Buttermilk & Molasses

The Great Norfolk/Richmond Throwdown

Trevor Dickerson -- writing for Richmond.com -- has penned a very solid comparison of how two comparable Virginia cities have made different choices over the past 25 years, and where those choices have landed them.

Norfolk and Richmond, as different as they may be, have some remarkable similarities. They both have wonderful riverfront property and similar baseball teams (a trait that Richmond shared until recently, at least).

The biggest difference between the two cities has been what they’ve done with the two.

It's well worth reading, especially if you sit on City Council.

Holmberg Reports on Mayor's Southside Town Hall

 

Mayor Dwight Jones headed south of the river this week for his first Town Hall meeting with about 200 residents interested in everything from crime and public safety, to economic development, to street repairs. WTVR-TV6's Mark Holmberg delivers a solid summary of the evening, and paints a picture of a new era in Richmonds mayoral politics.

High-Speed Rail Meetings Set for August

Virginians for High-Speed Rail will hold three public meetings in mid-August to answer questions about the state's proposed high-speed rail projects. Danny Plaugher, executive director of VHSR, will speak and take questions at the events.

The meetings will be held at the Retail Merchant's Association building at 5101 Monument Avenue (near Willow Lawn):

• August 11 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.

• August 11 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

• August 13 from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m.

Seating is limited, but you can register online in advance.

Iran Revolution 2.0 - Game the Grid, Nibble the Edges

Time Magazine's Robin Wright has a great piece out this week on phase two of the Iranian revolution, which has been lighting slow-burning fuses for several weeks now since the regime leaders managed to stamp out the extremely popular street uprising following the presidential elections:

The second phase plays out in a boycott of goods advertised on state-controlled television. Just try buying a certain brand of dairy product, an Iranian human-rights activist told me, and the person behind you in line is likely to whisper, "Don't buy that. It's from an advertiser." It includes calls to switch on every electric appliance in the house just before the evening TV news to trip up Tehran's grid. It features quickie "blitz" street demonstrations, lasting just long enough to chant "Death to the dictator!" several times but short enough to evade security forces. It involves identifying paramilitary Basij vigilantes linked to the crackdown and putting marks in green — the opposition color — or pictures of protest victims in front of their homes. It is scribbled antiregime slogans on money. And it is defiant drivers honking horns, flashing headlights and waving V signs at security forces.

The tactics are unorganized, largely leaderless and only just beginning. They spread by e-mail, websites and word of mouth. But their variety and scope indicate that Iran's uprising is not a passing phenomenon like the student protests of 1999, which were quickly quashed. This time, Iranians are rising above their fears. Although embryonic, today's public resolve is reminiscent of civil disobedience in colonial India before independence or in the American Deep South in the 1960s. Mohandas Gandhi once mused that "even the most powerful cannot rule without the cooperation of the ruled." That quotation is now popular on Iranian websites.

While Wright delivers in the long form, The Huffington Post's Nico Pitney continues to excel with short-form, in-the-moment coverage of events in Iran.

Today, police confronted protesters and mourners alike at a graveside memorial commemorating the 40th day since the death of Neda Agha Soltan; Neda was shot by one of the regime's basiji street militias and quickly became a face of the revolt.

Don't Count Gene Cox Out. Ever.

At first glance, the news was another violent blast against the side of Richmond's well-bruised psyche -- WWBT-NBC12's erstwhile anchor Gene Cox to step down from the 11 p.m. newscast.

Closer examination reveals that Richmond will limp along with 2/3 of their standard Gene Cox dosage -- a bit like Ukrop's only selling the dry good aisles to Harris Teeter. Cox will still confuse local viewers at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m.

Gene Cox continues to confound, but there's an old adage that used to be drilled into the heads of elementary school children across Central Virginia -- The news ain't over 'til that old man says it's over.

But it seems a good opportunity to remind newcomers that, yes, Gene Cox has always been this way. As has Richmond's media arena. In fact, the competition was far more personal and bare-knuckled in 1997 when Caffeine Magazine unleashed its parting shot at all things Richmond, including the news media. The names may be different, but that's about all that's changed...

