Home About us Products Services Contact us Bookmark
:: wikimiki.org ::
WVEC

WVEC

WVEC-TV is the ABC affiliate for the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, officially known as the Norfolk-Portsmouth-Newport News DMA It is licensed to Hampton, but its main studio is in downtown Norfolk. The station broadcasts on Channel 13, and is owned by the Belo Corporation. The station began operation in 1953 on channel 15 as a primary NBC affiliate with a secondary ABC affiliation (ABC programming was shared with WTAR-TV). It was owned by Hampton businessman Tom Chisman along with WVEC-AM. It became an exclusive ABC affiliate in 1957, when WAVY-TV signed on and took the NBC affiliation. Two years later, it moved to its current location on channel 13. When WTAR-TV was sold to Knight-Ridder in 1981 and became WTKR, WVEC was the only network affiliate in Hampton Roads that was still locally owned and operated. Finally, in 1983, Chisman sold the station to Corinthian Broadcasting, a unit of Dun & Bradstreet. Three years later, Dun sold its entire TV division, including WVEC, to Belo.

Local News on Cable

Started in 1997, Local News on Cable is a joint venture between WVEC, The Virginian-Pilot, and Cox Communications. They rebroadcast WVEC's newscasts and produce a 10pm newscast.

"The Spirit of Hampton Roads"

Cox CommunicationsIn the early 90s, WVEC introduced their "Spirit of Hampton Roads" promo campaign, which became very popular. WVEC dumped it in 1996 when their creative team decided to do something different. On New Year's Day 2004, WVEC re-introduced their "Spirit of Hampton Roads" campaign.

External links


- [http://www.wvec.com/ WVEC-TV]
- VEC Category:ABC network affiliates

American Broadcasting Company

The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is a television and radio network in the United States. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company. Corporate headquarters are in New York, while programming offices are in Burbank, California, adjacent to the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank) and the Walt Disney Company corporate headquarters. The formal name of the holding company is ABC, Inc, although the company still uses on some on-air copyrights American Broadcasting Companies, Inc., which also was the holding company's name until 1985. It is the last of the Big Three networks to still make on-air use of ether its original name or a variant of it.

History

Creating ABC

From the organization of the first true radio networks in the late 1920s, broadcasting in the United States was dominated by two companies, CBS and RCA's NBC. Prior to NBC's 1926 formation, RCA had acquired AT&T's New York station WEAF (later WNBC, now WFAN). With WEAF came a loosely-organized system feeding programming to other stations in the northeastern U.S. RCA also took control of a second such group, fed by Westinghouse's Newark station WJZ (now WABC (AM), New York.) These were the foundations of RCA's two distinct programming services, the NBC "Red" and NBC "Blue" networks. After years of study the FCC in 1940 issued a "Report on Chain Broadcasting." Finding that two corporate owners (and the co-operatively owned Mutual Broadcasting System) dominated American broadcasting, this report proposed "divorcement," requiring the sale by RCA of one of its chains. NBC Red was the larger radio network, carrying the leading entertainment and music programs. In addition, many Red affiliates were high-powered, clear-channel stations, heard nationwide. NBC Blue offered most of the company's news and cultural programs, many of them "sustaining" or un-sponsored. Among other findings, the FCC claimed RCA used NBC Blue to suppress competition against NBC Red. Since the F.C.C. did not regulate or license networks directly but had influence only by means of its hold over individual stations, it said, "No license shall be issued to a standard broadcast station affiliated with a network which maintains more than one network." NBC argued this indirect style of regulation was illegal and appealed to the courts, but the F.C.C. was upheld, so the Blue network had to be sold. The task of selling of NBC Blue was given to Mark Woods; throughout 1942 and 1943, NBC Red and NBC Blue divided their assets. A price of $8 million was put on the assets of the Blue group, and Woods shopped the Blue package around to potential buyers. One such, investment bank Dillon, Read made an offer of $7.5 million, but Woods and RCA chief David Sarnoff held firm at $8 million. What the Blue package contained was: leases on land-lines and on studio facilities in New York, Washington, D.C., Chicago and Los Angeles; contracts with talent and with about sixty affiliates; the trademark and "good will" associated with the Blue name; and licenses for three stations (WJZ in New York, San Francisco's KGO, and WENR in Chicago - really a half-station, since WENR shared time and a frequency with "Prairie Farmer" station WLS.) Edward Noble, owner of Life Savers candy and owner of the Rexall Drug chain, was interested. The asking price of $8 million would prove to be the selling price. In order to complete the station-license transfer, Noble had to sell a New York station he owned, and F.C.C. hearings were required. Another stumbling block was Noble's intention to keep Mark Woods on as president, which led to the suggestion that Woods would continue to work with (and for) his former employers. This had the potential to derail the sale. During the hearings Woods was asked if the new network would sell time to the AFofL; Woods responded "No". When Noble was questioned on similar points, Noble hid behind the NAB code to avoid answering. Frustrated, the chairman advised Noble to do some rethinking, which apparently he did, because on October 12, 1943 the sale was approved. The new network sold air time to organized labor. Known until mid-1944 as "The Blue Network," the company was re-christened American Broadcasting Company. This set off a flurry of re-naming; to avoid confusion, CBS changed the call-letters of its New York flagship from WABC to WCBS; seeing a trend, RCA re-named its New York flagship as WNBC. In 1953, ABC's New York flagship WJZ took on the abandoned call-letters WABC. The new ABC radio network began slowly; with few "hit" shows, it had to build an audience. Noble sprang for more stations, among them Detroit's WXYZ; one of the founding stations of the Mutual network, WXYZ was where The Lone Ranger, Sergeant Preston, Sky King and other popular daily serials originated. With this purchase, ABC instantly acquired a bloc of established daily shows. Noble also bought KECA (now KABC) in Los Angeles, to give the network a Hollywood production base. Counter-programming became an ABC specialty, for example, placing a raucous quiz-show like Stop the Music against more thoughtful fare on NBC and CBS. ABC also abolished a long-standing ban on pre-recorded programming; advances in tape-recording brought back from conquered Germany meant that the audio quality of tape could not be distinguished from "live" broadcasts. As a result, several high-rated stars who wanted freedom from rigid schedules, among them Bing Crosby, moved to ABC. Though still rated third, by the late 1940s ABC had begun to close in on the better-established networks.

Enter Leonard Goldenson

Faced with huge expenses in building a radio network, ABC was in no position to take on the additional costs demanded by a television network. To secure a place at the table, though, in 1947 ABC submitted requests for licenses in the five cities where it owned radio stations; by coincidence, all five applications were for "Channel 7." On April 19, 1948 the ABC television network went on the air. For the next several years, ABC was a television network mostly in name. Except for the largest markets, most cities had only one or two stations. The FCC froze applications for new stations in 1948 while it sorted out the thousands of applicants, and re-thought the technical and allocation standards set down in 1938. What was meant to be a six-month freeze lasted until 1952, and until that time only 101 stations were licensed to broadcast. For a late-comer like ABC, this meant being relegated as a secondary affiliate in many markets. By 1952, it had only fourteen full-time affiliates, of which five were company-owned. Further, without the high-powered radio names that propelled NBC and CBS, ABC and fellow start-up DuMont commanded little affiliate loyalty. Divorced from Paramount Pictures at the end of 1949 by Supreme Court order, United Paramount Theaters was a company with plenty of money and nowhere to spend it. Cash- and real estate-rich, UPT head Leonard Goldenson immediately set out to find investment opportunities. Barred from the film business, Goldenson saw broadcasting as a possibility, and approached Noble about buying ABC. Since the transfer of station licenses was again involved, the F.C.C. set hearings. At the heart of this was the question of the Paramount Pictures-UPT divorce: were they truly separate? And what role did Paramount's long-time investment in DuMont Laboratories, parent of the television network, play? After a year of deliberation the FCC approved the purchase by UPT in a 5–2 split decision on February 9, 1953. Speaking in favor of the deal, one commissioner pointed out that UPT had the cash to turn ABC into a viable, competitive third network. Shortly after the ABC–UPT merger, Goldenson approached DuMont with a merger offer. Though it had been a pioneer in television broadcasting and was especially creative in programming, DuMont was in financial trouble. Under Goldenson's proposal, DuMont would get $5 million in cash; guaranteed advertising time for DuMont television receivers: the merged network would be called "ABC-DuMont" for at least five years; and DuMont staff would have a secure future. However, DuMont's nervous minority shareholder Paramount Pictures vetoed the sale, afraid of reviving anti-trust charges. By 1956, the DuMont network had shut down.

