On this slow news day let’s talk about beaches, after a little bit of sad-time for the birds in the Gulf.

“It’s a nightmare scenario”

Photo | Les Stone, International Bird Rescue Research Center

If there were a list of the best things about Norfolk (and there will be…stay tuned), then Scott Harper, the Virginian Pilot‘s crack environmental reporter, would be on it. Today he gets the cover story, which puts a local face on the BP oil spill in the Gulf. Kathryn Owens, a deputy manager at Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia Beach, just returned from a two-week trip to Louisiana, where she went to assist with wildlife rescue. She ended up spending 12-14 hour days in a crisis management center, making phone calls to dispatch crews of boats and workers to recover and clean oil-covered birds, turtles and other marine animals.

Scott’s stories are a breath of fresh air–a continual thoughtful reminder of the world around us, with a focus on the impacts of human development and exploitation of the environment. He’s never preachy–he just tells the story and gets out of the way. It’s a subtle effect. If he were to go away his absence might not be immediately remarked, but I believe that without his reporting on environmental issues in Hampton Roads, there’d be a lot fewer people who understand that the Chesapeake Bay is in crisis because of the pressures of pollution, overfishing, and shoreline habitat loss.

Good editorial decision, VaPilot, to let Scott tell the national oil spill story from a local angle, instead of running the latest AP clips on the front page.

Incidentally, NPR this morning featured an oil-spill story titled “Why Is ‘Dawn’ The Bird-Cleaning Liquid Of Choice?” I found it kind of interesting.

Norfolk to get UFL team in 2011

This story must have broken too late to make the morning paper, but it’s front and center at Pilotonline.com. UFL officials have given “conditional approval” to locating a team here in Norfolk. WTF is UFL, you ask? I certainly did. I’m not a sports guy–the last sportlike thing I tried (other than cycling, which I do often) was fencing, so you can see I’m out of the loop. But really, have YOU heard of the UFL?

I guess it’s some kind of junior version of the NFL (which, I believe, stands for the National Fraternity of Lifeguards). So, I guess they’ll be recruiting some of the crack beach-sentinels from the oceanfront to join the team. I can imagine the excitement of watching a UFL (which must stand for the “Uther Fraternity of Lifeguards” or perhaps “Underdog Faction of Lifeguards”), where lanky young men and women in shock-red bathing suits perch atop white watchtowers for hours, struggling to stay awake while perfecting their tans. They’ll sell a lot of coffee at these events. This could be really good for Norfolk. I’m so excited. Unless it actually has something to do with football, in which case, I honestly couldn’t care less.

Life after the beach

Speaking of beaches, veteran beach maintenance supervisor Wayne Creef will be retiring from the Virginia Beach Department of Public Works after 31 years in the job. For over 3 decades, this guy has done a stellar job of cleaning up after all the slobs who leave their wrappers, cans, and broken umbrellas in the sand. I applaud him, and I thank him. You probably should too.

Flipping out over flip-flops

Still on the subject of beaches, sort of, I point you to Jamesetta Walker’s piece on the evolution of the flip-flop, which has morphed into a full-on fashion frenzy. And why not talk about flip-flops? It’s a light news day, it’s the second day of summer, it’s hotter than the inside of a volcano outside, and I’m feeling free and easy.

In the spirit of Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville, I invite readers to share their favorite flip flop story in the comments below.