Monthly Archives: June 2000

Lexington Builds Common Ground on Growth

By Pat Ford
Pew Center

When Pete Baniak began covering development for the Lexington Herald-Leader, he never thought it would lead to a second career in pizza delivery. But that’s what happened when he tried to find the common ground in the divisive public debate over growth in “the Bluegrass,” the area around Lexington.

The eight-part series, “Common Ground, Deciding how the Bluegrass Should Grow,” took an extensive look at the history of development in the region, ideas for limiting growth and the pros and cons of a plan to allow local government to purchase development rights for farmland.  Read more

Stormy Weather

By Pat Ford
Pew Center

Just as sure as the sunshine and warm weather will bring tourists to Virginia Beach, residents of the Hampton Roads area of Virginia know, it will also bring storms, hurricanes and, by August, the threat of major floods.

Situated at the junction of the Atlantic Ocean and the Chesapeake Bay, the area is extremely vulnerable to storms. And for The Virginian Pilot, bad weather is a major story. 

The paper doesn’t even wait for a storm to hit. Just before hurricane season starts in earnest, The Virginian-Pilot runs a special section with tips for staying safe, protecting your home and, across the double-truck of its center page, a map of the entire area, color-coded to show which neighborhoods are most likely to flood and by how much. Read more