Joe’s Market, on Libbie, near Grove Avenue, is hosting a Holiday Open House, Thursday, Dec. 4th from 4-7 p.m. They will feature chef-created appetizers, prepared foods and time-saving meals for tasting.

Bruce Stevens, organist at Second Presbyterian church and Grant Hellmers, organist and choirmaster at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church lead an organ recital and lunchtime carol singing at Cannon Memorial Chapel at the University of Richmond, tomorrow, Dec. 5th at 11:45 a.m.

Here is an update from Kim Bridges, the School Board Rep for the Near West End.

I hardly every use exclamation points in my writing, but be warned: I’m making an exception today.
 
For the 2nd year, RPS has made the list of America’s Best High Schools with Richmond Community High and Open High receiving silver and bronze designations, respectively in the new issue of U.S. News and World Report. 
 
RPS is one of just 14 Virginia school systems to have any school on this prestigious list.  For our region, Henrico County had 2 schools recognized and Chesterfield had one.  Not bad for a school system that’s half the size of our very fine neighbors, who also deserve kudos for the hard work at Deep Run, Godwin, and Midothian. 
 
Way to go students, teachers, partners, and families of Community and Open!!
  
Hope to see you over the next few days:
Now we have a reason to celebrate before delving into the not-so-celebratory subject of the upcoming budget with Superintendent Yvonne Brandon on Monday.  She’ll be hosting a coffee/tea/discussion here in the 1st at Munford on Monday December 8 at 2:00 p.m.
 
Other quick reminders:  Barnes & Noble book fairs are going on for Munford tonight and Saturday and for Hill on Wednesday, December 10. 
 
More December news soon–Kim Bridges, 1st District School Board representative
 
 

The West End Library on Patterson, near Libbie, was a favorite hangout for me and my kids before they were in school. The librarian there just notified me that they have some new story times and special events, so check them out!

DECEMBER:
 WEEKLY ACTIVITIES
 
BOOK BABIES– Interactive story, music & play for babies from birth to 17 months and their caregiver. Thursday’s @ 10 AM  (Please Note: Day and Time have changed.)
 
TIME FOR TWO– Interactive stories and music for a youngster ages 18 – 36 months and their caregiver. Thursday’s @ 11:00 AM (Please Note: Time has changed.) 
 
SPECIAL EVENTS
 
SPECIAL POLAR EXPRESS STORY TIME
Thursday, December 18, 11 AM
Celebrate the joy of the season with a special Polar Express story time.
Enjoy a train ride, crafts, hot coco and some snacks!
A Guide to Financial Protection for Older Investors
Wednesday, December 10
6:30-7:30 p.m.
Learn ways to help identify fraud and strategies to protect your estate and investments. 
Aaron Basmajian, Associate Financial Advisor with Chesapeake Asset Management, Wachovia Securities Financial Network, presents a free program featuring
BRING YOUR QUESTIONS!
**Registration is required** call 646-1877
 
Flu Shot Clinic
Wednesday, December 10
2 - 3 PM
West End Library wishes you a healthy winter! Be Wise … Immunize!

ADULT BOOK DISCUSSION GROUP - Wednesday, December, 17 at 6:00 p.m. 
 
 
JANUARY:
 
WEEKLY ACTIVITIES 
 BOOK BABIES– Interactive story, music & play for babies from birth to 17 months and their caregiver. Thursday’s @ 10 AM  (Please Note: Day and Time have changed.)
 
TIME FOR TWO– Interactive stories and music for a youngster ages 18 – 36 months and their caregiver. Thursday’s @ 11:00 AM (Please Note: Time has changed.) 
 
SPECIAL EVENTS
 
WEST END ADVISORY BOARD
Please join us for our FIRST West End Advisory Board Meeting on Saturday, January 24, 10 –11.  AM. Coffee and Pastries will be provided!
Stop by the circulation desk or call 646-1877 for details.   
 
The Five Most Important Estate Planning Documents
Wednesday, January 14
6:30-7:30 p.m.
It may be the subject matter — death, incapacity and taxes — that causes us to avoid estate planning. However, the fact is that no matter what your age or how much wealth you’ve accumulated, you need an estate plan to protect yourself, your loved ones and your assets — both now while you’re still active as well as after your death. We will cover 5 key documents and their function for your estate.
Aaron Basmajian, Associate Financial Advisor with Chesapeake Asset Management, Wachovia Securities Financial Network, presents this free program.
BRING YOUR QUESTIONS!
**Registration is required** call 646-1877
 
ADULT BOOK DISCUSSION GROUP- Wednesday, January 28 at 6:00 p.m. Please join us as we discuss the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. New members are always welcome!

 Eligible taxpayers can receive free help preparing their 2008
income tax return - and potentially increase their refunds by claiming
the earned income tax credit - at sites hosted by Henrico County and the
Greater Richmond Earned Income Tax Credit Coalition (GREITCC).

       The earned income tax credit is a benefit for qualifying workers
who file a tax return and meet income requirements - generally, families
with children earning less than $41,646 and individuals earning less
than $15,880. The benefit could increase a federal refund by as much as
$4,824 for families and $438 for individuals.

       Trained volunteers will help eligible taxpayers prepare and file
returns at coalition sites throughout the metropolitan area. Filers will
need to know the payment amount they received from the federal Economic
Stimulus Act of 2008.

       The GREITCC will operate two sites in Henrico:
*       Human Services Building, 8600 Dixon Powers Drive; from Jan. 27
to April 14, 4-8 p.m. each Tuesday and Thursday;
*       Fairfield Area Library, 1001 N. Laburnum Ave.; from Feb. 7 to
March 14, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. each Saturday.

