How twins are made...

So this is how they do it... One of life's great mysteries solved.

MELSON POWER SHOW This Weekend

Accomack County Court

Richard Copes, 31, of Withams was found guilty of robbery, grand larceny and abduction. A presentence report has been ordered.

Christopher Barcroft, 21, of Cheriton was found guilty of two counts of burglary and two counts of grand larceny. A presentence report has been ordered.

Steve Kilgore, 25, of Exmore was found guilty of armed burglary, attempted robbery, use of sawed-off shotgun and firearm by felon. A presentence report has been requested.

Douglas Bragg, 26, of Painter was found guilty of possession of cocaine and was sentenced to 12 months with all but 30 days suspended.

Kerwin Mears, 25, of Accomac was found guilty of second-offense possession of cocaine with the intention to distribute and second-offense possession of marijuana. A presentence report has been ordered.

Edward Trader Jr., 28, of New Church was found guilty of credit card larceny and obstruction of justice. A presentence report has been ordered. Daniel Mains, 34, of Norfolk was found guilty of driving while habitual offender. Sentence guidelines have been requested.

Carl Wingender, 40, of Belle Haven was found guilty of credit card fraud and credit card theft. He was sentenced to 12 months with all time suspended on each count.

Davon Davis, 21, of Painter was found guilty of armed burglary, attempted robbery and possession of sawed-off shotgun. A presentence report has been requested.

Gail Byrd, 59, of Onancock was found guilty of felony shoplifting and was sentenced to 12 months, with all but 60 days suspended.

Brittany Edwards, 20, of Hallwood was sentenced to five years with all but two days suspension on each count of burglary and grand larceny, to serve concurrently.

Rahiam Hope, 21, of Tasley was sentenced to five years with all but six months suspended in each count of leaving scene of accident and eluding, to serve concurrently.

Lavar Crawford, 24, of Norfolk was sentenced to five years with three years and 12 months suspended for eluding and reckless driving. He was also sentenced to 12 months for driving without a license, to serve concurrently.

Joseph Davila, 22, of Onancock was sentenced to 30 days with all suspended for bad checks.
Charles Shields, 51, of Painter was sentenced to five years with all but seven months suspended for distribution of cocaine.

Charles Miller Sr., 61, of New Church was sentenced to five years with all but one month suspended for possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute and was sentenced to five years for possession of a firearm while in possession of cocaine, to serve consecutively.

John Marshall Jr., 47, of Horntown was sentenced to five years with all but two years and four months suspended for third-offense assault and battery.

Martese Creekmore, 19, of New Church was sentenced to youthful offender program for robbery, grand larceny and abduction.

Dashon Scarborough, 25, of Atlantic was sentenced to five years with three years suspended for burglary and five years with three years suspended for grand larceny, to serve consecutively. He was also sentenced to five years with all time suspended on each two counts of conspiracy to uttering, to serve concurrently.

Christopher Phillips, 27, of Parksley was sentenced to 10 years with seven years and three months suspended for grand larceny. He was also sentenced to three years with all time suspended on each five counts of obtaining money by false pretenses, to serve consecutively.

Thomasena Capers, 39, of Oak Hall has had his probation revoked.

Robert Paskill Jr., 33, of Onancock has had his probation revoked.

Tony Linton, 48, of Sanford has had his probation revoked.

A grand jury in Accomac on Monday indicted 15 people, including three Painter men who police say have admitted involvement in a string of break-ins in that town in March and April.

James Phillips Johnson, 37, and Spencer Lee Sample, 53, both were indicted on eight counts of burglary and grand larceny related to a string of break-ins in March and April at two Painter residences and the Gravities Light clothing store.

Michael Lee Sample Jr., 25, was indicted on six counts related to break-ins at the residences.

Also indicted were:

Troy Wayne Beacham, 43, of Cheriton, maiming.

Storm Carter, 59, of Keller, grand larceny.

George G. Gaskill Jr., 45, of Onley, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.

Keenan S. Goodwine, 18, of Atlantic, robbery and use of a firearm.

Leroy Handy, 63, of Bloxom, grand larceny.

Shawn Lamont Harmon, 24, of Onancock, possession with intent to distribute cocaine, possession of a firearm while in possession of a controlled substance.

Wanda D. Stratton, no age or town given, seven counts welfare fraud.

Keith Leander Parker, 41, of Onley, grand larceny.

Victor Manuel Scott, 20, of Bloxom, carnal knowledge.

Devric Jamar Hinmon, 25, of Temperanceville, attempted burglary, felony property destruction, maliciously shooting at an occupied dwelling.

Jennie Net Tumblin, 58, of 25241 Estate Lane, Parksley, shooting at an occupied dwelling.

Joseph Lamont Washington, 33, of Exmore, grand larceny.

www.delmarvanow.com

Man Arrested in Michigan Serial Killer Case

(Aug. 12) -- A "person of interest" linked to the three-state knife attacks that killed five people in Michigan has been taken into custody, authorities said today. Media reports said he was arrested at Atlanta's commercial airport as he tried to fly to Israel.


"He is currently being held on unrelated charges," Leesburg, Va., police spokesman Chris Jones told reporters. "While this is a key step in the investigation, there are still many issues that need to be addressed before we identify this individual as the person responsible for this horrific crime spree."


The case garnered national media attention last week, when authorities in Flint, Mich., announced that a lone serial killer was responsible for more than a dozen stabbings in the city since mid-May. The case expanded this week, and officials now believe the same person is responsible for attacking 20 men in Michigan, Ohio and Virginia, killing five.


All but two of the 20 victims were black.


During the past week, investigators from law enforcement agencies including the Michigan Task Force, the FBI and police in Leesburg and Toledo, Ohio, have been working to identify the serial killer. A composite sketch was released this week.


The task force received hundreds of tips during the investigation, and one of them led to a beer store in Beecher, Mich., north of Flint, where the person of interest previously worked, according to media reports.


The manager of Kingwater Market told Detroit's WDIV-TV the man started working there on July 5 and hadn't been seen since Aug. 1. He said the man was polite and didn't treat blacks differently than other customers.


"He was friendly. He was a nice guy," manager Abdullah Farrah told the TV station.


Steve Cornell, manager of the Family Dollar store next door, agreed.

"He was very nice to the ladies and walked them to their cars at night," Cornell told AOL News by telephone. "With guys, when you went in there, if he didn't know you, he was a little bit [standoffish]."

"I was quite shocked," Cornell said of the arrest. "You never expect anything like that."


