Skipjack
March/April 2024
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
President’s Letter
Civic League Meetings
Civic League Membership
Shamrock Support
Neighborhood News
Spring Fling
Cape Kids Scholarship
Flag Fundraiser
Clean the Bay Day
Treasure’s Report
Cape Story Civic League News
Shore Drive News
PRESIDENT'S LETTER
Hello Cape Story Residents and Civic Association Members!
The weather is finally warming up again, and hopefully some April showers will help get rid of all the pollen that’s covering EVERYTHING right now! But that’s a small price to pay to live in a neighborhood so full of mature trees! These trees provide not only shade, but help absorb rainfall and tidal waters, and offer homes to many furry and winged friends. This is one of the features that makes Cape Story so desirable, so please be mindful when trimming!
We’re ramping up again for Civic League events, the next one being Spring Fling in the neighborhood park on May 19th- great family fun and food- save the date! If you are interested in helping with or coordinating a neighborhood activity, please get in touch with any one of the officers.
We’ve mentioned this in the past, but as a reminder, CSBTS is a member of the Virginia Beach Council of Civic Organizations, which reorganized last year and now has strong representation with city council and departments. The website is https://www.vbcco.org/, and offers links to city-related publications, calendars, plans and contacts- worth a visit if you are looking for city-related updates!
Looking forward to the warm beach days coming up- as always, be careful heading in and out of the neighborhood and crossing Shore Drive as tourist traffic increases!
Best Regards,
Diana
GENERAL INFO:
Cape Story is involved with several formal Virginia Beach groups whose actions may affect our area. Officers report on the latest updates at our monthly Civic League meetings- 2nd Monday of the month at 7:30 PM- Lynnhaven Congregational United Church of Christ (except July & August). The public is welcome to attend.
· CAC- Citizen Advisory Commission - 2nd Precinct - meets second Wednesday of the month at 7:30 PM- Volunteer Rescue Squad #14 Conference Room 740 Virginia Beach Blvd.
· BAC- Bayfront Advisory Commission -reports on bayfront activity/events/plans/building- meets on third Thursday of the month at 3:30 PM- Ocean Park Rescue Squad - Shore Drive. The next meeting is April 18th.
· VBCCO- Virginia Beach Council of Civic Organizations- currently meets monthly on designated Wednesdays at Bow Creek Recreation Center at 6:30 PM- 3427 Club House Road, with guest speakers to be announced. The next meeting is April 17th.
Membership Online Dues Payment: https://capestory.org/membership/ or Venmo @CapeStory
NextDoor: capestoryva.nextdoor.com
Email: csbts.president@gmail.com
Website: https://capestory.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CapeStoryByTheSea/
CIVIC LEAGUE MEETINGS
Civic League Meetings are held the 2nd Monday of each Month.
Where: Lynnhaven Colony Congregational Church, UCC Community Center (2217 W. Great Neck Rd.)
When: 7:30pm
All are welcome. This is a great opportunity to hear and share information about current events that effect our community!
CIVIC LEAGUE MEMBERSHIP
Don't miss out on any of the information! Membership benefits include emails of Cape Story events, fliers, and newsletter; voting rights on neighborhood decisions, and extra goodies at some events. Please take a minute to join the civic league if you haven't already. Your $15 membership supports the many events sponsored by the civic league such as:
- Spring Fling
- July 4th Parade and Brunch
- Oyster Roast
- Thanksgiving and Christmas families
- Cape Santa in the Park
- Cookies for the Troops
- Civic League Signs
- Civic League December Social
You can join in a variety of ways:
- Online Dues Payment: https://capestory.org/membership/
- Printing and completing the form in the newsletter and:
- mail it to: P. O. Box 700, Virginia Beach, Virginia 23451
- drop it at any CSBTS officers' house
- bring to a monthly civic league meeting
- Venmo @CapeStory.
