I noticed Farmer Joe’s sign is up on the old Be-Lo building on Carolina Highway.

It’s about time.

It had to be at least a year ago that the News-Herald did a story on folks from Newport News wanting to put a grocery store/deli type operation in there. At that time they hoped to open in just a couple months. Lord knows what has transpired, but one can only assume there was some bureaucratic red tape matters with the city that have slowed progress – at least that’s what one tipster told us.

That’s a shame, too, because folks on that end of Suffolk desperately need an alternative to the couple of convenience stores. Until now their only option has been to fight the downtown traffic and go to Wal-Mart, even for a gallon of milk. Let’s hope it opens soon.

I was cornered today by motorcycle enthusiast regarding some of our recent news coverage. In a couple stories about motorcycle charity rides, the News-Herald has consistently referred to the riders as &uot;bikers.&uot;

I was told the term conjures images of leather clad bullies terrorizing a town, ala Marlon Brando and Lee Marvin in &uot;The Wild One.&uot;

Such, of course, is not the case. Most &uot;motorcycle enthusiasts&uot; today are respectable, middle-aged folks that run the socio-economic spectrum.

I’ve got no problem with it. They do good deeds and raise a lot of money for charity.

I ran into a similar situation about six years ago when I was editing a weekly paper in Pendleton County, W.Va., across the mountain from Harrisonburg.

Pendleton County is filled with caves which attract folks from all over the eastern half of the country who come there to explore. After a couple references to &uot;spelunkers&uot; in stories I had written, a militant group of &uot;cavers&uot; read me the riot act.

There wasn’t much reported on it for some reason, but for those of you who don’t know, Gurley Press at the corner of

W. Washington Street and Saratoga Street closed its doors recently. A couple weekends back everything was auctioned off.

A friend told me today it was a sad thing to watch. That George Noel had put his whole life into the place and was unable to find a buyer. It’s a shame the city’s lost another long time business tenant.

Overheard today: &uot;I’d rather have the bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy.&uot;