Once the man was identified, investigators were able to electronically track him to Atlanta's Hartsfield Airport. At the time of his arrest, he was reportedly on a Delta flight preparing to fly to Israel.


The man was traveling with an expired Israeli passport, according to CNN, citing anonymous law enforcement officials,


The most recent attack occurred in Toledo on Saturday, when a minister was stabbed outside his church. Investigators were initially hesitant to link the attack to the serial killer but have since announced their suspicions that he is responsible, WSUA 9 News reported.
VIA: AOLNews

Man That Killed Nun In Vehicle Crash Was Getting Legal Aid -- From the Catholic Church

Prince William, Va. --

Carlos A. Martinelly Montano was being represented in deportation proceedings by Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Arlington when he allegedly struck and killed a Benedictine sister and wounded two other Richmond-based nuns in Prince William County while driving drunk this month.

Hogar Immigrant Services, an arm of Catholic Charities in Arlington County, was providing legal help to Martinelly Montano, 23, whom federal officials have described as an illegal immigrant, the organization said yesterday.

A deportation hearing is scheduled for Martinelly Montano next week in Falls Church, but a statement released last night by Catholic Charities indicates that deportation proceedings will be put on hold pending resolution of Martinelly Montano's criminal charges.

The representation by the Catholic-based immigrant service adds another development to the death of Sister Denise Mosier. Her Benedictine order has decried the politicization of Martinelly Montano's case, which has become part of the debate over illegal aliens and diverted what the order has described as the more relevant issue of drunken driving.

Police say Martinelly Montano's car crashed head-on into a vehicle carrying the sisters Aug. 1 as the nuns were traveling from Richmond to a retreat at their monastery near Bristow in Prince William.

Martinelly Montano is facing charges of driving under the influence for the third time in five years, a felony, and involuntary manslaughter. He is being held without bond.

Sister Charlotte Lange and Sister Connie Ruth Lupton remained in critical condition yesterday, according to the Benedictine Sisters of Virginia.

It is not clear why Martinelly Montano, a native of Bolivia, has been classified as illegal. The father of two young children, he was living with his parents and a sister.

In the statement issued last night, Art Bennett, president of Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Arlington, said Hogar "accepts only clients who are eligible to apply for lawful immigrant status or other benefits under federal immigration law."

www.timesdispatch.com

What you might not know is that the Catholic Church receives federal grants to assist people like this. The assistance is for those that have fled their country due to persecution NOT severe hardships. I wonder how much money the taxpayer has spent buying this man his booze!

Enjoy Some Smith Island BabyCakes While At The Fair

While at the Worcester County Fair this weekend look for The Bay Queen Bakery Stand. Try one of those BabyCakes if you never have. And if you have, well, have another one!

It will be the best treat your mouth has ever had. Flavors on hand are Traditional, Strawberry, Oreo, and Chocolate Peanut Butter.

If you are unable to make it to the fair remember that the BabyCakes are sold at the Galley Bakery in downtown Pocomoke.

"Made from scratch with love"

Worcester County Fair This Weekend

SNOW HILL -- Each day of the Worcester County Fair brings something new, along with the three-day standard features.

Held in Snow Hill's Byrd Park Aug. 13-15,

Fairgoers enjoy free parking and free admission

Standard features available each day include:

Livestock pavilions, the rabbit and poultry tent, livestock shows

A variety of product and craft vendors

Safe Kids Vendors

Public Interest Booths

Children's Activities

Demonstrations

Entertainers

River Cruises

Indoor Exhibit Tent

Friday Features Include:

Horse Show

Popular Cake and Pie Auction

Youth Talent Show

Saturday Features:

Classic Car and Truck Show

The Red Knights motorcycle show

The youth pet fair

The adult talent show

Sunday begins with a church service, and features include a Breyer horse show; open karaoke; and Cow Pie Bingo.

For a full listing of activities and events as well as entry information, visit http://www.worcestercountyfair.com/ or pick up a copy of the Fair Tabloid at any branch of the Worcester County Library.

Subject: History: Fair and Balanced

    For those that don't know about history ... Here is a condensed
      version:

      Humans originally existed as members of small bands of nomadic
      hunters/gatherers. They lived on deer in the mountains during the
      summer and would go to the coast and live on fish and lobster in the
      winter.

      The two most important events in all of history were the invention of
      beer and the invention of the wheel. The wheel was invented to get
      man to the beer. These were the foundation of modern civilization and
      together were the catalyst for the splitting of humanity into two
      distinct subgroups:

      1 . Liberals
      2. Conservatives.

      Once beer was discovered, it required grain and that was the
      beginning of agriculture. Neither the glass bottle nor aluminum can
      were invented yet, so while our early humans were sitting around
      waiting for them to be invented, they just stayed close to the
      brewery. That's how villages were formed.

      Some men spent their days tracking and killing animals to BBQ at
      night while they were drinking beer. This was the beginning of what
      is known as the Conservative movement...

      Other men who were weaker and less skilled at hunting learned to live
      off the conservatives by showing up for the nightly BBQ's and doing
      the sewing, fetching, and making art. This was the beginning of the
      Liberal movement.

      Some of these liberal men eventually evolved into women. They became
      known as girlie-men. Some noteworthy liberal achievements include the
      domestication of cats, the invention of group therapy, group hugs,
      and the concept of Democratic voting to decide how to divide the meat
      and beer that conservatives provided.


      Over the years conservatives came to be symbolized by the largest,
      most powerful land animal on earth, the elephant. Liberals are
      symbolized by the jackass for obvious reasons.

      Modern liberals like imported beer (with lime added), but most prefer
      white wine or imported bottled water. They eat raw fish but like
      their beef well done. Sushi, tofu, and French food are standard
      liberal fare..
      Another interesting evolutionary side note: most of their women have
      higher testosterone levels than their men. Most social workers,
      personal injury attorneys, journalists, dreamers in    Hollywood and
      group therapists are liberals. Liberals invented the designated
      hitter rule because it wasn't fair to make the pitcher also bat.

      Conservatives drink domestic beer, mostly Bud or Miller. They eat red
      meat and still provide for their women. Conservatives are big game
      hunters, rodeo cowboys, lumberjacks, construction workers, firemen,
      medical doctors, police officers, engineers, corporate executives,
      athletes, members of the military, airline pilots and generally
      anyone who works productively. Conservatives who own companies hire
      other conservatives who want to work for a living.

      Liberals produce little or nothing. They like to govern the producers
      and decide what to do with the production. Liberals believe Europeans
      are more enlightened than Americans. That is why most of the liberals
      remained in Europe when conservatives were coming to  America  . They
      crept in after the Wild West was tamed and created a business of
      trying to get more for nothing.

