Virginia Credit Union will offer two free seminars on money matters at the Hull Street Library, 1400 Hull Street Road, in Richmond, July 22 and 23.

* A seminar, “Protecting Yourself from Identity Theft,” will be held on July 22 from 3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.  The seminar offers practical steps to minimize risk and what to do should you ever become a victim of identity theft. The presenter will be Rex Hodgson, membership development representative for Virginia Credit Union.

* A second seminar, “Making the Most of Your Money for Teens,” will be held July 23 from 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Participants will learn to stretch their dollars and keep track of their spending. The seminar is designed especially for teens. Parents are welcome to attend. The seminar will be led by Cherry Hedges, financial education director for Virginia Credit Union.

To register for either event, please visit www.vacu.org/education/seminars.asp or call (804) 323-6800.

As a not-for-profit financial cooperative, Virginia Credit Union is owned by its 188,000 members. With the sole purpose of helping people achieve greater success, Virginia Credit Union has made a major commitment to financial education in the community, offering free workshops and financial information at schools, libraries and workplaces.

Councilwoman Ellen F. Robertson of the “Gateway” 6th District, who holds a constituent meeting on the second Saturday of each month (7/11/09), will have the following agenda:

Chandra Smith, Member, Richmond Public Schools Board, Gateway 6th District, and Board Chairman, and Yvonne Brandon, Superintendent, Richmond Public Schools to discuss and answer questions on the following topics:

·   Richmond Public Schools “Choice Campaign”
·   Richmond Public Schools Community High School
·   Richmond Public Schools Franklin Military Middle Years Academy
·   Richmond Public Schools Budget
·   Effective School Discipline (Richmond Public Schools Overby-Sheppard      Middle School)
·   Richmond Public Schools General Education Development (GED) Preparation Courses and Satellite Programs

WHEN        Saturday, July 11, 2009
10:00 a.m. – Noon

WHERE       Bank of America Building, 18th floor (12th & Main Streets)

Free Parking in the James Center (Omni Hotel) Cary Street Parking Deck. (Enter on the right side of Cary Street across from Bank of America. Parking coupon provided at meeting.)

CONTACT        For more information, please contact Councilwoman Ellen F. Robertson, Gateway 6th District, at 804.646.7964 (office); or John Westbrook at john.westbrook@richmondgov.com

Why should you attend this meeting? Because you care about the community as much as we do!

Community activist Alma Moore will be hosting her monthly 9th District Roundtable meeting tonight (7/14/09) at the Southside Plaza’s Social Services center located at 4100 Hull Street at 6:00 p.m. sharp. The meeting will cover topics such as community development, crime control, etc.

Hope to see you there!

Richmond Police Chief Bryan T. Norwood and his Command Staff will walk through and visit with residents and business owners on the Southside this evening.

The walk through will start at 7 p.m. today on Chambers Street, between Bowen and Minefee, just south of Hillside Court, in the Bellemeade neighborhood.

Leaders from the Richmond Police Department will knock on doors and speak to residents and business owners in the neighborhood about police presence and any crime concerns they may have. The walk-throughs help foster relationships between the Department and the community.

This press release just came in:

Mayor Dwight Jones invites residents to the initial Town Hall Meeting at Southside Plaza with the emphasis of the event being “Bringing City Hall to the Community.”

Read more >

The forthcoming 9th District Community Meeting will feature a special presentation on an exciting potential project to transform the old CSX railroad corridor into an urban trail for Southside Richmond. (The 2.3 mile corridor currently runs from George Wythe High School, beside Reedy Creek, behind the new GRTC headquarters, to McGuire Hospital.)

Join us on Tuesday, July 28, 2009 at 5:00pm as we hear from Sheila Sheppard, Director of Partnership for Smarter Growth, on how trails can transform urban communities, plus learn about the Rails to Trails Conservancy and its efforts around the country.

Read more >

Southside Icon Plaza Bowl is gearing up for a great line up this week! Have you been to the Bowl of late? What a crazy but perfect combination of Duck Pin Bowling and Live Music.

Wednesday, July 29 - 8:00 PM

Grupo Fantasma – You danced to them at last year’s Richmond Folk Festival, now check out this Austin, Texas – Grammy nominated – band in your own backyard (well, bowling alley). This 11-piece group combines a great mix of Latin and rock beats for your dancing pleasure. And after checking out their videos, I think they’ll like the Plaza just right.

Check out music and videos here: http://www.grupofantasma.com/

Plaza Bowl is located at Southside Plaza, at the intersection of East Belt Boulevard and Hull Street Road. (521 East Southside Plaza)

$10 – all ages show

Come to Southside Plaza Social Services building tonight and meet Mayor Dwight Jones in addition to many other representatives from city hall as well as other agencies. You can even meet your’s truly!

As the Southside has been often referred to as the under-examined portion of the city, it is great to have Mayor Jones choose us as a location to kick off these town hall meetings.

The building is located at Hull St. and Belt Blvd, which is an extension of Westover Hills Blvd.

The meeting will run from 6-8, and you can get more information in our previous article.

The Richmond Public Library is ending its Summer Reading Program with a Street Party!

On August 1st, you can get down to music played by the Richmond Jazz Society and the FLT Steel Pan Orchestra, see a play, make crafts, listen to a storyteller, meet author Erica Kirov, and participate in many other activities including a free lunch! All events are free!

I believe Main Street, in front of the library will be closed, so be prepared. The activities will take place in and out of the library.

From the library’s site (with some added information I got from handbills at the mayor’s town hall meeting on Wednesday):

“Be Creative” and join us as we celebrate the end of the Summer Reading Program with storytelling, performances, crafts, music, food, and fun.

Read more >

Robin Mines of the George Wythe Alumni Association has passed us the following information:

Old Dogs, New Dogs, and Hot Dogs in the Park
A Day for Bulldogs in the Park
When:  Sunday, August 16, 2009
3:00 p.m.

Where:  Forest Hill Park Shelter #2

What: Free food and fun!

Meet Richmond Public Schools administrators, alumni, city council members, school board members, and students

This community event will be hosted by the newly formed George Wythe Alumni Association. Our association is a group of alumni who want to strengthen the relationship between alumni and the George Wythe High School.  Our mission is to render aid and assistance to the school family in order to facilitate academic and extra-curricular programs.

Read more >

Thanks to Ms. Dionne Waugh from the Richmond Police Department for keeping us informed!

The Richmond Police Department and Target will start the kick off for National Night Out 2009 tomorrow!  [August 1]

Target will be hosting the city’s kickoff celebration for National Night Out tomorrow and everyone is invited to attend noon to 4 p.m. at 7107 Forest Hill Ave. Crime prevention materials, demonstrations, children’s fingerprint kits, and food will be provided at the kickoff. First responders, such as the Fire Department, Sheriff’s Office and others will be there.

On Tuesday, Aug. 4, National Night Out will celebrate 26 years of giving crime a going away party it will never forget.

National Night Out is celebrated around the country the first Tuesday in August every year. Last year more than 10,000 communities participated in the event. This year, Richmond has more than 100 different neighborhood events scheduled throughout the city.

On Aug. 4, the city will join together and continue the fight against crime. The Department encourages neighbors to host block parties, cookouts, parades, and pool parties. The theme is “Give crime a going away party.”

“Each year National Night Out in Richmond gets bigger and better,” said Community Youth, and Intervention Services Division Captain Adrianne McLemore. “We look forward to celebrating another successful year starting with the annual kickoff at Target.”