Here’s an update from a Richmond Police email advisory:

Richmond Police need the public’s help in finding and identifying a man who robbed the Wachovia Bank at 4901 W. Broad Street shortly after 9 a.m. this morning.

The man, seen in the attached photos, did not display a firearm, but handed the teller a note demanding money.

The robber is a white male, about 5’10”to 6’0” feet tall, weighing 150 to 180 pounds and about 50 to 55 years old. He wore glasses, a black jacket with a light-colored hooded sweatshirt underneath, light-colored jeans and light-colored tennis shoes.

Anyone with any information about this man or this crime is asked to
call Crime Stoppers at 780-1000.

The budget outside is frightful…

In case you haven’t heard, the state and local budget picture looming ahead is dismal, awful, nightmarish–you name the negative term.  Fiscal updates from the Va. House Appropriations Committee, Senate Finance Committee, our city’s legislative meeting, and workshops at the Virginia School Boards Association have all been similar, and RPS has begun its budget process with an overview of what to expect.  You can see the slides by pasting this into your browser:

TinyURL.com/yzf2aos

Give or take a few dollars, RPS is facing additional cuts in the current school year from the forecast sales tax revenue that goes to schools.  Next year, the large state budget gap of $250 – $300 million will definitely impact school systems across the state.  But to top that off, RPS is also being impacted by a major adjustment to the composite index, the formula that is designed to measure the locality’s ability to pay for education, means that Richmond city will pay over 49% of the schools’ costs, nearly a 7 point jump that would cost more than $9 million next year.  Employee health care costs are rising, as are Virginia Retirement System costs, so it costs more just to maintain the same levels of service.  In addition, stimulus funds that helped us maintain positions last year are getting used to plug other state budget holes, so those funds will likely not help next budget as they did this year.

Did you realize that RPS now spends 77 cents of every dollar on instruction and instruction technology (above the state average of 65 cents) and has decreased its administrative spending over the past eight years from over 10% of costs down to 2.86%?  But when personnel makes up 81% of a business’s costs, that’s where the business must look for major reductions when revenue declines.  Public education is no different.  The budget reductions being discussed will impact people in school systems throughout Virginia, plain and simple.  Hard choices are coming.

…but the kids are still delightful

Holiday performances abound this week and next.  Catch 1st District talent in action:

• Hill students perform Monday 12/14 at City Hall at noon
• Munford 1st graders will sing their hearts out Tuesday 12/15 at Munford’s PTA meeting
• TJ sings Wednesday 12/16 at City Hall at noon
• Hill will have a holiday play Thursday 12/17 at Hill’s PTA meeting and TJ will have holiday selections at its meeting that same night

Clearly, there’s no excuse to miss seeing our children sharing their holiday spirit this season.

And on one more bright, cheery note

At Monday’s board meeting, we received an update on disciplinary infractions throughout the system.  I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw a 100% decrease this year vs. last.  We went from over 6500 separate violations in Sept/Oct. 2008 to 3265 this Sept/Oct. The serious infractions fell to a system total of 263, with 20 schools having 0 and just 11 schools showing anything above the single digits.

Discipline problems, which include everything from wearing inappropriate attire to the less common but more serious actions like fighting, have fallen that dramatically, and it’s great to see results from intensive personnel training this summer and the use of school-wide behavior programs at 20 schools.  It’s a work in progress, but this is a notable and extremely positive trend we’ll work to continue.

Kim Bridges

1st District School Board representative

Demolition of the Inn of Richmond

The Inn of Richmond is coming down slowly but surely.  I caught this photo yesterday, and thought I’d share it with you. There were quite a few people watching them tear down this Richmond landmark. On another note, I’m hoping the new construction project allows the “aluminum foil building” to better shine. As of now, for the first time in many years, you can see it from Broad Street.

TRIgirl Training and TRIquest Training are hosting a Near West End Christmas Light Run, followed by holiday toasts and beverages.

All are welcome to come.