Shamrock Support
The Shamrock Half/Full Marathon water stop volunteers (Cape Story by the Sea and Cox High School). Not pictured: Kathy McGinness and Robyn House. We also had volunteers Susan Markel and Maggie Arndt volunteer help with another water stop. A great time was had by all.
Neighborhood News
The public can provide input regarding the VB city budget before the City Council votes on this on May 4th. Details are posted on the city website here: https://budget.virginiabeach.gov/city-budget/proposed-budget
- The city also provides details on the current proposed budget: https://budget.virginiabeach.gov/city-budget/proposed-budget
- The home page for the VB site also provides an option to subscribe to the city's newsletter to "Be in the Know"- https://virginiabeach.gov/
Spring Plant Sale
Saturday, Apr 13, 2024, 09:00 AM
Lynnhaven Colony Congregational United Church of Christ
Spring Fling 2024
Sunday, May 19th 4-7pm (Rain Date May 26th)
Bounce House
Cotton Candy
Games
Face Painting
Food and Drinks
If you are interested in helping, please contact Sean LaCroix at slacroix@tcc.edu
Cape Kids Scholarship
The 2024 Cape Kids Junior Civic League scholarship is now open to any high school seniors that have lived at least a year in Cape Story or Cape Henry Shores. The online application is available at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeH0_KUxpRlD8hAJ2lII0gNjt8Fj2GKpmDBBlFqPppR6jAt4g/viewform?usp=sf_link and we are accepting applications through June 15th.
Thank you!
Cape Kids Junior Civic League
Flag Fundraiser
At the April Civic League Meeting, the membership voted to install American Flags along Shore Dr. on the landside. Thanks to Gary Forest and friends the flags will be installed within the month. Each street has the opportunity to sponsor their flag. If you or your neighbors are interested in sponsoring your street's flag for a $30 donation, please reach out to any of the officers.
CLEAN THE BAY DAY
The 2024 Annual Clean the Bay Day is fast approaching. This year’s event will be held on Saturday, June 1 from 9 a.m. to 12 noon Let’s gather at the CSBTS Park on the Bayberry Street side. We will be on the main path cleaning from Kendall Street to Great Neck Road.
Treasurer's Report
Ending Balances as of April 1, 2024:
Checking Account $12,424.48
Money Market $2,878.19
Total Balance $15,302.67
VBCCO
The Cape Story Civic Association is an official member of the Virginia Beach Council of Civic Organizations (VBCCO). Under new leadership, the VBCCO’s mission is to educate the city civic leagues and homeowner associations by monitoring the city’s planning and council sessions and resolutions and serving as a voice for the communities. Each group has two voting members (officers) who attend the VBCCO general meetings, but ALL residents are welcome to request to be added to their e-mail list for notifications. The VBCCO website contains a multitude of information on city government happenings- please visit www.vbcco.org for more information.
Next meeting: April 17th at 6:30pm at Bow Creek Rec. Center (3427 Club House Road)
SHORE DRIVE NEWS
HRT Route 35 returns May 12th with a 30 minute interval scheduled!
Route 35 provides seasonal service between Atlantic Avenue / 3rd Street and Shore Drive / Pleasure House Road in Virginia Beach. Route 35 will service the Oceanfront, First Landing State Park, North End beaches, Chesapeake Bay beaches, and Bayfront restaurants on Shore Drive.
Click here for more information and to see the buses on a map when in service Route 35 – Hampton Roads Transit (gohrt.com)
HAWK Update
The High intensity Activate crossWalK being proposed for the intersection of North Great Neck Road and the Cape Henry Trail has been fully funded to the tune of $450,000. Engineering design has started and construction is planned for sometime in 2025. Stay tuned, there will be public information meetings sometime this year.
HRT Route 35
HAWK Update
NEXT SKIPJACK NEWSLETTER May/June 2024
If you have news, pictures, stories, events, or information that you would like to include in the next Skipjack newsletter, please contact:
Chris Cohoon christencohoon@gmail.com
Kim La Pointe la_pointe@msn.com