The 1960s

After its acquisition by UPT, ABC at last had the means to offer a full-time television network service. By mid-1953 Leonard Goldenson had begun a two-front campaign, calling on his old pals at the Hollywood studios (he had been head of the mighty Paramount theater chain since 1938) to convince them to move into programming. And he began wooing station owners to convince them that a refurbished ABC was about to burst forth. In some markets, like Seattle, Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Milwaukee, he convinced long-time NBC and CBS affiliates to move to ABC. His two-part campaign paid off when the "new" ABC hit the air in October, 1954. Among the shows that brought in record audiences was "Disneyland," produced-by and starring Walt Disney. MGM, Warner Bros. and Twentieth Century-Fox were also present that first season. Within two years, Warners was producing ten hours of programming for ABC each week, mostly interchangeable detective and western series. While ABC continued to languish in third place in national ratings, it often topped local ratings in the larger markets. With the arrival of Hollywood's slickly-produced series, with their emphasis on those old standbys sex and violence, ABC began to catch on with younger, urban viewers. As the network gained in the ratings, it became an attractive property, and over the next few years ABC approached, or was approached-by GE, Howard Hughes, Litton Industries, GTE, and ITT. ABC and ITT agreed to a merger in late 1965, but this deal was derailed by FCC and Department of Justice questions about ITT's foreign ownership influencing ABC's autonomy and journalistic integrity. ITT's management promised that ABC's autonomy would be preserved; while the merger was approved by the F.C.C, the Justice Department was not convinced, and the deal was called off on January 1, 1968. As had happened at NBC and CBS, from the mid-1950s ABC's radio audience gravitated to television. By the early 1960s, the radio network schedule consisted of a few long-running serials, Lawrence Welk's musical hour (simulcast from television), and Don McNeill's daily "Breakfast Club" variety show. ABC made a last-ditch effort to retain the radio audience by filling the schedule with talk-shows, but gave in after a few years. In 1968, ABC's remaining programming service was split in four parts, offering customized news and features for pop-music-, news-, or talk-oriented formats. Later, that plan was further broadened to offer seven formats, and ABC returned to programming by offering its more popular local talk shows to national audiences. During this time of expansion, ABC revised its corporate name to American Broadcasting Companies, Inc.

Success at Last

Despite its relatively small size, ABC found increasing success with television programming aimed at the emerging "Baby Boomer" culture. Producer Roone Arledge helped ABC's fortunes with innovations in sports programming, creating Wide World of Sports and Monday Night Football. By doing so he helped to make sport into a multi-billion-dollar industry, and was rewarded by being made head of ABC News and Sports. By the early 1970s, ABC was showing signs of overtaking CBS and NBC. Broadcasting in color from the mid-1960s, ABC started using the new science of demographics to tweak its programming and ad sales. ABC invested heavily in shows with wide appeal, especially situation comedies, but also offered big-budget, extended-length miniseries, among them QB VII, and Rich Man, Poor Man. The most successful, Roots, based on Alex Haley's novel, became one of the biggest hits in television history. Combined with ratings for its regular weekly series, Roots propelled ABC to a first-place finish in the national Nielsen ratings for the 1976–1977 season— this was a first in the then thirty-year history of the network. Since 1984, the entire family of ESPN networks and franchises have been owned by ABC (80%) and the Hearst Corporation (20%). ABC's dominance carried into the early 1980s. But by 1985, veteran shows like The Love Boat had lost their steam; a resurgent NBC was leading in the ratings. ABC relied on that staple of programming, the situation comedy. During this period ABC seemed to have lost the momentum that once propelled it; there was little offered that was innovative or compelling. Like his counterpart at CBS, William S. Paley, founding-father Goldenson had withdrawn to the sidelines. ABC's ratings and the earnings thus generated reflected this loss of drive. So it was not a total surprise when in 1985 ABC was taken over by media company Capital Cities Communications; the corporate name was changed to Capital Cities/ABC. In 1984-85, ABC began the transition from coaxial cable/microwave delivery to satellite delivery via AT&T's Telstar 301. ABC maintained a West Coast feed network on Telstar 302, and in 1991 scrambled feeds on both satellites with the Leitch system. Currently, with the Leitch system abandoned, ABC operates clear feeds on Intelsat Americas 5 and Intelsat Americas 6, in addition to digital feeds on both satellites.

Acquisition by Disney

In 1996, The Walt Disney Company acquired Capital Cities/ABC, and renamed the broadcasting group ABC, Inc., although the network continues to also use American Broadcasting Companies, such as on TV productions it owns. ABC's relationship with Disney dates back to 1953, when Leonard Goldenson pledged enough money so that the "Disneyland" theme park could be completed. ABC continued to hold Disney notes and stock until 1960, and also had first call on the "Disneyland" television series in 1954. With this new relationship came an attempt at cross-promotion, with attractions based on ABC shows at Disney parks and an annual soap festival at Walt Disney World. The fomer president of ABC, Inc., Robert Iger, now heads Disney. Despite intense micro-managing on the part of Disney management, the flagship television network was slow to turn around. In 1999, the network was able to experience a brief resurgence with the hit game show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?. However, many analysts said that WWTBAM became overxposed, appearing on the network sometimes five or six nights during a week. ABC's ratings fell dramatically as competitors introduced their own game shows and the public grew tired of the format. In 2004, ABC was able to find its niche in dramas such as Desperate Housewives and Lost, which were both popular among viewers and critically acclaimed. Currently ABC is the United States' second-most watched network. Borrowing a proven Disney formula, there have been attempts to broaden the ABC brand name. The short-lived ABC Cable News began in 1995; unable to compete with CNN, it shut down in 1997. Undaunted, in 2004 ABC launched a news channel called ABC News Now. Its aim is to provide round-the-clock news on cable, the internet and mobile phones. A 2003 Nielsen estimate found that ABC could be seen in 96.75% of all homes in the United States, reaching 103,179,600 households. ABC has 10 VHF and UHF owned-and-operated television stations and 191 affiliated stations in the U.S. and U.S. possessions. Since the 1950s, ABC has split "live" production between east- and west-coast facilities; ABC Television Center West in Hollywood, (once the Vitagraph film studios) accommodates sets for the daily soap operas; and the ABC Television Center East, once clustered around a former stable on West 66th Street, and now split between several soundstages in the same New York neighborhood. (ABC's corporate headquarters and news studios are located on the north side of West 66th, while its soap facilities are across the street and the stage for The View are further west on 66th near the Hudson River.) ABC's west coast corporate offices are located in Burbank, CA adjacent to the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank) and the Walt Disney Company corporate headquarters. On the radio side, ABC radio stations have become more conservative. After passing up the rights to syndicate Rush Limbaugh, ABC Radio Networks now syndicates conservative talk show hosts such as Sean Hannity, John Batchelor, Larry Elder, and Mark Davis. Radio & Records Magazine early in 2005 said that Disney/ABC would sell its radio stations and radio-network operations. For major media conglomerates, this has become a chess game which allows them to swap stations in order to end with more television affiliates. Speculation is that the buyer for the ABC radio networks is Westwood One, a Viacom unit that in recent years has taken over distribution of the remains of the NBC, Mutual and CBS radio networks. Thus in sixty years the radio business comes more-or-less full circle, but now with one owner instead of two.

