John Womeldorf REALTOR Mr Williamsburg.com ABR, E-Pro

My son ,I and a few thousand Today Show fans made their way out to Duke of Gloucester Street in Colonial Williamsburg this morning to try to catch a glimpse of Matt Lauer and Al Roker.

And I mean a glimpse. On the street itself, where Roker is doing Al Roker things, the crowd is easily 20 deep. Fans stand on stoops of adjacent buildings, on their tip-toes, to try and see what's being filmed on television.

Thousands were in Colonial Williamsburg this morning, jockeying for position to catch a glimpse of the Today Show cast. As we were standing there some William and Mary Choir members break into a rousing rendition of the William and Mary Alma Mater. Other students and older alums join in the chorus, and give the singers a round of applause when they finish.

Just before 7 a.m. Al Roker emerges from the Capitol building to a big cheer. He does an interview with the WAVY-10 host, knocking a light stand over on the way, raising his arms in mock triumph at the pratfall.

This Wednesday's Today Show will be a live broadcast from Colonial Williamsburg, part of a four-day series on "battleground states" in the presidential election.

Our office ( Liz Moore and Associates/ Williamsburg, VA ) will be on Duke of Gloucester Street before dawn, soaking up the atmosphere as the NBC crew sets up, and trying to catch a glimpse of personalities Matt Lauer and Al Roker.


Colonial Williamsburg is thrilled with the "Today Show" visit.

During the show, Lauer will interview political commentators on the Virginia race. He'll also present the results of a new NBC News poll of the state.

The ubiquitous Roker will be on Duke of Gloucester Street, interviewing Bill Barker - known by locals and visitors alike as Colonial Williamsburg's Thomas Jefferson - hearing a performance by a local African American traditional music group, trying local food and maybe trying on a costume or two.

Today Show fans who want to see the action should congregate on Duke of Gloucester Street near the Raleigh Tavern. The area around the Capitol building, where Lauer will set up, will largely be closed to the public.

The show will air live on NBC, WAVY-TV 10, from 7 to 10

Free Home Buyers Workshop on Thursday, Sept. 25

Freddie Mac, BB&T Bank and the York County Virginia Department of Community Services/Housing Division are partnering to sponsor a "Get the Facts: Dispelling the Myths of Homeownership" workshop.

The future home buyer workshop is to be held Thursday, Sept. 25, 2008 from 6:30 - 8:00 p.m. at the Yorktown Library, 8500 George Washington Memorial Hwy (Rt. 17), in Yorktown, VA.

Attend this free "Get the Facts" workshop to learn what it takes to become a homeowner. There will be no confusing jargon, no fine print and no sales pitch, just the information you need to better understand your path to homeownership.

For more information, contact the York County Housing and Neighborhood Revitalization Division of the Department of Community Services at 757-890-3885.

Three neighborhoods in York County VA. have received the 2008 Neighborhood of the Year award.

Villages of Kiln Creek Homeowners' Association received the award for Safety. The Kiln Creek association was chosen for numerous initiatives that have or soon will result in improved safety for their community, including successfully reducing the level of speeding and hit and run incidents in the neighborhood by posting additional signs about the fines associated with speeding, and installing security cameras to monitor the area and deter would-be criminals.

Kiln Creek also holds regular crime watch meetings and has started an email list to enable crime watch captains and residents to share information when anything happens in the neighborhood.

Running Man Community Association's was selected for the Neighborhood Cooperation and Spirit award. The Running Man association holds many successful community events throughout the year, including a Bicycle Rodeo, an Annual Easter Egg Hunt, Halloween Parade, Annual Yard Sale, block parties and at Christmastime, the Luminary Gift to the County, in which almost 100 percent of the homes participate.

In addition to scheduled community events, residents of the Running Man community are often seen running and walking in their neighborhood, waving hello to neighbors working in their yards. Many neighbors are involved with the Neighborhood Watch program, and several are very active in county service.

