Summer Classics, an outdoor furniture retailer, just opened their first store in the state at 7905 W. Broad Street in the Near West End. The 12,000 square feet of showroom and warehouse carries wrought aluminum, cast aluminum, weatherproof wicker, wrought iron and teak.

The news that nearly two dozen underage University of Richmond students who were caught drinking, will serve 50 hours of community service each, along with driving restrictions is not really strange. The strange part is the a Roanoke television station, the NBC affiliate, WSLS, Channel 10, chose to report on the sentencing and wrote, the students will “pay their debt to society by helping revitalize Henrico County.” How strange to hear that Henrico County needs revitaizing. The neighborhood where the students were caught (Short Pump) is one of the most affluent in the area.

The story goes on to state, “The students will work on projects that range from picking up trash to helping the elderly with lawn care.”

The Times-Dispatch covered the same story in a more straight forward manner.

Henrico County Economic Development Authority announced yesterday, that Trader Joe’s will open in the Short Pump area, adjacent to the new Whole Foods Market in early Fall. This is the most specific opening date that has been reported.

Trader Joe’s, a privately held grocery store company founded in 1958, will be opening a store in Henrico County’s Short Pump Station shopping center by the early fall of 2008. It currently has over 280 locations in 23 states. While it carries standard items, it is primarily an organic grocer offering both private label and store brand organic products which translates to lower prices for the consumer. Trader Joe’s will be located near a current Ukrops, Kroger and the future Whole Foods Market which will be opening at the West Broad Village across from the Tom Leonard’s Farmer’s Market. “It’s not surprising that Trader Joe’s found their way to Henrico County, said Toney Hall, marketing director for the Henrico Economic Development Authority. A grocer of this nature adds another element of variety to our mixed use, community-oriented living environment.”

The Sports Backers announced today that The University of Richmond will host the 2008 Davenport Professional Squash Championship February 25th to March 1st.

The Championship will attract professional and elite players from around the world. The competition will be held in a high visibility glass-walled court at the UR’s Millhiser Gym February 25th to March 1st. Qualifying matches will be held February 23rd and 24th at the Country Club of Virginia.

“This draw is will be the strongest draw anywhere in the U.S. this year and probably one of the top six strongest draws anywhere in the world in 2008,” says tournament director Gus Cook, who is also the head squash pro at the Country Club of Virginia.

“With $80,000 in prize money, we have achieved super series status,” adds fundraising chairman David Hetherington. “It’s a strong statement to the global squash community that Richmond is on the map with London, Hong Kong and New York City.”

Squash, the racquet sport played indoors on hardwood courts with elongated racquets and rubber balls that are softer than racquet balls (hence they “squash” when hit,) has a burgeoning presence in Richmond.
The top 12 world ranked players that have committed to play are: Ramy Ashour Egypt, world #2; Greg Gaultier, France, world # 3; David Palmer, Australia, world #4; James Wilstrop, England, world #6; Thierry Lincou, France, world #7; Karim Darwish, Egypt, world #8; John White, Scotland, world #9; Wael El Hindi, Egypt, world #10 and others.

Tickets are available for squash matches set for Monday, February 25th to Wednesday, February 27th. Matches for Thursday, February 28, 2008 to Saturday, March 1st are sold out. There will be free parking for spectators in the Special Events Lot at the University of Richmond.

The Virginia Squash Racquets Association has the complete schedule.

The Near West End’s Mary Munford Elementary School is hosting an auction to raise funds for its student foreign language program on March 1st at 7 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center.
Highlights of the even include MC and auctioning performed by juggler Jonathan Austin, paintings by Ed Trask, and Laura Loe, framed and signed one-of-a-kind print from Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker singer David Lowery, a twilight flight, event tickets and vacation home rentals.
The cost is $10 and includes food and drink from Andrea Huntjens of the Flying Chef and cakes by Caroline Pascual the Bake Cakery.

Security upgrades are being considered at Tuckahoe Middle School, and Tucker High School (as well as plenty of other middle and high schools in other parts of the county) after the recent shooting at a college campus.

School Board members have discussed placing an additional school-security officer at Tuckahoe, Brookland and Fairfield middle schools and possibly a second armed school-resource officer at Henrico, Varina and J.R. Tucker high schools; all feature campus-style architecture.

“We would have somebody outside the buildings constantly surveying the land,” Bagby said.

A security officer also could help monitor bathrooms and breezeways, he said.

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Geez, I really want to say something here, but I’m afraid I’ll get myself in trouble….so….Here’s the the story, just plain straight from WRIC.

A Henrico County mother is facing several charges after allegedly driving drunk with her four children in her vehicle.

According to police, 37-year-old Robin Barron drove to The Playing Field on West Broad Street Monday night. Barron allegedly left her four children, ages nine months to nine years old, inside her car while she was in the establishment.

After Barron left the bar, she allegedly drove, intoxicated, with her children in the car until she crashed on West End Drive. No one was hurt in the crash.

Barron is facing one count of drunk driving and four counts of felony child endangerment.

The University of Richmond Spiders are tied for second place in the Atlantic 10 conference after yesterdays overtime win from behind over Charlotte. The final score was Richmond 79, Charlotte 76. The Spiders are 14-10 overall, and won four of the last five games.

The University of Richmond’s online student magazine, 21st Century Student Voice, just published an article about how the “Freshman 15″ doesn’t really apply at U of R, because the students there are perfectionists.

I know, shocking! I’m not sure that this is something to brag about, but apparently the Dean thinks it is. Even more shocking is that the Dean relates the UR atmostphere to a 2003 Duke University report that describes the social atmosphere as “effortless perfection.” Here’s the quote:

Perfectionism drives a number of students at the University of Richmond to lose weight instead of gaining the “freshman 15,” Westhampton College Dean Juliette Landphair said in an interview last week at the Deanery.

…….

Weight loss is a bigger issue than weight gain at Richmond because many students are driven by perfectionism, Landphair said. “Like Duke and more selective institutions, students here tend to be more perfectionistic,” she said.

In a 2003 Duke University report, undergraduates said their social atmosphere was characterized by “effortless perfection,” Landphair said. Students felt there was an expectation to be “smart, accomplished, fit, beautiful and popular, and that all this would happen without visible effort,” she said.

I am really surprised that quote came out of the mouth of the Dean of UR’s Westhampton College. Does she really think that will make people want to go there?

Meanwhile, Seventeen Magazine, is promoting their Body Peace Treaty, and is keeping it real for the rest of us.

Kudos to the University of Richmond women’s swim team, who won first place in the Atlantic 10 Conference - despite having fewer swimmers and no divers competing.

The Richmond Spiders swimming team finished off their seventh-consecutive Atlantic 10 Conference title Saturday night in Buffalo, N.Y., winning by 202.5 points over second-place Xavier.

Freshman Nicole LePere set an A-10 record in the 200 back, becoming the only swimmer to break an individual record in the meet.

Senior Jessica Witt was named the Most Outstanding Performer for the second time in her career (2006), while third-year head coach Matt Barany earned his third-straight Coach of the Year honor.

The Spiders’ 690.5 points is their fewest during this record-setting run over the last seven seasons, while their margin of victory is the narrowest since beating St. Bonaventure by 167.5 points in 2002 to win their first title.

Richmond entered the meet with just 13 swimming and no divers, while most teams brought 18 or 19 swimmers to Buffalo.

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