Andrew Plunket Beirne III (and I always forgot it was one t, not two to his derision) was and is one of the fixtures of my life, …
Adrienne Arsht Resilience, Strong Towns and Disasters
WASHINGTON, D.C. - We all like to be prepared. It's the Boy Scout motto, Be Prepared. And what does that mean? The story with …
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Living History at Virginia’s Mattaponi Church
KING AND QUEEN COUNTY - Mattaponi Church hardly looks like the typical rural historic Southern Baptist church. The …
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The Atom-Age Chip & Joanna, Henry & Ottalie Williams
One of my favorite architectural books is Old American Houses, 1700-1850 by Henry Lionel and Ottalie K. Williams. Henry and …
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Singapore’s Raffles, Another Once Threatened Lee Statue
SINGAPORE - If a body politic is looking at how to move a struggling city from poverty to riches in a short time, Singapore is the …
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Modern Crooners: Some 7 Top Standards Singers
Last year, I put together a list of often-overlooked singers of American standards. It was such a joy to find new interpretations, …
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Williamsburg’s 150 Years of Fighting Off Fenced off Streets
WILLIAMSBURG - Colonial Williamsburg is at it again with the notion that somehow it can cordon off a public street, charge …
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The Useful Rural Economics of Dr. Wilson Gee of UVA
My father's discussions of life at the University of Virginia in the mid 1950s often involved parties and social life, and the …
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Radio Orange, Time Travel, and Great Radio
ORANGE - Back in the early 1980s, I went to boarding school in the Virginia country. As typical of so many 14-year-olds, I did not …
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Ivan Illich’s Convivial Legacy
Austrian thinker and Catholic priest Ivan Illich, largely forgotten today, predicted and legitimized a critique of capitalism …
Texas History With the Thaddeus Bell Family Scrapbook
My window into the history of Texas in the late 19th century and early 20th century is a scrapbook from my my Bell ancestors. It …
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Tell Me What Is Right; Persistent Negative Views Hurt Cities
When locals are negative about the economic future of their own towns, watch out. The negative stories and "memes" that are told …
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Sensible Approaches to Passenger Rail in the U.S.
Every few years, federal, state and local planners lay out outlandish plans for high speed rail networks that never seem to go …
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Practical Proven Railbuses Often Overlooked
Between Norfolk and Virginia Beach, my late grandmother remembers taking a railbus shuttle that ran on the now abandoned tracks …
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The Record of Rich Conaty, New York Broadcaster
NEW YORK - Rich Conaty, one of the national treasures of American music history, died Dec. 30, 2016. Conaty, 62, was perhaps the …
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Rural Houses, Real Challenge, Royal Opportunity
The depopulating of America's countryside is an odd trend in an era of locavore foodies, environmental consciousness and a …
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Anglican Devotionals in Ralph Wormeley’s Colonial Virginia Library
There is an unfortunate notion that the elite leaders of colonial Virginia were somehow deists or agnostics, and that …
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CIA Declassifies a Norfolk, Virginia Garden Dedication
NORFOLK - Recently, the Central Intelligence Agency declassified a school garden re-dedication from 1979 in Norfolk, Virginia, as …
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The History of the Southgate Lohman Map of Eastern Virginia
VIRGINIA BEACH - The recent edition of Virginia Living magazine includes a feature on the history of the Southgate Lohman map of …
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Post-Colonial Structures Offer Unique Benefits
The subject of Brexit and the European Union offers an enormous opportunity for the U.K. and Commonwealth, despite the obvious …
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Honeywell, Star Wars and the Future
ELLENTON -Heading into get coffee at Dunkin Donuts, I decided to go in, rather than drive through. In Florida, all morning fast …
The U.S., Tangier & Those Chinese Islands
TANGIER, VA - If ever there were an issue that would let us see where the United States is compared to China, let us compare the …
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Modern Crooners & Standards List 2016
Like David's Psalms, America's standards are our gift to the world. My father, who saw many a great standard sung at the …
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Edward Bagby of King and Queen, Killed Battle of Crater
In a box of family photographs, I have what is perhaps the only daguerreotype image of my cousin Edward Bagby, who died in 1864 in …
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Re-reading William Whyte’s The Organization Man
There are a handful of non-fiction books I come back to again and again. These are sorts of books that each time you go back to …
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How an Anglican Church Bootstrapped Virgin Records
LONDON, U.K. - The life story of Richard Branson hinges on many small events, his decision to go into publishing, into launching a …
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Organization Social Media Guidelines
Getting volunteers or employees in far flung offices, particularly ones that do not have a news background, to adhere to style …
Video: History for DaySpring Episcopal Center
DaySpring Episcopal Center is the home of the Diocese of Southwest Florida. Located on the Manatee River, it is a camp and …
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Graphic Identity for Diocesan Events
Below are some designs for yearly conventions, either by myself or specifically commissioned through a key illustrator freelancer. …
Relaunch of a Non-Profit Magazine
In 2014, I relaunched The Southern Cross for the Diocese of Southwest Florida. It began in 1970 as a simple newsletter, then …
A Place, a Campus, an Institution of Excellence
Why is it that you go to some places, and things seem right, and others seem wrong. You go into a restaurant, and look around, and …
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An Appreciation for Jerry Weintraub
There is so much to appreciate about the late Jerry Weintraub, who died Monday at age 77. He had many careers, including Elvis …
Fighting for Our Institutions & Preventing the Next Sweet Briar
The effort to save Sweet Briar College succeeded; it has been a wake up that a well-funded, well-respected and well-financed …
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Bet on Cumulus Radio? Seeking Alpha Pro Article
This May, covered the future of Cumulus, the ailing radio company that owns some of the greatest stations in the U.S., and …
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History of Econo-Travel, Now Econo Lodge
In May of 1969, if you were anywhere around the intersection of Virginia Beach Boulevard and Military Highway in Norfolk, you …
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A Modern Bill of Rights, or Obvious Rights We Have Lost
In the current climate, implicit rights that were once easily accepted have fallen by the wayside. Two decades ago, if we had …
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Check in at Virginia Beach’s Duck-In
VIRGINIA BEACH - Keeping the memory alive of my grandparents and uncle's restaurant, Duck-In, continues to be lots of fun. The …
Prak Sisters & The Killing Fields
A Profile of the Prak Sisters: How the Praks survived a living hell and bought the American dream – a hair salon Published …
Kanapali Gardens
In Gainesville, a peaceful day at Kanapali Gardens. Here, a view of the lilypads. Do visit FloridaSnapshot.com for more of my …
Frank Lloyd Wright in Florida
Views of Frank Lloyd Wright's campus in Lakeland. …