Yorkshire Downs Master Association received the award for Beautification. Over the past year, Yorkshire Downs' Board of Directors has actively pursued all options within the budget to increase the aesthetics of the community. As well as undertaking ongoing maintenance and repairs within the community, the association has restored a number of areas such as the club house, swimming pool, bridge and retention pond.

One of the larger projects included the installation of new playgrounds and lighting at both the swimming pool and town homes locations. But the largest and most impressive single project is the installation of a walking pier and reinforcement of a bulk head behind Clydesdale Drive. The intention of this installation was to reduce severe shoreline erosion, which has become quite a hazardous issue for residents over time. The walking pier is not only a creative resolution to safety-related problems, but also serves to further improve the appearance of the community.

The York County Virginia Neighborhood of the Year awards program were initiated in 2002 following a request by several homeowner associations to recognize and highlight the efforts of the county's homeowners to improve their communities.

I applaud all of these communities for their awards. Being a board member and active volunteer in my own neighborhood Windsor Forest) in Williamsburg/ James City County VA. I understand how difficult it can be to get things accomplished in a neighborhood.

The general manager of Kingsmill has indicated that the Kingsmill Resort will more than likely be sold after InBev completes it's purchase of Anheuser Busch.

The turmoil on Wall Street has some analysts wondering whether InBev can finance the $52 billion takeover of Anheuser-Busch.

Edward Jones analyst Jack Russo lowered his rating of A-B from "Hold" to "Sell," and told investors "we are concerned about InBev's financing package for the BUD merger," according to a Sept. 16 research note. "While we still see it as probable that the deal closes as planned at $70 in an all-cash offer, fragile credit markets increase the risk that financing falls through, gets delayed or gets restructured."

A spokesman for InBev has issued a statement saying, "We continue to move forward in the transaction process and remain on track to close the transaction by the end of the year

Interesting that the United Kingdom's Office of Fair Trading announced on August 28th that it had opened an inquiry into the deal. I haven't seen much press about this .

More then likely, the various businesses of Anheuser Busch will be broken out from one another and sold off individually. For Busch Gardens, attractive buyers would obviously be entertainment and amusement companies. Considerable speculation rests on companies in England or Spain. The front runners are confirmed as Blackstone,Merlin Entertainments, Disney and Parques Reunidos.

Blackstone, which co-owns Merlin alongside Dubai International Capital, is also an investor in Universal Orlando, another of the US's largest theme parks operators. People close to Blackstone say that if it succeeds with an offer for the Anheuser-Busch parks, it could merge them with either Merlin or Universal, in which NBC Universal, the US media company, is a partner.

A Kingsmill purchase is made more complicated because it intertwines a major resort with greater Williams­burg Virginia's first planned community. InBev would probably court developers or real estate management firms.Kingsmill is almost entirely built-out, making management companies the most likely suitors.

Kingsmill has a number of attributes that make it attractive to investors, namely three golf courses, the LPGA tournament, ( Michelob ULTRA) resort condos and the convention space, a strong homeowners association (KCSA), and a community with well established covenants..


On another note

August Busch IV,current CEO of Anheuser Busch will be paid nearly $10.4 million to advise InBev Chief Executive Carlos Brito during InBev's takeover of the Budweiser maker.

The job, effective until 2013, also would pay Busch $120,000 a month to advise InBev on new products, marketing programs and charities, and to meet with retailers, wholesalers and advertisers and attend media events, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In exchange, Busch will get an office in St. Louis, administrative support, a personal security detail, complimentary tickets to A-B-sponsored events and insured medical, dental, vision and prescription drug benefits, according to the filing.

He also will be eligible for a gross-up payment estimated at $13.3 million on various changes in control payments and benefits connected to the $52 billion takeover, which is expected to close by the end of the year.

The payments, disclosed in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, will come on top of the $88.6million in share awards Mr Busch is in line for, as well as a bonus for 2008 of $6 million and a $13.3million fee related to a change of control clause.

His father, ex-Anheuser chief executive August Busch III, will receive about $103 million for his equity holdings.