Henrico county school move forward with some changes.  The Richmond Times-Dispatch announced that former superintendent William C. Bosher Jr. will help in the search to find a replacement for current superintendent Fred Morton who leaves the school system on June 30th of next year.

In other news,  the Henrico school board modified the proposed Capital Improvement Program including some changes for Tuckahoe and Dunbarton elementary schools:

 Changes in the latest plan call for increasing from four to six the number of additional planned classrooms at Tuckahoe and Dumbarton elementary schools; renovating the auditorium at Tuckahoe Elementary and moving up the construction schedule at Dumbarton.

The University of Richmond recently announced that it is the recipient of 153 original Andy Warhol photos.  They will be on display in the Spring of 2009, according to Artdaily.org. For the full story click here.

RICHMOND, VA.- The University of Richmond Museums is pleased to announce the recent addition of 153 original Andy Warhol photographs to the permanent collection of the Joel and Lila Harnett Print Study Center, gifted as part of the Andy Warhol Photographic Legacy Program. In celebration of the twentieth anniversary of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the organization donated more than 28,500 original Warhol photographs valued at more than $28 million and divided amongst 183 college and university art museums in the United States. The University of Richmond Museums is honored to be selected as a recipient of this extraordinary gift.

The University of Richmond Museums will organize an exhibition showcasing the works in the spring of 2009. Warhol’s “Photographs and Pictures”: Selections from the Gift of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts is scheduled to be on view from March 20 to May 22, 2009 in the Joel and Lila Harnett Museum of Art. The exhibition will be curated by Lucy Green, ‘09, art history major, University of Richmond, and will be the subject of her senior thesis project.

A Freeman High School and University of RIchmond graduate, Chris Scott, founder of GreenTech, designed and orchestrated the  installation of  the living grass that will make up the field at Bird’s Nest staduim for the Olympics in Beijing.   The Times-Dispatch has the full story:

Tuesday morning, hundreds of workers completed the massive task of laying the grass field at the Bird’s Nest, the nickname for the National Stadium.

Richmond’s Chris Scott, founder of GreenTech, was in charge of selling his company’s unique process and product and overseeing the installation of the 6,500 polyethylene “modules” filled with natural grass that were pieced together like tile on the stadium’s floor.

“They’re just plastic boxes and sod and soil,” Scott said. “Big flower pots.”

Beginning tomorrow, those flower pots linked together are the infield for the Olympic track and field competition. Runners such as Richmond’s Queen Harrison will circle the field.

One of the great things about Henrico County School is that they give laptops to all of their middle and high school students. It is such a great program, and I hope that it continues to get the funding it needs to continue.

Recently the Times-Dispatch covered a  report on how the laptops are affecting learning in the county.

At any moment during the school year, 40 percent of Henrico County high school students are using their county-issued laptop computers.

Students say they are learning more. And the results back them up.

Data released last month from the second of a three-year study of Henrico’s laptop initiative show noticeable improvement from the previous year. Students engaged in more problem solving, research, communication, teamwork and community-based assignments, said Dale Mann, managing director of Interactive Inc., which evaluates the gains of electronic learning.

About 14,550 high school students in Henrico are issued Dell computers each year. Students, parents and teachers were questioned about their perceptions in the mixed-method study.

Students who made more use of laptops had higher scores in world history, biology, reading and chemistry than students who did not, but they scored lower in algebra and writing. Mann said that is because students are used to using calculator functions on the laptop instead of the graphing calculator, and they are used to typing on the computer instead of writing on paper, which is what they had to do to take the Standards of Learning writing tests.

The Times-Dispatch reported today on St. Christopher’s School tearing down three houses to make room for a parking area.  For me, the most interesting part of the story is the comment at the bottom (and that the T-D didn’t delete it!)  Apparently, the headline (title) originally was contrary to the text of the article:

The rather sensationalist title “School to pave West End area, put up a parking lot” seems to directly contradict the text of the article, which states in the second to last paragraph that the site will NOT be paved. I suggest a correction to the headline of the article.

As the comment points out, St. Christopher’s is taking a surprising (to me) approach of not actually paving the lot.  According the the story it will either be grass or pebbles with landscaping.  While it is sad that St. Chris had to tear down three houses to park cars, in my opinion, it is great that they were willing to not pave the lot to keep a more park-like appearance.

