Colonial Place/Riverview Civic League
COMMUNITY NEWS

August 2006

             No August Civic League Meeting

NEXT BOARD MEETING will be Monday, September 18, 2006, at 7:00 pm.

DEADLINE for the September issue is Tuesday, August 15, 2006.

I want to start this month’s newsletter by thanking everyone who came out for the July Ice Cream Social. Unfortunately, our newsletter came out a little late in July, so many of you missed the opportunity to visit with your neighbors and enjoy some delicious food and ice cream. Next year, the CPRV Civic League will make it up to you by buying you a double scoop of ice cream. Those in attendance enjoyed some very tasty fare from the new “Fat Boy’s” on Granby Street; we kept the staff very busy that evening, but they did a great job taking care of us, from hotdogs and hamburgers to their “moose tracks” ice cream. We would like to thank Mr. Rich Katz and Mr. David Filipowski, the owners of Fat Boy's (4117 Granby Street), for hosting our social. Drop in and try out their new eatery – it’s a wonderful addition to the Riverview Village Business District. In addition to the food, we also enjoyed some great music from the renowned CPRV-based musical group Lovesick Cousin (sans drummer this time around). Ms. April Philips and Mr. Bob Rankin always put on a fun show and we thank them for their time. Check out their schedule and give them a listen at www.lovesickcousin.com.

I have been noticing a lot of small, positive changes taking place around our community that are the result of much time and energy by our neighbors.

• The CPRV Crime Prevention Committee has been active in many different areas. Part of their recent work has been to engage the owners of the area 7-11 Convenience Stores and work with them to improve the safety and appearance of these establishments. Thanks to Sheila Janes and Malcolm Martin and the rest of the CPRV Crime Prevention Committee for their efforts.
• Rev. Becky Kiser’s Community Garden Committee has been hard at work and the results are evident in their well-tended garden. Take a stroll through sometime this Summer.
• Alice McCoy, CPRV’s new Riverview Village Business District Liaison, reports that the Riverview Village Business Association received an award for their efforts to promote a cleaner, more beautiful Norfolk. The RVBA has recently adopted the streetscape from the Granby Bridge to LaVallete Avenue under the “Adopt a Spot” program. Their first clean-up was on Saturday, July 29th.
• The CPRV Vegetarian Potluck group continues to hold their monthly socials.
• Buffy Masten is working on some aesthetic additions to the CPRV Dog Park.
• New “mermaidian” Colonial Place and Riverview signs are being erected.
• On my walk through Lafayette Park this morning, I noticed the tennis courts are being resurfaced.
• Speaking of walking, please mark you calendar now for the CPRV Front Porch Art Walk which is scheduled for Sunday, October 8th. More details will be forthcoming but you will not want to miss this event. Invite your friends from other neighborhoods to experience art at a walking pace.

We will not hold a CPRV Civic League general membership meeting, or a board meeting, in August. We are taking some time off to revitalize and refresh. We’ll return in September with a renewed spirit. Two things to close with: I want to extend my thanks to Dave Spriggs for serving as the Riverview Liaison for the last couple of years. I also want to congratulate CPRV’s very own Ann Fitzgibbon on being named “Most Persistent Civic Activist” by Port Folio Weekly in their “Best of the Seven Cities” issue. It’s people like Dave and Ann who remind us to roll up our sleeves and do our part.

Have a great August. See you in September.
It’s not just a neighborhood, it’s a lifestyle.

When is the toughest time for gardening in Hampton Roads? You’re waking up to it right now, my friends! In some ways, August is tougher than January or February because at least during those months, you can scan the catalogs and web sites for new products, you can work the soil as long as it is not frozen, you can trim, clean, weed and prepare for spring. Who wants to do that in this heat? However, if you don’t at least make a few trips a week to the garden this time of year, you will have to pay the consequences in the fall and next spring and all the effort you put into the garden this spring will be lost. So, for now, think damage control and consider how to lower your maintenance for next year.

Keep in mind that your lawn and garden are going to need about an inch of water a week in order to stay fit. Container gardens even more. Water in the early morning or late in the evening when there is less evaporation and water those container plantings every day. Cut back your annuals and perennials (no more than one third this time of year) that have quit blooming to help promote more blooms till the first frost. Check your bird bath, bird feeders and bird houses. They could probably use a good cleaning by now. Mow your grass weekly and mow it higher to help keep the lawn cooler. Check your pond for excess algae and heat stress on your fish. Shade the pond as much as possible if these issues exist.

Assess your garden now for lower maintenance next year. Does it seem like you spent too much time watering this year? Consider planting more dry loving plants such as succulents and grasses. Maybe with all the rain earlier this summer you discovered some low wet spots in the yard. Make a note of this and plant moisture loving plants in that area. Take a look at the bare spots in the garden and the areas that look overgrown and plan to spread it all out next year.

With just a little time spent in the garden right now and some early planning, you will get a head start on next spring. This is what we in the business call…practice. It gets easier and more rewarding each year! Before you know it, we will be wiping the spider webs off the porch furniture and sipping our iced tea outside again and planning where to put those beautiful Pansies. Oh and by the way, most garden centers are fully air conditioned and dripping with huge bargains in August! Hope to see you soon!

Thanks to Susan Sussman the 2005 Real Estate statistics for Colonial Place and Riverview are finally on our site. Look for a link off the home page. While you are there don't miss the link to the 2006 Ice Cream Social photos. Our multi-tasking president, Steve Earnhart, is responsible for documenting all of the well-fed CPRV members who attended. At the suggestion of Glenda Warner I have added a space for your email address to the online CPRV membership form. In the future we hope to use email in conjunction with other methods to encourage prompt renewals and to ease the job of our volunteer membership chair/committee.