ABC identity

Viacom.]] Before its early color transmissions, the ABC identity was a lowercase 'abc' inside a lower case 'A'. That logo was known as the "ABC Circle A." The logo was modified in the fall of 1962 when ABC started using the current "ABC Circle" logo (designed by Paul Rand) with ultra-modern (for its time) lower case 'abc' inside. The typeface used is a simple geometric design inspired by the Bauhaus school of the 1920s; its simplicity makes it easy to duplicate, something ABC has taken advantage of many times over the years (especially before the advent of computer graphics). It does not correspond to a particular font; however, several common geometric typefaces (including Avant Garde and Horatio) are close, and a recently developed typeface is inspired by it. A variation of ABC's logo is used by Brazilian TV network SBT.

ABC1

Launched September 27, 2004, ABC1 is a British digital channel on Freeview's digital terrestrial service (except Wales), owned and operated by ABC Inc. Its current schedule is a selection of past and present American shows, mostly from ABC, and is offered 24 hours a day on the digital satellite and digital cable platforms, and from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the digital terrestrial platform, Freeview.

See also


- ABC News
- ABC Sports
- List of programs broadcast by ABC
- List of United States broadcast television networks
- List of ABC slogans
- List of ABC television affiliates
- :Category:ABC network shows
- Circle 7 logo

Notes on Sources


- Barnouw, Erik. The Golden Web: A History of Broadcasting in the United States, 1933-1953. New York: Oxford University Press, 1968.
- Goldenson, Leonard, and Marvin J. Wolf. Beating the Odds: The Untold Story Behind the Rise of ABC. New York: Scribners, 1991.
- Kisseloff, Jeff, The Box: An Oral History of Television, 1920-1961. New York: Viking Press, 1988.
- Sampson, Anthony. The Sovereign State of ITT. New York: Stein and Day, 1973.
- Sobel, Robert. ITT. New York: Truman Talley - Times Books, 1982.

External links


- [http://www.abc.go.com ABC website]
- [http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/S/htmlS/silvermanfr/silvermanfr.htm A bio of Former President Fred Silverman]
- [http://www.tv-ark.org.uk/international/us_abc.html Screen captures of ABC logos past and present, as well as footage of vintage promos] Category:ABC television network Category:United States television networks Category:Walt Disney Company subsidiaries ja:American Broadcasting Company

Hampton Roads

Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water and the land areas which surround it in southeastern Virginia in the United States. Officially known as the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC MSA, the Hampton Roads area has a population about 1.6 million and is the fourth largest metropolitan area in the southeastern United States between Washington, D.C. and Atlanta. Other less-popular names for the area include Tidewater Virginia, Virginia's Waterfront, and "Seven Cities" (because of the seven primary cities in the area: Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, and Virginia Beach). While combined into a single Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) for economic purposes, most of the land area of Hampton Roads is geographically divided into 2 smaller regions, the Virginia Peninsula and South Hampton Roads, the latter also locally known as the Southside (Both the Peninsula and Southside are occasionally and interchangably referred to as Tidewater. The name Tidewater also refers, geographically, the coastal plain of Virginia). A small portion of Virginia's Middle Peninsula region and part of North Carolina are also included in the MSA definition.

History

The term "Hampton Roads" is a centuries old reference that originated when the region was a struggling British outpost nearly four hundred years ago. Designated in the 17th Century as the name of the harbor, "Hampton Roads" honors one of the founders of the Virginia Company and a great supporter of the colonization of Virginia, Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton. Signifying the safety of a port, "roads" in nautical terminology means "a place less sheltered than a harbor where ships may ride at anchor." Although perhaps by that definition the label "harbor" is technically incorrect, Hampton Roads has become well-known as the "world's greatest harbor." The entrance from Chesapeake Bay was defended by Fort Monroe, built in 1819 on Old Point Comfort, and by Fort Wool, built as Fort Calhoun in 1829, on a small island called the Rip Raps near the middle of the channel. The famous Battle of Hampton Roads between USS Monitor and CSS Virginia (ex-USS Merrimack) during the US Civil War took place here, off Sewell's Point, on March 8-9, 1862. The Jamestown Exposition was held at Sewell's Point on Hampton Roads in 1907. A major naval display was featured, and this laid the groundwork for the future Norfolk Navy Base which was later established there. Note: This section provides history of the water area known as Hampton Roads. For the histories of the various communities which make up the Hampton Roads region, please refer to the articles on the History of Virginia, Virginia Peninsula and South Hampton Roads subregions, and individual articles for each shire, county, town, or city in the following sections.

Political subdivisions

Independent cities (current)


- Chesapeake
- Franklin
- Hampton
- Newport News
- Norfolk
- Poquoson
- Portsmouth
- Suffolk
- Virginia Beach
- Williamsburg

Counties (current)


- Currituck (North Carolina)
- Gloucester
- Isle of Wight
- James City
- Mathews
- Southampton
- Surry
- York

Incorporated towns (current)


- Claremont in Surry County
- Dendron in Surry County
- Smithfield in Isle of Wight County
- Surry in Surry County (county seat)
- Windsor in Isle of Wight County

Unincorporated towns and communities not in cities (current)


- Gloucester Courthouse in Gloucester County
- Gloucester Point in Gloucester County
- Rushmere in Isle of Wight County
- Yorktown in York County

Defunct shires, counties, cities, towns

As the current communities in the Hampton Roads region were formed and grew from the Colonial period to statehood and modern times, the political structure of many areas in Virginia changed. In the mid 20th century, a wave of consolidations of local governments led to almost the entire southeastern portion of Virginia consisting of a group of adjoining independent cities. Many incorporated (formally constituted) localities became legally defunct, though mostly not abandoned by their citizens, with the notable exception of Jamestown. For search of genealogical, land, and other historical records, it may be necessary to find these old names. The following is a partial listing of defunct political subdivisions in the Hampton Roads area with approximate formation and dissolution dates. Note: Former towns which grew to became cities of the same name are not listed separately. More information about dates and dispositions may be found in most individual articles by following the links. In order of date founded:
- Jamestown, Virginia (1607) largely abandoned as a Town after 1699
- Kecoughtan, Virginia (1610), became part of Town and City of Hampton
- Middle Plantation (1632), became Williamsburg after 1699
- Elizabeth River Shire (1634-1643)
- Warwick River Shire (1634-1643)
- Charles River Shire (1634-1643)
- James City Shire (1634-1643)
- Warrosquyoake Shire (1634-1637)
- New Norfolk County (1636-1637)
- Lower Norfolk County (1637-1691)
- Upper Norfolk County (1637-1646)
- Norfolk County, Virginia (1691-1963)
- Princess Anne County (1691-1963)
- Elizabeth City County (1643-1952)
- Nansemond County (1646-1972)
- Warwick County (aka Warwick River County) (1643-1952)
- City of South Norfolk (1922-1963)
- Town of Phoebus(1900-1952) (earlier known as unincorporated towns of Millwood, Roseland Farms,Chesapeake City)
- City of Warwick (1952-1958)
- City of Nansemond (1972-1974) See also article Lost counties, cities and towns of Virginia

Geography

Lost counties, cities and towns of Virginia The water area known as Hampton Roads is a channel through which the waters of the James River, Nansemond River, and Elizabeth River pass (between Old Point Comfort to the north and Sewell's Point to the south) into the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The region has extensive natural areas, including 26 miles of Atlantic Ocean beaches, the Chesapeake Bay, the Great Dismal Swamp, picturesque rivers, state parks, wildlife refuges, and botanical gardens. The land portion of Hampton Roads is divided into two regions, the Peninsula, on the north side, and South Hampton Roads, on the south side, where most of the area's population lives. In addition, the Middle Peninsula counties of Gloucester and Mathews, while not part of the geographical Hampton Roads area, are included in the vast metropolitan region's population.

