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Studio Two Three rolls out mobile art studio

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Studio Two Three (S23) is bringing art to the people– literally.

The brick and mortar art studio recently revamped an old truck, turning it into Studio Two Three To-Go, a mobile printmaking and photography studio on wheels.

Ashley Hawkins, Studio Two Three’s executive director and one of its co-founders back in 2009, said she’s wanted to do the mobile studio long before it even made since to do so. Now, with all of the growth and expansion S23 is having, it does.

The retail sales are robust, the demand for field trips and workshops are high, and about 60 artists have 24/7 access to the studio.

“Those are kind of the necessary elements and then we just love the idea of this go-go gadget print truck so we can reach people who might otherwise never know what printmaking is,” Hawkins said. 

Since it first started rolling around town a couple of months ago, S23 To-Go has done more than two dozen events and is booked almost every weekend.

Hawkins said the truck is basically a mobile billboard connecting the S23 team to people in and around Richmond at festivals and events.

“It’s seamlessly integrated into our operations as if we’ve always had it,” Hawkins said.

Now that S23 To-Go is up and running, the shop is working to expand into the building next door to it, adding about 6,300 square feet to the West Cary Street studio. Hawkins said they hope to have everything completed by September.

Hawkins wants the studio’s growth to be more than physical, though.

She said S23 wants to serve the Richmond community by being a place for the professional development of artists, a retail destination for artwork made in Richmond by Richmonders, one day increasing the number of artists they’re able to serve, and maybe even providing an artist residency program.

“Growth for us is really being a holistic resource for working artists and inspiring artists in Richmond,” Hawkins said.

She said every day is chaos but in an exciting way right now.

“We’re very privileged to come here every day and have this be our work and have the stress of growth and success be our stressor and what we’re grumbling about,” Hawkins said. “It’s trying not to lose perspective on that.”

She said the most rewarding thing about leading S23 is connecting donors and supporters of the arts with an opportunity to make a real difference in the Richmond community for years to come.

Hawkins said it’s hard to describe exactly what S23 is because it’s something different for everyone, and Richmonders should come experience it themselves.

“They should come in the door and see the potential of being a part of this space whether as an artist member with 24/7 access, as a class taker, a shopper,” Hawkins said. “I think it’s hard and we struggle to explain what Studio Two Three is but I also think there is some magic in this building and just getting people in the door will help make it clear.”

*Photo from S23 Instagram

Virginia schools now required to test for lead in water

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With the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, safe drinking water is a high priority nationwide, especially for children. Beginning July 1, schools in Virginia will be required to test their potable water for lead.

Senate Bill 1359, which Gov. Terry McAuliffe signed into law on March 20, seeks to ensure that local school boards test the drinking water in schools and that it meets federal guidelines. The Food and Drug Administration recommends that the level of lead not exceed 15 parts per billion.
Del. Kaye Kory of Falls Church is especially concerned about the water in older school buildings that may have lead pipes.

“The water that comes to the school from the water supplier can be fine, and still, because of the pipes inside the school, there will be lead in the water that children drink,” said Kory, who co-sponsored the bill. (The chief patron was Sen. Jeremy McPike of Woodbridge.)

The new law requires testing in all schools but puts an emphasis on schools built before 1986. Each school board must decide how to implement the law. Currently, schools are not required to test for lead.

Testing could be especially important for older school districts in lower-income areas with a deteriorating infrastructure, Kory said.

Testing for lead is complex: The tests must be conducted multiple times and at multiple locations, such as drinking fountains and faucets. If tests find high levels of lead, the school may have to replace pipes and take other actions, including providing bottled water for students and teachers. The problem cannot be fixed overnight.

Kory believes the new law is a step in the right direction to make sure the next generation of Virginians grows up healthy.

As seen in Flint, lead can be harmful to the human body, especially in children. Low levels of lead do not affect the body immediately, but prolonged exposure can damage the nervous system and cause other problems, including learning disabilities and hearing impairment.

