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Welcome to your weekly Reader Rewards newsletter! Where we are at THAT time of year where there is ONLY one football game left to be played.  Yes - it is that open week before The Super Bowl.  The Philadelphia Eagles against The Kansas City Chiefs.

For the REAL bowl game next Sunday - who can ever forget The Puppy Bowl, right?  This will be the 19th annual Puppy Bowl and this year bring a special treat for those of us here in Virginia - if you haven't heard about this already.  Remember the rescued beagles from Cumberland last year?  Well one that found a forever home in Norfolk will be in the big game that Sunday.  Be sure to check out the story from The Pilot's Kari Pugh right here.  Perhaps Briscoe will be the start of the big game??

Looking for some new local restaurants to try out while we're still in the middle of winter?  As usual, The Pilot's Rekaya Gibson has you covered.  If you're in the mood for fried chicken mixed with some brown liquor - check out Rekaya's review of new places in Norfolk and Chesapeake.  Catch her review on Birds and Bourbon in Norfolk and Neat Bird in Chesapeake.  You can read up on them right here. Who would have thought that fried chicken and brown liquor was a "thing"??

Wait there's more from Rekaya.  A new Southern and soul food restaurant opened in Virginia Beach just last month.  Rekaya has the rundown and review on Blackeyed Peas right here.  Sounds like yet another place to check out sooner rather than later!

Even though it's winter - we STILL have highlights from the Outer Banks.  How about a giant jellyfish washing up on shore??  Same thing actually in Virginia Beach.  If you missed it, The Pilot's Kari Pugh has your coverage right here.  Nearly a foot in diameter??  Yes, that IS giant.  Perhaps if enough of those giant jellyfish show up in the water and wash up on the beach down in the Outer Banks - maybe senior "beach week" will tone it down a bit in the future? Regardless of help from giant jellyfish - the community is trying to find a solution.  You can check out the report from The Pilot's Kari Pugh right here to see the latest.

Yes, it is the week prior to the Super Bowl - yet we still have some football news for you.  First of all - is this the REAL Tom Brady retirement?  We shall see, huh?

The national signing period for graduating high school seniors moving to the collegiate level - kicked off this week.  Here's to hoping both Norfolk State and Old Dominion have a promising group of incoming freshman!  Catch The Pilot's Jami Frankenberry right here for Norfolk State's signing period review.  Look no further than right here for Jami's recap of Old Dominion's signing period right here.  Best of luck!

Lastly on the local sports front - wrestling is preparing to wrap its season.  Always a wrestling powerhouse - Great Bridge High School in Chesapeake is looking to capture another state championship.  Be sure to catch The Pilot's Michael Saul's story on the Great Bridge team right here.

Contests, contests, contests! Time to stock up for those Super Bowl parties!  With this in mind, we have Walmart, Food Lion and Domino's Pizza!

Enter to win a $50 gift card to one  Go to MyReaderRewards.com to win!

Note to readers:  Yours truly here at Reader Rewards will be out of the office next week - perhaps somewhere a bit warmer than here in Hampton Roads?! We will be back the week of February 13th - just in time for Valentine's Day!



Last Week's Contest Winners

Visa -                          Myra Finney

Amazon -                 
 Teresa Park     

Kroger -                     Margaret Gummo   



CONTESTS
 Shop Walmart.com today for Every Day Low Prices. Join Walmart+ for unlimited free delivery from your store & free shipping with no order minimum. Register at MyReaderRewards.com for a chance to win a $50 gift card!


 Food Lion Is In Your Neighborhood. Save Money Buying The Products You Love. Start Saving! You Can Count On Us for Every Day Low Prices & In-Store Hot Sales. Sign up for a chance to win a $50 gift card at MyReaderRewards.com!

