Top Doc of Urology: Dr. Eric Darby
Dr. Eric Darby always knew he wanted to be a surgeon. He found the operating room exciting, and he loved the idea of being able to help patients almost immediately. During his medical school rotations, he became intrigued with urology. The doctors seemed to love what they did, and they were genuinely happy to come [...]
Top Doc of Urology: Dr. John S. Liu
There’s a lot to be said for environmental influences. Dr. John S. Liu is keenly aware of this. He comes from a family that is in the medical profession and, as a result, grew up in a setting where he was surrounded by a lot of people practicing medicine—both family members and their colleagues. He enjoyed [...]
Theater Season Preview
Erin Matteson, marketing/publicity chair on the Board of Directors for Little Theatre of Norfolk, summed up live performances best when she said, “You never know what people are going through during their day. So just to have a few hours where you can step out of reality into this magical world of theater and suspend [...]
2019 CoVa Idea Houses
Thoughtful decisions about our homes can lead to happier and even healthier living. And Idea Homes provide owners and buyers with lots of food for thought. Top tier magazines like Southern Living, Sunset, House Beautiful—and, of course, Coastal Virginia—embrace the sponsorship of these concept homes for many reasons, including to celebrate regional lifestyles in three [...]
Community Embraces La Brioche Bakery in Norfolk’s NEON District
Courtesy of Downtown Norfolk Council “People here are really kind,” says Parisian-born Jacqueline Devulder of La Brioche, her accent as buttery rich as her husband Yvan’s croissants. “They’re very supportive with small businesses.” Proof abounds. Soon after the bakery’s March opening, a regular strode in and hung a photo he’d taken of the Champs-Élysées on [...]
2 New Tapas Bars Coming to the Coastal Virginia Cuisine Scene
Kenny Sloane, chef-owner of Fin Seafood in Newport News, is as keen with wordplay as he is with cuisine. To wit: Fin and Tonic, a tapas bar and speakeasy he’s planning in North Suffolk that casually merges the “Tapas Tuesdays” of his award-winning restaurant and its elevated cocktail program led by Robert Gregory (who will [...]
Outer Banks Fall Has it All with These Events
Ask almost anyone who lives on the Outer Banks what their favorite time of the year is, and there’s a good chance the answer will be fall. The heat of the summer has backed off a bit, the ocean water temperature stays pleasant through Columbus Day and there is lots to do. September through November [...]
BoBo’s Fine Chicken Plates Nostalgic Southern Cuisine
Usually when entering a fried chicken joint, the first thing to hit you is the fragrant aromas of frying oil and poultry. When you walk through the double doors of BoBo’s Fine Chicken, however, you smell, well, nothing. The retro-style eatery is described in one of its dining room plaques as operating room-clean, but don’t [...]
Senior Living Communities Make Residents Feel at Home
It’s been said that home is where the heart is. So, when an individual or couple feels the time is right to move to an independent or assisted living community, they should follow their heart and choose a place where they will feel at home. There are a number of really great options in Coastal [...]
52 is the New 25: Hampton Native Transforms Body with Fitness and Diet
“Like Superman.” That’s how Carl Parker describes the way he feels when he wakes up each morning. “I had a friend send me a text and say, ‘I am not going to be surprised on the day you tell me that you open up the door and fly out.’” Flying may not yet be a [...]
Preventives and Treatments for the Most Common Cancers in Men
Cancer does not discriminate. Whether these malignancies are caused by genetics, environmental exposure or simply bad luck, the road to recovery is harrowing and unfortunately, not always guaranteed. Men are particularly susceptible to a handful of cancers that carry a history of high death tolls. Today’s oncologists are working to change that as they break [...]
Coastal Virginia is the Ideal Destination for Meetings, Banquets and More
Coastal Virginia has so much to offer visitors. It’s no wonder that people flock here to take advantage of our beaches, the area’s history, our entertainment venues, prime food choices and an amazing list of other unique things to see and do. If you’re planning on booking a meeting or corporate event here, the biggest decision [...]
Local Jeweler Makes King Neptune’s Crown for Neptune Festival
Photo by David Uhrin At the end of September, the Neptune Festival brings hundreds of thousands of visitors to the Virginia Beach Oceanfront for a seaside celebration. Neptune is a nexus for coastal culture and benevolent beach life where the region shows its devotion for the ocean. Its Grand Parade on Atlantic Avenue is a [...]
Private Schools Use Innovative Technology to Enhance Education
Technology today is being designed to help people do things better and faster, and local private schools are certainly taking notice. Through the use of technology, private school teachers are better able to customize the learning process for their students through in-depth analysis of learning habits and student collaboration. “The schools that many of us [...]
How Mindfulness Makes You Feel Better, Healthier and Happier
The term mindfulness gets a lot of play these days. The concept has come far since flower children introduced it to American pop culture in the 1960s. Today, it alludes to a groundbreaking new science of wellbeing and stands at the center of a medical renaissance. “Advancements in the field of neuroscience have led to [...]
