| âUSS Gerald R. Ford: The Biggest and Baddestâ reads a t-shirt in the store aboard the Navyâs newest aircraft carrier. The slogan appeared again on a poster not far from the galley. And it was repeated by the shipâs captain as he overlooked the flight deck from the bridge. Since the early 2000â²s, the Navy has marketed the Ford as the future of American warships. The ship â 1,106 feet in length â is jam-packed with 23 never-before-seen technologies meant to âcarry the Navy into the 21st Century.â âThis will be the most powerful warship our Navy has put to sea â probably any Navy ever,â said Paul Lanzilotta, commander of the USS Gerald R. Ford. But supporters of the Ford say the warshipâs $13 billion price tag gave it a bad name, with the cost overshadowing the Fordâs capabilities. At $4 billion over budget, the ship is the costliest single item on the Department of Defenseâs shopping list â a stigma the Navy has struggled to shake while working to differentiate it from Nimitz-class carriers, which come at a fraction of the price. Read more in the Sunday Main News section
Itâs a Friday night in early December, and Santa is a having a rough day. Santa Vic looks around the room heâs rented for his Movie Night With Santa on the third floor of an office building at the corner of Market Street and Monticello Avenue in downtown Norfolk. Itâs 5 p.m. already. The space still looks like itâs drab, white-walled and empty conference room self, when it needs to be a Winter Wonderland. Children and their parents will begin arriving in hour. Santaâs father-in-law struggles to attach the movie projection screen to its stand without reading any directions. He slowly slips poles into the plastic screen as if he were setting up a camping tent. Another of Santaâs helpers, his mother-in-law, Patricia Bryant, busies herself behind a table toward the back of the big room. She pours kernels into a popcorn machine and places an assortment of chocolate chip and macadamia nut cookies on a tray. Read more in the Sunday Break section Chris Simmonds has options for those who want to ring in the new year without a hangover. Ceremony â a dry bottle shop â opened in the Ghent area of Norfolk more than two years ago and it offers curated alcohol-free beers, wines, spirits and mixers. Its ready-to-drink selection is good for nondrinkers, expectant mothers, people taking medications and people living sober. Simmonds, a drinker himself, enjoys having a drink after a long day without a headache the next morning. Ceremony is part of Simmondsâ company, Less Than â a zero-waste and refill shop offering goods such as hand and dish soap, toothpaste tablets, and laundry detergent and pods. Both businesses are under the same roof in four locations in Hampton Roads and one in Richmond. Another one is coming soon to Midlothian. Simmonds was born in St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands, and grew up in Virginia Beach. He graduated from Salem High School and Old Dominion University. He saw a need for more nonalcoholic options in the community, so he opened a business. Read more in the Sunday Break section Itâs been several decades since Claus Ihlemann made his way from his native Denmark to the United States to make his mark on the Hampton Roads furniture and design industry. The founder and president of Decorum Furniture at 301 W. 21st St. in Norfolk has announced he is selling his landmark business to three of his employees. âYou reach a point where you say, âIâm at retirement age,ââ Ihlemann said. âAnd with that in mind, we shifted to a management team model for operating the business.â The three acting directors of operations, Robin Johnston, Shawn Griffey and Alzenio Cortado, will purchase the business over the next five to seven years. The deal, structured as a Popeye plan, will enable Ihlemann to step back from the day-to-day operations and act as an adviser. 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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