Here we Snow Again!
Good Morning. We have a winter storm warning for tomorrow....good news about tourism growth...and a look at the James City County police's experimental drone program for heart attack victims.
The National Weather Service in Wakefield issued a winter storm warning of up to 8 inches of snow for our area starting Wednesday morning – the third straight snowfall in the past month and the most significant to date.
“Travel will be difficult to impossible over portions of the area Wednesday and Thursday,” the weather service’s statement said.
Snow will be heaviest the further east you go, with the lower Peninsula and the Norfolk/Virginia Beach areas potentially receiving up to a foot of snow.
It will start snowing late Wednesday morning, but the bulk of snow should fall Wednesday afternoon into the first half of Thursday, according to the weather service.
View our website at https://williamsburgwatch.substack.com
Tourism is Up, With Room for More
The head of the Historic Triangle’s tourism marketing group is optimistic that recent upticks in local tourism will translate to continued growth this year.
“I feel great about how we finished last year,” said Edward Harris, Chief Executive Officer of Visit Williamsburg. The organization receives funding from the 1% tourism tax to market Jamestown, Yorktown and Williamsburg tourism.
Tourism is a major driver of the economies of the Historic Triangle, and contributes significant revenue to local tax coffers.
“I really haven’t seen this much of an increase since Covid,” Williamsburg City Finance Director Barbara Dameron told City Council last week. She said the city’s lodging tax receipts grew 6.3% in the current fiscal year. Localities split that tax 50/50 with Visit Williamsburg.
In a recent interview Harris highlighted some of the growth metrics he’s tracking:
· Occupancy increased 11 out of the last 14 weeks of the year.
· Room demand increased by 18,094 rooms in the same period.
· For the full year 2024, transient tax receipts increased by 6.7% over the prior year.
In the 28-day period from December 8th to January 4 of this year, Williamsburg ranked first in the state for Saturday hotel occupancy, and second for weekend occupancy, according to the Virginia Tourism Corporation.
That’s one area where Harris is looking to grow. Most tourists just stay over the weekend, he said, so getting more people to stay longer and come during the first half of the week would boost our economy.
Harris said the opening in 2026 of the area’s new $80 million sports complex would drive more visits across the week, with more money spent at local lodging, shops and restaurants.
Although occupancy was up last year, local hotels and motels did not see an increase. Harris said the trend for visitors to stay at AirBnb’s, guest houses and timeshares continues to take market share from traditional hotels and motels.
He predicts several events this year will continue driving more visits.
One is the Michelangelo exhibit – The Genesis of the Sistine – that will be at the Muscarelle Museum of Art March 6 – May 28. The exhibit displays 25 of Michelangelo’s studies and early drawings of his frescoes at the Sistine Chapel.
Busch Gardens is opening its Big Bad Wolf ride this spring, while Water Country USA unveils its High Tide Harbor multilevel play structure, both of which will drive more traffic, Harris predicted.
The 250th celebration of America’s independence, combined with the new sports complex, should drive visitation further in 2026, he added.
Various events are being planned for Jamestown and Colonial Williamsburg.
Williamsburg plans to complete most of the work on the African American Heritage Trail in time for the July 4 celebration in 2026. The two-mile course covers historic sites such as the First Baptist Church – one of the first churches in the United States founded by blacks – and the Bray School, founded in 1760 for free and enslaved black children.
The Tall Ships are also coming in the summer of 2026.
Sail 250 will bring the tall ships to Hampton Roads, with a visit planned in Yorktown, he said. Fifty-five ships from 20 nations carrying 4,000 officers, cadets and crew will tour Hampton Roads for a week.
JCC Police To Test Drone Defibrillator Delivery
James City County’s police drone unit is going to test using drones to deliver defibrillator units to heart attack patients in remote locations.
The group is pushing to launch the program next month, said Sgt. Tiara Suggs, who heads the drone program.
James City has had a drone program since 2021, using half a dozen drones to conduct searches for missing people, review accident scenes and clear crime scenes to ensure the safety of officers, Suggs said.
But the experimental program to deliver Automated External Defibrillators (AED) will require drones with more lifting capacity that will cost about $40,000 each with the requisite cameras and software, Suggs said.
The cost is being funded with a $500,000 grant from the American Heart Association, which is funding a similar test in Forsyth County, NC.
Ironically, a police spokesman said it is unlikely that any actual victim would require the AED help during the testing program in the county.
The purpose of the grant is to test the feasibility of using drones to deliver the unit to a victim and use it successfully, said spokesman Tayleb Brooks.
Using the drone safely requires a pilot and an observer who can keep visual sight of the drone from a high location, Brooks said. The drones will be able to deliver AED’s within a two-mile radius of the James City County Law Enforcement Center during the test.
These drones are registered with the Federal Aviation Administration and must remain below 400 feet in altitude to prevent conflict with other air traffic.
The 911 dispatch center will be part of the test, as well as emergency medical technicians who would walk a rescuer through the process of safely using the defibrillator, the spokesman said.
Guest Opinion: An Alternative Approach to
Organizing/Funding WJCC Schools
Williamsburg
Feb. 18: Williamsburg Area Arts Commission. 9 a.m. Stryker Center, Room 128, 321 N. Boundary St.
Feb. 19: Planning Commission. 3:30 p.m. Stryker Center, 421 N. Boundary St.
Williamsburg/James City County School Board
Feb. 18: School Board Meeting, presentation of school budget. 6:30 p.m. James Blair Middle School Gymnasium, 101 Longhill Rd.
James City County
Feb. 18: Economic Development Authority. 4 p.m. 101 Mounts Bay Rd, Bldg D. Conference Room.
Feb 19: Development Review Committee. 4 p.m. 101 Mounts Bay Rd., Bldg A Large Conference Room.
York County
Feb. 18: Board of Supervisors regular meeting. 6 p.m. York Hall Board Rom, 301 Main St. Yorktown.
York County School Board
Feb. 18: School Board special meeting behind closed doors to consider candidate for position of IT technology. 9:30 a.m. 302 Dare Road, Yorktown.
Passings
Judith Eileen Stein, 85, Feb. 17.
Sally Janet Dafashy, 82. Feb. 15.
Nancy Stansell Childress, 84, Feb. 14.
Debra Lynn DeCantis, 62, Feb. 14.
John Alonzo McCloud, 80, Feb. 13.