THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, August 26, 1996 TAG: 9608261195
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TERRI WILLIAMS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 128 lines
CALL THEM Suffolk's versions of ``Meet the Press'' and ``Meet the People.''
Andrew B. Damiani and Donald G. Mills are two civic leaders who've hit the public airways with civic-oriented shows on cable television.
In March, Damiani's ``Round-table Talk With Andy Damiani'' began showing. It airs every day at 1:30, 3:30 and 9:30 p.m. on Channel 13, Suffolk's public-access station.
Mills' ``Suffolk's Community Forum'' began last December on the same channel. It airs at 2, 6 and 9 p.m.
A new ``Roundtable Talk'' runs about every three weeks. Mills' show is produced every other week.
No, the shows don't exactly generate razor-sharp analysis. Damiani and Mills aren't practiced broadcasters. Sometimes there are glitches, gaffes and long pauses between takes. Falcon Cable hasn't kept any ratings on ``Roundtable'' or ``Forum.''
But one thing is certain. This is meat-and-potatoes Suffolk. Or perhaps that should be peanuts.
Damiani is not new to media and entertainment circles. A former Suffolk mayor, city councilman and jazz bass player, Damiani eats up the spotlight like a Smithfield ham.
He had a radio show 11 years ago called ``Mayor's Corner.'' At the same time, he hosted an entertainment show in Windsor called ``Fiddlin Around in Tidewater.''
Damiani insists his new show, which he and local advertisers pay to air on the channel, isn't for self-serving gain - even though the Suffolk scuttlebutt is that he plans a run for Councilman J. Samuel ``Sammy'' Carter's seat.
``I'm really sincere about this,'' Damiani said. ``This is not a vehicle to do something else. . . . There was a need for a public affairs forum to provoke interest through discussion. We ask questions in a way that stimulates thought.''
Along with Damiani, Suffolk News Herald editor Joseph G. ``Tim'' Copeland and Virginian-Pilot Suffolk news editor and columnist John I. Pruitt ask questions of guests, who often are city or civic leaders.
High-brow Sam Donaldson-George Will dialogue it isn't. But it has its moments, and the debate is often spirited.
Take, for example, a show on downtown revitalization with Downtown Suffolk Association executive director Bob Chisom:
Damiani and downtown merchant Eugene Denison said the city should make more efforts to rehabilitate the downtown core. Pruitt argued that the city should broaden downtown to include surrounding neighborhoods.
``The core of the city is becoming suburbanized,'' Damiani insisted.
``The core of what?'' Pruitt challenged. ``Who says it should be pedestrian oriented?''
Another show on sewer connections with city utilities director Al Moor generated debate on whether new or present residents should pay for connections. The question was never resolved by show's end, but the issue generated some tension.
Pruitt asked whether residents in Holland are being short-changed because that rural community west of downtown subsists on septic tanks.
Moor countered that the city recently drafted a utility policy that would hopefully meet the needs of most residents. The utilities director said that septic tank systems have often allowed areas to retain their rural nature.
Meanwhile, Copeland asserted that city officials - when making policy or decisions - often aren't receptive to the needs of citizens. He pointed to the fact that the Planning Commission voted to recommend the approval of the Pitchkettle Farms development despite opposition from nearby residents.
So, who's going to pay for utility connection fees?
``Ultimately it will come down to the (existing) user paying for it,'' Copeland said.
``Roundtable Talk'' guests volunteer their time to tape at the P.D. Pruden Vocational Technical Center. Sometimes there are mishaps; sometimes guests aren't available. But participants say the forum is vital.
Pruitt, who has lived in Suffolk for 18 years, said that for many years residents have been apathetic about issues. However, during the city elections this spring, he witnessed more activism from citizens concerned about balancing growth in a rapidly developing city.
``I just think there's a great value in getting the topics out there,'' Pruitt said. ``The dialogue can lead us to being uniquely Suffolk.''
Copeland said he hopes they can tape more regularly so the issues won't become stale. However, Copeland said he's been surprised by the show's impact.
``The feedback has been more than I expected,'' he said.
For Donald G. Mills, his big push on ``Suffolk's Community Forum'' is economic development.
Mills said it's his hope to help citizens resolve problems that are often private.
``A lot of the issues we've addressed are of a personal nature, like welfare reform and personal finances,'' Mills explained. ``A lot of people will not confront an issue in the public arena.''
Mills, 42, isn't reticent about his affairs.
A native of North Carolina, Mills moved to Suffolk and started a lucrative building contracting business. But then the bottom fell out. He filed personal bankruptcy in 1993, and he and his family moved from their $300,000 lakeside house into a trailer home. He's working to improve his economic status and, in turn, help others.
``You've got to learn how to deal with self first, and then a lot of your problems will go away,'' Mills said matter-of-factly.
Mills has had myriad guests - from a local poet to politicians and city leaders. Unlike Damiani's show, on which guests often are challenged, Mills aims is to find out what a guest's community focus is.
One show helped generate 115 food baskets for the needy. Several other shows with the city's Department of Social Services informed the public about child care and job readiness programs.
Michael C. Barkley, an employment services worker with the department, said the forum gives ``voice to the voiceless.''
``I think, for people like us, non-profit agencies, it's vital. . . . We don't have the budget, the money to rent commercial spots,'' Barkley said.
Jack Edwards, regional manager for Falcon Cable, which financially supports Mills' show, said such shows are needed. Edwards is working with other citizens to produce shows.
``Over in Suffolk, you very rarely get positive feedback,'' Edwards said, ``but we'd like to think it's making some difference.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photos]
Photos by JOHN H. SHEALLY II
The Virginian-Pilot
LEFT: Former Mayor Andrew B. Damiani says his "Roundtable Talk" is
aimed at provoking discussion, not promoting any political
ambitions.
BELOW: Civic leader Donlad G. Mills pushes economic development on
his "Community Forum."
JOHN H. SHEALLY II
The Virginian-Pilot
Donald G. Mills gets ready for taping on the set of his ``Suffolk's
Community Forum'' at Falcon Cable TV. by CNB