Girl Scout Cookies, Atlantic Shad, and Pump House ghosts get even

It's been a full and hectic weekend, and I don't have time to flesh out these stories right now, but these are some of the items James River News will be efforting in the days to come.


Girl Scout Cookie time is here.

I bought my Thin Mints from these young ladies at their stand near Roy's Big Burger in Richmond's Lakeside.

You can find other Richmond area locations here.
It looks like most of the River City food chains are stepping up to the plate and filling the void left by MARTIN'S® Food Markets and their Girl Scout Cookie Free Zone.

More to come on this story in days to come.


The Sham and Gotham Stakes were this weekend and I got tied up doing some research on these important prep races for the Kentucky Derby.



As a result I made the scene at the old Pump House too late to catch the action as The Foundation for Paranormal Research and Robert Bess fired up the mysterious Parabot in an attempt to capture and contain denizens of the spirit world as part of their Three Mile Lock Experiment-Conquest.


I was sorry I missed the show, but it looked like they had a good crowd and no dangerous and hostile spirits had escaped the Parabot to wreak havoc upon the curious public attending the event.

I may have jumped to that conclusion too soon.

A local blog, the Boulevardizen, is reporting that malevolent forces attacked a SUV.
According to the blog, the driver escaped injury but a large sink hole remained behind as testament to the power of natural forces mistreated at the hands of Man.


I checked out the scene myself this morning (Sunday).

The SUV was gone, but the Richmond Police Department has sealed off Pump House Drive to vehicular traffic and hid the offending sink hole from public view with plywood.

There'll be more to come on this story too.


I also took a trip down to the "honey hole" on the James River to see what they're catching these days. Kudos to the City of Richmond or whoever for an amazing job in clearing a hard winters worth of driftwood and assorted human trash from this area.

In about a month, this part of the James River will be full of fat Atlantic Shad, making their annual run upstream to spawn and the banks fat with fisher folks trying to catch their share.

Already the Shad Darts have made their way into the local tackle shops and we're starting to see increasing rod and reel action on the banks. Even some boats under the I-95 bridge.


Of course these folks aren't looking for shad just yet... Bass is on their minds today, but in about four weeks slabsides will be all the rage and these winter bass a distant memory.

Plenty of updates to come as the James River Shad Run starts to move.

And finally, the Richmond Public Schools has mounted an excellent exhibit of student art at the Westover Hills Branch of the Richmond Public Library.

Here are a couple of examples picked at random from this body of very fine work by talented youngsters from our local area schools.

Hadji Dieye, Grade 8

Karen Orellana, Grade 3

Mariah Bonner, Grade 5

Tyler Reid, Grade 3

TvNB

Ghost hunters come to River City, old Pump House ground zero for spook patrol

River City residents with a craving for supernatural thrills will have an unique and rare opportunity this weekend to witness the capture of a citizen from the world beyond the ken of mortal man.


The field of battle for this contest between those with with bodies of flesh and blood and their cousins of a more ethereal construction will be the old pump house at Byrd Park .

This massive structure was once the primarily means Richmond Virginia had of tapping the mighty James River for it's water supplies.

In more recent times, this old pump house became the backdrop for many woo pitching sessions by the hot and passionate youths of the 30's, the 40's and even those of the mid 50's who turned Pump House Drive into Richmond's most famous Lover's Lane.



This weekend, The Foundation for Paranormal Research will be will be setting up shop in the bowels of this historic structure in an attempt to capture ghosts or other denizens of the spirit world as part of their Three Mile Lock Experiment-Conquest.

The man who created this foundation, Robert Bess, says this experiment will take place from 10:30am to noon this Saturday, and the public is welcome to attend.
Those interested are encouraged to bring their still and video cameras, but warns that because of the nature of this experiment, it would not be wise to bring the children.


Because of the high energy fields created by the equipment necessary to carry out this experiment (like this ParaBot shown here being tested in the Pump House today), Bess also recommended that folks with heart condition might want to avoid the making the scene.

Bess also empathized today that the public in attendance will be allowed to see the same phenomenon that the experimenters will see.