       The GREITCC works to help low-to-moderate income families
maximize tax refunds that can help pay bills and reduce debt. The
coalition also offers qualifying taxpayers a free alternative to paid
tax-preparation services. Last year, coalition volunteers helped area
residents file 1,635 federal returns, generating $838,525 in earned
income tax credit funds and a total of $1,744,289 in federal returns.
The free service saved filers an estimated $330,600 in preparation fees.

   For more information, contact the GREITCC at 649-0330 or call
the United Way information service at 211.
###

This Saturday, Dec. 13th from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Crossroads Art Center will host a holiday open house. Here are the details: 
Plus Christmas Jazz by  
THE JASON JENKINS TRIO
Noon – 3:00 p.m.
 We look forward to assisting you in purchasing an exceptional piece of art for all your loved ones while staying within your budget.  Choose from locally created paintings, mosaics, photography, jewelry, fused glasswork, pottery, woodworking, fabric pillows and much more!!  

I’m going on a tacky Christmas light run with my TRIgirls on Sunday night.  I can’t wait. We’ll start at Willow Lawn and go for 4 to 8 miles, depending….. well for me it will depend on how tired I am from cycling & running the day before.  Then will end the night with some Glogg. What, you haven’t heard of Glogg? it is spiced wine, brandy, raisins, almonds and cinnamon. Needless to say it make the running well worth my time.  Anyway, you can expect a full report and photos here after the run, but in the meantime, does anyone have any suggestions? Of course I know about Asbury Court’s amazing display and something mentioned something about Wistar, but I haven’t seen it.  If you have a tip, post it here!

Oh, and Richmond InsideOut’s question of the week is where can you see the tackiest light in Richmond, post a photo and you can win $25 bucks.  I’m sure they’d love to hear from you too.

I continue to be amazed at how small Richmond is.  And how interconnected we all are.   And this is just one good reason to read the rest of this post.  C.A.M. Wagner needs your help. He has a very rare disease, Blastic Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cell Neoplasm, and needs a bone marrow transplant.  C.A.M and his wife are UR graduates.  Here are the details:

Wednesday, Dec. 17th from 5-9 pm, University of Richmond Jepson Alumni Center, Robins Pavilion 
Several upcoming drives are scheduled for the Virginia/Maryland area (details below). When you attend a drive in person, the cost to you to cover lab processing is $25. If the fee is a hardship, mention C.A.M. Wagner’s name, and a foundation set up by Becky’s family will cover the cost.

Here is a letter from C.A.M.’s friends Ed and Margaret Brown, asking for your support:

Most of you are aware of my dear friend’s battle against a rare and aggressive form of cancer of the bone marrow.  Doctors hope that a bone marrow transplant will be an effective treatment, but recently they have learned that C.A.M.’s closest blood relatives are unfortunately not a good match. The doctors and family are now looking for other donor sources and are especially interested in people with Jewish, Dutch, English and northern European descent. However, all are encouraged to be tested in hopes of benefiting C.A.M. or someone else in need of a bone marrow transplant. The test is a simple (painless!) cheek swab for those in good health between the ages of 18 – 60 years.
We have been able to pull together a Bone Marrow Drive scheduled for next Wednesday, 12/17(!), at the University of Richmond Jepson Alumni Center.  This drive, in C.A.M.’s honor, will benefit C.A.M. and the thousands of others in need of a match. 
Logistical details are included in the attached, and I am asking you to consider being tested (with absolutely NO pressure) or just spread the word. 
I know that evenings are tough and the time of year is even tougher.  The cheek swab taken for the test is SO quick and entirely painless.  Completing the medical consent form required to donate takes longer than the swab itself.  To make that easier, forms are being delivered to me tomorrow, and I will also make them available at the Alumni house starting Monday so they may be completed prior to the drive (unfortunately, these are not available online for scheduled drives).
If Wednesday night is a not a good time, I will be personally trained to accept consent forms and cheek swab kits after the event.  I will have extras and will collect these until the end of the year, at which time I will send them off to the NMDP lab for processing.  We are considering hosting an unofficial event to collect such kits if we have demand beyond Wednesday night.
Note that when you attend a drive in person, the cost to you to cover lab processing is $25, as opposed to the $52 incurred when registering online to donate.  If the fee is a hardship, mention C.A.M. Wagner’s name at the drive, and a foundation set up by the family of his wife, Becky, will cover the cost.
Finally, if you have questions about specifics involved in being a donor, please see the FAQs available on www.marrow.org.  Note that 70% of people who need a transplant will not find a match within their families and rely on the NMDP Registry to find a donor.  More than 6,000 people a day search the registry in hopes that a match will be found.  Only 8% of those donors who advance to second stage of Confirmatory Typing end up donating.  So many people have been affected by C.A.M.’s trial - we can do more to help save lives for people fighting cancer just like C.A.M.
Thanks for ALL of your support, encouragement, help, childcare, and especially prayers during this time.  If you would like to be inspired or just keep up with C.A.M.’s progress, check out www.caringbridge.com/visit/camwagner.
 

OK, is this cool or what?  Segway of Richmond is hosting:

My family and my husband’s family are both from Maryland. What does this mean? We are huge fans of Ledo’s Pizza and have been known to occasionally drive to Chester to indulge in this gooey nostalgia. But, the news is good…Ledo’s Pizza, famous for their square pies and crispy crust is coming to Willow Lawn (fall of 2009) according to Richmond Magazine. And, if you can’t wait that long, they’ll open in Short Pump in March.

So get ready to taste the best pizza ever, Maryland style square pizza! I know it’s weird, but you’ll love it!