The governor's office has released a Request for Information (RFI) on behalf of the Virginia Office of Public-Private Partnerships (VAP3) and the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy (DMME).
Popeye is an American from Santa Monica, California. (According to the official site.)
This is all speculation, but I've always thought that the animated cartoon Popeye was a New Englander. In the cartoon, She-Sick Sailors, there's a sign at the train station near Olive's house that says Bridgeport, Connecticut. In the Famous Studios' cartoons, Olive sometimes has a slight New York Jewish accent.