Colonial Place/Riverview Civic League
COMMUNITY NEWS
The Magic of the Arts: Meet Representatives from Five Local Performing Arts Organizations
NEXT BOARD MEETING will be Monday, September 20, 2004, at 7:00 pm.
DEADLINE for the October issue is Tuesday, September 28, 2004.
THIS MONTH'S MEETING AGENDA: Monthly police report - Code enforcement update - Guest speakers: Representatives from the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, The Virginia Opera, The Hurrah Players, The Generic Theater, and our new neighbors, the Elizabeth River Theater Company. Please arrive early as we hope to have some area student-musicians warm the crowd up for us.
Hope to see you all at our meeting on Monday, September 13th. Our vice-president, Steve Earnhart, is diligently scheduling a variety of speakers. See his separate article on who will be appearing. I was disappointed in the turn-out for the August meeting where four speakers talked about our local public schools. Perhaps the low turn-out was due to conflicts with summer activities.
I continue to hear lots of complaints about parking too close to corners. This is a safety issue. With our narrow streets, close houses, and large trees, drivers should not have to contend with the addition of vehicles to block their view of on-coming vehicles. Whether there is a “No Parking to Corner” sign or not … it is still illegal to park within 15 feet of a corner. Also it is illegal to block sidewalks. I am happy to see those “PODS” appear which means another house is being renovated, but please place them clear of the sidewalk.
Your Civic League Board of Directors is generating ideas to improve the neighborhood and the functioning of the League. We plan on meeting soon to mull over these ideas and determine those that we will take for action. But I feel we are just getting input from the same people. There are hundreds more who have chosen Colonial Place and Riverview to call their home and from whom I never hear. Tell me your concerns and interests. It is your League whether you choose to be a paying dues member or not. I am especially concerned that the diversity of our neighborhood is not reflected in the participation in the League. Please help me to ensure that our League serves all of our residents.
Thanks to Sheila Janes, who has taken over the management of our Oyster Floats. This is one way we demonstrate commitment to improving the Lafayette River, which adds so much to the quality of our neighborhood. Sheila is using the floats to help educate our children about the importance to our environment and welfare of what some may view as an insignificant organism. We live in an interdependent society that requires respect and consideration for others.
This just in! Mayor Fraim will be our guest speaker at our November Civic League meeting (Monday, November 8th, 2004). More details to follow!
Fall Fun at the Zoo: Prairie Dog Opening: September 11 at 10 AM. See “The FAB 14” pop-up in their new exhibit.
October 4 - Last day to register for the upcoming elections in November
ZooToDo: October 9 (7:30 -11:30 PM) (Save $10 on ticket price if you purchase by October 1.) You must be 21 or older to attend. Visit virginiazoo.org for more information on both events.
Front Porch Art Walk, Sunday October 10
Plans are underway for the 2nd Annual Riverview Village Holiday Open House on Saturday, November 6, from 10AM ‘til 4PM. Businesses and neighborhood volunteers are laying the groundwork for a spectacular fall day on which Norfolk residents will be invited to stroll the Riverview Village sidewalks, visit the shops, enjoy the entertainment, and snack on the restaurant samples. Once again the Riverview Holiday Express Trolley will also travel to the Virginia Zoo and the Ernie Morgan Environmental Center. The Zoo will have entertainment throughout the day and the concession operator, Aramark, will be serving up delicious samples (rumor has it there will be “fondue at the zoo”). The gift shop will be ready for holiday shopping.
More details about the day will be available next month, but for now we encourage you to mark your calendar for a special day of shopping the neighborhood on November 6.
By now all of you who use the dog park are aware that one of the light poles is down. Apparently this was done by the guys who mow the lawn. I have contacted the city about this. They will get to it as soon as they can. Apparently a lot of our city workers have gone down to Florida to help after Hurricane Charley. Please try to stay away from the downed pole until it is fixed.
I want to thank those of you who drop your used newspaper bags on my porch. It's a big help.
I have also been advised that the designated dog park location in Ghent is being considered for secure fencing so that the dogs can run safely. This is wonderful news & I urge everyone to lend them support. We have proved that an active civic league can partner with the City to make good things happen, and we should be proud of our dog park.
Have you ever wondered who are those lucky CPRV families that enjoy a lovely view of the Lafayette River from their waterfront homes? One is the McDonald family, who given their commitment to our neighborhood and city, are certainly deserving of one of the best water views in town.