Recently, in the Near West End, I’ve noticed that it is commonplace to find a homeless person or vagrant at one of several busy intersections asking for money.   Specifically, I’ve repeatedly seen them asking for money from the median strip at Patterson and Horsepen roads, at Glenside and West Broad and also at Glenside and Staples Mill roads.  

Now, that practice is illegal.  The Times-Dispatch reports:

Last night, the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a change in county ordinance that prohibits people from standing in highways and soliciting contributions, distributing handbills, or selling merchandise to drivers or passengers in vehicles.

A violation would be considered a traffic infraction, punishable by a fine of up to $250.

The new ordinance also will keep people from selling items from the median strip or the side of the road and from passing out fliers. 

I wonder, will all the homeless and vagrant people move to the city?  If so, will Richmond make a similar law? Will the new Henrico law have an effect on panhandlers anyway?  How would a $250 traffic violation effect a homeless or vagrant person?  How many of these would one have to get before they throw them in the slammer?  Is homeless people in jail something that our community wants? What do you think?

A bat that was found in a bedroom of a house near Deep Run Park and Godwin High School has tested postive for rabies.  The bat was found in the 1900 block of Raintree Drive in the West End. There was no known exposure.

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The Faison School for Autism transitioned to their new facility near Willow Lawn, The Times-Dispatch reports: 

Even the smallest change can create anxiety and behavioral issues for autistic children.

So before the Faison School for Autism opened its new facility in April, staff made sure students were prepared.

“The school sent home a picture book,” said Desi Wyatt, father of 5-year-old Noelle. “Every night we looked at the pictures and said, ‘Here’s the lobby’ and ‘Here’s the classroom,’ so it was not a new experience for her.”

Noelle, he said, had a relatively seamless transition from Faison’s old quarters in North Richmond to the new, 38,000-square-foot building near Willow Lawn.

At Faison’s new facility, education isn’t confined to the classroom. Each space in the school has been specifically designed to offer students a chance to learn.

Am I the only one who is tired of looking at the back of a  a “Google Ron Paul” T-shirt?  

My husband and I collaborated on  a 2-minute video version of the Bloggers Segway Tour of Richmond.  To avoid copy write infringement, we used old time-y music.  So if you couldn’t make the tour or say, forgot about it, or you are just curious, check it out.

I posted it on the Richmond Region Facebook Page. Check it out, under videos.  Also you can see my, not one but two photo albums of the tour.

Recently,  I organized a Segway Tour of Richmond for  RVA’s neighborhood news bloggers.   I work at the Richmond Region Visitor Center, and had been watching for weeks as groups of 8-12 people would go out, explore the city and come back with windblown hair and huge smiles.  I thought it would be a great way for the them to see firsthand what the visitors were experiencing. But also, I felt like it would be a great way for the bloggers to get to see something new the city had to offer and to write about it firsthand.  

Our tour guide for the day was Chris Dove of RavenChase Adventuresand Alex from Segway came along to help.  Buck Ward over at Segway of Richmond liked my idea so much that he gave us the tour for free. Normally, it would set you back $65 for the 2.5 hour tour.  Which in my opinion,  is well worth it for the experience.

The weather was perfect! And, I had no idea how much fun I was about to have. When I first got on the Segway, I was a little shaky. It’s not like the thing has a mind of its own, but you have to get used to how it moves. 

I came thinking I was going to learn some stories about Richmond, and I did….but I kept getting distracted by all the fun I was having. I found it hard to stand still. I wanted to zoom this way and that. I wanted to go take a picture over here, and see if I could hit the Segway’s top speed (12.5 mph) over there.  Plus, if there is anything that is hard to do on a Segway, it is stand still.  I guess that is just not what they were made to do, because whenever I did stop and stay still, I found that my legs felt tired.  These things are made to move!

The Segway tour of Richmond  reminded me of what an incredibly beautiful city we live in.  When I think of my favorite parts of Richmond, I think of the River. I think of Brown’s Island and hearing musicians from all over the world playing there.  I love that we can listen to live music in such a beautiful setting and how the musicians often have to stop a set to wait for a train to pass overhead.  I love that you can  look down at the river and see kayakers and swimmers, rope swings and runners.  For me, these were the highlights of the tour.

