Hampton Roads water projects get stimulus boost

More than $21 million in water-related projects — much of it river dredging and harbor upgrades — are among the improvements in greater Hampton Roads to be funded with economic stimulus money, officials announced this week.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which released a list of civil works projects, said funds should be available almost immediately.

"We intend to quickly put these dollars into action," said Maj. Gen. Merdith "Bo" Temple, deputy commanding general for Civil and Emergency Operations.

In all, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has set aside $4.6 billion to the Corps for civil works projects around the country. Roughly two-thirds of that money goes for operation/maintenance or construction.

The Obama administration says the projects will create or keep about 57,400 direct jobs in the construction industry and another 64,000 jobs from firms that support or supply the construction business.

Included in the list is $868,000 for dredging Hampton Creek, restoring a 12-foot depth for barges and large commercial fishing vessels that have had difficulty navigating the area.

Various projects connected with the Norfolk harbor are slated to receive more than $10 million, including:

• $3 million for raising dikes at Craney Island as part of the dredged material management project
• $2.28 million to replace a spillway at Craney Island
• $2.03 million to construct breakwaters on the west shoreline of the Craney Island disposal facility to prevent continued erosion and improve water quality
• $130,000 to install safety rails and repair the Fort Norfolk sea wall
• $150,000 to repair storm damage to the Craney Island project office
• $950,000 to accomplish an environmental compliance initiative at Craney Island

In Smithfield, the Corps will spend $900,000 to dredge the Pagan River and restore the 6-foot maintenance depth. It serves the town of Smithfield and is used as a harbor of refuge and base of operations for Smithfield search and rescue.

For the Elizabeth River, $235,000 is set aside for construction of a wetlands restoration project in the drainage canal at Old Dominion University.

by Hugh Lessig of the Daily Press, excerpts from an article originally published on May 1, 2009

Simulation industry to face real world challenges

A lack of money and a lack of computer-savvy students stand in the way of growth.

BY HUGH LESSIG
February 3, 2009

NORFOLK - The modeling and simulation industry has great growth potential, but it faces political and educational challenges that are all too real, experts said Monday.

If industry executives sit on the sideline while Congress considers multibillion-dollar economic stimulus proposals they risk losing a financial lifeline, said U.S. Rep. Randy Forbes, R-Chesapeake, a fierce critic of the various rescue plans.

Meanwhile, colleges and universities must reach out to find the young computer scientists and math wizards who can grow the industry. One educator said the shortage of qualified people is a chronic problem.

The comments came at the 4th annual Modeling and Simulation Leadership Summit in downtown Norfolk. It brought together scores of professionals from the military, NASA Langley Research Center, major universities and companies such as Boeing, General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman.

The event was co-hosted by a congressional caucus devoted to the industry, which Forbes co-chairs. Addressing the conference over lunch, he said the industry must fight for every available dime.

"There is a debate and a dialogue that we must have in this country," he said, "or else everything you do in this room is going to be overshadowed."

The House of Representatives passed an $819 billion economic stimulus plan last week and President Barack Obama is urging the Senate to take up the matter. But Forbes — one of a handful of lawmakers who has rejected every bailout plan from day one — said the cost is so high it would equal the budgets for several major agencies.

"You need to be part of that debate," he said, "because it's going to be a very, very real part of your future, of what we do in modeling and simulation and the defense of this country for years to come."

Judging from the various panel discussions, modeling and simulation has moved well beyond its initial applications for the military, although that relationship helps to support the economy in Hampton Roads. The Virginia Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Center is located in Suffolk, as is the U.S. Joint Forces Command's Joint Warfighting Center.

Health care is a growing field, as surgeons use computer modeling to practice new or risky techniques. Steve Dawson, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School, said simulated training has been linked to fewer errors and lower rates of malpractice insurance.

Transportation is another applicable area. Dana Dickens, CEO and president of the Hampton Roads Partnership, said a computer model allowed policymakers to gauge the effectiveness of six major transportation projects in the region.

But when asked to name the biggest challenge to growing the industry, Dickens had a ready answer.

"Work force," he said.

Old Dominion University, which runs the modeling and simulation center, offers graduate degrees in modeling and simulation, but that is a rarity.