I would suggest than anyone who wants so take advantage of this unusual opportunity to confab with life on the "other side" get there early. In spite of it's massive exterior, standing room in the dark and dank interior will be somewhat limited.



TvNB

River City DPW, picking up leaves where they ain't.

You never know where you're going to find a good story. Looks like our local government is picking up leaves where they ain't.

I started out to do a little blurb on the fact that this Monday past, Richmond Virginia's Department of Public Works (DPW) was finally going to fire up that much delayed leaf collection program again.


At least DPW put up signs to that effect.

It remains to be seen if they make good on this promise.
On Saturday I heard the weekend newsreader on 1140 WRVA Radio (the self-styled 50,000 Watt Voice of Virginia) excitedly calling for yet another massive snow storm to bury Central Virginia come Wednesday morning.


Locals know that the reason Richmond's DPW has not made good on their obligation to clear city streets of last fall's leaf mass was because of the unusually large amounts of rain and snow that kept River City in turmoil for the past 4 months.



In any case, the signs are up again, and if the radio weather guy is wrong again, this might be the week when the taxpayers finally see some re-leaf.



It might take the city crews longer than expected, however. This brand new sign I spotted on a relatively treeless block at the corner of Mosby and Venable is just one example of a scene I saw repeated several times up on the Hill.

Unless these pictures lie, Richmond's DPW is going to spend a fair amount of time collecting leaves where they ain't. They're certainly going to spend a fair amount of time collecting these signs.
They've already committed the crews to put up this signage where there's no fodder to feed the big city vacs.



Check out this double dipping signage at 18th and Marshall for a prime example. This is an industrial area treeless for blocks.


In any case, River City residents can only hope that soon dry weather will come and stay, and that the streets of the city will be leaf free before the crocuses bloom and the Great Atlantic Shad start their annual run... up the mighty James.





TvNB

Happy trails at Forest Hill Park, plastics shootout at RIR

There was a lot to do in River City this weekend, from helping to restore Forest Hill Park to it's former glory to checking out a convention of plastic model fanntics at Richmond International Raceway.

First out of the chute




A chilly Saturday morning found volunteers working with the Friends of Forest Hill Park and Chesapeake Bay Alliance



joining up with Jessica Barton and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation to reclaim old trails throughout the park and restore the lay of the land to the way nature intended.


I ran into Jessica Barton a couple of months ago. It was on the James River and Jessica and her voluteers were cleaning up the Pony Pasture. Their job that day was laying down mulch and cutting brush and whatnot.


She told me that the job today was restore old badly designed trails in Forest Hill Park to their natural state with plantings of saplings and shrubs. The greenery supplied by the Friends of Forest Hill Park and some other groups.


The well known shade loving plant Cornus Florida was a popular choice among these Southern Planters,


One fella estimated that about a hundred people where working the hills and dells of Forest Hill Park.
Their efforts should pay off in better control of the urban runoff that is destroying what H. L. Mencken dubbed the world's greatest protein factory, the Chesapeake Bay.


Across town, at the Richmond International Raceway complex, there was a confab of a different kind.


I saw a handbill at the Virginia Aviation Museum this week pushing a model airplane show at RIR.
I made the scene and paid my 5 dollars expecting to see real model airplanes, as in radio-controlled flying models.


What I found was a convention of the Richmond arm of the The International Plastic Modeling Society (IPMS)


They not only had airplanes there but all manner of plastic replicas of the things humans build to ply the air, land and sea.


The theme was mostly military. Tanks were big,



as were fightin' ships, all done up in painful detail.


Also on hand were judges with strong bifocals,


looking for the smallest flaw or imperfection or extra detail that could separate the winners from the "also rans".

It was an entertaining show and these plastic fans clearly put many hours into their creations.The execution was excellent, but in my opinion, what was billed as the 2010 Old Dominion Open of the Richmond chapter of IPMS/USA was way too heavy into military themes.



I found this replica of a 50's era Amoco Gas Station to be far more interesting than tanks and battle ships, and I think there's a great untapped world out there in commercial airliners.



