How the rest of the country sees us matters.

Every day companies consider relocating to Hampton Roads. I was in a meeting this morning where someone from Norfolk’s Department of Economic Development told us about a few exciting companies that are considering calling the greater Norfolk metro area home. Look, the economy is tough all over, so even if we can offer a company the most fertile ground for growing its business, that’s not always enough. People have to want to be here.  When folks across America hear the words Hampton Roads or when they see Norfolk/Virginia Beach on a list of statistics or airports, what do they think of? And where are their opinions formed?

Most likely, our local news that becomes national headlines goes a long way toward forming their perspective on the 757.

As such, I did Google News searches for Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake and Portsmouth. Here’s what I found. All of these stories were from the first or second page of the search. It may not be sexy, but it is what it is.

Money Cometh to Me Now!

This story wasn’t from the Google search, but from reading the New York Times Magazine this past weekend.

“I’m saved, and I’m going to heaven… And I got money in my pocket because I believe in wealth.”

I have no comment on this story except for a big exhausting sigh that makes me want to take a nap all day. The New York Times Magazine is one of the finest in the nation, and this is the story they run about Norfolk? Let’s just move on.

Va elementary school principal resigns amid investigation into missing money from fundraiser

This from The Republic in Columbus, Indiana, via the Associated Press.

I wonder, are Norfolk schools doing anything innovative that could garner the same amount of inches in The Republic? Or maybe they’re handling this scandal in such a graceful way as to warrant a follow-up story?

Is This Really How You Weigh A Giraffe?

OMG he's cute, and so are we. (Pic | VA Zoo)

“A 1.8m tall giraffe was born at the Virginia Zoo in Norfolk, and in order to get all her measurables (height, weight) the zoo hilariously had a beefy man carry the baby zoo on a scale. It seems so calm!”

This is awesome. The zoo consistently gives the area positive PR. Some of the best in the business locally.

Hampton Roads Bankshares Announces Sale of Assets of Gateway Insurance Services, Inc. to Bankers Insurance, LLC

This from the Wall Street Journal‘s MarketWatch. Without knowing more about these assets it’s hard to say if this is good news or not, but what is good is that Hampton Roads is spreading its brand to an important demographic.

Coast Guard, local agencies participate in multi-agency cargo inspection

From Media-Newswire. Reading this made Hampton Roads feel like an episode from season 2 of The Wire.

Sailor accused in Norfolk housing-area shooting

NavyTimes lets us know that “The woman accused of shooting another woman and a Norfolk Police officer at a Naval Station Norfolk housing area early Sunday morning is an active-duty sailor assigned to Norfolk Naval Shipyard, police and the Navy said Monday.”

Bad PR for the Navy is bad PR for the region. Move someplace where sailors shoot at cops? No thanks.

(I know, that’s oversimplifying things, but lasting opinions on cities have been built on much less.)

Let me pause for a moment to wonder, WHERE ARE ALL THE POSITIVE STORIES?!!? GREAT THINGS ARE HAPPENING HERE! WHO NEEDS TO BE DOING THEIR JOB BETTER?

Virginia is going to be making headlines for how it handles this Uranium issue for months to come. (Pic | periodictable.com)

Uranium debate sparks letters to Va. localities

This AP story was reprinted all over the place, from my hometown paper in Danbury, CT, all the way up to Canada and points beyond. What did they learn?

“Virginia Uranium is seeking to mine a 119-million-pound uranium deposit in Pittsylvania County, the seventh-largest known deposit of the radioactive ore in the world.” But first a 1982 state ban on mining the ore must be reversed.

Ahead of the Bell: Texas awards Medicaid contracts

From MSN Money: “Virginia Beach, Va.-based Amerigroup will receive around $1 billion” and “should see increases in revenue, earnings and enrollment after winning contracts in Texas, according to a Citi analyst.”

Okay, that’s a positive one.

Virginia accepting applications for Chesapeake Bay education, restoration activities

Dominion Virginia Power Replacing, Upgrading Thousands of Neighborhood Transformers

“Dominion Virginia Power has launched a $20 million program to pro-actively replace older electric transformers before they experience problems, thus assuring higher reliability for thousands of customers.” Okay, so this is from Dominion Power itself, but when you hear news do you take the time to check the source?

And then there’s this bear, in a story cited to KTHV in Little Rock, Arkansas.