Flint pipe

Dr. Rutherfoord Rose, a toxicologist and professor of medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University, said lead poses a particular problem for young children whose nervous system is still developing.

“The critical point of lead exposure, even though you don’t want it in anybody, is really before they get to school,” Rose said. Most cases of lead poisoning come not from drinking water but from products that contain concentrated levels of lead, such as paint.

Whether the risk is marginal or not, parents are still concerned about lead exposure in their child’s school. Parents naturally want their children to have safe drinking water.

Thomas Amrhein’s 6-year-old daughter attends kindergarten at R.C. Longan Elementary School in Henrico County’s West End. Amrhein is glad for the new law requiring water testing.

“I think it’s urgently important since the problem has been uncovered,” Amrhein said. He said he is happy the testing is being done because the safety of children in public schools is crucial.
If the tests find lead in the drinking water at R.C. Longan, Amrhein is confident that the school will take immediate action to resolve the issue. “I believe they would rectify it in a timely manner.”

Words and body phots by Ben Burstein VCU Capital News Service
Top photo credit: Jeffrey Turner, Flickr

State will help fund clean up of historic African American cemeteries

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Hollywood Cemetery flaunts pristine iron gates, beautiful mausoleums and monuments, and majestic views of the James River. This gorgeous scenery is sorely lacking at two other historic cemeteries less than 15 minutes down the road.

When created in the 1800s, Evergreen and East End cemeteries were envisioned as high-end resting places for important African-American figures, just as James Monroe, Jefferson Davis, and other prominent Caucasians were buried at Hollywood Cemetery.

But today, the African-American graveyards are far from high end. They are marred by cracked headstones, broken fences and overgrown vegetation stretching to the tops of the trees. At Evergreen and East End, rest in peace is more like rest in distress.

The condition of these gravesites could change when House Bill 1547 takes effect July 1. Introduced by Del. Delores McQuinn of Richmond, the new law will distribute funds to organizations to assist with the cleanup of “historical African-American cemeteries and graves.”

McQuinn has long had an interest in the cemeteries; she has relatives buried there. She said she appreciates the efforts of volunteers who have worked to spruce up the gravesites.

“I am grateful for the many volunteers and interest that people have taken into helping to maintain to the point that it’s presentable,” McQuinn said.

HB 1547 will benefit cemeteries that were established before 1900 for the interment of African-Americans and are owned by a governmental entity or nonprofit group. Under the law, the state will help cover the cost of maintaining such sites. Eligible cemeteries will receive at least $5 for each grave, monument or marker for an individual “who lived at any time between January 1, 1800, and January 1, 1900.”

East End Cemetery in Henrico County has 4,875 graves that qualify for assistance; Evergreen Cemetery in Richmond has 2,100.

John Shuck is the site coordinator for the East End Cemetery Cleanup and Restoration Project and the assistant coordinator for a similar effort at Evergreen Cemetery. Shuck had come across the cemeteries while exploring his interest in genealogy more than nine years ago.

Shuck said beautifying the cemeteries is a long-term commitment.

“The first thing you do when you go in there is clear it, but then you have to maintain what you clear. That’s what we’re hoping some of these funds will do,” Shuck said.

The two cemeteries hold the remains of African-Americans who had a significant impact on Richmond, Virginia and the nation. They include pioneering business leaders Maggie Walker and Hezekiah F. Johnathan and crusading newspaper editor John Mitchell.

Given the stature of such figures, how did the cemeteries fall into a state of neglect?

Shuck attributed the lack of attention to the migration of black families up north for jobs during the Depression, leaving no one to care for the graves.

But many people believe race also was a factor.

“I don’t think that the interest nor the commitment was made to that cemetery like Hollywood Cemetery received,” McQuinn said.

Gov. Terry McAuliffe made that point when he signed HB 1547 on May 17. He said the new law will remedy a long-standing injustice. “Unlike Confederate cemeteries, black gravesites have gone centuries without state funds allocated for their maintenance and preservation,” he said.