      Here ends today's lesson in world history:

      It should be noted that a Liberal may have a momentary urge to
angrily respond to the above before forwarding it.

      A Conservative will simply laugh and be so convinced of the absolute
      truth of this history that it will be forwarded immediately to other
true believers and to more liberals just to piss them off.

      And there you have it. Let your next action reveal your true
      self.....I'm going to have another beer!!!

Hat Tip; Kack

Maybe Pet Owners Need To Be Left In Hot Cars So The Dogs Can Shop !

These poor innocent dogs were like children to this couple? They claim (he does, anyway) that there is no way in hell "they" would do anything to jeopardize them. Huh? Maybe you need some cheese with your whine. I don't buy your story for one minute. Isn't the Humane Society of Wicomico County closed on Sunday? I wonder if these people have any idea as to what goes on in a poor dogs body when he is dying in the heat? They probably don't and they could probably care less.

Here's a news flash! People that LOVE their pets and consider these animals their children and as part of the family DO NOT leave them unattended for ANY amount of time. Vaccinations, flea treatments and hair loss? These poor animals were neglected long before they were left unattended in a vehicle. I don't even want to think what this would be like if they had been real children.

Maybe the two of you should be made to take these helpless animals to a doggie spa for treatment while YOU BOTH wait in a hot vehicle for a few hours! Unthinkable? Cruel?


SALISBURY -- A Berlin couple charged with multiple counts of animal cruelty after city officers found six dogs locked in their Dodge Durango parked outside the mall denies allegations that they left the canines in the car for several hours.

Shannon Mecall Hussain, 34, and her fiance, Kirt Barren Greenberg, 45, of West Street, were taken into police custody after officers used a department issued baton to unlock the doors and release the dogs.

"We raised them from babies," Hussain said. "They were our children. There's no way in hell we would do anything to jeopardize them."

An unresponsive German shepherd lying on the floor of the vehicle had a weak pulse, according to police. An officer was able to revive it two times after performing CPR, but was unsuccessful a third time.

Police expect a necropsy report on the deceased dog to be completed sometime next week.

"The others seem to be fine, luckily," said Officer Edward Stewart, a Salisbury Police Department animal control officer.

Hussain said the couple drove the six dogs to the Humane Society of Wicomico County on Sunday morning before driving to The Centre at Salisbury. She said Greenberg's necklace broke while they were at the Humane Society, so they drove to the mall to have it repaired.

Hussain said she waited in the vehicle with the dogs while Greenberg went inside. She left the dogs to take Greenberg his wallet but denies leaving the animals for more than 20 minutes.

"I thought I was a little quicker," Hussain said. "I rushed as fast as I could."

People often leave their dogs in the car while shopping or running errands, but leaving a pet in the vehicle during extreme weather "can literally be a death sentence," said Nicole Forsyth, United Animal Nations President and chief executive officer.

UAN is a nonprofit national organization that provides pet-related financial assistance, emergency and temporary shelter, and educational materials.

"People are under the misconception that dogs are tougher than humans are; that they can handle the heat," Forsyth said. "But the reality is they are more susceptible to high temperatures and depend on us to keep them safe. Even a few minutes in a hot car, let alone three hours, can be deadly."

The surviving dogs --a German shepherd mix, a golden retriever mix, a terrier mix and two Labrador retriever mixes --were weak and fighting amongst each other for water, according to police.

Witnesses reported to police that the vehicle had been parked since 2 p.m., according to charging documents. When witnesses checked back an hour and a half later, the dogs were still alone.

Hussain and Greenberg returned to the vehicle around 5:18 p.m., about an hour after police at the mall located the vehicle at about 4:17 p.m., according to court records.

After the dogs were released from the vehicle, they were transported to the Humane Society, where they were vaccinated and given flea treatments, according to Linda Lugo, the executive director of the Humane Society. One of the canines who was suffering from hair loss was sent to a veterinarian.

Hussain and Greenberg, who have since been released from the Wicomico County Detention Center, have not given up the dogs for adoption so the canines will remain at the Humane Society until the animal cruelty case for the couple has been adjudicated.

"Whether they get the dogs back or not, they will owe us restitution for (the) time they were in our care," Lugo said.

Meanwhile, Lugo cautions pet owners to think twice about allowing animals to travel with them during extreme weather in the summer months.

"Leave your pet at home," Lugo said. "Sometimes people think they'll keep the car running, but the car can turn off. Leave your pet at home. They'll be happy, safe and alive."

www.delmarvanow.com

Everyone Loves The Adventures of Pippi Longstocking !!

The Mar-Va Children's Theater presents: PIPPI LONGSTOCKING Friday, August 13th Time: 7 p.m. Tickets: $5 This is directed by the fabulous duo of Gwen Skeens and Janice Boettger This will make you laugh until your sides hurt for sure. Don't Miss It!

MarVa Theater - Saturday Night

Md. Sen. Ben Cardin Scheduled To Tour Smith Island

SMITH ISLAND-- U.S. Sen. Benjamin Cardin, D-Md., was scheduled to tour Smith Island on Sunday to meet with residents and tour federally funded projects as a kickoff to a three-day visit to the Eastern Shore.

It was his first trip to the island.

"I know he's really looking forward to it," Susan Sullam, the senator's communications director, said last week.

Upon arrival in the morning, Cardin was scheduled to see Army Corps of Engineers erosion management projects by boat before attending Sunday services at Rhodes Point United Methodist Church, Sullam said.

After that, he was expected to tour the new Rhodes Point pump station which has been online since December.

Last year, the Rhodes Point Southern Water Works was awarded federal stimulus funds, with Cardin's support, through the Maryland Department of the Environment, Sullam said.

"It's something the senator worked hard on and supported," she said.

In addition to a new well and pumping station, the federal grant paid for new water lines.

After touring Rhodes Point, Cardin was to head over to the neighboring village of Ewell for a chicken barbeque and a meet-and-greet with residents.

Accompanying him on the trip were his wife, Myrna, and Somerset County Commissioners Mike McCready and Paul Ward.

Cardin did not have a public schedule on Monday, but on Tuesday, morning, he was scheduled to tour the NASA Wallops Flight facility. to see the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport and the U.S. Navy's Surface Combat Systems Center.

After that he was to travel to the Salisbury-Wicomico Senior Service Center to discuss the new health care law and how it will affect seniors with members of the senior advocate and health care communities.