Transportation

Highways, bridges, tunnels, bridge-tunnels, ferry system

The Hampton Roads area has an extensive network of Interstate Highways, including the Interstate 64, the major east-west route to and from the area, and its spurs and bypasses of I-264, I-464, I-564, and I-664. The Hampton Roads Beltway extends 56 miles on a long loop through the region, crossing the harbor on two toll-free bridge-tunnel facilities. These crossings are the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel between Phoebus in Hampton and Willoughby Spit in Norfolk and the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel between Newport News and Suffolk. The Beltway connects with another Interstate highway and three arterial U.S. Highways at Bower's Hill near the northeastern edge of the Great Dismal Swamp. Other major east-west routes are U.S. Highway 58, U.S. Highway 60, and U.S. Highway 460. The major north-south routes are U.S. Highway 13 and U.S. Highway 17. A third crossing of Hampton Roads is the James River Bridge, carrying US 17 from Newport News to Isle of Wight County. There are also two other tunnels in the area, the Midtown Tunnel, and the Downtown Tunnel joining Portsmouth and Norfolk, as well as the 17-mile-long Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, a toll facility which links the region with Virginia's Eastern Shore which carries US 13. The George P. Coleman Memorial Bridge is a major toll bridge connecting U.S. Highway 17 on the Peninsula at Yorktown with Virginia's Middle Peninsula region. The Jamestown Ferry (also known as the Jamestown-Scotland Ferry) is an automobile ferry system on the James River connecting Jamestown in James City County with Scotland in Surry County. It carries Virginia State Highway 31. Operated by VDOT, it is the only 24-hour state-run ferry operation in Virginia and has over 90 employees. It operates four ferryboats, the Pocahontas, the Williamsburg, the Surry, and the Virginia. The facility is toll-free.

Local public transportation

Local Public transit is provided by an bus network operated by the Transportation District Commission of Hampton Roads and Williamsburg Area Transit, both of which are public agencies. Several light rail service proposals are under development.

Hampton Roads Transit

An regional transit bus system and paratransit services are provided by Hampton Roads Transit (HRT), a regional public transport system headquartered in Hampton.

Williamsburg Area Transit

A smaller transit bus system and paratransit services are provided by Williamsburg Area Transit (WAT), based in the Williamsburg area, which serves Williamsburg, James City County, and a portion of York County. The system offers a connection with the much larger Hampton Roads Transit system at Lee Hall, Virginia.

Light rail, bus rapid transit, maglev projects

A light rail service is in planning stages at Norfolk. There has also been a study in the Hampton - Newport News areas. The resort city of Virginia Beach is considering a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system similar that in use in Las Vegas. There is a small very experimental maglev project under development on campus at Old Dominion University in Norfolk.

Intercity bus

Intercity bus service is provided by Greyhound Lines and Carolina Trailways.

Passenger rail

The area is served by passenger rail service provided by Amtrak, with stations in Williamsburg and Newport News, and connecting bus service to Norfolk and Virginia Beach. The Department of Rail and Public Transportation of the State of Virginia has studies underway for extending high speed passenger rail to the Virginia Peninsula and South Hampton Roads areas with a rail connection at Richmond to both the Northeast Corridor and the Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor.

Air

The Hampton Roads is served by 2 major commercial airports Norfolk International Airport and Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport. Norfolk International Airport is the main air passenger and cargo transport hub in the region.

Harbor: commerce, shipping, military

Hampton Roads has become known as the "world's greatest natural harbor". The port is located only 18 miles from open ocean on one of the world's deepest, natural ice-free harbors. Since 1989, Hampton Roads has been the mid-Atlantic leader in U.S. waterborne foreign commerce and is ranked second nationally behind the Port of South Louisiana based on export tonnage. When import and export tonnage are combined, the Port of Hampton Roads ranks as the third largest port in the country (following the ports of New Orleans/South Louisiana and Houston. In 1996, Hampton Roads was ranked ninth among major U.S. ports in vessel port calls with approximately 2,700. In addition, this port is the U.S. leader in coal exports. The coal loading facilities in the Port of Hampton Roads are able to load in excess of 65 million tons annually, giving the port the largest, most efficient and modern coal loading facilities in the world. It is little surprise therefore that the Hampton Roads region's economic base is largely port-related, including shipbuilding, ship repair, naval installations, cargo transfer and storage, and manufacturing related to the processing of imports and exports. Associated with the ports' military role are almost 50,000 federal civilian employees. The harbor of Hampton Roads is an important highway of commerce, especially for the cities of Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Newport News. In Portsmouth, a few miles up the Elizabeth River, Norfolk Naval Shipyard is located. Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company (NNS) is located a short distance up the James River. There are also several smaller shipyards, numerous docks and terminals. Massive coal loading piers and facilities were established in the late 19th and early 20th century by the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O), Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W), and Virginian Railway (VGN). The latter two were predecessors of the Norfolk Southern Railway, a Class I railroad which has its headquarters in Norfolk, and continues to export coal from a large facility at Lambert's Point on the Elizabeth River. CSX Transportation now serves the former C&O facility at Newport News. Hampton Roads is also a chief rendezvous of the United States Navy. The Hampton Roads area has the largest concentration of military bases and facilities of any metropolitan area in the world. The area is home to the Allied Command Transformation, which is the only major military command of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The Norfolk Navy Base is located at Sewell's Point near the mouth, on the site used for the tercentennial Jamestown Exposition in 1907. For a width of 500 feet the Federal government during 1902 through 1905 increased its minimum depth at low water from 25.5 feet to 30 feet, and the channel has now been dredged to a depth of 55 feet in some places. NASA Langley Research Center is located on the Peninsula adjacent to Langley Air Force Base, in Hampton, which is home to scientific and aerospace technology research. Other area military facilities include:
- Camp Peary in York County
- Fort Eustis in Newport News
- Fort Monroe in Hampton
- Fort Story in Virginia Beach
- Langley Air Force Base in Hampton
- United States Naval Amphibious Base at Little Creek) in Virginia Beach
- Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach
- Naval Weapons Station Yorktown in York County
- Saint Julian Creek Naval Depot Annex in Chesapeake

Area attractions and historical sites

Historic Triangle: Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Yorktown

The Historic Triangle is located on the Virginia Peninsula and includes the colonial communities of Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Yorktown, with many restored attractions linked by the Colonial Parkway.

Colonial Parkway

The National Park Service's Colonial Parkway joins the three popular attractions of Colonial Virginia with a scenic and bucolic roadway carefully shielded from views of commercial development. This helps visitors mentally return to the past, and there are often views of wildlife and waterfowl. This two lane roadway is the best (but not quickest) way to move between the three points. Near the James River and York River ends of the parkway, there are several pull-offs, where some families allow their children to feed bread to the seagulls. (Warning: No trucks are allowed). For an even better experience, approach the area from the south by water from Surry County with a ride aboard one of the Jamestown Ferrys, which include the Pocahontas and Williamsburg. As passengers cross, they can can walk about the boat or go up to an enclosed viewing level with restrooms. Weather and daylight permitting, passengers usually see the Jamestown Island much as the first colonists may have approached it. In fact, the replicas of Christopher Newport's the three tiny ships, Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery are docked near the northern ferry landing. Both the Jamestown Ferry and Colonial Parkway are toll-free.

Jamestown

The first permanent English settlement in the New World which was established at Jamestown in 1607. Today, you can visit the Jamestown Festival Park and Jamestown Island attraction. Included are recreations of a Native American village and colonial fort, and archaeological sites where current work is underway. Replicas of the three ships, Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery are docked nearby.

