The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star, Norfolk, VA

Nelms Ridge

AFTER 16 YEARS of city living, Jerome and Mary Slade wanted a slower change of pace. "Norfolk is a busy place, and we decided it was time to slow down," said Jerome, who formerly lived a ranch-style home in that city.

Rose & Womble Honors Essay Contest Winners

Rose & Womble Realty Co. presented scholarships this summer to four local high school students who won the company's fourth annual essay contest. The "Home is ..." essay scholarship contest was open to high school seniors in Hampton Roads and northeastern North Carolina. The winners are Joshua Garbin of Ocean Lakes High School, planning to attend Tidewater Community College, and Tulip Majumdar of Ocean Lakes High School, planning to attend the University of Virginia.

Home Valuation Code of Conduct and the Market

LAST WEEK we examined the new Home Valuation Code of Conduct and how it affects a home's appraisal, the appraisals and the appraisal process itself. This week let's take a look at industry experts ' concern about the code's impact on the housing market and its ability to recover.

Home Still Can Take Care of You in Your Golden Years

Somewhere along the line growing up, as I watched neighbors and my own folks aging gracefully in the homes they'd occupied for years, I gleaned a bit of advice: Treat your home right, and it will take care of you in your golden years. This wisdom, instilled by those who'd lived through the Depression, World War II and a recession or two, wasn't lost on young ears.

24-Inch Precision Ball Level

Race and Redemption

PEOPLE SAY: Why are we still talking about Crowley and Gates? And then they commence to talk for 15 minutes about Crowley and Gates. The reason we persist is because the confrontation between a black professor, Henry Louis Gates Jr., and a white cop, Sgt. James Crowley, is a mother lode of metaphor.

Slushie Express

The product Back to Basics Slushie Express, a mini-blender that makes 16-ounce frozen smoothies and slushies. The promise Make real slushies at home. Fun, fast and easy to use!

Headlines Shout Good News About Housing Market

IT WASN'T TOO long ago that we were bombarded with negative headlines about the housing market day after day . Based on the headlines from the past few weeks, those days may be long gone. Consider this from The Virginian-Pilot 's July 18 front page: "Home sales jump 9 percent over year ago." Below was this subhead: "June's bounce is the region's first year-over-year increase since the recession began."

Museum Puts Fans Face to Face with 115 Wax Celebs

By Sue Manning The Associated Press

August Starts with the Letter ...

Stretch out on the couch after lunch, stomach full. Lay that book aside on the coffee table, and click off the reading lamp. Close your eyes and drift.

Stuart Chesson

By Victoria Hecht The Virginian-Pilot

With Scores Up, Portsmouth Poised for Full Accreditation

By Cheryl Ross The Virginian-Pilot

Two Commuter Bus Routes to Be Cut Back

By Catherine Carlock The Virginian-Pilot

Odu Sets Up Defensive Line to Protect New Stadium

THIS IS WHY you can't have nice things. Because if you have nice things, people try to ruin them.

How Does Faith Affect Physical Healing?

The Washington Post Do religious or spiritual practices help people recover from - or cope with - illness and injury? Such questions were the subject of a discussion between Sally Quinn, a moderator of The Washington Post's "On Faith," and Christina Puchalski, a professor of medicine and health sciences at George Washington University School of Medicine and executive director of the George Washington Institute for Spirituality and Health.

Web Site Offers Refuge to Seekers and Doubters

WITH everything going on in the world right now, it's a small wonder I noticed the tiny news article last week. "For Mormons in faith crisis, Web site a refuge," read the clip's headline. It concerned a new Web site, www.StayLDS.com, that is trying to provide comfort and support to disillusioned members or former members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, more commonly known as the Mormon church.

Suffolk Center Announces Arts Season

The Virginian-Pilot SUFFOLK

Foreman Field has 56 Miles of This Stuff, and You'll Like What It Can Do

By Rich Radford The Virginian-Pilot

Prop House Is Going, Going ... Not Quite Gone

By Sandy Cohen The Associated Press

Idea of Building Racetrack has Poppy Fans Blowing Gasket

By Ann M. Simmons Los Angeles Times