Later in the afternoon, he also was scheduled to visit the Choptank Community Health System's Cambridge Dental Center and Fassett Magee Health Center, which recently received a grant award of $1 million in recovery funds that to expand dental services.

www.delmarvanow.com

3 Years In Prison For Dogfighting.......Is It Long Enough?

If this sounds like an animal lover to you then we have a huge difference in opinions. They all say it. Even Michael Vick tried it.....and I still don't trust him......and still don't believe he is "cured". Yet, they can't be man enough and admit they did it! They take an innocent animal and make it mean to watch it fight for money and yes, drugs and, oh of course, THE THRILL! How sick is that?

Do some reading on dogfighting. Find out how horrible it is for an animal that can not defend itself to exist in the world of this type of man. Read for yourself what they feed them, how they train them........from innocent puppies on. Find out how what they are fed causes them to go crazy, their organs to never develop and how they allow the small and weak dogs be horribly mauled to death by the stronger ones just to get rid of it.

This is real. And this is horrible. Not to mention a true nightmare for the innocent dog that never asked for anything except a little food, and alot of love. If this is the way men show their love to live creatures my guess is there are some abused humans in the mix too.

Throw this jerk and coward of a man in a pen with a crazed pitbull and let that dog chew on him. Let's see what tune this a__ sings to us then.


Richmond, Va. --

A Richmond man described by defense witnesses as an animal lover will serve three years in prison for a dogfighting conviction.

Substitute Judge Thomas N. Nance yesterday sentenced Deano A. Jones, 47, to five years in prison, with two of those years suspended, on a dogfighting charge.

The judge sentenced Jones to five years on each of two counts of animal cruelty but suspended all of that time. The hearing was held in Richmond Circuit Court.

Jones had entered an Alford plea to the dogfighting charge, meaning he does not admit guilt but acknowledges prosecutors have enough evidence to convict him. He pleaded guilty to the two counts of animal cruelty.

Authorities seized 21 pit bulls from Jones' home in the 1700 block of North 23rd Street. Eighteen of the animals needed emergency care, according to testimony yesterday. Seventeen had to be euthanized.

Authorities also recovered a treadmill, steroids and other materials associated with dogfighting, said Richmond Commonwealth's Attorney Michael N. Herring.

Jones testified yesterday that he was not engaged in dogfighting. "I love my dogs," he said during the hearing. "I love just dogs in general."

Defense attorney Robert E. Walker Jr. suggested that Jones' dogs injured one another in scuffles when they escaped from their pens.

Walker characterized his client as an animal lover who fell on hard times when he lost his job and a previous home. The setbacks left Jones unable to afford to take his pets to the veterinarian, Walker said.

"The dogs were his family," Walker said. "You don't kick family out on the street because you don't have money."

Defense witness Candace Foxx said Jones treated his dogs like children. "He should have been a veterinarian," Foxx said.

Later, the judge declared, "He is not an animal lover."

Jones has a misdemeanor animal-cruelty conviction in North Carolina, Herring said.

Herring acknowledged that the defendant was articulate and did not seem like a predator but added, "one has to conclude that Mr. Jones has been cruel to his animals."

www.timesdispatch.com

New Restaurant In Tasley Has Grand Opening

A crowd gathered yesterday for the Grand Opening of Becca's restaurant on Route 13 in Tasley. Becca's is now open serving lunch sandwiches, desserts, pastries, fruit and Becca's famous Smith Island Cakes.

Pictured: Becca cuts the ribbon at the Grand Opening Ceremony hosted in part with the Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce.

www.shoredailynews.com

State Department Sending Mosque Imam To Mideast

Are the American taxpayers REALLY paying for this??

WASHINGTON (AP) - The imam behind controversial plans for a mosque near the site of the Sept. 11 attacks is being sent by the State Department on a religious outreach trip to the Middle East, officials said Tuesday, in a move that drew criticism from conservative lawmakers.

The department is sponsoring Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf's visit to Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, where he will discuss Muslim life in America and promote religious tolerance, spokesman P.J. Crowley said. He said the imam had been on two similar trips and that plans for the upcoming tour predated the mosque controversy.

"We have a long-term relationship with him," Crowley told reporters, noting that Rauf had visited Bahrain, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in 2007 and went to Egypt last January as part of an exchange program run by the State Department's Office of International Information Programs.

"His work on tolerance and religious diversity is well-known and he brings a moderate perspective to foreign audiences on what it's like to be a practicing Muslim in the United States," Crowley said.

Rauf will not be allowed to raise funds for the proposed center during the trip, Crowley said.

Two Republican members of Congress, Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida and Peter King of New York, called government sponsorship of Rauf's trip "unacceptable" in a joint statement. They said he had suggested in at least one interview that the United States was to blame for the 2001 attacks and that taxpayer money should not be used to fund the tour.

"The State Department's selection of Feisal Abdul Rauf to represent the American people through this program further calls into question the administration's policy and funding priorities," Ros-Lehtinen and King, who are the ranking members of the Foreign Affairs and Homeland Security committees, said in their statement.

The mosque, to be located two blocks from ground zero, would be part of a 13-story, $100 million Islamic center that would feature a 500-seat auditorium, a swimming pool and a gym. It's a project of the Cordoba Initiative, an advocacy group that promotes improved relations between Islam and the West.

The mosque has drawn vocal opposition from many relatives of Sept. 11 victims and local and national Republican leaders. The Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish civil rights group, is also opposed.

Crowley said the Obama administration has no position on Rauf's plans, which he termed a local zoning matter for New York. But he acknowledged that the State Department had posted a transcript of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's Aug. 3 speech defending the project on a website that it runs for foreign audiences.

"We posted it because we thought it was useful for people overseas to understand perspectives on this issue," Crowley said. "We certainly support what the mayor was underscoring, which is the history of religious diversity and religious tolerance in his city."

In addition to the original English language version of Bloomberg's speech, the department has posted Arabic and Farsi translations of the remarks in which the mayor adamantly rejected opposition to the mosque.

New York Gov. David Paterson on Tuesday offered state assistance if developers agree to move the project farther from the Sept. 11 site. While saying he doesn't oppose the project as planned, the governor indicated that he understands the views of its opponents and said he was willing to intervene to seek other suitable state property.

"I think it's rather clear that building a center there meets all the requirements, but it does seem to ignite an immense amount of anxiety among the citizens of New York and people everywhere, and I think not without cause," Paterson said during a news conference in Manhattan.

"I am very sensitive to the desire of those who are adamant against it to see something else worked out," he said.