Williamsburg

In 1699, the first capital of Virginia was moved to Middle Plantation at the suggestion of students from the College of William and Mary (established 1693). It was soon renamed to Williamsburg, but became a largely forgotten little town after the capital was moved to Richmond in 1788. Largely due to the 20th century preservation efforts of the Reverend Dr. W.A.R. Goodwin, rector of Bruton Parish Church and the generosity of Standard Oil heir John D. Rockefeller Jr., today Colonial Williamsburg is a large living museum of early American life. It has dozens of restored and recreated buildings and reenactors. It is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. The Visitor's Center (right off the Colonial Parkway) features a short movie and is an excellent place to start (and leave automobiles, which are restricted from the restored area, where wheelchair-accessible shuttle bus service is provided).

Yorktown

The third point of the triangle is Yorktown where General Cornwallis surrendered to George Washington in 1781, ending the American Revolution. There are two large visitor centers, battlefield drives, and a waterfront area.

Commercial enterprises

Notwithstanding the amazingly successful efforts to provide a non-commercial atmosphere at the three Historic Triangle areas (and on the Colonial Parkway between them), there are many hotels, motels, campgrounds, restaurants, shops and stores, gasoline stations, and amusements close by.
- Busch Gardens (Williamsburg) is a major theme park located near Williamsburg in James City County.
- Williamsburg Pottery Factory is also nearby on U.S. Highway 60 a new miles west of Williamsburg in James City County.

Other points of history

There's also a wealth of other points of history to explore in the Hampton Roads area.

Virginia Peninsula


- Mariners' Museum is in Newport News. The USS Monitor Center (of Battle of Hampton Roads fame) is there, along the thousands of nautical artifacts from all over the world.
- Virginia Air and Space Center (with a historic carousel adjacent) is in Hampton.
- Casemate Museum (where former Confederate President Jefferson Davis was imprisoned) is at Fort Monroe in the historic Phoebus area at Old Point Comfort in Hampton.
- Harbor tours departing from Hampton and Newport News provide access to Fort Wool and Newport News Shipbuilding, the world's largest shipyard.

South Hampton Roads


- Cape Henry site of the first landing of the English settlers in 1607 and two lighthouses is at Fort Story in Virginia Beach.
- Norfolk Navy Base at Sewell's Point in Norfolk is the largest naval facility in the world.
- Norfolk Botanical Garden is in Norfolk.
- The Chrysler Museum is in Norfolk.
- MacArthur Memorial Museum is in Norfolk.
- USS Cole is in Norfolk.
- Nauticus (at The National Maritime Center) and the Battleship USS Wisconsin are near downtown Norfolk.
- Children's Museum of Virginia in Portsmouth has one of the largest collection of model electric trains and other toys.
- Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth is one of the oldest shipyards and has the first dry dock on display.
- Great Dismal Swamp Natural Wildlife Refuge is accessed from Chesapeake.
- Suffolk-Nansemond Museum is in the restored Seaboard and Virginian Railway passenger train station in Suffolk.
- Isle of Wight Museum is in Smithfield.
- The Virginia Zoo is in Norfolk, Virginia.

Sports, Entertainment, and Mass Assembly Venues

Arenas

normal seating capacity in parentheses
- Anderson Field House at Fort Eustis – Newport News (2200)
- Freeman Center at Christopher Newport University – Newport News (6000)
- Gills Gymnasium at Norfolk State University (4000)
- Hampton Coliseum (11575)
- Hampton University Convocation Center (8200)
- Holland Hall at Hampton University (3000)
- Jane P. Batten Student Center at Virginia Wesleyan College – Virginia Beach (2120)
- Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall at Norfolk State University (8500)
- Norfolk Scope Arena (11500)
- Old Dominion University Field House – Norfolk (5955)
- Ted F. Constant Convocation Center at Old Dominion University – Norfolk (9650)
- William and Mary Hall at The College of William and Mary – Williamsburg (10300)

Auditoriums and Performing Arts Theatres


- American Theatre – Hampton
- Chrysler Hall – Norfolk (2503)
- Crispus Attucks Cultural Center – Norfolk (900)
- Devary Theatre at Norfolk Naval Base
- Edythe C. and Stanley L. Harrison Opera House – Norfolk (1650)
- Ferguson Performing Arts Center at Christopher Newport University – Newport News (1750)
- Fort Monroe Theatre – Hampton
- Jeanne and George Roper Performing Arts Center at Tidewater Community College – Norfolk (1000)
- L. Douglas Wilder Performing Arts Center at Norfolk State University (1900)
- Music Theatre of Williamsburg (752)
- Norva Theatre – Norfolk (1500)
- Ogden Hall at Hampton University (1960)
- Pavilion Theatre – Virginia Beach (1022)
- Regent University Performing Arts Center – Virginia Beach
- Phi Beta Kappa Memorial Hall at The College of William and Mary – Williamsburg
- Premiere Theatre (aka Granby Theatre) – Norfolk (1200)
- Riverview Theatre – Norfolk (1100)
- Rockwell Hall at Little Creek Amphibious Base – Virginia Beach (1756)
- Sanders Performing Arts Center – Virginia Beach (1700) under construction
- Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts (650) under construction
- Wells Theatre – Norfolk
- Willett Hall – Portsmouth (2000)
- Williamsburg Performing Arts Center (1500) proposed

Amphitheatres


- Lake Matoaka Amphitheatre at The College of William and Mary – Williamsburg (2400)
- Le Palais Royal Theatre at Busch Gardens – Williamsburg (5600)
- nTelos Pavilion at Harbor Center – Portsmouth (7500)
- Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach Amphitheatre (20000)

Stadiums


- A.H. Foreman Field at Old Dominion University – Norfolk (20300)football and field hockey
- Anheuser-Busch Field at The College of William and Mary – Williamsburg (4450) soccer
- Armstrong Stadium at Hampton University (14000) football
- Bailey Field – Yorktown (6000) football
- Bud Metheny Sports Complex and Old Dominion University – Norfolk (3000) baseball
- Darling Memorial Stadium – Hampton (8000) football
- Dick Price Stadium at Norfolk State University (30000) football
- District Park Sports Complex – Williamsburg (4000) proposed
- Harbor Park – Norfolk (12067) baseball
- Joe Plumeri Park at The College of William and Mary – Williamsburg (1200) baseball
- John B. Todd Stadium – Newport News (11000) football
- Mark McCormack-Betsy Nagelsen Tennis Center at The College of William and Mary – Williamsburg
- Marty L. Miller Baseball Field at Norfolk State University (1600)
- Old Dominion University Soccer Stadium – Norfolk (6000)
- Peninsula War Memorial Stadium – Hampton (5125) baseball
- Pomoco Stadium at Christopher Newport University – Newport News (4200) football
- Powhatan Stadium – Norfolk (4000) under construction - football
- Union Kempsville Stadium – Virginia Beach (5100) football
- Virginia Beach Sportsplex (11541) soccer
- Walter J. Zable Stadium at The College of William and Mary – Williamsburg (15279) football

Raceways


- Langley Speedway – Hampton (6500)

Convention Centers

square feet of exhibition space in parentheses
- Chesapeake Conference Center (37000)
- City Center at Oyster Point Conference Center – Newport News – under construction
- Hampton Roads Convention Center – Hampton (258000)
- Norfolk Executive Conference Center (73000) planning
- Portsmouth Conference Center (37000)
- Virginia Beach Convention Center (600000) under construction
- Waterside Convention Center – Norfolk (35000)
- Williamsburg Convention Center (259000) proposed

Trivia

The callsign of WGH, an early radio station in Newport News, stands for World's Greatest Harbor. The 3.5 mile long Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel was the first bridge-tunnel complex in the world when it first opened as a 2-lane toll facility in 1957.

