DATE: Saturday, March 22, 1997              TAG: 9703220368

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B2   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: Staff writers Jon Glass and Ida Kay Jordan contributed to this

        report.

                                            LENGTH:  166 lines

HAMPTON ROADS

SUFFOLK

103-car parking lot

for courts building

will open Monday

A 103-car parking lot between Franklin and Commerce streets will open Monday.

Simultaneously, part of the parking area on Commerce Street will be closed to accommodate construction of the new courts building.

The lot, part of construction for the building, is accessible from both Commerce and Franklin streets. Three handicapped parking spaces are included, and there is security lighting for the parking area and adjoining walkways.

A temporary pedestrian walkway connects the new parking area with Main Street.

The Cherry Street parking lot remains available for downtown shoppers and workers.

At the end of the project, in February 1998, about 350 parking spaces will be available near the new courts building.

PORTSMOUTH

Businessman Evans seeks

Moore's seat in House

Dan R. Evans said Friday that he is a Republican candidate for the 79th District House of Delegates seat vacated by Democrat Billy Moore, who has been appointed judge of Portsmouth's Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court.

Evans, 41, made his candidacy official after the name of former Portsmouth Mayor Gloria O. Webb surfaced this week as a potential Republican contender for the seat.

Webb would say only that she is ``pondering'' the race.

State Sen. Fred Quayle of Chesapeake, a member of a Republican group seeking people to run for the 79th House District seat, confirmed that Webb is a potential candidate.

Evans, a Chesapeake resident, is president of Evans Electric in Portsmouth. He ran against Moore in 1995 and received about 37 percent of the vote.

Two Democrats, former state Sen. Johnny Joannou and Portsmouth Vice Mayor Johnny Clemons, have announced their candidacy, and Portsmouth Democratic Committee Chairman Robert Barclay IV has said he also is interested in running.

The Democrats have announced their intentions of selecting a candidate at a caucus May 31 at Churchland High School.

Eye surgeons offer free

cataract surgery to needy

Two Portsmouth eye surgeon groups are participating in Mission Cataract USA, a project that will offer free cataract surgery to Hampton Roads citizens who have no means to pay for the treatment.

Tidewater Eye Surgeons and Associates and Eastern Virginia Eye Center will offer the free operations.

Tidewater Eye Surgeons will do the operations May 12, 13 and 14 at Portsmouth General Hospital, and Eastern Virginia Eye Center will do the procedures May 2 at Maryview Medical Center.

For free screenings to determine need and eligibility, call Tidewater Eye Surgeons at 397-4666 or Eastern Virginia Eye Center at 483-0400.

REGION

Jewish Day School is first

in U.S. to vie in Odyssey

Last weekend, the Hebrew Academy of Tidewater became the first Jewish Day School in the country to compete in The Odyssey of the Mind Tournament.

Traditionally, the competition - open to those in kindergarten through college - takes place on Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath, thereby excluding Jewish Day Schools from participating.

But this year, the regional board of the Odyssey of the Mind Tournament made it possible for the academy to enter its teams by allowing the students to compete on Friday afternoon.

``This opportunity would not have been possible without these very special people who believed that if OM was a program that promoted problem-solving, the organizers should be able to solve this scheduling issue in a creative manner. And they did,'' said Joan London, coordinator of the OM program at the academy.

HAMPTON

Pre-paid parking introduced

for seminar at Coliseum

Attendees coming to Peter Lowe's Success 1997 seminar Wednesday will be the first to benefit from Hampton Coliseum's reserved, pre-paid parking at the Coliseum, said director Joe Tsao.

About 10,000 tickets have been sold to the motivational seminar featuring retired Army Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf and Christopher Reeve. Because parking at the Coliseum is limited, the pre-paid parking is a way to minimize congestion.

All parking spots at the Coliseum have been sold. Those attending without a pre-paid spot should park at Langley Speedway, where shuttle buses will provide free transportation to the Coliseum.

NORFOLK

Virginia zoo is granted

continued accreditation

The Virginia Zoological Park received welcome news this week: The zoo has been granted continued accreditation by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association.

The 53-acre zoo is home to more than 350 animals, including endangered Siberian tigers, African elephants and southern white rhinos. The zoo has plans to expand during the next two years.

To be accredited, the zoo has to meet certain operation standards in such areas as keeper training, safety procedures for animals and humans, educational programs, veterinary programs and finances.

Accreditation occurs every five years.

The zoo, at 3500 Granby St., is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Admission is $2 adults, $1 for senior citizens and children 2 to 11 and free to children under 2.

CHESAPEAKE

Women's group compiling

recipes for city cookbook

The women's division of the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce-Chesapeake is looking for favorite recipes, especially those of women who have contributed to the history of the city.

The recipes will be compiled into a cookbook, which will include historic photographs, drawings and anecdotes about the city. The cookbook will be offered for sale.

Contributions can be sent to the Women's Division, Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce-Chesapeake, P.O. Box 1342, Chesapeake, Va. 23327.

ALSO . . .

Chesapeake - Democrats in Chesapeake have canceled a party caucus scheduled for today at noon at the South Norfolk public library. The purpose of the caucus was to elect delegates to the state and district Democratic conventions. But the exact number of people needed to fill the conventions' slates signed up, meaning there was no need for an election, party officials said.

The Hampton Roads Utility and Heavy Contractors Association will sponsor ``Showcase '97,'' a trade show featuring the latest developments in technology and equipment for the construction industry, from 5 to 9 p.m., Wednesday at Holiday Inn-Chesapeake. The show will feature 42 indoor exhibitors and several outdoor demonstrations. Call 424-4906 or 886-0807 for ticket information.

SUNDAY

Virginia Beach - Comet viewers can get a good look at the Hale-Bopp comet at 6:30 p.m. when the Astronomy Department of the Virginia Beach Campus of Tidewater Community College sets up its telescopes outside the Pungo building off Princess Anne Road.

MONDAY

Chesapeake - State Del. J. Randy Forbes will be at the Chesapeake central library from 7 to 9 p.m. to meet with citizens who have questions or comments about the 1997 General Assembly. More information is available by calling Dee Gilmore, Forbes' legislative assistant, at 547-1000.

Portsmouth - A banquet honoring Portsmouth's 1996 First Citizen, J. Hunter Brantley Jr., is scheduled for April 7 at the Holiday Inn-Olde Towne. Tickets cost $25 per person and must be purchased by Monday from Ports Events. Call 393-9933. ILLUSTRATION: Dan R. Evans made his candidacy official after the

name of former Portsmouth Mayor Gloria O. Webb surfaced as a

potential Republican contender.

Former Portsmouth Mayor Gloria O. Webb would say only that she is

``pondering'' the race for the House of Delegates seat in the 79th

District.

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