Are we the only ones in Richmond that feel bruised and pummeled by eighteen program hours a day of the same six "On Your Side" newscasters? Just when you think nothing's changed in Richmond, you turn on your local news and find out you were right.

Gene Cox has a book out. A second one. Odder still, there's a publishing company whose sole existence, it seems, is based on printing the old coot's homilies. Brenda Hughes now works for the Richmond Police -- going from a media outlet that is plain bad to a government agency that is all bad news. Andrea McDaniel still starts our mornings with a horsey -- and painfully cheerful -- "Goooood Morning."

And did we not predict great things for little Jason Laney? Das Wunderkind of Weather no longer stands under the rail-thin shadow of that snow-skittish, meteorological elf, Jim Duncan. Ah, but we warned him of the fury of a woman scorned. Jason may be gone, but that tempest in the 12-News teacup -- Tracey Capps -- remains.

Channel 12, the erstwhile WWBT, the station that is on our side, always has found a fond spot in Caffeine's liver. Nothing makes us more nervous than a commercial venture that tries to come across as sincere and homely. Cynical waifs that we are, we find darkness is the brightest of dawns. WWBT is only on our side to raise cash.

And when we first identified Gene Cox as the "original bad boy of the Richmond news scene," little did we know what malicious schemes were being hatched by his minions. As we left town, WWBT made its move on the Sudatenland of television. Imagine our despair every time we see those gloating hep cats on the FOX News at Ten -- those damnable carpetbaggers from WWBT. Not to pick on our local Williard Scott affiliate. They are, after all is said and done, on your side. And like a bad rash, they will spread across the rest of Richmond's sick, corpulent body.

Back when WRIC was managed like the Clinton White House it, too, was fun to mock. Those were the days -- oh, so long ago -- that Channel 8 featured former snippy Miss Virginia Gretchen Carlson and Jackie "Fat Like Me" McQueen. When feuding staffers' studio fisticuffs and intramarital flings were widely reported by the print media. Say it ain't so, Lisa LaFata!

In a sure-fire sign of schizophrenia, we'll identify the three newscasters worth our time: the feisty Campbell Brown, the lovely Archinal Newlin and the dashing Doug Lozare. We would cook dinner for these three charmers without a second thought.

What a coup it would be for, say, Channel 6 to reel in Campbell, Archinal and Doug! Call it the Baywatch of local news. Call it pure genius. Pick up the phone, Charlie, and give us a call.

Brandon Eats Tomatoes at Richmond Magazine

If it's late July, it's time for Brandon Fox's annual tale of tomatoes. This time it appears in the August issue of Richmond Magazine, as Brandon has left Style Weekly (where she reviewed restaurants and penned periodic pieces for Belle) to become the editor of Richmond Magazine's Home edition. Just to keep things confusing, Brandon will sometimes show up on her own Brandon Eats site to kvetch about food, gardens and the politics of eating.

In her Richmond Magazine piece, I became the foil to what appears to be an amazing summer for tomato growers everywhere:

In Buttermilk & Molasses blogger John Sarvay's garden, the tomatoes are "doing great -- 8 feet tall and loaded with fruit." Tragically, his yard is infested with tomato-loving wildlife. "As far as harvesting, the [expletive deleted] squirrels have eaten every single close-to-being ripe tomato, so we've gotten nothing."

Unlike PharrOut/RVANews' Scott Pharr who has taken to mocking me on Twitter as he harvests his summer crop:

Tomato Harvest (@sarvay please ignore) http://yfrog.com/5echlj

Third Time's the Charm for New "Best Blog"

A belated (in Internet time) tip of the hat to Jeff Kelly, whose consistently amusing and sometimes outright hilarious take on all things Richmond has garnered his Tobacco Avenue weblog the bragging rights as Richmond Magazine's Best Local Blog:

With a satirical take on Richmond ... Tobacco Avenue bills itself as "Richmond's most accurate source of misinformation." It's also one of the city's most reliable sources of laughter, whether they're writing about Virginia first lady Anne Holton's love of raunchy comedies like The Hangover or revealing that the Federal Reserve's Richmond branch has been stockpiling Girl Scout cookies.