Georgia Tech recently established a division within its College of Computing that seeks to develop modeling and simulation experts. Richard Fujimoto, its founder, said there has been a steady decline of students entering the computer science field since the dot-com bubble burst nearly a decade ago.

"That trend," he said, "is only starting to bottom out."

Reprinted by permission of The Daily Press.

HamptonRoadsPerforms.org in the Media

	Bearing Drift blogger, Brian Kirwin, shares website with his readers whose comments will be used for website updates.
	WAVY TV adds website to featured links.

New website to rate and measure the progress of Hampton Roads
by Hugh Lessig

A virtual report card for the region aims to spur discussion and provide a wider window onto Hampton Roads.

From traffic to health care, Kaine says, the region will be able to hold itself accountable.

The press conference convened on the top floor of the tallest building in Virginia, but organizers had an even broader view in mind.

Hampton Roads officials joined Gov. Timothy M. Kaine Tuesday to roll out a new web site – a high-tech, data-heavy answer to a deceptively simple question: Just how is Hampton Roads doing these days?

The site is called "Hampton Roads Performs," and it rates the region on everything from work force quality to obesity, from personal income to public transit. Even that perennial sore spot – traffic congestion – gets its own spot in cyberspace.

"This is going to be a platform for us to measure our progress, to empower our leaders, to empower our citizens," said Dana Dickens, president and CEO of the Hampton Roads Partnership, which launched the site. Dickens addressed the media from the penthouse atop the 38-story Westin Virginia Beach Town Center.

The site is built along the same lines as a state web site, Virginia Performs, although certain features are unique to southeastern Virginia. For instance, the Hampton Roads site includes a section on ports and maritime issues.

It gives web surfers the ten-thousand-foot view with a simple arrow that points up or down next to a topic. An upward arrow indicates improvement; a downward arrow shows things are getting worse.

But the site also provides an opportunity to get behind the numbers, offering context and comparing Hampton Roads with other regions in Virginia and similar urban areas around the nation.

Take traffic. Every political leader – and every commuter -- knows that Virginia has struggled find ways to ease congestion in Hampton Roads. The web site gives traffic a "maintaining" grade -- noted by a sideways arrow – perhaps appropriate for a General Assembly that has been stuck in neutral.

The data behind that grade contains mixed news.

Compared to similar metropolitan areas across the country, Hampton Roads does pretty well – it has the second-lowest average commute time, better than areas such as Jacksonville, Fla., or the Raleigh/Cary, N.C. area.

But compared to other areas of Virginia, it has one of the longest commute times – a whopping 25 percent longer than Harrisonburg, Va.

It also contains inside-baseball stuff that the average person might not know. For example, Hampton Roads is one the three leading areas of the country for the modeling and simulation industry. The other two are Orlando, Fla., and Huntsville, Ala.

The web site received a good grade from Gov. Kaine, who called it a way for the region to hold itself accountable.

"I'm a passionate believer that the way you make a difference is by setting concrete and measurable goals," he said, "and letting citizens understand what your goals are."

The web site is www.hamptonroadsperforms.org.

Newport News and HRMPO acting regionally

In a Daily Press article by Sabne Hirschauler on December 19, 2008, it was reported that the Hampton Roads Metropolitan Organization* voted to shift $3 million in Newport News light rail dollars to the city of Norfolk to cover current cost overruns as well as $1.5 million to Virginia Beach.

Newport News had approximately $10.2 million in federal grant money for its light-rail study, which would have paid for preliminary engineering reports and environmental studies. Because of Newport News’ slim chances to get light rail anytime soon, Mayor Joe Frank agreed to the shift of funds so it could be used for the region. This is a long-term vision for a regional light rail system for a regional metropolitan area.

According to online commenters: when southside cities of Norfolk and Virginia Beach have a functioning line, then the peninsula and Portsmouth should connect. Light rail would be successful region-wide because of its connectivity to a stable/viable light rail system. These things have to be done in order and in good measure.

* Federal regulations require that urbanized areas throughout the United States have a Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) to conduct a continuing, cooperative and comprehensive transportation planning process. Urbanized areas are defined as areas with a population of 200,000 or greater.

For the complete Daily Press article, click HERE.