This Air India liner was the only attempt at re-capturing the glory of the great propeller driver craft of the past that I saw at this show.
I believe it might be a model of a Lockheed Super G Constellation commercial aircraft but I can't swear to it. It's been a lot of years since I last saw one.

Coming up



Did the Richmond Virginia DPW once again waste time and manpower putting up these signs? Well, if you think the City of Richmond is going to be picking up those leaves this Wednesday, I've got a bridge in Brooklyn to sell ya.





TvNB

Would Girls Scouts lose a PR battle with Martin’s Food Markets in the public arena?

When the news media got wind that Martin’s Food Markets , the folks who bought out the Ukrop's grocery operation here in Central Virginia, were no longer going to allow Girl Scouts to set up shop outside their stores to peddle cookies, it certainly raised eyebrows in these parts.

After all, the Ukrop's family, in addition to their first class grocery stores, has earned a well deserved reputation for running the most community orientated business in Central Virginia.

Ever since rumors surfaced that Ukrop's was on the block, there's been a fair amount of community concern as to what extent the new owners could continue that long tradition of public service. It'd be no lie that many don't see Martin's setting up this Girl Scout Cookies® Free Zone around their stores as a sign of good things to come.

But it turns out that not everybody is a fan of the Girl Scout's product placement.

When I first heard the news, I thought anticipating the public reaction would be cake. After all, everyone likes Girl Scout Cookies®.

How wrong I was. Turns out there are folk among us who feel that the little scouts can have the tenacity of variable annuity salesmen when it comes to pushing their thin mints.

One fella on Facebook took me to task like this,

Have you ever been strong-armed by one of those kids?? You either buy or the next thing you know, you're doubled over.

Another guy on a local neighborhood blog opined in part,

Innocent little girl scouts? I guess you just ignore the aggressive, overzealous parents hawking the cookies and ‘earning’ those badges for their little princesses, LOL.

Just goes to show, you never can tell.

In any case, there will be no lack of opportunity to buy Girl Scout Cookies®. Kroger will step up to the plate, as will Farmer's Foods.

Farmer's even sent out a press release that read in part,

Farmer's Food at Southside Plaza

In the wake of Giant/Martin's announcement of their sidewalk vending policy, Farmer's Foods welcomes the opportunity to help area Girl Scout troops in any of the nine communities that our stores are located.

For what it's worth, published reports say that Martin's will buy 1000 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies and donate them to the Central Virginia Food Bank. .

Is MARTIN’S® Food Markets expecting trouble?

It might seem so judging by the signage that has been sprouting up like mushrooms at the Ukrop's outlets these past couple of weeks.

photo taken from public road

On the face of it, these might not seem unusual. After all, they are a statement of policies that any private business that does not front on public right of way would be expected to enforce.


But what makes these signs news is their sheer number, the fact that even though they are attributed to the shopping center management they are ONLY located on and around the Ukrop's stores, that identical signs have gone up at all Ukrop's (that I visited at least) in the area and the extreme detail regarding banned activities.

In addition to these public signs, there are others posted on the entrance doors to the stores called something like the NO SOLICITATION/NO DISTRIBUTION/NO PHOTOGRAPHY RULE.
These ban the taking of pictures and videotaping on company premises without permission.
These signs also ban soliciting and distributing material by non-employees at all times and by employees during "work time". (There's some interesting reading on no-solicitation and no-distribution rules in general here.)

What any of this means (if anything) it's too soon to tell. But it's an odd way for a new business to make the scene.


Does any of this really matter ?

No. I don't think it does. The success or failure of this new chain will not depend on how much they give back to the community. That's not the kind of world we live in anymore.

After all, we can get our fill of Girl Scout Cookies® at Lowes or Sam's or Farmer's Foods.

That's not to say my shopping habits won't change.

Out of loyalty to Ukrop's, I always shopped there, even when they were not the cheapest or the most convenient

But once Ukrop's handle comes off that building, I know that I won't continue to drive past Food Lion and Wally's World unless this new store provides a compelling reason with great prices, great service and quality of food stuff, regardless of how good a corporate citizen they may turn out to be.




TvNB