David Culver said goodbye to WAVY, the NBC affiliate in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, on Sunday (video above). As we told you last month, Culver is joining the Northern Virginia bureau at WRC, the NBC O&O in Washington, DC.

“I’m smart enough to say this is not goodbye,” Culver said. “Right now it’s just a moment for me to say thanks.”

Last month, WRC announced plans to open more bureaus in the Washington, DC area. Now, the NBC O&O is releasing more details on the station’s plans for a Northern Virginia bureau, which is set to be fully operational before the end of the year.

Julie Carey (right) who has worked at WRC for 20 years, will be the bureau chief. Carey will be joined by photographer Sean Casey, a lifelong resident of Northern Virginia who has worked at WRC for 15 years.

WRC has also hired a new reporter, David Culver (left), who will be exclusively assigned to the bureau. Culver joins the station on December 17 after four years at WAVY, the NBC affiliate in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia.

“With our team is fully in place, viewers will see that News4 is the best source for news from Northern Virginia,” WRC president and general manager Jackie Bradford said in a statement.  “We are even better positioned to tell big stories that affect the region as well as those in local communities that impact neighborhoods.” Read more

Shortly before 9:30amET this morning from the USS Wisconsin in Norfolk, VA, Mitt Romney introduced Paul Ryan as his vice presidential running mate on the Republican presidential ticket.

NBC-affiliate WAVY,  CBS-affiliate WTKR and ABC-affiliate WVEC all elected to produce their own coverage instead of airing national coverage produced by their respective affiliated networks.

On WTKR, Juliet Bickford anchored, with Laurie Simmons live from the campaign rally. On WVEC, Mike Gooding helmed coverage from the USS Wisconsin. David Culver anchored coverage on NBC-affiliate WAVY, with Andy Fox at the announcement site. Read more