I was reminded of our amazing architecture. And I may be alone, but one of the things I love best is the infrastructure of our old city.  Standing below the triple train crossing looking up. Feeling the vibrations of I-95 passing a hundred feet overhead.  The Canal Walk, secret paths. The old rusting heaps of iron at Tredegar Ironworks. The aqua green turrets left from the State Penitentiary.  The rusty bridge fragments across the James at Brown’s Island. The remnants of buildings left on Belle Isle. A replica of Christopher Newport’s cross with many crosses echoing in the background architecture. I love the feeling of something very important and old all around and that still I am part of it.  I

Having moved to the Near West End, it had been too long since I was reminded how gritty and awesome our city is. It is a city with  Moxie and heart.  There is so much depth to everything here. Nothing is simple or new. Everything has a story – actually many stories.    

Some of the stops we made included Court End and the Valentine, John Marshall House, The Museum and White House of the Confederacy, The State Capital and the grounds, the new Civil Rights Memorial, the replica of Henry “Box” Brown’s box, on the Canal Walk, and Tredegar Ironworks.

I think this would be a great way to show visitors a different side of Richmond. And it is certainly a great way to be a tourist in your own city, in a vacation kind of way.  Our tour was on a Sunday, so traffic (pedestrian and otherwise) was nil. That was great because I did wipe out at one point, and I’d have hated to run someone over! It is easy to feel a little too comfortable on these things, once you get the hang of them and then to clip a corner. For me, I think it was bricks on the corner of a tree well combined with uneven sidewalk.  I would say however if you aren’t prepared to make that mistake once (ie falling) then this vehicle might not be for you.  Three of the 8 bloggers were careless  enough to get bit by our Segways. Definitely the Segways attracted attention, even if you aren’t falling down.  I guess that is part of the fun. I do remember a bunch of kids leaning out the window of their car, going “whooo hooo” and we “whoooo hoooed” right back at ’em.  

The Segway tour definately a success. Not only can you read about it here and here and well, even here. But also, my partner on this news blog, Kory, loved it so much that he decided to take the training to be a Segway Tour guide for Segway of Richmond.

And although some folks seemed to think the tour was a bit too long, I was ready to go for a few more hours. If it were up to me, we’d eat a quick lunch and then add on some additional sites for a super-tour.  For the long-winded tourist,  I’d include  Maggie Walkers House, The Black History Museum, Hollywood Cemetery,  St. John’s Church, Shockoe Bottom, the Reconciliation Statue and a bit of the slave trail.

But, if I really want to go see those things, I guess I could go and rent my own. I hear there is a special on Y101’s web page for $25 for a 2-hour rental.

Got something neat to say about Richmond? There is this supercool new website called Richmond InsideOut.  Locals post their favorite things about Richmond for all to read. Then, others vote for the best ideas. Not only do the first 50 people to post ideas get $25 AmEx cards, but also each time you post you are entered to win 2 round trip tickets for your friends to come and visit the city you love best — Richmond.

OK, here is your chance to tell the world about all the cool things Richmond (oh, and don’t forget to mention, the Near West End).

Got back from the Segway Blogger Tour of Richmond a couple hours ago. I don’t know about the rest of the blogger gang, but I had a blast. Here’s a teaser photo.  I’ll write up a full report soon.

Henrico County police are looking for two suspects in three break-ins last month.

Police say the same person into automatic teller machines at two banks on July 18. The suspect, described as a young adult white male, broke into an ATM at the Wachovia bank at 1701 N. Parham Road and an ATM at another Wachovia office at 10190 Staples Mill Rd. Minutes later, the same suspect tried to break into Game Stop at 9085 Staples Mill Rd.

The suspect was seen leaving in a maroon, new-model four-door sedan with Virginia license plates. Another adult white male was seen looking from the passenger seat.

Police ask that anyone with information about the incidents or suspects to call Investigator K. S. Howdyshell at (804) 501-5000 or Crimestoppers at (804) 780-1000

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The Richmond Ultimate Frisbee website lists pick up games in the Near West End. Check it out, a Munford parent, Mike Barefoot, is featured on the masthead photo on the website.

Pickup Schedule & Locations

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= ULTIMATE PICKUP SCHEDULE =

Mon @ 6pm @ Mary Munford Elementary
Wed @ 6pm @ Mary Munford Elementary
Sat @ 10am @ Mary Munford Elementary

= LOCATIONS =

Mary Munford Elementary (20 Commonwealth Ave, Richmond, Virginia 23221)