Richmond's Pocket Parks = Hidden Gems

As we all know, Richmond has some amazing parks. It also has a few hidden parks, several of them scattered in quiet pockets of the Fan District known mostly to close neighbors.

In 1993, Caffeine Magazine explored some of these hidden gems. Of the five Fan pocket parks we explored, Paradise Park -- between the 100 block of Allen and Vine streets -- was the one we felt had the most possibility:

Finally, there is Paradise Park. Paradise Park would be the perfect location for a caterer to set up. If it were only located near a retail or business zone.

As it is, Paradise is the best petite urban park design stumbled across in Richmond in spite of its lack of easy access. Bricked pathways and large arching trees invite you into the park itself, while low walls and oblong, geometric shapes invite climbing and playful relaxation. It’s free of brush and relatively free of trash. When we visited, the sandbox was even raked clean. During the day, it’s bright and airy, the perfect spot for a picnic lunch, a morning cup of coffee or an afternoon nap. At night, it’s a pleasant spot for a group of friends to goof off.

And while we touted the benefits, we also noted the downside of these small, urban parks:

These nine urban parks are examples of how the city, and private citizens, have managed to transform small corners of the urban landscape into friendly, community space. Unfortunately, some of the parks are also examples of how easily that community space can decay—through litter, poor lighting or inadequate maintenance. Still, their variety—and the variety of their patrons—allows Richmonders to relax for a minute and enjoy the fact that sometimes urban planners can do things right.

A group of Richmonders has come together to ensure that Paradise Park regains its footing as a destination for Fan residents and others interesting in experiencing the small space. The Paradise Park webpage has the park's history:

Paradise Park and its sister, Scuffletown Park, began in 1968 as a citizens' project sponsored by the Fan District Association. This project sought to establish "block core parks" at locations where it was determined that the need for such parks existed. The City of Richmond became involved as a project sponsor in order to enable, through a series of resolutions, solicitation of funds from the Commission on Outdoor Recreation.

The park was designed by architect Carlton Abbott, who presented his design in November 1970.

The park was finally completed in 1975. Almost 30 years later, Paradise Park has come alive again -- on Facebook and in real life. On Saturday, August 8, the Paradise Park "We Made A Mural!" opening will be held from 11:30 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. with the No BS Brass Band (marching in at 12:30 p.m.). The Visual Arts Center will have a craft table, there will be a giant puppet parade and Art on Wheels will be manning their mobile printing press. Get more details at the Paradise Park Facebook page.

Eat. Drink. Play. Sleep. Locally, Not Globally.

Two efforts are beginning to gain traction in the shopping corridors of Richmond, both focused on encouraging Richmonders to spend their cash with local merchants. Karri Peifer at Richmond.com wrote about The 3/50 Project last week and the locally driven Think/Shop/Buy/Local campaign this week.

Last week, Peifer wrote:

The 3/50 Project is a grassroots movement only a few months old dedicated to "saving the Brick & Mortars our nation is built on."

The concept is pretty simple. It asks shoppers across the country to pick three independently owned businesses they would miss if they disappeared and to try and spend $50 a month shopping there (collectively).

If half the population of Richmond and its surrounding counties committed to spending $50 a month in locally-owned businesses, it would generate $25 million in revenue, the majority of which would stay right here in town.

I mentioned earlier this week that my 3/50 choices were all coffee shops with two local grocery stores tossed in as consolation prizes.

Peifer follows on this week with a look at the Retail Merchants Association campaign.

Rally 'Round Richmond's Creatives

Richmond Magazine has steadily improved over the years, and one of its greatest gifts to our community is their annual Theresa Pollak Prizes for Excellence in the Arts. You have two days to nominate Richmond's great artists for the 12th annual awards.

See who has won the prize in past years, or go straight to the nomination form.