The developers declined to comment on Paterson's suggestion. Bloomberg declined to comment through a spokesman.

www.wtop.com

Man Wearing Burqa Robs Bank

SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) - Montgomery County police say a man wearing a burqa has robbed a bank in Silver Spring.

Police say the man who robbed a TD Bank branch on Briggs Chaney Road about 4:20 p.m. Tuesday was wearing a "long black burqa over his face." A burqa is garment worn by Muslim women that generally covers the face and body.

Authorities say the man showed a gun and demanded money. He took an undetermined amount of money and fled.

Police say the man spoke with what they described as "a Middle Eastern accent."

Police have not released a photo.

www.wtop.com

Court Testimony Shows Strands Family Found His Slain Body

ACCOMACK — Murder charges against a man accused of killing Johnny Strand, a popular local restaurant manager, were certified to a grand jury at a preliminary hearing in General District court here.

Fernando Carrillo Sanchez, a 23-year-old immigrant from Guatemala, stands charged with killing Strand, 49, the manager of the Onley Pizza Hut.

Commonwealth’s attorney Gary Agar presented evidence that showed that the black Ford Expedition that was stolen from Strand’s Melfa home was found several days later near the residence of the accused man.

He said also that Carrillo Sanchez made and signed a confession the night he was picked up by the police and that there was a previous unspecified relationship between the two men. Investigators found Strand’s telephone number on the defendant’s cell phone.

Gladys Church, a relative of Strand’s, answered Agar’s questions about May 1, the day she found Strand lying naked, face-down and covered with blood in his bed at his Melfa home.

Church said she became concerned about Strand when he failed to pick her son up from his late- night job at Perdue. She picked up her son herself and drove to Strand’s house.

“We went there at about 2 a.m.,” she said. There were no lights on and his SUV was not there.

“The next morning, we kept calling and calling and he didn’t pick up,” Church said, adding she was nervous because Strand never missed work.

Church told the court she made repeated calls to Strand’s telephone and went to talk to some of his friends to ask if they knew where he was. No one did, she said.
At about 1 p.m., Church said she went to the police.

“I told them my Uncle Johnny was not answering his phone.” Church and her son drove to Strand’s home again.

The door was locked and his vehicle was not there. She said she and her son used a credit card to gain entrance to the trailer.

She began to sob almost uncontrollably as she described the horrific scene.

“We walked in. I got halfway down the hall.” Her son, ahead of her screamed, “‘Oh, no, Don’t come in here.’ I said, ‘I am coming in.’”

“He was lying on his stomach, face to the wall,” she said. “I could see blood splattered up the headboard, up the wall and on the floor.”

“I was screaming. We went back outside. I said, ‘Somebody killed him. Why, why.’”

Beverly Jacks, a volunteer emergency technician with the Melfa Fire and Rescue, was the next to arrive on the scene.

Jacks described the scene just as it had been told by Church. She said it looked like Strand had been dead for some time.

Tom Hedge, an investigator for the sheriff’s department at the time, described the murder scene. He said Strand had trauma to his head from multiple blows.

There were no signs of forced entry or a struggle, he said.

He said the wounds were consistent with the victim being killed where he lay, describing him as “unaware.” He found a blue Little League baseball bat covered in blood under the bed where Strand lay.

Strand’s vehicle was not located until four days later. The sheriff’s department received a tip that it was in Dreamland One mobile home park. They found the vehicle and asked neighbors to which trailer it belonged.

A person was seen running to that trailer, he said, and then refused to answer the door when police knocked. Finally three men came out and all were taken into custody.

Investigator Anthony Bright, with the help of an interpreter, questioned the suspect for several hours. He described Carrillo Sanchez as “very calm.”

“He began to cry and then made a confession,” Bright said. The accused man said he was forced into sex with Strand, Bright said. He claimed that Strand hit him with the baseball bat. Bright said he saw no wounds or bruising on the defendant’s body.

Carrillo Sanchez was defended by attorney Garrett Dunham.

www.delmarvanow.com

Intern Builds Amateur Radio Station

WALLOPS ISLAND -- Chris Billie, an engineering intern at Surface Combat Systems Center, Wallops Island, and a second year engineering student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has completed a project to design and install a military recreation amateur radio station at the command's Morale, Welfare and Recreation Center.

The hands-on project allowed Billie to learn about multiple phases of the system engineering process, resulting in an operational high frequency/very high frequency amateur radio station.

As one of only 45 licensed military recreation stations, it will provide amateur radio recreational opportunities to amateur operators who are active duty, retired, reserve military personnel and their dependents, government service and contractor personnel at SCSC; enable Workforce Development Center students to conduct experiments and receive training in radio communications; and provide backup radio communications capability to the command during emergencies."Building an amateur radio station enabled Chris Billie to have a hands-on experience with systems engineering. His low-cost solution to engineering a platform to stimulate science, math, technology and engineering areas is now realized as future students can now pursue a Federal Communications Comm-ission Amateur Radio license. The FCC license exam covers basic regulations, operating practices and electronics theory, with a focus on VHF and UHF applications and allows the licensee to operate FM voice, digital packet (computers), television and single-sideband voice," said SCSC commanding officer, Cmdr. John Keegan.

www.easternshorenews.com

Archaeologists Excavate War Of 1812 Vessel

For months in the spring and summer of 1814, Commodore Joshua Barney and his ragtag flotilla of gunboats had harassed the mighty British navy on the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. But outnumbered and outgunned, Barney and his miniature fleet were bottled up in the Patuxent River with no escape and enemy forces approaching.

So following orders from Washington, Barney's men scuttled the estimated 17 vessels — including his flagship, the USS Scorpion — near a place known as Pig Point.

Almost 200 years later, a team of archaeologists have been combing the bottom of a stretch of the river separating Prince George's and Anne Arundel counties in search of artifacts from what they believe is the wreckage of the Scorpion.

With a storm approaching, Susan Langley emerged from the murky waters of the Patuxent on a recent afternoon last week and climbed aboard a cluttered barge floating above the presumed resting place of the Scorpion.

"Visibility is a pretty grim right now," the chief archaeologist for the Maryland Historical Trust reported as she and her colleagues from the historical trust, the State Highway Administration and the Navy neared the end of three weeks of underwater excavation efforts. The team wrapped up Monday but hopes to be back next year to resume the mission to uncover a long-buried piece of Maryland's history in time for the bicentennial of the War of 1812 campaign that ended in the successful defense of Baltimore.

Archaeologists have suspected the presence of Barney's flagship in this spot since 1980, when Nautical Archaeological Associates researchers Donald Shomette and Ralph Eshelman performed a magnetometer survey of the river bottom and found artifacts they believed came from the Scorpion. But lacking the funds and facilities to preserve what they might uncover, they decided to conserve the wreck in place — leaving its excavation for another time.

