We got a note today from concerned reader and dog-lover Emily Griffey. If you love dogs, or want a say about the Parks and Recs master plan for the city, read this!

 For several months now, I’ve been taking my dog Sydney to the field at Thompson and Kensington after work.  Sydney loves to run around the field and play with other dogs.  All of the dogs are very nice and the owners are very respectful.  They clean up after their pets and enjoy camaraderie with the other dog owners and the excitement it brings their pets.  We know the field officially belongs to the school system and have been respectful of their property.  I have never seen a student or group of students on the field but know that I would clear the area if any showed up.
 
Recently the safety of the field has been compromised.  Someone has locked one of the gates permanently open so that dogs could potentially escape and run into traffic on Thompson Street.  This is not a safe situation for the dogs, who’s owners do not realize the field’s safety has been obstructed, or drivers on a relatively busy road.  Please help us make sure the field can be enjoyed safely by people and their pets.
 

Moreover, please consider using your voice to make the field a permanent dog park.  The Fan, Museum District and Malvern Area are home to many dog lovers who love their neighborhoods and their pets.  The sacrifice yard space to live in a vibrant neighborhood.  These individuals stay in a neighborhood with some of the highest home values in the city and an excellent quality of life in part because they want to meet their neighbors on frequent walks with their dogs around the block.  We would love it even more when we have a safe place for our dogs to freely roam off leash.
 
Richmond is proud of its reputation as one of the most pet friendly cities.  It is nice to have publicly supported dog parks in Byrd Park at Barker Field and at the recently opened Church Hill Park.  Certainly the Fan, Museum District and Malvern Area have enough dog lovers and tax payers to support another dog park in the vicinity.  Please consider making the field at Thompson and Kensington a permanent dog park.

  Let your voice be heard at one of the upcoming hearings on the Parks and Recreation Master Plan. 
 
   Public Meetings:
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Noon - Hickory Hill Conference Room, 3000 East Belt Blvd.
Noon - Pine Camp Arts and Community Center, 4901 Old Brook Road
6 p.m. - Hickory Hill Conference Room, 3000 East Belt Blvd.
6 p.m. - Pine Camp Arts and Community Center, 4901 Old Brook Road
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Noon - Forest Hill Park Stone House, 4100 Forest Hill Ave.
Noon - Byrd Park Roundhouse, 800 S. Davis Ave.
6 p.m. - Powhatan Community Center, 5051 Northampton St.
6 p.m. - Randolph Community Center, 1415 Grayland Ave
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Noon - Humphrey Calder Community Center, 414 N. Thompson St.
6 p.m. - Bellemeade Community Center, 1800 Lynhaven Ave.

Today, Wednesday October 1st, Barack Obama and John McCain’s top energy advisors will be debating at the University of Richmond Law School. What better way to get your questions answered about what Obama and McCain plan on doing! There is no better way to show what we want from a clean energy future than to speak directly to the people who write the policies during your lunchbreak!!

WHEN: Wednesday October 1st, 12:15 PM
WHERE: University of Richmond School of Law, Moot Court Room
Directions: http://www.richmond.edu/visit/directions
Map of campus: http://www.richmond.edu/visit/directions/campusmap.pdf

Is chocolate on the horizon for the Willow Lawn corridor?

Suddenly Willow Lawn is rife with fast-casual chains, including Panera, Jason’s and Chipotle. And while those places have their followings, it’s a Charlottesville-based business that deserves attention from cuisine-conscious diners who are watching the clock.

Sticks Kebob Shop “wasn’t engineered by a committee,” says owner Bill Hamilton, whose fine-dining restaurant Hamilton’s is a C’ville landmark. “We’re food people and we designed this to be the kind of place we’d want to eat. It’s an honest homage to a great group of food cultures that aren’t well explored,” he says of the Southern Mediterranean menu.

It’s an order-at-the-counter setting for an adaptable, mix-and-match selection of hummus, roasted eggplant salad, grilled veggies, flatbreads and meat, shrimp or garden kebobs served on basmati rice with house-made sauces. There are two long-running shops in Charlottesville, and Richmond is a third link in a larger business plan.

If all goes according to Hamilton’s designs, a Gearhart’s Fine Chocolates retail shop could be coming here next. That’s another of his holdings with its own cult following.