Sharon and Dave McDonald live on Mayflower Rd. with their daughters Marlee and Madie. Sharon is our elected Commissioner of the Revenue for the City of Norfolk and Dave is the chief mediator and owner of the Mediation Center of Hampton Roads, located in nearby Ghent. Their daughter Marlee, age 14, is a star softball player for Maury High School, while Madie, age 12, goes to Blair and provides our community superb babysitting services. (She has excellent references – including my own family - and is even certified!)
As head of the chief tax assessor for both individuals and businesses for the City of Norfolk, Sharon spends considerable time serving the citizenry by collecting the revenue which funds and supports Norfolk’s services, growth and development. Otherwise, you can often find Sharon donating time as a Board member for Norfolk’s own Hurrah Players and as a member of the Democratic Party, where she is chairperson for the Commonwealth’s Local Elected Officials Association of Democrats (‘LEAD”). Sharon also enjoys reading, gardening, and cooking for her family. If you have any questions for Sharon about your city taxes, please contact her at sharon.mcdonald@norfolk.gov and look for her at an upcoming Civic League meeting to discuss tax issues important to CPRV residents.
When not busy helping us peacefully work out our differences at the Mediation Center, Dave can be found reviewing professional ethics cases for the Virginia State Bar’s disciplinary committee. Otherwise, look for Dave running swiftly down the streets of CPRV, training for his next Mud Run or similar event. Dave is the super-lean guy with the handlebar mustache, but look quickly because Dave is a champion runner, having competed in 3 U.S. Olympic Marathon time trials. Dave has won most of the local area’s long-distance races, including the famous Shamrock Marathon, which takes place in Virginia Beach. Dave’s best time is an astounding 2 hours, 17 minutes, which he ran in the Boston Marathon!
The McDonald family has lived in Colonial Place for over 22 years, having moved in 1982 from Pennsylvania, where Dave and Sharon met at the University of Pittsburgh. They moved down to Norfolk together to attend ODU graduate schools (MBA for her, MPA for him), fell in love with the area and, luckily for us, never left our community by the water.
The McDonalds love CPRV for its mature sense of community and take much pride in our neighborhood’s diverse population. Of course, the McDonalds also love CPRV’s close proximity to the Lafayette River, the Chesapeake Bay, and downtown Norfolk. Dave and Sharon would like to see CPRV’s bike paths better maintained, although they realize (better than most) that working with the City to improve the community is often a slow process, requiring much patience.
Nonetheless, Sharon and Dave feel CPRV has a good chance to accomplish its shared goals given that it has such a strong and influential Civic League, which in turn is backed by many intelligent, hard-working volunteers. “Our neighborhood is a great melding pot, containing a broad spectrum of decent, friendly, helpful people,” says Sharon. With neighbors like the McDonalds living among us, we whole-heartedly agree.
Don’t miss the next CPRV Civic League meeting (Monday, Sept.13th, 7 p.m.) as we are honored to have with us 5 local performing arts organizations. We will meet representatives from the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, The Virginia Opera, The Hurrah Players, The Generic Theater, and our new neighbors, the Elizabeth River Theater Company. Each representative will have a couple minutes to discuss their organization and their upcoming season. After their presentation, we will have tables available in the back of the room for brochures. Please arrive early as we hope to have some area student-musicians warm the crowd up for us.
Actually, in this case, I DO want you to tell me what kind of programs & guest speakers you would like to have at our monthly civic league meetings. August was our Back to School night, September will be our look at the local performing arts scene, and October is our 3rd District Dialogue. I am also planning to get our city and state representatives back to “check-in” with us. Mrs. Sharon McDonald, Norfolk’s Commissioner of the Revenue and CPRV resident, will be with us in January to talk taxes (always a timely subject). So what else would you like? Let me know! Email me at scearnhart@erols.com or call 533-5581.
Let's see if this month's mystery photo sparks a little more interest. There were NO first class emails when I last checked my account. We have posted the "now" picture of the August mystery house located on Granby Street. Amazing how wide Granby looks in the photos compared to how it feels when driving it today.
Our September mystery photo is another view in Park Place of some grand old homes. If you can identify the location or have any related good stories to tell please send an email to jullian@cprv.org.
Have you noticed the graffiti on the Colonial Place Historic Neighborhood sign on 42nd between Colley and Mayflower? Even though the city is not responsible for the sign, they sent someone out with a can of their magic remover. As you can see it had no effect. Our best guess is that super glue or something similar was used to deface the sign. Scraping destroys the paint. Acetone destroys the paint. If you can identify the product used or have any good suggestions please email president@cprv.org These signs were custom made and do indeed cost $2000 each.