That time didn't come until this year — and only in a limited way.

"It's all about the money," said Julie Schablitsky, chief archaeologist for the highway administration, which is involved because it is Maryland's center of expertise in archaeology. (Federal and state laws require the agency to protect historical resources that might be in the way of road projects.) Much of the funding for the project comes from federal transportation programs administered by the state.

Schablitsky said the state and federal governments were able to put together $200,000 to finance this summer's explorations, which were intended to pinpoint the dimensions of the wreckage to allow its excavation in future years.

"It truly is a literal time capsule, and 200 years would be a perfect time to open this time capsule," Schablitsky said. "This is a prime opportunity to garner support and enthusiasm for what we believe will be a very symbolic object to the entire state of Maryland."

The events that put the Scorpion on the bottom of the Patuxent are part of a heroic but little-known chapter in American history involving an all-but-forgotten hero of the early Navy.

Barney, born near what is now Dundalk, was a veteran of the Revolutionary War who re-entered naval service after war with Britain broke out in 1812. The summer of 1814 found him in command of the Chesapeake flotilla, a makeshift fleet of shallow-draft barges that did a surprisingly effective job of delaying and annoying the British. Barney's flagship was the estimated 50-foot Scorpion, with two long guns and two carronades.

In 1814, the British dispatched a fleet and army to the Chesapeake Bay region, where they raided costal settlements. Barney's ships were forced to flee to the sanctuary of the shallow St. Leonard Creek near the mouth of the Patuxent, where British warships could not pursue them.

Barney's sailors and a detachment of Marines staged a breakout at the Battle of St. Leonard Creek that allowed the flotilla to reach the Patuxent. Barney took his fleet as far north as he could, to a spot near present-day Waysons Corner.

After the fleet was scuttled, Barney led his sailors and Marines overland to join the Army at Bladensburg, where U.S. forces were routed Aug. 26 despite the stubborn stand made by his men. Barney was badly wounded and taken prisoner in the battle, which preceded the British capture of Washington.

Barney died in 1818, possibly as a result of his wounds.

Only now, said Bill Pencek, executive director of Maryland's War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission, through the excavation is Barney getting his due.

"It's very exciting because it brings attention to the most important and inspirational figures of America's forgotten war, Joshua Barney," Pencek said.

Rodney Little, director of the historical trust, said the Scorpion — if that is in fact what it is — could turn out to be the best-preserved wooden ship ever found in Maryland waters. He said the vessel was sunk quickly — without much opportunity to remove objects that would now be valued artifacts — and silted over within a few years by a series of storms. The silt, he said, has acted as a preservative.

"What we have here is a vessel that appears not to have collapsed. Its structural integrity appears to be reasonably intact," he said. Little said the funding for future work isn't 100 percent certain but added that the team has "fairly strong" commitments of about $4 million — enough to pay for most of the work being planned right now.

Schablitsky said the investment in archeology could pay off by generating tourism as people visit the excavation site.

To excavate the wreck, Schablitsky said, the team will need to install a device known as a coffer dam, which would section off part of the roughly 10-foot-deep river and pump out the water to expose the bottom. Her hope is that by 2012, the team will be able to erect viewing platforms from which visitors can observe the work being done within the confines of the coffer dam.

For now, Schablitsky said, there are no plans to raise the ship because the money is not available to conserve it — a venture she estimated would cost $7 million. Like Shomette and Eshelman before them, the Scorpion team may have to recover what they can and move on.

"Sometimes you have to leave something for the future," she said.

www.baltimoresun.com

Guardian Angels Set Up Patrols At DC Metro Station

WASHINGTON (AP) — The D.C. chapter of the Guardian Angels says members will start patrolling Metro's green line three nights a week after a large fight broke out at a station over the weekend, injuring four people.

Chapter leader John Ayala says between eight and two dozen people will be involved in first green line patrol on Tuesday evening.

Ayala says the group already patrols the area around the Gallery Place/Chinatown station on Friday nights. He says fights break out all the time, but not as large as the one that reportedly involved dozens of young people on Friday night.

Guardian Angels will patrol the green line between the Congress Heights and Fort Totten stations on Friday and Saturday nights and one night during the week. Ayala says they will report violent crime to Metro police.
www.dailypress.com

Drowned Body At Johnson's Wharf Has Been Identified

PARKSLEY — Family members have identified a body found Sunday in the water at Johnson’s Wharf as a Parksley man.

Elias Espitia, 41, of Neblett Street, apparently went for a walk at 10 a.m., said his sister, Macrina Guzman of Parksley. Someone called 911 at 1:22 p.m. to report a man’s motionless body overboard.

Guzman said Espitia was prone to seizures that prohibited him from driving. She said Espitia may have had a seizure and fallen overboard — family members said he could swim.

Accomack Sheriff’s Office Major Todd Godwin said the preliminary cause of death is drowning, a medical examiner has determined.

Espitia was a handyman who performed carpentry jobs. His family didn’t immediately know he was missing, figuring he was working.

“We didn’t hear anything else from him,” Guzman said on Tuesday. “We knew nothing else until yesterday.”

She said her mother began looking for Espitia on Monday and contacted the sheriff’s department.

Espitia was unmarried and had no children. He is survived by seven siblings and his mother, who lives locally. His father lives in Mexico.

“He was a really good guy — he was always helpful to everybody,” said Guzman.

www.delmarvanow.com

JURY FINDS KILLER GUILTY OF BEING A GANG MEMBER - A First For Maryland

A Baltimore jury gave out the city's first gang conviction Monday, finding Dajuan Marshall guilty of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit kidnapping and participating in a gang — known as the Spyda Bloods — resulting in death.

Marshall, 28, is said to have killed rival gang member Kenneth "Cash" Jones, who belonged to a different Baltimore set of the Bloods. Prosecutors said Marshall "wanted to run the Bloods' gang in Baltimore and saw Jones as an obstacle," according to the Baltimore City State's Attorney's Office.

The murder conviction carries a maximum term of life in prison, though the gang conviction could add 20 more years and a fine of up to $100,000, the State's Attorney's Office said on its Facebook page. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 17. Co-defendant Kedar Anderson will be tried separately.

The case is the first to test a 2007 law known as the Maryland Gang Prosecution Act before a jury. It allows for enhanced penalties if prosecutors prove that an underlying crime, such as murder, contributed to a criminal, gang conspiracy. The law was strengthened during this year's legislative session.