According to Style Weekly, it is a definite possibility.

I’ve been seeing signs for Arts on the Grove outside the Seventh Street Christian Church on Grove Avenue. What’s it all about? A feast for the eyes and ears — a juried art show and classical music.  Here is some info from their extensive website if you are looking for something to do in the neighborhood on Saturday.

October 4, 2008
From 10am to 5pm
**RAIN or SHINE**

 With the presidential election on everyone’s mind, maybe now is a good time to remind folks to  register to vote. Monday is the last day to register and still vote in the presidential election.  So, if you are not registered, get on it. And, if you’ve moved since the last time you voted, you better update your address!

Deadline to Register: The last day to register to vote to be eligible for the November 4, 2008 General Election is Close of Business October 6, 2008. Applications must be in the voter registration office or posted marked by that date. Normal processing time is about thirty (30) days.

Contact the State Election Board for more details.

As reported in today’s Times-Dispatch, the University of Richmond is one of about 1,000 schools affected by Commonfund’s Short Term Fund’s decision to partially freeze withdrawals this week.  Wachovia Corp is trustee for the $9.3 billion fund. 

According to the article:

Herb Peterson, UR’s vice president for business and finance, called the action “concerning but understandable.”

UR has $100 million invested with the fund. He said UR has access to
$40 million of that amount now “and we’ll get the rest of it.”

Peterson said the action was necessary to prevent a run on the fund
that would force a sell-off of investments. He did not expect it to
cause a problem for UR.

“It was the right thing to do to avoid taking losses that would have cost all of us money,” he said.

The Henrico County Division of Police will hold a rabies clinic
on Saturday, Oct. 18, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., at gate four of Richmond
International Raceway.

       Shots cost $7, cash only, and include a rabies tag and
certificate of inoculation. Dog owners may purchase a 2009 license for
$10 with proof of rabies inoculation.

Cats and dogs ages 4 months and older are required to be
vaccinated for rabies. Contact Animal Protection at 727-8800 for more
information.

The Times-Dispatch has  nice article on the new Inuit Art display at the University of RIchmond’s Harnett Museum of Art, that we mentioned a few weeks ago.  The show opened in October and runs through November 16th.

In less than a decade, Dan Albrecht has catapulted himself into the world’s top tier of collectors of Inuit art.

All the while, in a half-dozen ventures into the Canadian Arctic, Greenland and Alaska, the retired, Phoenix-based entrepreneur has documented the lives of Inuit (or Eskimo) artists in photographs and recorded interviews. ….

“With the Inuits, it’s a case of necessity yielding the birth of creativity,” Albrecht says. “These people are very resourceful. They’re used to making something from nothing. They use what they have. Bones, stone, animal skins - that’s what they have. You won’t see wood here because wood is hard to come by in the Arctic.”

Richmond.com has the lowdown on this year’s Restaurant Week to benefit the Central Virginia Food Bank. I’m a huge fan of this event, as it lets me eat in fancier places than my budget would normally allow. Plus, it’s for a great cause. Detailed menus should be available next week or so.

 I don’t know if it is the economy or what but this year’s selections of restaurants seem to be getting smaller and  less high-end.  I guess I should also mention here that the first restaurant listed, Acacia, has had their phone disconnected.  So far my plans for reservations are not starting out well. 

Read more >

I got the inside scoop today on the menu for Richmond Restaurant Week at Six Burner. It is quite adventureous, offering 4 entrees including skate and beef cheeks. Hmm. Two things I’ve never tried before, but I’m not sure I want to. Looks like some good eats though!

Appetizers

celery root soup, porcini oil

*

duck confit and root vegetable salad, balsamic reduction

*

roasted beets, blue cheese, truffle puree, toasted hazelnuts

*

entrees

salmon, white bean and surry sausage ragout

*

skate, savoy cabbage, local oysters,

smoked bacon

*

duck confit, mascarpone polenta,

orange emulsion

*

beef cheeks, garlic mashed potatoes,

baby carrots, pomegranate jus

*

desserts

hot chocolate panna cotta,

 homemade marshmallow, pistachio biscotti

*

foie gras and almond pound cake, caramel mousse, almond brittle