Summer has brought with it more opportunity for theft in the neighborhood. Please be vigilant and look out for neighbors. You can keep up with crime stats by logging onto http://www.norfolk.gov/neighborhood_offenses/default.asp or by coming to the crime prevention meetings.

• Make sure to lock all doors and windows when leaving your house.
• Check that your garage and car are secured.
• Remove the valet key from the glove box that come with many new cars.
• Record the serial number of your bike and add an extra identifying engraving on the frame.
• Look out for your neighbors.
• Get an alarm for your key chain. Some new cars are equipped with panic buttons on the electronic key.
• Call in the report of suspicious cars or people on your street. Only those that live here know what is suspicious.
• Join the neighborhood watch program.
• Join the listserve at www.cprv.org for up-to-date information on crime prevention efforts in CPRV.

Don't be the last person on your block to display the famous black and white oval CPRV sticker. Remember--NO August Civic League meeting so the best way to get your sticker before the cold weather sets in is to send a check ($2.50 per sticker) made payable to CPRV, to: Jeanne Ullian, 4400 Mayflower Road, Norfolk, VA 23508. All of the money you send goes into the CPRV treasury to help fund all the wonderful league activities throughout the year.

The General Election for Senator and Member of Congress is November 7. The last day to register is October 10. Applications for an absentee ballot may be made now. Absentee ballots will be mailed to voters approximately 45 days before the election. The Absentee ballot deadline is October 31 in the City Election Commission office. Voter registration forms are available online at: HTTP://www.norfolk.gov, click on the link to elections. Robert Reardon will deliver registration forms and applications for absentee ballots, please call 535-1164.

The City of Norfolk announces the launch of a summer-long parking program created to provide convenient parking options for event attendees of Ocean View Beach Park. The City offers this program as a temporary solution for the summer due to the loss of parking at the Pretlow Library site.

The program entails a parking shuttle running every fifteen minutes on an event to event basis. The shuttle will pick up patrons at the Community Beach lot and transport them to the front of Nansemond on the Bay condos located next to the Ocean View Beach Park. The shuttle will start running thirty minutes prior to the start time of the scheduled event and stop running thirty minutes from the conclusion of the event.

The shuttle is scheduled to run for the Sunday Big Bands on the Bay, the TGOV series every Friday in August. These dates include August 4, 6, 11, 13,18,19, 20, 25 & 27 and September 3.

Ocean View Beach Park is located at the end of Granby Street at 100 W. Ocean View Avenue on the former site of the Ocean View Amusement Park.

Hello, Dog Park dog owners. A new project is in the making to have dog pictures installed on the fence around the Dog Park, helping it to look more like a doggy playground. A Colonial Place animal portrait artist, Lynn Hembry, has generously donated her talent to memorialzing our local dogs on 2ft by 3ft metal plates which will be installed on the fence around the park. The signs will be made by FastSigns, off of 21st St. The signs will be durable & should last forever. For a donation of $50.00 for one dog per panel or $75.00 for two dogs, your dogs can be featured. This donation will help to defray the cost of the sign. I will take pictures of your dog (or dogs) & Lynn will translate them into the art on the panel. Your dog's name will be below each picture. The number of panels will be limited to about 12, so get your request to me as soon as possible at 622-6635. To see what the artwork will look like, stop by the Dog Park and look on the bulletin board.

Wednesday, August 2nd, 2006
10:00 a.m. - CPRV Childrens Playgroup - Contact 624-6810
11:00 a.m. - 60+ Club - Oceanview Senior Center
Sunday, August 6th, 2006
7:00 p.m. - Big Bands on the Bay - Ocean View Beach Park
Monday, August 7th, 2006
2:15 p.m. - Senior’s Bowling Club - Contact 441-2109
Wednesday, August 9th, 2006
10:00 a.m. - CPRV Childrens Playgroup - Contact 624-6810
11:00 a.m. - 60+ Club - Oceanview Senior Center
Friday, August 11th, 2006
10:30 a.m. - Square Dancing - Oceanview Senior Center
Sunday, August 13th, 2006
7:00 p.m. - Big Bands on the Bay - Ocean View Beach Park
Monday, August 14th, 2006
2:15 p.m. - Senior’s Bowling Club - Contact 441-2109
Wednesday, August 16th, 2006
10:00 a.m. - CPRV Childrens Playgroup - Contact 624-6810
11:00 a.m. - 60+ Club - Oceanview Senior Center
Friday, August 18th, 2006
10:30 a.m. - Square Dancing - Oceanview Senior Center
Sunday, August 20th, 2006
7:00 p.m. - Big Bands on the Bay - Ocean View Beach Park
Monday, August 21st, 2006
2:15 p.m. - Senior’s Bowling Club - Contact 441-2109
Wednesday, August 23rd, 2006
10:00 a.m. - CPRV Childrens Playgroup - Contact 624-6810
11:00 a.m. - 60+ Club - Oceanview Senior Center
Friday, August 25th, 2006
10:30 a.m. - Square Dancing - Oceanview Senior Center
Sunday, August 27th, 2006
7:00 p.m. - Big Bands on the Bay - Ocean View Beach Park
Monday, August 28th, 2006
2:15 p.m. - Senior’s Bowling Club - Contact 441-2109
6:30 p.m. - Crime Prevention Meeting - Stuart Center

(Dates and Times subject to change without notice. Consult your local periodicals for additional information, costs and updates)

              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:   Joe Rivas, Phone 277-2822
Community News Distribution:   Buddy Petzinger, Phone 622-0233 and Mary Hormell, Phone 627-2392
Advertising:   Joe Rivas, Phone 277-2822

Please deliver typewritten newsletter items to:

              Joe Rivas
              Phone: 277-2822
              e-mail: cprvnews@gmail.com