Tidewater Talk

This week on Tidewater Talk, we sit down with our neighbor Mollie Alaire of Choose Joy Farm in Lanexa, out by the Chickahominy. Mollie was born at the old Williamsburg hospital, and her great-grandpa bought the family's 68 acres in 1901. The family grew watermelons and corn until 2008, when Mollie got a goat to make goat milk soap for her brothers' eczema. Now the farm keeps pygmy goats, Nigerian dwarfs, LaManchas, pigs, silkie chickens, and 15 year old ducks, and Mollie teaches soap making, milking, and goat care to students from 3 to 89. We hear about goat snuggling, piglet yoga, goats launching off a chicken tractor onto the barn roof, and Damiana, the 14 year old LaMancha who runs the whole yard circus. Co tells us what the nor'easter did to the Boardwalk, and we look at a warm week before weekend showers. Plus Mollie's picks: mango cheesecake at Colattao on Independence Boulevard and a pistachio cream latte at Elite Coffee in Norge. Also the free U.S. Marine Band concert at the Sandler Center, Zoovies at the Virginia Zoo, the last weekend of Ghent Restaurant Week, and the Tour de ORF bike ride. We reveal last week's Where in Tidewater, the Old Cape Henry Lighthouse, and give you three new clues for a historic stage on Church Street in Norfolk. Send your guess to [email protected]. If you're in Coastal Virginia, this is your weekly mix of neighbors, local lore, weather, and where to go next.

This week on Tidewater Talk, the rain finally shows up and we have plenty to talk about while it does. The Navy is handing every junior sailor barracks in Hampton Roads to a private company in a $1.7 billion deal, including a new 17 story tower in Newport News where Huntington Hall stands today, and Brodie has some opinions about that building. VDOT breaks ground on the Norfolk segment of the Hampton Roads Express Lanes, seven more miles of I-64 and 21 bridges, so we get into whether express lanes actually work. There is also an algae bloom called the mahogany tide moving through the lower Chesapeake, and yes, somebody named it Marge. Strange and Odd goes way down this week, to the 35 million year old asteroid crater buried under the lower Bay near Cape Charles, and the ancient brine that makes deep wells in Newport News and Poquoson unusable. Co has the forecast, and it is a busy one: a coastal flood warning, wind gusts up to 50, and eight to 12 foot surf before things calm down for a cooler weekend. We reveal the Where in Tidewater answer (the concrete ships at Kiptopeke) and give you three new clues for a place in Virginia Beach you can climb. Send your guess to [email protected]. Plus your weekend: the 52nd Neptune Festival, Ghent Restaurant Week, Farm Aid at the amphitheater, and Pirate Night at VA Vintage. If you're in Coastal Virginia, this is your weekly mix of news, local lore, weather, and where to go next.

This week on Tidewater Talk, we look at drought concerns in Norfolk and Virginia Beach, Hampton Roads Transit reaching 10 million riders, and the history of Virginia Beach’s iconic Cavalier Hotel. We also have the local forecast, surf and tropical updates, and another “Where in Tidewater?” challenge near Kiptopeke State Park. Plus, we share weekend picks including Fall Fest at Mount Trashmore, Come From Away at the Wells Theatre, Hoffler Creek Wildlife Preserve, the Oceana Air Show, and the Old Beach Farmers Market.

This week on Tidewater Talk, we caught up on a little local life and a lot of Coastal Virginia news. We talked about the Wells Theatre reopening quickly after flooding, the Great Bridge in Chesapeake getting stuck open again in the heat, and one of my favorite local history stories yet: Portsmouth’s Richard Dale, who was captured by the British five times and escaped all five. We also revealed last week’s “Where in Tidewater” answer, Fort Monroe, and shared why it’s such a powerful place in regional and national history, from Edgar Allan Poe to its role as "Freedom’s Fortress." We also highlighted an important Virginia Beach safety reminder that stormwater ponds, ditches, drains, and channels are not safe play areas, especially during and after rain, and shared the city’s reporting line for concerns. On top of that, we ran through the week’s weather outlook, previewed a few upcoming local events like Tidewater Horror Con, the Neptune Fall Wine Festival, and several 9/11 memorial events around Hampton Roads, and wrapped with a new “Where in Tidewater” mystery pointing listeners toward a vanished coastal community at the southern tip of Virginia Beach.

This week on Tidewater Talk, we caught up on a little local news and a lot of Coastal Virginia life. We talked about a strange case involving red-light tickets in Virginia Beach tied to a car that had already been sold, then shifted into a health update after the Virginia Department of Health confirmed human cases of West Nile virus in Virginia Beach. We also shared practical mosquito precautions, compared notes on recent summer illnesses, and, as always, mixed in a few very real and very funny personal stories along the way. We also dug into one of Tidewater’s more memorable local quirks: Norfolk’s iconic mermaids. I shared how the whole public art tradition actually grew out of Chicago’s famous cow parade before becoming a lasting symbol of Norfolk, complete with an official mermaid trail. We wrapped with a weather update featuring dangerous heat, storm chances later in the week, this week’s location riddle centered on Fort Monroe, and a roundup of Labor Day weekend events including concerts, fireworks, the Super Girl Surf Festival, a local car show, and Norfolk’s upcoming Neighborhood Expo and Uplift Awards.