See also


- South Hampton Roads
- Virginia Peninsula
- Historic Triangle
- List of famous people from Hampton Roads
- Lost counties, cities and towns of Virginia

External links


- [http://www.mrlincolnandfreedom.org/inside.asp?ID=79&subjectID=3 Mr. Lincoln and Freedom: Hampton Roads Conference]
- [http://www.hamptonroadsvisitor.com Hampton Roads Visitor Guide]
- [http://www.monitorcenter.org/ USS Monitor Center and Exhibit Newport News, Virginia]
- [http://www.nauticus.org/ Nauticus, The National Maritime Center Norfolk, VA]
- [http://www.mariner.org/ Mariner's Museum, Newport News, Virginia]
- [http://www.hrnm.navy.mil/ Hampton Roads Naval Museum]
- [http://www.norfolkhistorical.org Norfolk City Historical Society]
- [http://www.chesapeake.lib.va.us/Wallace/nchs.htm Norfolk County Historical Society]
- [http://www.npl.lib.va.us/history/history65.html Norfolk Public Library – History of Willoughby]
- [http://www.npl.lib.va.us/history/history7.html Norfolk Public Library – History of Weather Events]
- [http://www.norfolk.gov/Education/ City of Norfolk website, Local History]
- [http://college.hmco.com/history/readerscomp/civwar/html/cw_000301_sewellspoint.htm Civil War and the Battle of Sewell’s Point]
- [http://www.multied.com/Navy/cwnavalhistory/ Civil War Naval History]
- [http://www.geocities.com/hrforts/Fort_Wool/history.htm Fort Wool History]
- [http://www.navstanorva.navy.mil/INFO/ABOUT_US/HISTORY/EXPO/expo.htm 1907 Jamestown Expo held at today's Norfolk Navy Base]
- [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/norfolk.htm Naval Station Norfolk website]
- [http://www.roadstothefuture.com/I664_VA_MMMBT.html Roads to the Future - I664 Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge Tunnel]

References


- Category:Geography of Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia is one of the original thirteen states of the United States that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution, and is part of the South. It is one of four states that use the name commonwealth. Virginia was the first part of the Americas to be colonized permanently by England. Virginia's U.S. postal abbreviation is VA, and its Associated Press abbreviation is Va. Kentucky and West Virginia were part of Virginia at the time of the founding of the United States; but the former was admitted to the Union as a separate state in 1792, while the latter broke away from Virginia during the American Civil War. Virginia is known as the "Mother of Presidents", because it is the birthplace of eight U.S. presidents, more than any other state. Five of them were re-elected to a second term: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe and Woodrow Wilson. William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, and Zachary Taylor round out the list of American Presidents from the Commonwealth of Virginia. (Harrison and Taylor died while in office.)

History

Native Americans

At the time of the English colonization of Virginia, among Native American people living in what now is Virginia were the Cherokee, Chickahominy, Mattaponi, Meherrin, Monacan, Nansemond, Nottaway, Pamunkey, Pohick, Powhatan, Rappahannock, Saponi, and Tuscarora. The natives are often divided into three groups. The largest group are known as the Algonquian who numbered over 10,000. The other groups are the Iroquoian (numbering 2,500) and the Siouan. [http://oncampus.richmond.edu/academics/education/projects/webunits/vahistory/tribes.html]

Virginia Colony: 1607–1776

At the end of the 16th century, when Great Britain began to colonize North America, Virginia was the name that Queen Elizabeth I of England (who was known as the "Virgin Queen" because she never married) gave to the whole area explored by the 1584 expedition of Sir Walter Raleigh along the coast of North America, eventually applying to the whole coast from South Carolina to Maine. The London Virginia Company became incorporated as a joint stock company by a proprietary charter drawn up on April 10, 1606. It swiftly financed the first permanent English settlement in the New World, which was at Jamestown, named in honor of King James I, in the Virginia Colony, in 1607, which settlement was founded by Captian Christopher Newport and Captain John Smith. Its Second Charter was officially ratified on May 23, 1609. Jamestown was the original capital of the Virginia Colony, and remained so until the State House burned (not the first time) in 1698. After the fire, the colonial capital was moved to nearby Middle Plantation, which was renamed Williamsburg in honor of William of Orange, King William III. Virginia was given its nickname, "The Old Dominion", by King Charles II of England at the time of the Restoration, because it had remained loyal to the crown during the English Civil War.

A new state

In 1780, during the American Revolutionary War, the capital was moved to Richmond at the urging of then-Governor Thomas Jefferson, who was afraid that Williamsburg's location made it vulnerable to a British attack. In the autumn of 1781, American troops trapped the British on the Yorktown peninsula in the famous Battle of Yorktown. This prompted a British surrender on October 19, 1781, formally ending the war and securing the former colonies' independence, even though sporadic fighting continued for two years. Patrick Henry served as the first Governor of Virginia, from 1776 to 1779, and again from 1784 to 1786. On June 12, 1776, the Virginia Convention adopted the Virginia Declaration of Rights, a document that influenced the Bill of Rights added later to the United States Constitution. On June 29, 1776, the convention adopted a constitution that established Virginia as a commonwealth independent of the British Empire. In 1790 both Virginia and Maryland ceded territory to form the new District of Columbia, but in an Act of the U.S. Congress dated July 9, 1846, the area south of the Potomac that had been ceded by Virginia was retroceded to Virginia effective 1847, and is now Arlington County and part of the City of Alexandria.

American Civil War

Virginia is one of the states that seceded from the Union to become the Confederacy during the Civil War. When it did, some counties were separated as Kanawha (later renamed West Virginia), an act which was upheld by the United States Supreme Court in 1870. More battles were fought on Virginia soil than anywhere else in America during the Civil War. Virginia formally rejoined the Union on January 26, 1870, after a period of post-war military rule.

20th century

When Douglas Wilder was elected Governor of Virginia on January 13, 1990, he became the first African-American to serve as Governor of a U.S. state since Reconstruction.