If you are interested, here are the details:

THIS THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17 at 7:30 PM

Start Location:  Maramarc Fitness 4914 Fitzhugh Avenue 23230 (Suite 103), behind Gold’s Gym, Willow Lawn

Bring a friend or two!

Choice of a 2-3 mile route or a 4-5 mile route

Toast the lights! Meet back at Maramarc after the light’s run for some post-workout beverages.

Please feel free to come to any or all of this evening’s festivities. You can even just show up for the Christmas cheer that will follow our evening of training. Do you have a favorite Christmas cheer?  Please bring it along to toast the holiday season. Please remember to wear reflective gear and lights for the run!

Questions? email Grandison [at] TRIgirlTraining [dot] com

Also, you can rsvp for the Christmas Light Run here.

Also, there is an informational meeting for anyone  interested in training for a triathlon in 2010.  If you’ve ever wanted to do a triathlon, but would like to find out more, this meeting is for you!

Full disclosure: I am a team leader for TRIgirl Training, but I’m posting these events because they are fun and free! Please join us if you can!

Just a note to let you know that the Ledo’s Pizza at Willow Lawn is now open. The restaurant is located behind the Shoppes at Willow Lawn near Qdoba and the Dollar Store.

I’ve mentioned here before that since both my parents and my husband’s parents hailed from Maryland, we are fans of the slightly strange thin crust Maryland-style square pizza. For us it will be a walk down memory lane. Now the test will be to see if the local Ledo’s can keep consistent the nostalgic pizza that we remember from our childhood.

A new restaurant, Bocca Toscan (Tuscan mouth), will open at The Village Shopping center later this week, Style Weekly reports.   The restaurant in the space formerly housing Magnolia wine bar, is run by a mother and son team who will focus on family-oriented dining.

The menu will feature pizza, pasta, sandwiches and more. They will be open for lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday (closed Sunday). Surprising to me is that the already have a notable presence on Facebook and Twitter, and their surprising number of fans, considering they haven’t opened yet.

Bocca Toscana

7021 Three Chopt Road

288-7773

On Dec. 10th, I attended a blogger lunch hosted by CultureWorks. It was a pretty free-form meeting, with no set agenda. And honestly not much to report on. But, after receiving a reader comment asking for a report, here it is:

The meeting was attended by Liz Humes, of WRIR, Harry Kollatz, Richmond Magazine,  Ross & Valerie  Catrow, RVANews, Don Harrison, Style Weekly, Brooks Smith, Chair, CultureWorks Board of Directors, and John Bryan and Leslie Huffman from Cultureworks.

Two things we discussed were the Jingle on the James art show at Rocketts Landing that was coming up — John Bryan, director of CultureWorks, was participating with an eye as to how CultureWorks might support events like this in the future. The second thing we discussed was the possibility of a regional arts advocacy group (supported by CultureWorks) that would be made up of members who made a donation to any local arts-oriented organization and how a group like that could have lobbying power to help advocate for other areas that would help support the arts community (ie public transportation for art events, a universal ticketing system, etc.)

There was also mention of a event hosted by the Virginia Commision of the Arts on January 26, 27 & 28 — 2010 Art Works for Virginia. CultureWorks will host the Jan. 26-27 visit by national arts district expert Theresa Cameron, who will be a presenter for a statewide group of arts leaders and will also meet with groups of Richmond stakeholders to discuss an Arts District.  This confernece is for artists, board and staff leaders of Virginia arts organizations, arts educators, and arts advocates.

Of course I’d be interested in hearing feedback from readers if you have any topics you’d like me to bring up at the next meeting. CultureWorks mission in hosting these quarterly luncheons is to be accesible and transparent.  And I’d be more than happy to take  questions from  readers to the next meeting.

As you can see, I haven’t made it very far from my front door during this winter storm. My estimate is that we got just under 12 inches of snow here in the Near West End. The most eventful part of my day yesterday? I heard the sound of snow being shoveled, and went to my door to see my neighbor shoveling my walk for me. “Merry Christmas,” he says! Yes, it totally made my day!