Near West End

North Richmond News has the info regarding Richmond’s Department of Public Utilities upcoming community meetings. These meetings will discuss efforts to establish a Stormwater Utility Program to prevent neighborhood flooding in the future. More info via the city’s press release.

The meeting for our area will be held Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2007, from 7:00 until 9:00 p.m. at Mary Munford Elementary School Auditorium, 211 Westmoreland Street.

“There is a tremendous need to create a dedicated funding source to address the flooding and drainage issues that are prevalent throughout our community,” said the Mayor. “This revised proposal for a stormwater utility provides a reasonable solution to help prevent those issues in the future.”

The reductions in the water and wastewater rates will virtually offset the cost of the stormwater utility fee for one- and two-person households with an average monthly utility usage, while the rate reductions will help to minimize the cost of the stormwater utility program for larger households.

“We need to bring about equity among the customers of our public utilities so that individuals are only paying their fair share of the expenses, not subsidizing the cost for non-residential customers,” said the Mayor.

DPU Director Chris Beschler will lead the meetings, which will be held in each part of the City and are open to all citizens. Below is the date for the North Richmond meeting, and five other meetings scheduled around town

The BUILD SCHOOLS NOW initiative was born in response to the letter written by the business community calling for the elimination of the elected school board and is the people’s cry to leadership to end fighting and finger pointing and make a capital investment in public education.

The BUILD SCHOOLS NOW initiative is the creation of a coalition to begin a public movement on behalf of the children in Richmond City Public Schools that calls for the groundbreaking and development of new schools as the first phase towards enhancing the public school system. On November 5, 2007, at 5:15pm you are invited to come and meet the organizational and community leaders of this coalition. At this press conference we will share details of our plans to end political in-fighting and advance educational opportunities for our children and move this city towards a new vision for public education.

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6:30 to 9:30pm - Henrico County candidates forum including board of supervisors and school board candidates for all magisterial districts. J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College, The Gallery, Basement Room 1, Maggie and Dimitri Georgiadis Hall, 1651 E. Parham Road. Sponsor: The Henrico Business Council. [via]

Looks like another excellent, busy week in the NWEN area. If you have any NWEN-related events, activities, etc. you’d like to let us know about, please do!

• Monday - 10:00am: Storytime at Barnes & Noble at Libbie Place; 8:00pm: 21st Annual Weinstein-Rosenthal Lecture at UR
• Tuesday - 10:30am: Computer basics for seniors at West End Library; 4:00pm: UR hosts Domestic Violence Month programming; 6:30pm: PURE Belly Dancing
• Thursday - 10:00am: Infant to PreK at Barnes & Noble, Libbie Place; 4:30pm: UR hosts panel discussion titled “Fifty Years Later: The Legacies of Little Rock”
• Saturday- 9:00am: Richmond City Town Hall Meeting; 11:00: Brunswick Stew Festival

I’m going to let you in on a little secret. There is a very talented woman, who lives in the Near West End who bakes the most amazing cakes. I know I shouldn’t get this excited about a cake, but really, these things are homemade, with the best ingredients, made with love. These are the kind of cakes that don’t need ice cream. …That put box mixes to shame.

Please hold me to my word — I will never make a box cake mix again! I am so tired of lifeless, flat, hydrogenated, chemical additive tasting, too sweet cakes that have no substance. These cakes are real. You can taste the eggs, and the actual ingredients….real candied pecans, fresh lemon and blueberries. Whole cranberries and cream cheese. After a sweets tasting party today, I’m sure she will be booked baking cakes for weeks. I think I’m going to order one for my daughters birthday party — I just have to figure out which one.

My favorites are the Pecan Praline Cake, and the Lemon Blueberry Cake. But Caroline, the baker, also makes cheesecakes, and awesome Chocolate Stout Cake and all sorts of cookies. A website is in the works….but until then, you can email Caroline at thebakecakery[at]gmail[dot]com or call 334-1395 to place an order or have a cake menu sent. Place your holiday orders early, I bet this one woman show will have more baking orders than she can handle in the next few weeks.

Drivers heading in Short Pump tonight will experience delays as VDOT routes Interstate 64 and I-295 traffic onto West Broad Street at exit 178 for 3 miles. Traffic will reenter I-64 at exit 175.