Domino’s® Pizza: It’s Delicious, It’s Customizable, and It Brings People Together. Order Pizza, Pasta, Sandwiches & More Online for Carryout or Delivery From Domino’s. Sign up for a chance to win a $50 gift card at MyReaderRewards.com!
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Meet Honey! Honey is this week's My Reader Rewards Pet of the Week!  Honey was rescued from death row at a North Carolina shelter just last week.  She is now warm, well fed and most importantly - loved!  Loved by her PAWrent Robin Halsey. Check out our other furry friends in our new Pet Gallery. Want your pet featured? Email a picture of your pet to
Mark.quan@pilotonline.com. Please include your name along with your pet's name. Let's round up those pet pictures folks to further boost our gallery and to showcase!!!
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Restaurants are opening back up so don't forget Reader Perks! Take advantage of over 500,000 local and national discounts that can pay for your subscription over & over again! To access Reader Perks, click here. You must be a print subscriber to take advantage of this program. Log in using the email address associated with your newspaper account. No email on file? Email your name and address to Mark.quan@pilotonline.com to add it and gain access! Not a print subscriber? Click here to subscribe!
COMING SUNDAY:

Downtown through the years:

1760s: Granby Street is named for John Manners, Marquis of Granby, then-hero of the Seven Years’ War. At the time, it was a narrow lane less than two blocks long. By the 1910s, it was the busiest street in Norfolk.

1961: As residents move away from downtown and offices begin to arrive, department stores begin to populate Granby Street. Stores listed in a 1961-62 Norfolk Chamber of Commerce directory include Ames & Brownley at 415 Granby St., W.T. Grant at 256 Granby St., Nelco at 501 Granby St., Rice’s Fashion Corner at 400 Granby St., and Smith & Welton at 300 Granby St.

1976: Granby Street is closed to car traffic and is redubbed Granby Mall in an effort to revitalize downtown and bring business back from the suburbs. The move is ultimately deemed a failure, and the street reopens to cars in 1986.

1997: Tidewater Community College opens its downtown Norfolk campus at 315 Granby St. McPhillips said the move was one of the first steps toward modern downtown redevelopment, bringing an influx of young students to the area.

Read more about downtown Norfolk's timeline in the Sunday Main News section

Mary Wheat spun her red walker around, aiming toward a row of tour buses.

“Mom!” her daughter, Myra Wheat, called from the sidewalk.

“There she goes,” Myra Wheat said. “Mom!”

Barely 5 feet tall, Mary Wheat, a 97-year-old from Newport News, rolled toward the bus with “The Oak Ridge Boys” plastered on its side that was parked behind the Sandler Center for the Performing Arts in Virginia Beach shortly after 5 p.m. on a a recent Friday evening. The sun was beginning to set, and the band was scheduled to go on at 8.

“The boys always want to see me!” she hollered over her shoulder, in a melodious, oh-so-Tennessee accent, warm with years.

The country band, Oak Ridge Boys, has accumulated 12 gold and three platinum albums, one double platinum album, and multiple No. 1 hits, including the 1981 country-pop crossover “Elvira” and in the process collected a legion fans, but probably none more devoted than Mary Wheat, who is more than a fan.

Read more in the Sunday Break section

Several shipbuilders from Newport News Shipbuilding met at Coastal Fermentory in mid-December, but they weren’t there for the cold brews.

The noise and vibration test engineering team went to the downtown Newport News-based brewery to try out a new video vibration analysis tool.

Coastal Fermentory’s four co-owners were eager to provide an unclassified testing venue a mile and half from the shipyard. Co-owner Seth Cadell said it’s important to them to support the community.

“Two of our owners worked at the shipyard, one currently works there and a lot of our regulars are shipyard guys,” Cadell said.

The team arrived at the brewery in the morning before the 2-year-old business opened for the day.

“We brewed the beer so that they had a bunch of stuff whirring and moving,” he said. “And they were able to take their video and utilize this new technology with their trainer right there on site.”

The team of six shipbuilders used the new Iris M system — created with motion amplification software by RDI Technologies based in Knoxville, Tennessee — to collect data on brew pumps and piping systems.

Read more in the Sunday Work & Money section

Note To Readers:  A reminder that Parade magazine is now only found along with your e-edition of either The Virginian-Pilot or Daily Press each Sunday morning.  Print copies of Parade magazine ceased after the November 13th issue.



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