In my opinion, the most historically noteworthy place in Virginia isn't Jamestown, Williamsburg or even Richmond. It is Hampton Roads - at least when it comes to modern times.

The massive commercial port and Navy base really lets you know what's going on around the globe. The point was driven home to me in recent weeks as Richmond writer Garry Kranz, Washington-based reporter Brett Lieberman, Norfolk photographer Mark Rhodes and I prepared our annual special report on Hampton Roads. Brett's piece looks at how the military in the Tidewater area and elsewhere is finally getting a break on pay raises - just at the right time given its valiant efforts to snuff out Al Qaeda-based terrorism. Garry reports how history might be repeating itself as Virginia universities go after each other to bag a new institute for aviation research near NASA's Langley Research Center.

Our showpiece story explores the biggest port expansion in Hampton Roads' history. The port will nearly double in capacity in the next 15 years to better position Virginia to snare more of the fast-growing global economy. Thanks to the kind hospitality of Moran Towing Co., Mark and I spent a day on several tugboats to see things from the water up. As we rode up and down the Elizabeth River, I couldn't help but think about just how key Hampton Roads is and the changes that I have seen since 1973 when I first worked there as a college intern for The Virginian-Pilot.

Just as the conflicts between Arabs and Israelis dominate headlines now, back in the summer of 1973 the Yom Kippur War was just about to explode. Navy and Air Force bases nearby would rush war materials to Israel, which would be fighting for its survival. Six years later, a Pilot photographer and I got onto the Norfolk Naval Air Station to interview helicopter crews. Their squadron had been involved in the Desert One mishap to rescue American hostages held in Tehran. Shortly afterwards, a big spike in oil prices because of the Iranian crisis meant coal was suddenly a fuel of choice. More than 150 big colliers waited at anchor at Cape Henry for space at the clogged coal docks - a scene that could repeat itself if current conflicts in the Middle East and South Asia blow out of control.

Back in the 1970s, coal and autos were the big cargo items. Today, they are containers filled with inexpensive consumer goods for mass marketers like Wal-Mart or Dollar Tree. The shipping lines are becoming more Asian than European, and English is becoming less and less the business language on the waterfront.

Another bit of history: Two of the tugs that Mark and I rode, the Town Point and the Cavalier, were the very same vessels that I focused upon for a similar feature story I wrote for the now-defunct Ledger-Star back in 1975. Back then, docking pilots made a whopping $35,000 a year and Barbara Walters was host of The Today Show. Norfolk's gleaming downtown waterfront was only beginning to take shape. But the tug crews of today showed me exactly the same professionalism and courtesy that they did 27 years ago. I hope you find our reports useful.

Peter Galuszka Executive Editor