Tina Merritt - Virginia Beach Real Estate

Thank you to Patrick Veverka for bringing this to my attention!

"Amber and David Spisak Sr., a young Virginian couple were out having dinner with their two children; Molly who is four years old and David Jr., who is only two years old. During dinner, David Jr. began to develop small red spots on his arms and legs and before long, the spots had grown in size and eventually covered the young child’s entire body. The family quickly rushed their child to the Emergency Room. The doctors there told them that they thought they knew what it was, but they had to take him to Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters facility immediately. Within hours, the young couple was told that their two-year-old David Jr. had Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Medical professionals immediately admitted him and began running tests to find the subcategory of the disease to determine the type of treatment the young boy would need. Little David Jr. is currently less than 2 months into a 3 ½ year Chemotherapy treatment, he has already lost all of his hair, has had numerous painful spinal taps and bone marrow tests, and is currently unable to play or move under his own power. David Jr. is extremely weak and is unable to understand at his young age why his parents are allowing the doctors to put him through all the pain he is currently experiencing. Even more troubling, the parents of little David Jr. have been struggling to pay for their son’s prescriptions, as their PPO insurance will not cover the necessary medications for his treatment.

[Hope] - “Two things Virginian’s are good at are having a good time and coming together to help each other,” said James Lee a close family friend of the Spisak family and a local Real Estate Developer. It took Mr. Lee literally minutes to put together a “Fun-Raiser” to help little David Jr. and their family. The event being held on July 16, 2009, had been planned months ago with several local vendors offering amazing auction items, supplies, entertainment and more. Less than one week ago James was informed that the planned venue would be unable to host the event do to fiscal restrictions. James was in a crisis and it looked as the event may possibly be cancelled. On a whim, James sent a Facebook message to one of his newest friends “Burtons Grill” in the hopes that even on short notice they might be able to do something to help. “It was pretty amazing,” said Lee. Within 10 minutes the Burtons Grill team responded to James, cancelled all their reservations for the evening, and Manager Kevin Rowell had his Boston-based Public Relations agency on the phone ordering them to assist Lee in creating the event. “There was no question in my mind that when I heard about this little boy’s story we’d jump into action. We are part of this community and I am a Father. I would hope people would do the same for me,” said Kevin Rowell, Owner of Burtons Grill Virginia Beach.

[About The Event] – The David Spisak, Jr. Fun-Raising Charity Event at Burtons Grill, located at 741 First Colonial Road in the Marketplace at Hilltop, Virginia Beach, will be held on Thursday, July 16, 2009 starting at 4:00pm and will run until close. There is truly something for everyone at the event. The indoor and outdoor event will boast live music and entertainment including a visit by the Monster Truck StoneCrusher for the kids beginning at 4pm in the parking lot, live music provided by The Barry Eugene Group, Mike Federali, and many special celebrity guests. Free light passed hors dœuvres will be available; as well as amazing cocktails, beer and wine on a cash bar basis (percentage of all proceeds this evening to go to the Spisak family). But, you can really break out your wallet for this good cause by ordering from the $5 bar menu, enjoying the numerous hand-crafted cocktails, or if you call ahead of time and make a dinner reservation in the dining room and mention you’re “Dining for David” - 25% of the entire proceeds of your dinner will go directly to David’s family.

The event will also boast a live auction starting at 8:00pm featuring generous items donated from various vendors. Here is a partial list of the items that will be available to bid on:

Some auction items include:

1. Lunch with the Mayor of Virginia Beach Mr. Will Sessoms
2. Autographed New England Patriots Helmet and Football from star Ben Watson
3. Autographed Norfolk Admirals team stick
4. Private Holiday Dinner for 12 with cooking lesson from New York Chef Thomas Mosquera of the Garrison resort
5. Limited Edition 1 of 1000 David Cronenberg unpublished screenplay Red Cars
6. Autographed Lord of the Rings Book by Director Peter Jackson
7. Several A night out in Virginia Beach packages
8. Childs party for 25 at Kangaroo Jacs
9. Custom Beer Pong Table from Virginia Beach Beer Pong
10. Private and group Yoga lessons

and much, much more. Open your hearts, open your wallets and get down to Burtons Grill on Thursday, July 16, 2009 from 4:00PM – Close. “I can’t thank everyone that made this event a reality…I’m truly moved and hope people will come out to help this little boy,” said James Lee the event organizer. There is no cover charge for this event, no dress code… and all we need is you.