Thursday nights from 10 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. Crews will be demolishing the Pouncey Tract Road bridge over I-64 as part of the Interstate 295 flyover construction.

Motorists will be detoured at Exit 178 and be able to re-enter I-64 west at Exit 175.

[via]

Henrico County enacted mandatory water restriction for all Henrico residents yesterday. The restrictions also apply to Goochland residents and business, because they get their water from Henrico.

The restrictions prohibit:

• all watering of lawns, gardens and other established landscaping (except by buckets of up to five gallons);

• non-commercial vehicle washing;

• washing of paved areas, except for health and safety requirements;

• the use of water in fountains.

The restrictions allow new landscaping to be watered for the first 30 days after planting, at which time it will be prohibited. Restaurants will be permitted to serve water only to customers who request it, and golf courses will be prohibited from watering between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m., except on greens or with small hand-held hoses.

[via]

Bob Black of the University of Richmond Athletics Department sent us the following release of a new fund established in the name of Dan Woolley, ‘05:

The University of Richmond community was deeply saddened to learn about the passing of Daniel “Dan” Woolley `05. The thoughts of many at the University of Richmond community are with Dan’s family and friends during this difficult time.

Dan was such a remarkable, inspiring and encouraging person to be around. Although short in stature, Dan stood tall as an integral part of the men’s basketball program. He served as team manager from 2002-05 and was an inspiration for the University of Richmond community.

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We’ve had a few visitors share their Flickr pictures with us, that you can see about halfway down the right scrollbar as well as via our Flickr pool here. Feel free to join the pool and contribute. Your pics will show up as well!

Some of our favorites include (click on the pic for the large version):

One of the things I love most about Richmond is how it is so small. Not so small that everyone knows your business, but just small enough that if you are at an event, say the Folk Festival, that you might run into someone who you haven’t seen in, oh about 15 years.
And it might actually be one of the few people in the world who knew both you and your husband before you and your husband new each other.
Anyway, running into this old friend, I learned about a neat new arts website, they are running called, Poplular Ink. Poplular Ink is looking for submission — art, video, poetry, music, fiction and non-fiction.
The witty website even offers you a handy red button, just press it when you are ready to submit all that creative hard work.
And, in the mean time, remember, It does matter what you wear to Ukrop’s — because you will definitely run into someone that you know.

We got a tip about a new housewares store, the Openhouse, which opened at 5807 Patterson Ave., near the Patterson and Libbie intersection.

Openhouse sells handmade home goods (bedding, dinnerware, ceramics, kitchen textiles, decorative items) by independent product designers. No mass-manufacturing and mainly environmentally friendly designs. Lots of goods for the modern home including some baby items and the occasional stationary good as well.

Check out their blog/website at www.openhouse-richmond.com and/or send them an email at openhouse.richmond@gmail[dot]com.

Definitely looks like a wonderful store worth checking out!

The Times-Dispatch released statistical info today from the Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce that reveals Richmond ranks well when compared to seven other metropolitan areas.

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The ever-continuing water shortage issue has launched into overdrive with the latest restriction updates, courtesy of the Times-Dispatch.

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The University of Richmond enjoyed great success with its EWaste initiative held on October 11-13. This community event invited all types of old computer and electronics equipment users ranging from consumers to businesses to schools to allow them to drop off their unused gear, at no cost to them, for recycling purposes. (Photo by VCU)

According to Richmond.com:

The Richmond campus hosted an e-waste recycling event Oct. 11-13, collecting about 250,000 pounds of computers, keyboards and other electronics. Organizers hope the event will be the first of many for the university.

If anyone has EWaste they’d like to let go of, St. Christopher’s School, 711 St. Christopher’s Road, also holds an annual event of this nature. We’ll keep our readers apprised of the event dates.

In addition, North Richmond News is reporting an event at the Diamond on November 17th.

Well, this isn’t the Near West End….But, The Byrd House Market in Oregon Hill, is the closest farmers market to the Near West End. I haven’t been there yet, so maybe I shouldn’t be suggesting it….but I have heard such great things!