In a statement, Gov. Martin O'Malley said he was proud to have signed the act into law, saying it was "yet another tool for Maryland prosecutors to put individuals who terrorize our neighborhoods behind bars."

www.baltimoresun.com

That's a real nice thing you did Gov. O'Malley. But how long will you keep them behind those bars?

~ It's HOT !! ~ Take Care Of Your Animals Today and Everyday!

OC Boardwalk Shops Being Sued For Selling knock-off Handbags

Coach Inc., the maker of luxury handbags and accessories, is suing 13 shops on the boardwalk in Ocean City for selling cheaper knock-offs of its items.

A company investigator entered the stores over a two-day period in June and bought counterfeit handbags, wallets and accessories for prices ranging from $20 to $75, according to the lawsuits, which were filed Monday in federal court in Baltimore. Authentic Coach handbags in a similar style are typically priced at around $300, according to Coach's website.

Coach's lawsuits against the Ocean City shops come amidst its nationwide campaign, now in its second year, to crack down on the sale of imitation products. Last May, the company kicked off "Operation Turnlock," a zero-tolerance civil litigation program targeting producers, wholesalers and retailers of Coach fakes.
The New York-based company is now actively fighting the illegal trade of knock-offs of its brand in dozens of lawsuits against stores across the country, from Los Angeles to New York, this year, according to federal court records.

A Coach spokeswoman was preparing a response for later this afternoon to questions from The Baltimore Sun. Coach and other big-name brands, from Chanel to Louis Vuitton, routinely work with federal and local law enforcement to fight a brisk trade in counterfeit luxury goods, many of which originate from China. But in at least one case this year, Coach decided to sue a municipality – Chicago – for not doing enough to crack down on street vendors selling Coach counterfeit goods at a city-run public market.

According to the International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition, a nonprofit based in Washington, the worldwide trade in counterfeit goods amounts to about $600 billion a year. In the U.S. last year, Customs and Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement last year seized $260 million worth of counterfeit goods.

The top categories of seized counterfeit goods included footwear, consumer electronics, apparel, computer hardware, pharmaceuticals, and toys and electronic games, according to the federal agencies.

In its investigation in Ocean City, Coach alleges that the shops sold handbags, wallets, key chains and wristlets.

The shops named in the lawsuits include: Maytalk; Beach Break; Hot Topik; Ocean Reef; Summer Breeze; Surf Beachwear; The Fashion Shop; Ocean Waves; Sunset Beachwear; New York New York; Jewel of the Ocean; Oceanfashion Boutique; and Sunglass City.

The Baltimore Sun left messages for management at the locations. A manager at Oceanfashion Boutique, who declined to give her name, denied that the shop sold Coach counterfeit products.

Coach is seeking $2 million in damages for each counterfeit violation at each store or, alternatively, a court order for the store owners to pay Coach all of the profits earned from the sale of the items.
www.baltimoresun.com

Reports of Former Sen. Ted Stevens Are In Conflict

UPDATE: JUNEAU, Alaska — A spokesman for the family of Ted Stevens says the former senator has died in a plane crash in Alaska.
Mitch Rose tells The Associated Press that the family had been notified that the 86-year-old Stevens was among those killed.


CBS News, which earlier reported that ex-Sen. Ted Stevens is among those killed in an Alaska plane crash, now says the information is in conflict. The network originally attributed the information to a family friend of Stevens. Below is the latest story from The Associated Press.

JUNEAU, Alaska — A plane carrying nine people crashed amid southwest Alaska's remote mountains and lakes, killing five people on board, authorities said Tuesday. Former Sen. Ted Stevens and ex-NASA chief Sean O'Keefe were believed to be aboard.

It was unclear if the longtime Republican senator and O'Keefe were among the dead.

Rescuers arrived on helicopter early Tuesday and were giving medical care to survivors, Alaska National Guard spokesman Maj. Guy Hayes said. He offered no additional details, except that there were potential fatalities.

Alaska officials reported that nine people were aboard the aircraft and that "it appears that there are five fatalities," NTSB spokesman Ted Lopatkiewicz told The Associated Press in Washington.

A U.S. government official told the AP that Alaska authorities have been told that the 86-year-old Stevens, a former longtime Republican senator, was on the plane. The official, who spoke on grounds of anonymity, says Stevens' condition is unknown.

The federal official declined to be publicly identified because the crash response and investigation are under way.

Lopatkiewicz said the NTSB is sending a team to the crash site outside Dillingham, located in northern Bristol Bay about 325 miles southwest of Anchorage. The aircraft is a DeHavilland DHC-3T registered to Anchorage-based GCI.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Mike Fergus said the plane took off at 2 p.m. Monday from a GCI corporate site on Lake Nerka, heading to the Agulowak Lodge on Lake Aleknagik. He didn't know if that was the final destination or a refueling stop.

The GCI lodge is made of logs and sits on a lake, and photos show a stately main lodge room with a large imposing stone fireplace, a leather sofa and a mounted caribou head on the wall.

Fergus said the plane was flying by visual flight rules, and was not required to file a flight plan.

Stevens and O'Keefe are longtime fishing buddies and the former senator had been planning a fishing trip near Dillingham, longtime friend William Canfield said. The flights at Dillingham are often perilous through the mountains, even in good weather.

Hayes said the Guard was called to the area about 20 miles north of Dillingham around 7 p.m. Monday after a passing aircraft saw the downed plane. But severe weather has hampered search and rescue efforts.

The National Weather Service reported rain and fog, with low clouds and limited visibility early Tuesday. Conditions ranged from visibility of about 10 miles reported at Dillingham shortly before 7 p.m. Monday to 3 miles, with rain and fog later.

At least two crash victims were treated Tuesday morning by military rescuers, Guard spokeswoman Kalei Brooks Rupp said. She said a team of Good Samaritans hiked into the crash site Monday night and provided medical aid until rescuers arrived.

Lawmakers and residents were awaiting news of Stevens' fate. The moderate Republican was appointed to the Senate in 1968 and served longer than any other Republican in history. He was beloved as a tireless advocate for Alaska's economic interests.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, asked Alaskans to join her in prayer for all those aboard the aircraft and their families, as did Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska. He called the plane crash tragic.

Stevens was one of two survivors in a 1978 plane crash at Anchorage International Airport that killed his wife, Ann, and several others. He remarried several years after the crash — he and his second wife, Catherine, have a daughter, Lily.

Over the years, Stevens directed billions of dollars to Alaska.