It’s right around the corner! Make sure you have your calendars marked for our very special “Election 2004” October Civic league meeting (7 pm, at Stuart). The CPRV Civic league will sponsor a 3rd District Dialogue to be held during our October civic league meeting (October 11th). Colonial Place’s very own Glen Sussman, Ph.D., Professor and Chair of Political Science, will moderate a discussion that features the candidates for our U.S. House of Representatives district (3rd) and YOU! Representative Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (incumbent, Democrat) and Mrs. Winsome Sears (challenger, Republican) will be taking your questions and comments. Our neighboring civic leagues have been invited and local media coverage is expected. Bring your ideas, bring your concerns, bring your friends & neighbors. Democracy is not a spectator sport and it is hard to play if you don’t show up – come and participate in the CPRV 3rd District Dialogue! For more information, email Steve Earnhart at scearnhart@erols.com. Speaking of voting, the last day to register is October 4, 2004, are you registered to vote? If not, go to http://www.norfolk.gov/elections/ to download the easy-to-fill-out forms or contact Bob Reardon at Gosnold 4005@hotmail.com. He will deliver a form and take it to the city election department.
CPRV stickers will be available at the September meeting. Get one for each of the vehicles in your household--cars, bikes, trikes, and even wagons. Your entire donation of $2.50 per sticker goes into the CPRV treasury to help fund all the wonderful league activities throughout the year.
If you can't make the meeting order your stickers by mail. Just send a check, made out to CPRV, to Jeanne Ullian, 4400 Mayflower Road, Norfolk, VA 23508. Stickers will be delivered within a week of receipt.
After a two-month summer hiatus, the Crime Prevention Committee is again meeting at 6:30 pm in the Stuart Center cafeteria on the last Monday of each month.
Ten CPRV residents and P.A.C.E. Officer Brent Routon attended the meeting on August 30. A report by Officer Routon on crime in CPRV in the month of July was followed by a discussion of concerns voiced by the attendees. Of particular concern was the large number of robberies to individuals in Larchmont: while only one such robbery was reported in CPRV in July, it was noted that our neighborhood could be targeted next. Officer Routon stated that police would increase patrols in CPRV in the near future to stem the rising number of thefts from autos. Let’s hope that also helps to dissuade whoever is committing the robberies in Larchmont from moving to our neighborhood. As always, it is prudent to be mindful of our surroundings when entering and exiting vehicles or walking the neighborhood after sundown. Find a companion for those evening walks....and take the dogs with you!
Tip of the month: Leave your porch light on! A street on which everyone’s porch light is turned on makes a far less inviting target for criminals; it may help reduce burglaries, thefts from autos, vandalism and robberies to individuals, etc.
Remember to trust your instincts with regard to any suspicious behavior you observe. Just make the call! Let the dispatchers and patrol officers – the trained professionals – decide whether your concerns warrant investigation.
In case you have forgotten, the police non-emergency number is 441-5610, and P.A.C.E. Officers Brent Routon and W.A. Hicks can be reached at 664-7316 (office), 364-9625 (digital pager with voicemail option) and 621-6929 (cell). In case of an emergency dial 911, naturally.
P.S. Colonial Place in particular still needs many volunteers to serve as block captains for our Neighborhood Watch program. For more information about how you can get involved in this very important work, please contact me at 624-9708 or tidewatersurvey@aol.com
The 6th Annual CPRV Front Porch Art Walk will take place on Sunday, October 10th, 2004. This is a wonderful opportunity to showcase the creative folks we have living here, as well as the beautiful neighborhood we share. If you are a CPRV resident artist and would like to participate in this year's show, look for registrations soon from Kristin Bourcier (622-5324) or located in some of our local businesses. We look forward to another fantastic show year and hope all the stormy weather will have blown through by then! Also, if you are interested in helping with this event (either day-of or in getting the word out beforehand), please contact us as follows: Kristin Bourcier (622-5324 / MosaicArt@cox.net) or Theresa Nock (625-2036/ theresanock@williamewood.com) Thank you for supporting this unique community event!
The Colonial Place/Riverview Civic League
P.O. Box 6130
Norfolk, VA 23508
E-MAIL: president@cprv.org (checked weekly)
WEB PAGE: www.cprv.org
Community News Editor: Kelly Sorensen, Phone 622-0437
Community News Distribution: Margaret Bright, Phone 627-2815
Advertising: Kelly Sorensen, Phone 622-0437
Please deliver typewritten newsletter items to:
Kelly Sorensen
Phone: 622-0437
e-mail: cprvnews@cox.net