Chincoteague is Changing for the Better
On Friday, June 21 Chincoteague Chamber of Commerce Director Evelyn Shotwell was bustling around downtown’s Robert N. Reed Waterfront Park preparing to launch the town’s new 50 Years of Love summer concert series. It was late afternoon and Main Street was packed. By the time the band kicked off at 7 p.m., hundreds would be [...]
5 Best Camping Spots in Coastal Virginia
As the unbearable summer heat fades into refreshing evenings complemented by crickets chirping and frogs croaking, one of our favorite activities is embarking in a good old-fashioned family camping trip. No matter where you reside in Coastal Virginia, you don’t have to travel far to find an ideal spot to pitch a tent, start a campfire [...]
PlantBar at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront
Bailey Ryan is on the forefront of the creative plant industry. Her trendy Oceanfront workshop fosters education and imagination and has sparked a resurgence in modern green spaces. PlantBar’s story, however, is also rooted in the passion and entrepreneurship of Ryan’s parents, Kelle and Elizabeth. The Ryans’ interest in greenery began about 10 years ago. [...]
Destroying Things Relieves Stress at Destruction Room in Virginia Beach
Photos courtesy of Destruction Room "The number one thing people like to smash is printers," says Aaron Pope, the co-owner of Destruction Room, a destination place for folks who want to get their catharsis on. Destruction Room opened last year, Coastal Virginia's first so-called "anger room." Housed in an otherwise nondescript, wooden-boarded room off of [...]
Hangry’s Food Truck Sets Up Shop in Virginia Beach
Some food trucks in Coastal Virginia are shifting into permanent digs. One of the latest is Hangry’s, setting up shop in a sunny little spot in Thalia Bay Shoppes. Its toque-wearing calavera logo with knife and fork “crossbones” heralds a Mexican inclination, and its tacos and breakfast burritos curb your appetite, along with shredded pork [...]
How Push Comedy Theater’s Brad McMurran Became a King of Comedy
Saturday night in Norfolk’s downtown NEON Arts District often finds stand-up comic and founder of Norfolk’s Push Comedy Theater Brad McMurran leading his celebrated improv troupe through a rendition of his smash-hit The Unusual Suspects: An Improvised Murder Mystery. The show has sold out at the 90-seat theater for four years straight, was picked up last year by [...]
Heart-Healthy and Delicious Recipes You’ll Love
Ask any marathon runner: the hardest part of most challenges is mental. And that includes substantial changes to lifestyle like the way we cook and eat. But if you or your doctor has determined that you need to clean things up in the dining department, think of it as a cause for celebration, not deprivation. [...]
Community Leaders Look for Ways to Prevent Opioid Addiction
Dr. Jonathan Strand, M.D., an interventional physiatrist at Atlantic Orthopaedic Specialists, has been practicing medicine in Coastal Virginia for two years. During that time, he has talked to patients about spinal cord stimulators a couple of times a week—every week. The medical device, used to treat back and leg pain, has been around for a [...]
Hamilton Perkins Collection: 5 Unisex Bags to Buy
Plastic water bottles, billboard vinyl and pineapple leaf fiber. Those are the three ingredients to the rapid success of local handbag designer Hamilton Perkins. After spending nearly a decade in the finance and retail arenas, Perkins decided to use his business skills to make a major impact on the world, notably to reimagine recycled materials [...]
A Mid-Century Modern Home Reimagined in Virginia Beach
Make a couple of turns off Mill Dam Road in Virginia Beach and you might just think you’ve arrived in Palm Springs. But, no, you will have stumbled onto Woodhurst, Coastal Virginia’s premier enclave of Mid-Century Modern homes built back in the day by Oliver & Smith. You know the look even if you don’t [...]
A Parent’s Guide to Meal-Prepping
Five p.m. found me dashing from my home-office to the car, fumbling with the ignition switch as I told Google to call my 12-year-old son and glanced at the rearview mirror in hopes that, please Lord, I hadn’t (yet again) forgotten to comb my hair. By the time he answered some 15 rings later—“Yellllo?"—I’d rolled [...]
Meal Planning with Food Sensitivities
Photos by Ashlee Glen Sometimes it feels like we live in a time of almost total food-confusion. Science keeps changing its mind about what is healthy—and what was good for you last year might very well kill you now. New “superfoods” with sensational health benefits make the news on a regular basis and suddenly show [...]
Portsmouth Craftsman Creates Robotic Artwork with Repurposed Objects
You could say David Ratcliff lives by the R’s found in the hierarchy of waste: reduce, reuse, recycle and robots. Yes, robots. Ratcliff repurposes, restyles and reimagines miscellaneous materials and found objects for his line of Ratbots—skillfully sculptured artwork made of metal, aluminum, steel, glass and jewelry—and has created everything from rambunctious robots to a [...]
