arts Commission.
Mooz has been gone for months, but he has been on the agenda for April, May and most recently the June 4 meeting.
Mooz, a former director of the Virginia Museum of Art, was fired by Burnell before he had been on the job six months so she had to give no reason for her action.
Although his tenure at the Portsmouth center was short-lived, Mooz made a mark for himself when he staged the exhibitions of Russian art in two parts starting before Christmas. The shows came about when Mooz, whose background includes work with Russian art exhibits, received a telephone call from a stranger - the owner of the large collection - exhibited in Portsmouth.
Burnell said she has been interviewing applicants for the curatorial job but has made no announcement on any decision to hire. by CNB