Did you ever want to learn how to identify trees? Or how to properly prune a young tree to insure good development? Are you interested in taking care of the trees in our community? Richmond Tree Stewards training may be for you!

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nbc12 is reporting that, beginning on Monday, Riverside Drive east of the Rockfalls Drive intersection will be closed until January 20th “for installation of a large pipe”.

The RTD is reporting that the “Richmond City Council unanimously elected 4th District Councilwoman Kathy C. Graziano as its president during today’s annual organizational meeting.” Councilwoman Graziano is very active in the community and was crucial in the establishment of the South of the James Farmer’s Market.

For more information on Councilwoman Graziano please visit her website: Kathy Graziano, Richmond City Council, Fourth District

Hello all. John posted on the 7th that he wouldn’t be able to continue and asked for some help. I decided to pitch in and thought it would be nice to tell you a little about myself.

Name: Richard
Age: 40
Occupation: Currently unemployed previously with The Martin Agency as an Account Executive
Random Fact: Have lived in Yellowstone, Glacier, and Zion National Parks.

I have been living in Westover Hills for 6 years with my lovely wife and our 5 year old daughter. We moved down to Richmond from the DC area to escape the traffic and other big city issues. Over the relatively short time I have lived here I have been struck with what a wonderful neighborhood this is but also disheartened to see a good number of young families leave. I would never be called a “glass half full” kind of guy but I believe that the positive aspects of our little piece of Richmond outweigh the shortcomings. For me the mission of Hills and Heights is to bring people together to change negative and celebrate the positive so that maybe a few less of those young families decide to leave.

According to the RTD the Fuelperks program will cut savings from 10 cents a gallon to 5 cents a gallon. The program up to this point has saved consumers $5.1 million. Ukrop’s also stated, “the chain would not commit to extending the fuel-savings program beyond March 28.”

RTD is reporting that “The event is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Bon Air Presbyterian Church, 9201 W. Huguenot Road.

Organizers include Rabbi Ben Romer of Congregation Or Ami, Imad Damaj of the Virginia Muslim Coalition for Public Affairs, and Rev. R. Charles Grant of Bon Air Presbyterian.”

The RTD reported on Saturday that Legend Brewing will soon be offering 6 packs in addition to the 22 ounce bottles you currently find in your local stores. Legend has been brewing from the same location for 15 years and have just released a 15th year Anniversary Belgium Quadruple. In the interest of maintaining blog accuracy I tested the Quad on Sunday.

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Richmond Magazine blog reported awhile back that the expansion of O’Toole’s will be completed by March 1st. The delay has been due to zoning issues.

The James River Outdoor Coalition (JROC) will be meeting Wednesday, January 7th at 6PM at the Reedy Creek Nature Center. The agenda for this meeting includes discussion of the creation and distribution of pamphlets for James River Park, hiking/biking trail maintenance and projects, and building/funding of the Pump House Park wheelchair ramp.

JROC’s membership is comprised of metro area citizens who are concerned about the future of the James River Park System. We are people who seek ways to improve our local parks along the James River.

Please visit http://www.jroc.net for more details.

From Matt on the Forest Hill Message Board

I found a black, long haired cat in the 4400 block of Stonewall. It has a tiny white mark on it’s front left paw and what appears to be a permanently broken tail. It has a tag with the words “Toe the Cat” and a phone number of 308-0019, that is unfortunately disconnected. It is very sweet and loving and has been hanging out in the area for about a week.

Please click on the link above to contact Matt.

Zippy the cat was taken into a local home in November after being found in the 5200 block of King William Road. Unfortanutely he is not getting along with the current house cats. Zippy is a neutered male and the vet puts his age at around 3 or 4.

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The City Council agenda for Jan.12 includes Ord. No. 2008-300 (Patron: Ms. Graziano) – To designate Riverside Drive, from the intersection of Riverside Drive and Cowardin Avenue on the east to the intersection of Riverside Drive and Huguenot Road on the west, as a Richmond Scenic Byway ***.

Richmond Magazine has a review of Savor located in Manchester at 201 West 7th Street.

Ellie Basch’s café on the first floor of the Corrugated Box Building in Manchester is aptly named. The surroundings at Savor are distinctive, and the food is flavorful and immensely enjoyable.

Full Review here

Interesting story from the blog This Young House about how the local Target on Forest Hill charges more for an item than the Target on Midlothian. For those that don’t know about the blog it is done by a young couple who purchased an older house here in Westover Hills the Richmond area and are now experiencing the joys of home ownership and the excitment of home improvement. I think they say it best in the “About Us” section of their blog, “We hope you enjoy our continued adventures (and misadventures) in DIY decor and home improvement.”

Richmond police have stated that two males reported they were robbed by three unknown males with a gun at 501 Westover Hills Blvd. at 11:05 last night 1/08/09. There was also a report of three unknown males reportedly robbing an individual earlier the same evening at 7:40 p.m. at 7 W. Marshall Street.