Law and government

The capital is Richmond: the current Governor is Mark Warner, a Democrat. Tim Kaine, also a Democrat, is the governor-elect. Previous capitals included Jamestown (1609–1699) and Williamsburg (1699–1780). The Virginia State Capitol building in Richmond was designed by Thomas Jefferson and the cornerstone was laid by Governor Patrick Henry in 1785. In colonial Virginia, the lower house of the legislature was called the House of Burgesses. Together with the Governor's Council, the House of Burgesses made up the General Assembly. The Governor's Council was composed of 12 men appointed by the British Monarch to advise the Governor. The Council also served as the General Court of the colony, a colonial equivalent of a Supreme Court. Members of the House of Burgesses were chosen by all those who could vote in the colony. Each county chose two people or burgesses to represent it, while the College of William and Mary and the cities of Norfolk, Williamsburg, and Jamestown each chose one burgess. The Burgesses met to make laws for the colony and set the direction for its future growth; the Council would then review the laws and either approve or disapprove them. The approval of the Burgesses, the Council, and the Governor was needed to pass a law. The idea of electing burgesses was important and new. It gave Virginians a chance to control their own government for the first time. At first the burgesses were elected by all free men in the colony. Women, indentured servants, and Native Americans could not vote. Later the rules for voting changed, making it necessary for men to own at least fifty acres (200,000 m²) of land in order to vote. Founded in 1619, the Virginia General Assembly is still in existence as the oldest legislature in the Western Hemisphere. Today, the General Assembly is made up of the Senate and the House of Delegates. Like many other states, by the 1850s Virginia featured a state legislature, several executive officers, and an independent judiciary. By the time of the Constitution of 1901, which lasted longer than any other state constitution, the General Assembly continued as the legislature, the Supreme Court of Appeals acted as the judiciary, and the eight elected executive officers were the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of the Commonwealth, State Treasurer, Auditor of Public Accounts, Superintendent of Public Instruction and Commissioner of Agriculture and Immigration. The Constitution of 1901 was amended many times, notably in the 1930s and 1950s, before it was abandoned in favour of more modern government, with fewer elected officials, reformed local governments and a more streamlined judiciary. Virginia currently functions under the 1970 Constitution of Virginia. It is the state's ninth constitution. Under the Constitution, the State Government is composed of three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. The legislative branch or state legislature is the Virginia General Assembly, a bicameral body whose 140 members make all state laws. Members of the Virginia House of Delegates serve two-year terms, while members of the Virginia Senate serve four-year terms. The General Assembly also selects the state's Auditor of Public Accounts. The statutory law enacted by the General Assembly is codified in the Code of Virginia. The executive branch comprises the Governor of Virginia, the Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, and the Attorney General of Virginia. All three officers are separately elected to four-year terms in years following Presidential elections (1997, 2001, 2005, etc) and take office in January of the following year. The Governor serves as chief executive officer of the Commonwealth and as Commander-in-Chief of the State Militia. State law forbids any Governor from serving consecutive terms. The Lieutenant Governor serves as President of the Senate of Virginia and is first in the line of succession to the Governor. The Attorney General is chief legal advisor to the Governor and the General Assembly, chief lawyer of the state and the head of the Department of Law. The Attorney General is second in the line of succession to the Governor. Whenever there is a vacancy in all three executive offices of Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Attorney General, then the Speaker of the House of the Virginia House of Delegates becomes Governor. The Office of the Governor's Secretaries helps manage the Governor's Cabinet, comprised of the following individuals, all appointed by the Governor:
- Governor's Chief of Staff
- Secretary of Administration
- Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry
- Secretary of Commerce and Trade
- Secretary of the Commonwealth
- Secretary of Education
- Secretary of Finance
- Secretary of Health and Human Resources
- Secretary of Natural Resources
- Secretary of Public Safety
- Secretary of Technology
- Secretary of Transportation
- Assistant to the Governor for Commonwealth Preparedness The judicial branch consists of the Supreme Court of Virginia, the Virginia Court of Appeals, the General District Courts and the Circuit Courts. The Virginia Supreme Court, composed of the chief justice and six other judges is the highest court in the Commonwealth (although, as with all the states, the U.S. Supreme Court has appellate jurisdiction over decisions by the Virginia Supreme Court involving substantial questions of U.S. Constitution law or constitutional rights). The Chief Justice and the Virginia Supreme Court also serve as the administrative body for the entire Virginia court system. The 95 counties and the 39 independent cities all have their own governments, usually a county board of supervisors or city council which choose a city manager or county administrator to serve as a professional, non-political chief administrator under the council-manager form of government. There are exceptions, notably Richmond, Virginia, which has a popularly-elected Mayor who serves as chief executive separate from the city council.

Political control

After William Mahone and the Readjuster Party lost control of Virginia politics around 1883, the Democratic Party held a strong majority position of state and federal offices for over 85 years. In 1970, Republican A. Linwood Holton Jr. became the first Republican governor in the 20th century. In the years thereafter, Republicans made substantial gains, and for a time, controlled both houses of the Virginia General Assembly, as well as the Governorship from 1994 until 2002.
- Republicans hold both seats in the U.S. Senate, 8 of 11 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, hold a majority in the Virginia House of Delegates and the Virginia Senate, and a Republican is Virginia's Lieutenant Governor-Elect. A republican is also temporarily serving as attorney general having been appointed to fill the seat left by Jerry Kilgore. However, the recent election for attorney general to fill the open seat has not been decided and a recount will occur to determine the election.
- Democrats control the remaining 3 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. The Governor and Governor-Elect are both Democrats. The Democrats have steadily been gaining seats in the Virginia House of Delegates and may soon take control, however the State Senate will likely remain under Republican Leadership. Incumbent Virginia governors cannot run for re-election under the state constitution and In the November 2005 election, the race to succeed Democratic Governor Mark Warner, Democrat Timothy M. Kaine beat Republican Attorney General Jerry Kilgore (Scott County), and State Senator Russ Potts (Winchester) (longtime Republican) running as an independent. Kaine will become governor of the state at his inauguration on January 14, 2006.

Geography

2006 2006 Virginia is bordered by West Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia (across the Potomac River) to the north, by Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, by North Carolina and Tennessee to the south, and by Kentucky and West Virginia to the west. The Chesapeake Bay divides the state, with the eastern portion (called 'the Eastern Shore of Virginia'), a part of the Delmarva Peninsula, completely separate (an exclave) from the rest of the state. Geographically, Virginia is divided into the following 5 regions:
- Tidewater - Stretching from the Atlantic coast to the fall line
- Piedmont - East of the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Tidewater Region
- Blue Ridge Mountains - East of the Appalachian Mountains to the Blue Ridge Mountain Region
- Valley and Ridge - Appalachian Mountains and Shenandoah Valley Region
- Appalachian Plateau - West of the Appalachian Mountains Virginia's long east-west axis means that metropolitan northern Virginia lies much closer to New York and New England than to the rural western panhandle of its own state. Conversely, Lee County, at the tip of the panhandle, is closer to 8 state capitals than it is to Richmond.

Demographics

As of 2004, Virginia's population was estimated to be 7,459,827. The state had a foreign-born population of 679,500 (9.1% of the state population), of which an estimated 100,000 were illegal aliens (15% of the foreign-born). The state's population increased by 1.3 million between 1990 and 2004, a growth of 21% Race and Ancestry
The racial makeup of the state:
- 70.2% White non-Hispanic
- 19.6% Black
- 4.7% Hispanic
- 3.7% Asian
- 0.3% Native American
- 2% Mixed race The five largest reported ancestry groups in Virginia are: African American (19.6%), German (11.7%), American (11.2%), English (11.1%), Irish (9.8%). Historically, as the largest and wealthiest colony and state and the birthplace of Southern and American culture, a large proportion (about half) of Virginia's population was made up of black slaves who worked the state's tobacco, cotton, and hemp plantations. The twentieth century Great Migration of blacks from the rural South to the urban North reduced Virginia's black population to about 20 percent. Today Blacks are concentrated in the eastern and southern tidewater and piedmont regions where plantation agriculture was most dominant. The western mountains are populated primarily by people of British and American ancestry. People of German descent are present in sizable numbers in the northwestern mountains and Shenandoah Valley. And due to recent immigration, there is a rapidly growing population of Hispanics (particularly Central Americans) and Asians in the northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, DC. 6.5% of Virginia's population were reported as under 5, 24.6% under 18, and 11.2% were 65 or older. Females made up approximately 51% of the population.

Religion

The religious affiliations of the people of Virginia are:
- Christian – 84%
  - Protestant – 69%
    - Baptist – 32%
    - Methodist – 8%
    - Episcopal – 3%
    - Presbyterian – 3%
    - Other Protestant or general Protestant – 23%
  - Roman Catholic – 14%
  - Other Christian – 1%
- Other Religions – 2%
- Non-Religious – 12%

Economy

Virginia's economy has long been regarded as one of the better-balanced in the United States with diverse sources of income, including military installations concentrated in the Hampton Roads area, tobacco and peanut farming all through Southside Virginia, manufacturing and transportation, and the location of Northern Virginia as a bedroom community for the federal government and its vendors. Virginia, arguably the wealthiest southern state before the Civil War, recovered from the civil war and the Great Depression much faster than the rest of the south. Today it is still significantly wealthier than the rest of the south, although much of that is from the northern influence around Washington D.C.