But one of his projects — infamously known as the "Bridge to Nowhere" — became a symbol of pork-barrel spending in Congress and a target of taxpayer groups who challenged a $450 million appropriation for bridge construction in Ketchikan.

Stevens' standing in Alaska was toppled by corruption allegations and a federal trial in 2008. He was convicted of all seven counts — and narrowly lost his Senate seat to Begich in the election the following week.

But five months after the election, Attorney General Eric Holder sought to dismiss the indictment against Stevens and not proceed with a new trial because of prosecutorial misconduct by federal prosecutors.

O'Keefe, 54, was NASA administrator for three tumultuous years. He was deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget when President George W. Bush asked him in late 2001 to head NASA and help bring soaring space station costs under control.

But budget-cutting became secondary when the shuttle Columbia broke apart during re-entry in 2003.

O'Keefe's most controversial action at NASA was when he decided to cancel one last repair mission by astronauts to the Hubble Space Telescope. He said the mission was too risky. His successor overturned the decision. The Hubble mission was carried out last year.

O'Keefe left NASA in 2005 to become chancellor of Louisiana State University. He is now the CEO of defense contractor EADS North America and oversees the bid for the hotly contested Air Force refueling jet contract.

The company said O'Keefe was a passenger on the plane. The company said it had no further information about O'Keefe's status.

The contract competition, which pits EADS against rival plane maker Boeing Co., is for a piece of what could eventually be $100 billion worth of work replacing the military's fleet of aging tankers.

http://www.timesdispatch.com/

Gates To Eliminate Joint Forces Command

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates called for the elimination of the Norfolk-based Joint Forces Command on Monday as part of a broader effort to reduce certain kinds of military spending - especially a growing reliance on defense contractors. "The culture of endless money that has taken hold must be replaced by a culture of savings and restraint," Gates said.

One of the military's 10 combatant commands, Joint Forces Command, known as "jiff-com," trains troops from all services to work together - jointly, in military jargon - for specific missions.

It employs about 6,000 people - most based in Hampton Roads, others elsewhere in Virginia and Florida. Its headquarters are at Norfolk Naval Station, and it has a command center in northern Suffolk.

Gates said he expects to dismantle the command over the coming year, but not all of its functions will be eliminated. Some tasks, including force management and sourcing, will be transferred to the Pentagon's joint staff. Other functions deemed essential to promoting "jointness" will be reassigned to other entities.

The economic impact of losing even half the positions at the command would be huge. The Norfolk Ford plant that closed in 2007 employed roughly 2,400 workers.

Not surprisingly, elected officials across the state and region lambasted Gates' announcement and said they would fight it, but it's not clear what they can do to halt the process. Unlike the Navy's plan to relocate an aircraft carrier from Norfolk to Jacksonville, Fla. - which requires Congress to approve funds to make Mayport Naval Station ready to host a nuclear carrier - Gates indicated this bureaucratic reshuffle doesn't require legislative approval.

Gates' proposal for shifting defense spending has broader implications for Virginia than the closure of JFCOM. He ordered several other steps to trim overhead, including cutting spending on support contractors and paring staff at most headquarters by reducing the number of general and flag officers and civilians who hold senior executive positions.

He is moving quickly, demanding action plans for most items within three to four months.

"The way to make sure something gets done in this building is to set short deadlines," he said.

The commonwealth is home to more than 12,000 defense contractors and is second only to California in military-related businesses, Gov. Bob McDonnell said. The companies that employ them have collected $341 billion since 2000, so a reduction of 30 percent over the next three years, as Gates directed, will be an enormous hit, he said.

In a hastily called news conference at Old Dominion University, McDonnell stood alongside Norfolk Mayor Paul Fraim, Suffolk Mayor Linda Johnson, and U.S. Reps. Randy Forbes, R-Chesapeake; Bobby Scott, D-Newport News; Glenn Nye, D-Virginia Beach; and Rob Wittman, R-Westmoreland County.

McDonnell announced the formation of a commission whose task is to retain and expand the state's military and national security facilities.

He and Forbes cast Gates' announcement in partisan terms.

"It appears as though this administration is cutting investments in national defense in order to pay for massive new social programs," McDonnell said. Forbes accused Gates of participating in "the piecemeal auctioning off of the greatest military the world has ever known."

Gates insisted the proposal will not reduce the defense budget. The services will keep the savings accrued and apply them to higher priorities, such as building more ships and replacing equipment worn out in current conflicts, he said.

Virginia's Democratic senators also protested.

"In the business world, you sometimes have to spend money in order to save money," said U.S. Sen. Mark Warner. His colleague in the Senate, Jim Webb, said efficiency is important, but it shouldn't be sought "at the expense of the command that is leading the charge for the future of our military doctrine."

Harold W. Gehman Jr., a retired four-star admiral who served as JFCOM's first commander, said Gates doesn't need congressional support to reorganize military commands, but he also doesn't want to alienate the people who approve the military's budgets.

The command still has an important mission, Gehman said. But he said it has become bloated and could benefit from restructuring.

"Every command should have to justify what it does and why it does it," Gehman said. "Joint Forces Command is going to have a hard time justifying 6,000 people."

Two things seem to have doomed Joint Forces, according to Gates' remarks. At the time it was created in 1999, with a mission to infuse "jointness" into everything the military does, the extra layer of bureaucracy was justified because its mission was so important, Gates said.

But the command is now part of a military that has embraced joint operations - and proven so during long engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Perhaps more important, though, is the makeup of its work force. According to the military's own statistics, JFCOM employs far more contractors than any other combatant command. More than half its workers - about 3,000 - are contractors. The remaining 2,800 are about evenly split between uniformed military members and civilian federal employees.

In Suffolk, the command has been a powerful engine driving local economic development.

Hundreds of military and civilian employees work at its north Suffolk campus, a 640,000-square-foot facility leased for an estimated $16 million. Hundreds more are employed by defense contractors working nearby.

"Hopefully, this is not what it sounds like," Mayor Johnson said. "We want to know exactly what it will mean - what it could mean. Will other opportunities come in its place?" She said she will work with the area's congressional delegation to minimize the impact, and, if possible, to prevent the closure.

Gates said he hopes he can convince Virginia's delegation that reducing overhead and administrative expenses will help the state in the long run by focusing more on core priorities.

"If, as a result of these efforts, I'm able to add a billion or two billion dollars to the Navy's shipbuilding program of record, Virginia may well come out with a lot more jobs than it loses," Gates said. "This is why the point needs to be emphasized again and again: this is not about cutting the defense budget. It's about a reallocation internally."

www.hamptonroads.com