DATE: Wednesday, August 13, 1997            TAG: 9708131030

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: PUBLIC LIFE

                                            LENGTH:   60 lines

YESTERDAY

PORTSMOUTH

HOMES BUYOUT: The City Council authorized $7 million in guaranteed revenue bonds to be used by the Portsmouth Industrial Development Authority to purchase Phases I and II of Fairwood Homes. The city is eliminating the run-down WWII era community once known as Academy Park and replacing it with a commerce park. Demolition is scheduled to begin in late fall.

MORE BIZ MONEY: The city also transferred $850,000 from its general contingency fund to cover bond payments to the Portsmouth Industrial Development Authority for a city-leased 100,000-square-foot office building in PortCentre. The half-empty commerce park is located on the grounds of another demolished low-income neighborhood, Newtown. Rent in the office building is expected to repay the bonds.

CLERICAL PAY: City Clerk Debra Y. White, who was appointed Aug. 1 to replace Sheila P. Pittman, will earn $45,000 in her new job under a pay plan established Tuesday by the City Council. White had been chief deputy before the promotion. Pittman left to become the city's director of citizen and community outreach.

VIRGINIA BEACH

NO JET SKI BAN: The City Council decided to study rather than ban personal watercraft. It formed a committee to examine safety issues and make a recommendation for state rules. See page B5.NO SPECIAL TREATMENT: The International Family Channel's rezoning application to purchase 16 acres of city-owned property off Bendix Road for a transmission facility was put on hold for two weeks Tuesday by the City Council. The reason? The city's Department of Economic Development, which is handling the application, appeared without a presentation or building sketches, generally required for approval by other zoning change applicants. The council told the city department not to expect a free ride and to return prepared.

WHAT'S IN A NAME? A lot, if you're calling the city looking for information on Beach museums. The city's Department of Museums earned a new moniker Tuesday: the Department of Museums and Cultural Arts. The City Council voted unanimously to adopt the change to better reflect the broad range of activities handled by the department.

NORFOLK:

The City Council did not meet.

CHESAPEAKE

The City Council did not meet.

Upcoming:

SUFFOLK:

LATE NIGHT OUT: The Philadelphia-Saratoga community south of downtown will have a Night Out cookout tonight, 6 to 8 p.m., at Brook Avenue Park in the 700 block of Brook Ave. The National Night Out was last Tuesday, when many residents in the community were out of town, said civic league president Sharon Riley. Citizens expressed an interest in holding their own night out to create crime awareness by bringing neighbors together, Riley said. For more information, contact Riley at 925-6467.

VIRGINIA BEACH:

WHAT NOW POWWOW? The City Council will hold its sixth semi-annual retreat Friday and Saturday at the Virginia Beach Pavilion. The council uses the meetings to set goals and address general issues, but does not make any binding decisions.

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