WHO: Burtons Grill

WHAT: David Spisak, Jr. Fun-Raising Charity Event at Burtons Grill.

WHERE: 741 First Colonial Road in the Marketplace at Hilltop, Virginia Beach, VA, 757-422-8970 or visit www.burtonsgrill.com

Make Burtons Grill your lunch destination and never brown bag it again. For more information please call.

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About: Burtons Grill Virginia Beach located at 741 First Colonial Road in the Marketplace at Hilltop, Virginia Beach, VA is the perfect place for lunch, after-work drinks, dinner inside, or on their outdoor patio. Call 757-422-8970 for reservations or visit www.burtonsgrill.com. The hours of operation are Mon - Thu: 11:30 am - 10 pm, Fri - Sat: 11:30 am - 11 pm, Sun: 11:30 am - 9 pm. Burtons Grill is an upscale casual restaurant serving contemporary American cuisine."

Do you have a neighbor who seems to only mow the yard when it has grown so high they can't find their car that's parked on the lawn?

Someone who has a boat parked in the driveway that hasn't seen a body of water in years?

How about a house with a broken fence or siding with peeling paint?

A neighbor who doesn't maintain their home brings down the value of the whole neighborhood.

Most municipalities have an office that is in charge of enforcing neighborhood preservation. Usually, all it takes is a phone call and an inspector is dispatched to the offending address for an inspection. Once a homeowner is cited, they city or county then gives the owner a certain period of time to clean up their act or be fined. In most areas, the inspector will return to ensure the problem has been rectified, or will take further action against the homeowner (such as the City mowing the yard and then sending the homeowner a bill).

In the Hampton Roads area, the following City offices handle complaints. Complaints are made anonymously so do not worry about retaliation from a fellow neighbor against you.

Virginia Beach: Department of Housing and Neighborhood Preservation, Code Enforecement: 757-385-5750

Chesapeake: Neighborhood Services Department: 757-382-6018

Norfolk: Department of Neighborhood Preservation: 757-664-4000

Portsmouth: City Department of Code Enforcement: 757-393-8531

Suffolk: Neighborhood Development Services: 757-514-4150

Hampton: Codes Compliance: 757-727-8311

Newport News: Code Enforcement - Property Maintenance: 757-926-8861

Poquoson: City Permit Office: 757-868-3035

Isle of Wight County: County Administration: 757-365-6204

FREE Concerts every Wednesday this summer on the Sandler Center Outdoor Plaza at Towne Center in Virginia Beach!

Starting Wedensday, June 3rd, 2009, spice up your Wednesday nights and kick back with FREE live music and lots of fun!

Drinks will be served on the Plaza, along with games, prizes, face-painting and much more!

From June 3rd to September 9th, 2009, the concert series will occur every Wednesday night from 5pm - 8pm.

Click here for more information on this weekly event in Virginia Beach!

Agents beware!

If you are using temporary signs (the plastic, wood or metal signs which attached to a stand), you may be violating Virginia’s Underground Utility Damage Prevention Act !

Violating this act can result in fines of up to $2500.

Many agents think that Miss Utility needs to be called to mark utility lines on when installing a post sign. Apparently, that is not true.

The SCC is also including the small metal framed signs that you push into the ground with your hands! They feel that the installation of temporary signs falls under the definition of “excavation” which is prohibited without the proper utility markings.

There is an exemption to this rule! The HOMEOWNER can install the temporary sign without calling Miss Utility first.

To read an article from the Virginia Real Estate Board regarding this issue, click here.