alternative flight path

Attendees at a community pep rally, including Girl Scout Troop 54 members, from left, Cadence Gilbert, Trinity Morgan and Aleea Saylor, get loud in support of the TV show “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” on Thursday night at the Virginia Beach Convention Center. The Emmy Award-winning reality show is coming to Hampton Roads for the first time to rebuild a home for a family. (Vicki Cronis-Nohe  | The Virginian-Pilot)

From ‘Extreme Makeover: Home Edition’ rallies support in Virginia Beach

If you saw the front page of the Flavor section today, you may have noticed that instead of the usual fonts and graphics, the entire background of the page was a cake. Here’s a behind the scenes look as Chef Steven Ciccone decorates the cake.

Be sure to check out our Q&A with the Cake Boss, who’s coming to Hampton Roads this March to give a decorating demonstration.

Hear The Virginian-Pilot’s photographers talk about their favorite photograph of the year in this interactive. You’ll be surprised by some of the stories — and hopefully inspired to get out there with a camera yourself!

The view through the lens: Photos of the year 2010

ABOVE: A student at a school in Maser-e-Sharif, Balkh province, Afghanistan. Social scientists are trying new methods to win the trust of citizens of the war-torn country.  (Hyunsoo Leo Kim | The Virginian-Pilot)

Feature’s editor Jim Haag remembers a Christmas gift from when he was 10 years old. The best gifts, can’t always be wrapped…

“I wanted to put only one thing on my list: the electric football game, complete with a two-tiered stadium, that cost $21.99. But Mom insisted I give my sister options, so I put it first and hoped that she wouldn’t overlook the obvious.”

Stephen Crook, 10, of Portsmouth, watches a snowball fall that he tossed in the air as other snow flakes drop around him on Monday, Dec. 13, 2010. “It’s really pretty,” Crook said, “Especially around Christmas time.” (Ross Taylor | The Virginian-Pilot)

Find more snow pictures on this PilotOnline.com weather story and on our Facebook page.

Louis Cruz, 89, and Robbie Robbins, 86, both Navy veterans who served in World War II, have been working out together for almost 25 years. They recently logged their 700th mile swimming together. (Video by Brian Clark | The Virginian-Pilot)

From For Navy vets - 24 years of friendship and fitness by Corinne Reilly

Paul Krendl blows fake snow, derived from paper, around Peninsula Town Center in Hampton. With Mother Nature proving undependable, some business prefer to go with the fake white stuff. (Photo by Preston Gannaway | The Virginian-Pilot)

It snows in Hampton every Friday.

Not from the sky. From a machine. It blows a papery white powder all over the Town Square area of Peninsula Town Center. It started the weekend before Thanksgiving and will continue until Christmas.

From “Fake snow creates a white Christmas on schedule” by Carolyn Shapiro

From “Farmville on Facebook versus Farmville, Va.” by Denise Watson Batts and Jim Haag.

In her homeland, Jinan Hussein worked as an interpreter for American journalists covering the war. This month, through a special refugee program, she immigrated to Hampton Roads with her brother Mushtaq. Read the first in an occasional series chronicling their journey. (Photo by Bill Tiernan | The Virginian-Pilot)

From “Jinan’s journey from Iraq to Hampton Roads” by Corinne Reilly

When Chief Petty Officer Mike Beane returned from six months in Iraq, he was greeted by his daughter Savannah who walked toward him using leg braces and a walker. Born with spina bifida, doctors were uncertain if she’d ever be able to walk. Beane lowered his sunglasses, wiping away tears. “My daughter can walk.” (Photo by Ross Taylor | The Virginian-Pilot)

From “Girl surprises Dad with new skills after his return from Iraq” by Marjon Rostami