McAuliffe said the state has made annual payments to maintain Confederate gravesites. In addition, in 1914, the General Assembly appropriated $8,000 – the equivalent of $190,000 in today’s dollars – to improve Hollywood Cemetery. And in 1997, the state provided $30,000 to restore Confederate graves at Oakwood Cemetery, less than two miles from the dilapidated African-American cemeteries.

Under the new law, Evergreen and East End cemeteries finally will receive financial help, too. McQuinn has hopes of creating a “garden of reflection” where people can come to learn and connect with their history. That will take money, but McQuinn is optimistic it will materialize.
“I don’t have any doubt that we will get there,” she said.

Want to help? Here’s how

Evergreen and East End cemeteries need volunteers to help with cleanup and maintenance. If you want to volunteer or would like more information, contact Marvin Harris at [email protected] or John Shuck at jshuck @rocketmail.com.

Harris said he is thankful that several volunteers come out on a weekly basis to help with the maintenance. They include James Giles, Ron Hicks, Barney Lomax, George Nixon, Al Simmons, Al Smith and Ronald Wilson.

Words and photos By Chelsea Jackson via VCU Capital News Service

Best of RVA Missed Connections 5/23/17-5/30/17

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The local coffee shop and dog park seem like the cinematic places to fall in love this week. What about the office? Or The Camel? This week’s posts included workplace longing, dog park pining, and a past Missed Connections success now lost again. Read on for this week’s batch of our favorite Missed Connections.

Hi diddly ho Neighborino!- m4w (The Camel)

Okilly Dokilly show at the camel. Girl where did you run off to??? Seriously, you were so cute and we were hitting it off so well! I know you had a long drive back to Williamsburg, but I never got the chance to get your number. I totally want to take you to Busky Cidery next week. Hit me up! -Brian

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Red Cadillac Uber- m4m (Richmond City)

You picked me up lastnight we had a pretty decent conversation on when we got to my destination you shook my hand and caressed it with your other hand.. you seem pretty cool and looked like you might need a friend I guess if you see this you might be wondering who Iam so if it’s you.. you could tell me about the type of jobs you held

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Pleasant Dreams- m4w

I thought maybe this could be a fun way of bringing this up…We have worked together for about 2 years now and recently moved to a new building. We are the only ones within our age group. Our conversations seem to always go to the sexual side and we have each admitted of dreaming of the other. I know we said it was unfortunate that we couldn’t act those dreams out but in a way, I wish you’d reconsider. We get each other and trust each other a lot. Even if it is just once to get it out of our systems. If not, oh well. At least I tried. If you actually read this and are interested, let me know in a message or in person and we’ll work out the when and where.

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We’ve met twice at the dog park- w4m (Short Pump)

I can’t believe I am posting this but I was too chicken to ask for your number last night. We’ve met twice at the dog park though you’re the one with the Aussie. I’ve come with a friend and his dane. It wasn’t until last night that I knew your name or that you even had a child. Please if you read this, send me a message with your dog’s name and where I work. It is a long shot but you haven’t left my mind since this first time I saw you.

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Do you know you are my sunshine?- m4w (Prince George)

I see you every day at work. Your smiling face and New York accent light up my life. I truly enjoy our talks at lunch P.F. I wish some day you will see this post and realize how much you mean to me.

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Try making your coffee just a little slower next time!!!- m4w (Libbie Place)

So in my mind you were slow playing making your coffee hoping I would get through the line fast enough to say hi. I know, it’s kinda odd that I can read your mind…. Or maybe it was just obvious.. Either way miss blue shirt, white scrubs I want to meet you. Then to top it off I saw you just as I was driving off.. uhg.. We should be best friends or at least our dogs can be. Yeah,,, I’m just guessing you have a dog too.

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Skater boy in coveralls- w4m (The Dome)

Damn, you’re hot. You know it. I liked those effortless moves and that rip in the back of your ghostbuster coveralls. My friend and I think you have a hot guy name like Ted, or Joey. Tell me what it is next time the slow jams come on.