Now that the official CSA Sprout Organic Shares are done for the season, we get to go and pick out our own veggie and this week, I’m thinking I’ll stop by the Byrd House Market instead of the 17th Street Farmer’s market to collect them. Victory Farms, which raises the food for Sprout always has the best greens and veggies. Last week we ate arugula, broccoli rabe, butternut squash, and Swiss chard. I also have my eye on the apples and locally grown sweet potatoes at Mica Hill Farm. Don’t ask me why I’m trying to figure out why I need 40 pounds of them….for a steal of a deal at $25.

Plus they have stories, kids activities and more. And, if you wait until October 30th to go to to the Byrd House Market they will have the PURE Richmond Belly dance Troupe performing at 6:30. I love belly dancers, and my kids do too. There is something mesmerizing about watching them and hearing the clang of their metal decorations. Plus their goal is to bring peace, healing and goodwill to the community — can’t argue with that!

There’s a lot going on this week in the NWEN area including lots of Halloween activities on Saturday:

• Monday & Tuesday - Richmond Regional Summit on Preventing Infant Deaths at the Downtown Marriott
• Monday - Storytime at Barnes & Noble
• Tuesday - Computer Basics for Seniors at the West End Library
• Thursday - Storytime for PreK & Infants at Barnes & Noble
• Friday - Henrico County Surplus Sale
• Saturday - UR’s Trick or Treat Street, Boo at the Barn at Maymont and Mary Munford’s Spooky Saturday

The Tabitha Geary Store will open at 506 Libbie Ave., between Grove and Patterson avenues. At first glance, I wasn’t sure what kind of store this was until I thought, maybe, it was a fashion store. I was wrong:

Her growing business takes photos, letters, artwork, slides, cards, and kids’ school work and scans them into a computer. Then those mementos can be preserved on a CD and/or organized into custom scrapbooks, collages and DVDs…

…Geary started her business in 2005 as O.K. Picture This. She changed the name a few months ago after receiving guidance and infusion of a “significant amount” of capital from a handful of local investors. [via]

Hope her store does well, although, the name change might make more than a few potential customers wonder, vaguely, what her store is.

Here’s the latest University of Richmond Spiders Sports update from Bob Black:

Gameday Central: #18 Richmond vs. Rhode Island
No. 18 Richmond is back in the friendly confines of UR Stadium Saturday versus Rhode Island where it is 2-0 this season and averaging 43.5 points per game. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET. It’s Ukrop’s 2-for-1 Day! Use your UVC Card of First Market Bank MarketShare Card and receive two tickets for the price of one!

Men’s Soccer Heads To Philly To Play Temple And Saint Joseph’s
The men’s soccer team will look to get back on track when the Spiders head to Philadelphia this weekend to take on Temple Friday and Saint Joseph’s Sunday.

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Henrico County could take a step next week toward mandatory water restrictions. The board of supervisors is scheduled to vote Tuesday on an emergency ordinance that would authorize the county manager to require customers to restrict their use of public water if flows on the James River fall to certain levels, said Arthur D. Petrini, the county’s director of utilities. Mandatory restrictions, which also would apply to customers in Goochland and Hanover counties who get their water from Henrico, could be in place within one to three weeks if there is no substantial rain, he said. [via]

Just when all seemed to be looking up, the Mayor and City Council continues to feud over the Mayor’s suspected (by City Council) withholding of school funds as reported by the Times-Dispatch:

Council members accused Black, the mayor’s top finance officer, of defying the law by continuing to withhold money appropriated for schools, despite budget provisions that make the action a misdemeanor offense…

…Further, the audit found that the school system does little to manage its cash flow. As a result, the school administration wastes the opportunity to earn interest on its money by waiting to pay bills until they are due, it said. In one case, the city earned about $3,000 in interest by waiting to pay a bill 11 days longer than the school system had planned.

I like this paragraph, especially since it was mentioned by our 1st District Councilman Bruce Tyler:

Initially, council members urged Black to sit down and talk to school finance officials to resolve the dispute. The Finance Committee promised to schedule a special meeting to settle the dispute. “I would like to see a meeting of the minds on this,” said Councilman Bruce W. Tyler, 1st District.

Only question I have is, after all of this idiotic immaturity, are there any “minds” left for an effective meeting?

In addition, WTVR has more info.