In Hampton Roads, a marriage license costs $30 and a Justice of the Peace union another $50. An unassuming, idealistic and naïve man and woman can bind their lives together legally for the same price as dinner and a movie.

A relatively comprehensive and an extremely well-researched look back at the year that was, with allusions to what the future has in store for Norfolk.

We talked to Keep Norfolk Beautiful’s education manager about Norfolk’s (lack of) recycling laws, how the City helps you recycle, and what you *should do* with your old oysters and hazardous waste.

“What do you (Americans) think about us?” they would repeatedly ask me, which would invariably be followed by a sincere and deeply moving plea, “Please tell them that we are not terrorists.”

“It feels like I’m fighting a bear. I have no idea how bears fight, but one of us has to win. And it’s going to be me,” says 20-year-old mayoral hopeful Ryan Cooper.

Sure, shouting loudly that you want justice is not the most rational approach, nor the most elegant, but sometimes it is what people need. It is the democratic equivalent of running into the woods and screaming until your bones shake and you feel something intangible leave you.

For Hampton Roads, major High Speed Rail questions will confront us very, very soon. Are you ready to advance your druthers? If not, who will? As is always the case, we need to brush up and get ready.

WAVY-10 reported that a package at ORF tested positive for containing explosives. The package was safe.

MacArthur Center Station is an opportunity to invigorate Norfolk’s urban core and should serve as an upbeat force to our urban streetscape.

Who I’m voting for, why, and links to a number of newspaper endorsements, if you want to learn more about the candidates.