A local resident asks Why Richmond Why?!? at Richmond.com about enforcement of the leash laws at Pony Pasture. The short answer is it is illegal to have a dog unleashed in any Richmond public park and expect to see some Animal Control and Care officers in that area in the coming weeks to educate folks and even give out tickets. Please click on the link above for the full article.

This was posted on Sat Jan 10, 2009 1:02 pm ((PST)) on the Woodland Heights neighborhood Yahoo Group

“Several weeks ago me and neighbors were sitting on the front porch and a good looking middle aged black man, Claude Thompson, came by. He indicated he did lawn work, gave us a card and told us he was “a man of god.” Today, my husband and I come home to find a note on our door that said, ” I left you people a card and you still haven’t called me, call me!”

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This cute but shy pup was seen on 1/10 at approx. 2:45 between W. 42nd and W. 41st streets. She (I believe) had no collar and seemed to be wondering aimlessly. Richmond animal control apparently doesn’t work on the weekends as they didn’t answer the phone. If you hear of anyone that may be missing their dog, please pass along the photo. Posted by William L. to Forest Hill Neighbors on Facebook.

Jessica Hoffa let us know about new meeting times for Patrick Henry Initiative Meetings.

New Meeting Times!
Every Thursday at 8:30 p.m.
The Berryman Center
32nd and McDonough off Forest Hill Ave. (side entrance)

The change has been made on the calendar as well.

From Phil Licking of the Forest Hills Neighborhood Association:

The FHNA meets this Wednesday, 1/14, 7pm, at Forest Hill Presbyterian. Topics include 2009 planning for Music in the Park, updates on the Farmer’s Market, a report from Kathy Graziano’s office (including the latest info on restoring the lake in FH Park.) Our meetings are friendly, informative and only last about 1 hour. Hope to see you there…

This from the Neighborhood Captain of the Westover Hills CrimeWatch.

Please be aware that the unoccupied residence located at 4301 Forest Hill Avenue was broken into recently.  This is the residence located at the corner of Forest Hill Avenue & 47^th Street that has been for sale for over 2 years.

The back door to the residence was pried open and all the copper piping was removed from it.  The residence is not equipped with an and the current owners have turned off the electrical service.

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The City of Richmond has revised its leaf collection schedule, as several rainy days, in addition to the winter holiday, have delayed collection efforts. The updated schedule is as follows:

1/12 – 1/23 Westover Garden
1/13 – 1/31 Stony Point
2/02 – 2/20 Stratford Hills/Willow Oaks

Crews will also perform vacuum collection on Saturday, January 17 in Worthington Farms and on Saturday, January 24 in Stony Point . Residents should rake their leaves to the curb, but not in to the street, before the first day of their scheduled vacuum service. For more information on the City’s leaf collection services, call the leaf hotline at 646-LEAF, the Customer Care Center at 3-1-1, or visit the City’s website.

For schedules outside of Hillls and Heights area

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“The Crafters Anonymous Craft Swap is an opportunity for artists and crafters of all types to get together in a fun, social environment and trade craft supplies. This event is also a benefit to support Art 180 – a Richmond based non-profit organization that creates and provides art-related programs to young people living in challenging circumstances, encouraging personal and community change through self-expression.” The above description is from the website. Anything you can do to help Art 180 is a good thing.

This event takes place on Sunday Jan. 18 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at ARTWORKS Studios & Gallery 320 Hull Street.

Celebrate an historical inauguration year at the Westover Hills Library! Wear your red, white and blue!

Saturday, January 17, 2009 from 10:00 a.m. to Noon at the Westover Hills Library, 1408 Westover Hills Boulevard. Questions? 646-8833.

Don’t miss the fun:

* Deborah Fellman’s famous balloon creations
* Shirley’s Live Exotic Birds
* Drawing for Robert Sabuda’s beautiful pop up book, “America the Beautiful”
* Cast a “Vote” for your favorite book
* Selection of presidential themed books
* Crafts and Refreshments
* View It’s Election Day Charlie Brown on our new movie screen!

You may know that RichmondMagazine.com has added 6 blogs; The Hat, Shop Talk, Parental Rites, The Unseemly House, Food Stuff, and Daily Tip Sheet. What you may not know is that The Unseemly House is penned by Susan Winiecki, resident of Westover Hills.  Susan introduced herself in her first post and describes how she came up with the name for her piece of the internet.

I thank a neighbor for helping me title this piece of virtual real estate. He was unaware that my husband and I had placed a contract on a forlorn in-fill ranch on his street of picture-perfect Colonials, Tudors and cottages from the 1930s when he quipped, “That house should be knocked down and replaced with something more seemly.”

The rest of the post can be read here.  Check in from time to time to see if she is able to move “from unseemly to seemly”.