THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 16, 1997 TAG: 9701160252
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MIKE KNEPLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 71 lines
The Hampton Roads Partnership might consider fostering a regional discussion about the water needs and supplies of Hampton Roads, the group's president said Wednesday.
Partnership President and CEO Barry DuVal said the agency's executive committee - made up of leaders from across the region - will meet next month to consider putting water on its 1997 work agenda. He declined to elaborate about the type of regional discussion that may be generated.
But Joe Frank, mayor of Newport News and chairman of the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission, said, ``I think there's room for honest brokering'' of water issues and the partnership would be a good vehicle for discussions.
The partnership, which consists of more than 50 public and private sector leaders dedicated to regional economic growth, negotiated a proposal to build a downtown Norfolk arena for a proposed National Hockey League team.
Frank and DuVal made their comments as panelists at a discussion on regional planning, hosted by the ``City Dialogue'' show of VBTV Channel 48, the Virginia Beach municipal cable television station.
The show itself was an act of regional cooperation: For the first time it was co-produced by the municipal cable television stations of Chesapeake, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Virginia Beach and Williamsburg. The panel discussion was videotaped Wednesday before a live audience in the Virginia Beach Central Library and will be broadcast in each of the cities, beginning Jan. 27 in Virginia Beach.
The panel and questions from the audience were moderated by Virginia Beach Mayor Meyera E. Oberndorf, who said the format and the broadcasts will help bring the region closer together as well as give citizens access to important regional leaders.
Afterward, Oberndorf urged further cooperation among the municipal cable television stations and suggested that future shows be rotated among the cities and be hosted by their respective mayors.
More than 60 people attended the videotaping, including many elected and appointed officials from Hampton Roads cities.
Oberndorf roamed the audience with a microphone, sometimes being directed by a television production technician. ``Are you sure this is how Oprah started?'' she quipped after being positioned for the TV cameras.
Much of the discussion involved employment and wage issues in Hampton Roads. Several panelists homed in on the need for the region to attract or grow more companies that pay salaries high enough to keep young people from leaving the area after they graduate from high school or college.
Other questions and answers covered airports, ground transportation, the push for a National Hockey League franchise, managed growth, and cultural and gender diversity in regional planning.
Diana Chappell-Lewis, a Norfolk planning commissioner and president of the Poplar Halls Civic League, noted that the panel consisted of five middle-aged white men.
Panelists tried to assure her that their organizations included women and minorities.
The discussion also provided a few glimpses of simmering issues not often publicly discussed.
For instance, Portsmouth Mayor James W. Holley III said his city, which has a substantial water supply, wants a greater role in water discussions.
He suggested, without elaboration, that Portsmouth might be in position to trade water for help with other urban problems.
James Babcock, co-chair of the Plan 2007 regional visioning project, told one questioner that current airport service is adequate but the airport authorities on the Peninsula and South Hampton Roads need to work with each other for region-wide improvements. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by IAN MARTIN/The Virginian-Pilot
The ``City Dialogue'' show, moderated by Virginia Beach Mayor Meyera
E. Oberndorf, featured panelists answering questions from members of
the audience.