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A past flame that was married:(- m4w

We hooked up a few times in the fall, always at my place then stopped when I found out you were married. I couldn’t continue, but I miss our conversations and fun times still and would like to chat again. Maybe get some food or something? You were a brunette, white with some tattoos on your shoulder and a belly button ring.

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Brewer’s Cafe in early March- w4m (Richmond, VA)

I noticed you on a late Sunday morning in early March. You had long blondish hair and looked so beautiful and peaceful reading your book. We left at the same time and you said hi just as you were about to ride away on your bike. I wasn’t ready to post this then but I am now. You are still on my mind.

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Looking for a Traveling Nurse- m4w (RVA)

Almost a year ago I met an amazing woman here on Craigslist. She is a traveling nurse and when we first connected she was working on RVA. We shared many close moments yet we never met, due entirely to my faults.

We lost contact (again I claim sole culpability), but we reconnected several months later when she was working in Charlottesville. I thought I was ready then but alas I was not, and contact was lost yet again.

I don’t know where she is, or if she even frequents these boards but I wanted to reach out in the skin chance she does. I’m not sure I’m ready even now, but I do know I lost a friend who I truly miss.

If you read this and can see it in your heart to forgive me, or even if you want to give me an ear full, I’m here.

Respond with what is tattooed on your foot, and I’m me so I know it is you.

T

Reply to post here.

Top image via: The Camel

After canceling Richmond event, anti-Muslim group plans ‘March Against Sharia’ in Virginia Beach

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A group known for spreading anti-Islamic legislation and sentiment across the country is holding a series of rallies in June and Virginia Beach’s Mt. Trashmore is on the list as a site set to host one of these events.

The group, ACT for America, was created by Christian Lebanese immigrant Brigitte Gabriel. Gabriel has been working since the mid 00’s to “preserve American culture and to keep this nation safe.”

Those efforts often manifest as state-level legislative work, most famously as a series of laws which aimed to ban Sharia law from being accepted in local court systems.

These laws, which failed across the nation, were unconstitutional for their favoring of one religion over another, and as John Marshall Law School’s Steven D. Schwinn put it for Jurist back in 2015:

The bans do not protect against the undue influence of foreign or international law upon our own domestic law and they do not protect against any real threat to individual rights. At their best, they are a solution in search of a problem. At their worst, however, they alienate politically unpopular groups and gratuitously condemn their beliefs.

However, the group’s legislative failures seem to be part of their mission which is to drum up anti-Muslim sentiment.

“If this thing passed in every state without any friction, it would have not served its purpose,” David Yerushalmi, part of ACT’s legal team, told the New York Times in 2011. “The purpose was heuristic — to get people asking this questions, ‘What is Shariah?’”

Beyond ACT’s role in organizing the events, former Trump and Corey Stewart campaign member Scott Pressler, a Virginia Beach resident who helped propagate the “Gays for Trump” slogan back in 2016, has been coordinating these events.

Richmond’s Capital Square was among the localities set to host a rally, however a post on the event’s Facebook page said the massive amount of interest forced them to cancel the event.

“We have had so many people confirmed to going that we won’t have enough room to rally in Richmond,” wrote Pressler. At the time of publishing the event had 26 people confirmed. “We are consolidating this march with our march in Virginia Beach. We not only have a loud PA system, but Mount Trashmore Park can accommodate hundreds.”

Speakers for the VA Beach event include Dr. Mohammed Hamzepour, founder of the Iranian American Patriots, which appears to be a Manassas, VA, based Donald Trump support group

“Mr. Trump emphasizes the differences between extremist Islamists and peaceful Muslims,” reads a section of their website touting promises made by Trump and calling themselves “Trump’s Iranian-America coalition.” “… It is our priviledge [sic] to inform the community of Trump’s constructive policies toward the people of Iran and the entire region.”

