The 1708 Gallery, downtown, is holding an art opening this Friday, January 4th at 7 p.m., as part of First Fridays, including art from Kai Richter, Kathy Snow Stratton, Merrill Shatzman. The show, Constructing Form, runs through January 26th.
German artist, Kai Richter, is a family friend with ties to the Near West End and Northside. His mother, Florrie Richter, went to St. Catherine’s and his Grandmother, Mrs. Wimble, is at Westminister Canterbury in Richmond’s Northside. Richter’s art typically is construction inspired installation, it will be intersting to see how he adapts his work to the 1708 Gallery and his American audience. He is interested in exploring the relationship between weight and foundation with raw construction materials. Sort of a deconstructed building meets pick-up sticks.

The University of Richmond just got a whole lot closer to getting the football stadium it wants — $5 million closer, plus an additional $3 million for construction of the Westhampton Center project for its female students.
It’s hard for me to imagine how they will transform the current on-campus stadium into one large enough for football games, but apparently that is the plan. It will be a nice addition to the neighborhood — save the traffic havoc it creates.

The University of Richmond’s plans for an expanded on-campus football stadium and a new student center have received a major boost with grants from the Robins Foundation totaling $8 million.

UR officials announced today that a $5 million grant from the foundation will be used to complete fundraising to expand the existing on-campus stadium to hold football games — in addition to lacrosse, soccer and track competition that use the stadium now.

A $3 million grant will help construct a new building adjacent to the existing Westhampton College Deanery that will serve as the foundation for the Westhampton Center project.

The expanded stadium will hold a maximum of 9,000 spectators. According to a UR statement, the university is working to secure a special-use permit from the city of Richmond in order to proceed with construction.

School officials expect the stadium project to be completed in time for the football team’s 2010 home opener. The Robins grant brings the stadium project’s fundraising total to more than $25 million.

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I was at Ellwood Thompson’s yesterday and you know what they told me? In addition to no longer having plastic bags in 2008, in a few weeks they eliminate paper bags as well. Your options: buy (ugly green fabric) reusable ones that cost $1.99 or carry your stuff in your arms. If you ask me, that is pretty typical of Ellwood’s approach to customer service.

I am all for supporting reuse of bags and recycling, but to me this seemed a bit extreme — especially in light of the fact that Whole Foods Market will be coming to Short Pump this Spring and there have been unconfirmed whispers that the mysterious Trader Joe’s will follow suit. Just to let you know how pro-reusable bag I am, I carry my reusable bags into *gasp* Walmart, and endure many huffs and puffs from the Walmart clerks who are just not used to that, and find it so much more trouble than double plastic bagging excessively.

When I asked the Ellwood’s manager on duty what he would do if someone forgot their reusable bag, he said they had two choices — no bag or buy a very expensive reusable one. No other options. I won’t even mention all of the other bad customer service I observed on this visit. Ellwood Thompson is in for a rude awakening when Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s do open.
Personally, I like Trader Joe’s approach to reusable bags. Give people the freedom to choose, paper or reusable ones, but make the reusable ones so cool looking, sturdy and practical, that you just really want to use them. Trader Joe’s bags are made out of Polypropylene, a woven plastic type surface (think tarp) that is incredibly sturdy and wipes clean easily. The handles are long and reinforced nylon webbing. And best of all, they make a statement. In fact, they have trouble keeping them in stock they are so popular. And, they sell them at a loss, because they want you to own one and use it. Helps the environment and it is free advertising for one of the coolest grocery stores in the country.

Daniel Berlinerman, was caught near Willow Lawn back on September 18th. Yesterday he pleaded guilty to 3 counts of robbery.

JAMES CITY – A serial bank robber who eluded local authorities for more than a year pleaded guilty Friday in Williamsburg-James City County Circuit Court to three counts of robbery.

Daniel Berlinerman, 38, pleaded guilty to robbing banks in Williamsburg in September 2006, May and August.

As part of a plea agreement, prosecutors won’t pursue two other robbery charges and five grand larceny charges.

….

Berlinerman was captured during a traffic stop in Henrico County on Sept. 18, almost immediately after the robbery of Village Bank on Willow Lawn Drive in the Richmond area.

He faces four robbery charges in Henrico in bank heists there in June, July and September. He also faces a charge in York County in a November 2006 bank robbery.

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We’ve added something new the Near West End News. The movie listings for the Westhampton Theatre.
Atonement, one of the moview playing there, was recently reviewed by Susan Howson over at RVA News. Sounds like something to see!