Transportation

Northern Virginia Virginia is served by a network of Interstate Highways, arterial highways, several limited access tollways, bridges, tunnels, and three bridge-tunnel complexes. The [http://www.springfieldinterchange.com/ Springfield Interchange Project] (also known as "The Mixing Bowl") and the replacement of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, two of the country's largest highway improvement projects, are taking place in the state ten miles apart. Major airports are located in these areas: Northern Virginia (Reagan-National and Dulles), Richmond-Petersburg (Richmond), Virginia Peninsula (Newport News), South Hampton Roads (Norfolk), and the Roanoke Valley (Roanoke). Virginia has extensive waterways. In addition to the lower portion of the Chesapeake Bay, navigable rivers include the Elizabeth River at Hampton Roads, the James River, the York River, the Rappahannock River, and the Potomac River. The Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway passes through eastern Virginia. Virginia has Amtrak passenger rail service along several corridors and Virginia Railway Express (VRE) maintains two commuter lines into Washington, D.C. The Washington Metro serves Northern Virginia as far west as Fairfax County.

Sports

Virginia is by far the most populous U.S. state without a major professional sports league franchise. The reasons for this include the close proximity of Washington, D.C. which has franchises in all four major sports, and the lack of any dominant city or market within the state. An attempt to bring a National Hockey League expansion franchise to Hampton Roads in the 1990s was rejected by the NHL. A proposal to relocate the Montreal Expos to Northern Virginia was considered by Major League Baseball, but MLB eventually settled on the national capital as the Expos' new home. Virginia is home to many minor league clubs, especially in baseball and soccer.

Baseball


- Bluefield Orioles (Appalachian League)
- Bristol White Sox (Appalachian League)
- Danville Braves (Appalachian League)
- Lynchburg Hillcats (Carolina League)
- Norfolk Tides (International League)
- Potomac Nationals (Carolina League)
- Pulaski Blue Jays (Appalachian League)
- Richmond Braves (International League)
- Salem Avalanche (Carolina League)
- [http://www.winchesterroyals.com Winchester Royals] ([http://www.valleyleaguebaseball.com Valley League])

Basketball


- Roanoke Dazzle (NBDL)

Ice hockey


- Norfolk Admirals (AHL)
- Richmond RiverDogs (UHL)
- Roanoke Valley Vipers (UHL)

Indoor football


- Richmond Bandits (AIFL)

Soccer


- Chesapeke Athletic (Super Y-League)
- Hampton Roads Piranhas (W-League)
- Northern Virginia Majestics (W-League)
- Northern Virginia Royals (USL Second Division)
- Richmond Kickers (USL First Division)
- Richmond Kickers Destiny (W-League)
- Richmond Kickers Future (Premier Development League)
- Virginia Beach Mariners (USL First Division)
- Virginia Beach Submariners (Premier Development League)
- Williamsburg Legacy (Premier Development League)

Important cities and towns

Under the laws in effect in Virginia, all municipalities incorporated as cities are independent of any county. Of the 43 independent cities in the United States, 39 are in Virginia. The complete list of Virginia independent cities follows: Some other municipalities are incorporated towns, which are not independent of a county, but rather, located within one of the 95 counties in Virginia. These incorporated towns include: Finally, Arlington County, which lies across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., is a completely urbanized community, much like a city, but remains organized as a county, and has no towns within its borders. There are also hundreds of other unincorporated communities (sometimes informally called villages or towns) in Virginia.

Colleges and universities

Miscellaneous information


- State motto: "Sic semper tyrannis." (Thus always to tyrants.)
- State bird: Cardinal
- State dog: American Foxhound
- State flower: Dogwood
- State tree: Dogwood
- State insect: Tiger swallowtail
- State bat: Virginia Big-Eared Bat
- State song: none; the former state song, "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny," was retired in 1997 because some found its lyrics to be racially offensive
- State dance: Square dance
- State boat: Chesapeake Bay deadrise
- State fish: Brook trout
- State shell: Oyster
- State fossil: Chesapecten Jeffersonius
- State beverage: Milk USS Virginia was named in honor of this state.

See also


- List of school divisions in Virginia
- Lost counties, cities and towns of Virginia

Other places

There are also places named Virginia in the States of Illinois and Minnesota: see
- Virginia, Illinois.
- Virginia, Minnesota.

External links


- [http://www.virginia.gov State Government website]
- [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/raleigh.htm Charter to Sir Walter Raleigh : 1584]
- [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/states/va01.htm The First Charter of Virginia; April 10, 1606]
- [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/states/va02.htm The Second Charter of Virginia; May 23, 1609]
- [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/states/va03.htm The Third Charter of Virginia; March 12, 1611]
- [http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/51000.html U.S. Census Bureau]
- [http://www.vahistorical.org Virginia Historical Society]
- [http://www.historical-markers.org Virginia's Historical Markers]
- [http://www.virginiaplaces.org/ Geography of Virginia]
- [http://www.fathersforvirginia.org/ Fathers for Virginia]
- Category:States of the United States ko:버지니아 주 ja:バージニア州

Portsmouth, Virginia

Portsmouth (pronounced "Port-smith") is an independent city located in the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 100,565, but a July 1, 2002 Census estimate showed the city's population dropping to 99,790. A Virginia state legislator recently proposed a plan by which Portsmouth would merge with its neighbor cities of Norfolk and Suffolk. After a cold reception from Suffolk, the legislator changed the plan so that it would merge only Portsmouth and Norfolk. The plan, in any form, is enthusiastically embraced in Portsmouth, which has virtually no room for growth and a radically limited tax base. A large portion of the city is controlled by the U.S. Navy; when Navy facilities are combined with schools, churches, and other tax-exempt entities, over half of Portsmouth's assessed valuation is off the tax rolls.

Geography

U.S. Navy, Portsmouth and Norfolk, Virginia from space, July 1996]] Portsmouth is located at 36°49'52" North, 76°20'44" West (36.831298, -76.345641). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 120.7 km² (46.6 mi²). 85.9 km² (33.2 mi²) of it is land and 34.9 km² (13.5 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 28.87% water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there are 100,565 people, 38,170 households, and 25,497 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,170.9/km² (3,032.7/mi²). There are 41,605 housing units at an average density of 484.4/km² (1,254.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 45.84% White, 50.61% African American, 0.48% Native American, 0.77% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 0.61% from other races, and 1.62% from two or more races. 1.74% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race. There are 38,170 households out of which 30.6% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.1% are married couples living together, 10.9% have a female household with no husband present and 33.2% are non-families. 27.5% of all households are made up of individuals and 10.8% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.51 and the average family size is 3.05. In the city the population is spread out with 25.7% under the age of 18, 11.1% from 18 to 24, 29.1% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 13.8% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 34 years. For every 100 females there are 93.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 90.6 males. The median income for a household in the city is $36,742, and the median income for a family is $39,577. Males have a median income of $30,122 versus $23,375 for females. The [per capita income]] for the city is $16,507. 16.2% of the population and 13.3% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 22.7% of those under the age of 18 and 10.7% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Attractions and famous buildings in the city


- Children's Museum of Virginia
- Virginia Sports Hall of Fame
- Naval Shipyard & Lightship Museum
- Craney Island
- Harbor Center

External links


- [http://www.portsmouth.va.us/ City of Portsmouth official website]
- [http://www.baydreaming.com/portsmouth.htm Portsmouth Virginia Guide] Portsmouth
-

DMA

DMA can refer to:
- In computing:
  - Direct Memory Access (most common)
  - Dynamic memory allocation
  - Document Management Alliance
  - DMA Design - The former name of Rockstar North, a game developer
- Digital media adapter - In consumer electronics, for use between computers and other equipment (stereos, TVs, etc.)
- Direct Marketing Association - A trade organization
- Doctor of Musical Arts - A postgraduate educational degree
- In mechanical engineering:
  - Dynamic Mechanical Analysis - A thermal analysis technique
  - Dynamic Mechanical Analyser - An instrument for perfoming Dynamic Mechanical Analysis
- Designated Market Area - Another term for media market
- Defense Mapping Agency - Predecessor of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
- Direct Market Access - Used in