While VA Beach will host one of the protests, the largest event is set for New York City where Pressler is set to speak along side far-right militia leader Frank Morganthaler, VP of the New York State Oath Keepers. The Oath Keepers are a national anti-government militia who have called for Sen. John McCain to be hung for treason, and called into question the accuracy of canned food expiration dates.

All of this anti-Islam effort comes on the tails of a recent attack in Portland that left two dead and one injured at the hands of Jeremy Joseph Christian. Christian was reportedly berating a Muslim American woman on the MAX train system when three men attempted to intervene. Christian then reportedly stabbed the men before running off the train to be apprehended by police moments later.

Taliesin Myrddin Namkai-Meche, one of the men who was stabbed by Christian, reportedly told paramedics ‘Tell everyone on this train I love them’ before dying from his wounds.

The event, happening June 10th, also coincides with that Islamic holy time of Ramadan, a month long time of fasting which commemorates the first revelation of the Quran to Muhammad.

You can find out more about the June 10th event here.

top photo via Scott Pressler/March against Sharia Facebook page

New VA law paves way for delivery robots

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Having your groceries delivered by a robot sounds like something out of The Jetsons, but that prospect is not as futuristic as you may think.

For the second year in a row, the Virginia General Assembly has passed a law to legalize the operation of autonomous vehicles. Beginning July 1, “electric personal delivery devices” will be allowed to operate on sidewalks and other shared-use paths throughout Virginia.

A leading manufacturer of EPDDs is Starship Technologies, a robotics company started by Skype co-founders Ahti Heinla and Janus Friis of Estonia. Starship is testing its robots in a number of European countries including England, Germany and Switzerland. In March, the company opened an office in Washington, D.C., and is operating the vehicles there.

State Sen. Bill DeSteph of Virginia Beach says he saw an opportunity to update existing Virginia laws to accommodate Starship’s delivery robots after being contacted by one of the company’s lobbyists.

“I did some research … and I told her, ‘I would love to make some legislation. This is cool,’” DeSteph said. Other members of the General Assembly must have thought the technology was cool, too: The Senate bill and its House counterpart passed with near-unanimous votes.

The new law is a continuation of efforts DeSteph began in the 2016 legislative session. That year, motivated by the rapid pace of technological advancements, he sponsored a law to allow for the operation of autonomous vehicles on roads.

“In the ’70s, you had cruise control,” DeSteph said. “In the ’90s, you had dynamic cruise control that wouldn’t let your car crash into the car in front of you.” He called autonomous vehicles “just another evolutionary step in these technologies.”

According to a recent press release, Starship’s EPDDs are designed to deliver goods during the last few miles in both urban and suburban areas.

The robots resemble a cooler on wheels. They can hold up to 22 pounds, have a two-hour battery life and operate within a three-mile radius of their home location. They are approximately 27 inches long, 22 inches wide and 22 inches tall and are limited to speeds of 4 mph.

To avoid running into people and other obstacles, a delivery robot uses a combination of nine cameras mounted on its body, GPS and computer vision to see where it’s going.

Because they move relatively slowly, Starship’s robots won’t operate in the streets. Instead, they will instead use sidewalks to get around. The company says its EPDDs will adjust their speed to match the walking speed of pedestrians. However, some people are worried that the delivery robots will clutter the pavement.

“My concerns are, who else uses the sidewalk?” says Harry Hylan, a maintenance supervisor in Richmond for Weinstein Properties. “People, dogs, wheelchairs, bicycles, skateboarders – that’s my only issue.”

At the same time, though, Hylan says he’s interested in what the technology has to offer. “I order a lot of stuff on Amazon, and I’ve just recently been considering ordering food items from them, too.”

If Starship can make sure its robots aren’t hogging the sidewalks, Hylan says he would definitely make use of their delivery services.

With the legal barrier to operation out of the way, Starship can now begin more extensive testing and deployment of its EPDDs in Virginia.

“I don’t know where they’ll go or when,” DeSteph said. “But Virginia’s ready for them.”

Words By Alexander P. Crespo via VCU Capital News Service