Word on the street is that University of Richmond head coach, Dave Clawson, may be leaving UR to be the offensive coordinator for the Tenessee Vols.
While no official announcement has been made, there is plenty of chatter about his impending departure.
CSTV reports the announcement could be made today.

GO Vols Xtra had these details:

University of Richmond head football coach Dave Clawson is the latest candidate to interview for Tennessee’s vacant offensive coordinator position, sources told the News Sentinel.

Clawson spent Monday in Knoxville interviewing with UT coach Phillip Fulmer, the third known candidate to interview for the job since David Cutcliffe left Dec. 15 to become Duke’s head coach.

Other possible candidates, according to sources, are former Michigan assistants Mike DeBord, and Scott Loeffler. Loeffler interviewed with Fulmer before the Outback Bowl in Tampa, Fla.

Clemson offensive coordinator Rob Spence and San Francisco 49ers quarterbacks coach Frank Cignetti also interviewed for the job.

Spence told reporters he’d remain at Clemson shortly before the Chick-fil-A Bowl and reaffirmed that Sunday in the Charleston (S.C.) Post and Courier. Also Sunday, Cal named Cignetti its offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

UT also spoke with former assistant Kippy Brown, who has since been promoted from wide receivers coach to passing game coordinator by the Detroit Lions.

Clawson, 40, has been with the Spiders since 2004.

A phone call to Clawson’s office went unanswered Monday evening.

Prior to joining Richmond, Clawson was the head coach for five seasons at Fordham and offensive coordinator at Villanova for three seasons. While at Villanova, he coached Philadelphia Eagles running back Brian Westbrook.

In the last two seasons at Richmond, the Spiders’ offense has set a school record with 8,817 total yards.

This season, Richmond finished 11-3, losing to eventual national champion Appalachian State 55-35 in the playoffs

Considering that UR’s swim coach, Matt Kredich, also left UR to coach the Lady Vols swim team (back in 2004), I wouldn’t doubt that UT was happy with their first recruitment and decided to go for a second Spider coach.

Harry Kollatz, over at The Blue Raccoon, has some interesting ponderings about the state of politics in Richmond. Of particular interest is the saga of how much the Richmond City School Board knew of the planned eviction from City Hall and when they knew it. Did they in fact participate in the planning of their own eviction and then plead ignorance? Or is Wilder just orchestrating another dirty trick? Only time will tell.
Don’t we have something better to be spending our resources on?

The January 2, 2008 issue of Style carries the article headlined, “Did schools help plan attempted move?”
Chris Dovi writes, “Schools administration officials, who have maintained their ignorance about why the move was carried out so suddenly — under the cover of night and with the aid of Richmond Police — were far more involved in the planning of that move than previously disclosed, according to internal documents obtained by Style Weekly.

City documents and interoffice communications obtained through multiple Freedom of Information Act requests indicate that schools officials not only knew about the planned move, but also were initially involved in negotiating the lease for the 3600 W. Broad St. building where Wilder tried to move them. They also helped develop the timeline to move schools offices out of City Hall by Sept. 30.”

I refer you to the article linked above; suffice to say, the school administration doesn’t come across as more sinned against than sinning but more confused and willful than smart. And the Governor-Mayor is, well, his intransigent self. The immovable object and the irresistible force paradox comes to mind…

By Saturday, January 5, matters had proceeded further, as described by the Times-Dispatch’s Michael Martz, as “members of a special committee of Richmond City Council are demanding a full accounting of a botched attempt to evict the school administration from City Hall.”

The Near West End’s Mary Munford is among those schools honored by the Governor’s Award for Educational Excellence.

The award is the highest honor under a new incentive program for schools and school divisions created by the Board of Education to advance Governor Timothy M. Kaine’s “competence to excellence” agenda.

“Students in these schools are soaring far beyond the minimum requirements of the Standards of Learning and No Child Left Behind,” Kaine said in a release this morning. “It speaks to the strength of public education in the commonwealth that the 89 schools that have earned this distinction include schools in rural, suburban and urban communities and schools in every part of the state.”

Other local schools honored were:

Henrico County: Glen Allen Elementary, Nuckols Farm Elementary, Pemberton Elementary, Rivers Edge Elementary, Shady Grove Elementary, Short Pump Elementary, Springfield Park Elementary and Twin Hickory Elementary.

Richmond: A.V. Norrell Elementary, Fairfield Court Elementary,George Mason Elementary and Mary Munford Elementary.

Chesterfield County: Grange Hall Elementary, Midlothian Middle, Swift Creek Elementary and W.W. Gordon Elementary