I'm currently the Business and Agriculture Reporter at a daily newspaper - The News Leader in Staunton, Virginia. Prior to joining The News Leader I worked at a weekly paper for almost two years - The Loudoun Times-Mirror. I'm interested in writing on hard-hitting issues, features and anything that is going on in my community. I love to travel and write about my experiences and I hope to visit every state and state park someday. My days mostly conclude enjoying and curling up with a good book and a record playing, with my cat Thea. My blog is updated weekly with stories from the previous week. Check NewsLeader.com to follow current stories I've written.
Here is a preview I did for the VCU Music Departments Brass Bash. They have been putting it on for three years and they only practice for four days prior to the performance.
http://media.www.commonwealthtimes.com/media/storage/paper634/news/2009/08/24/Spectrum/Performers.Have.A.Bash.With.Brass-3756404.shtml#5
Recent Posts
Aug 24, 2009
May 28, 2009
Citizen Involvement Calendar
This is my internship project for WRIR Richmond's Independent Radio Station. I produced each segement with Josh Bearman with direct correlation with the Richmond City Council.
The purpose of the Citizen Involvement Calendar is to inform Richmond residents of upcoming meetings of the City Council. Our main mission is to empower citizens with the information required to get involved in the planning and decision-making of the city's legislative body. What we are doing with the Citizen Involvement Calendar is compiling date, time, and place information for the varied meetings that will take place throughout a given month and presenting this information in a clear, concise, and structured manner.
Ideally, this program will run daily or every other day, and will contain information for the next week's meetings. Additionally, we would like to have an informational link on WRIR's homepage where interested listeners can go to access the same information that is presented during the radio segment. Each segment will include an intro that details that what the listeners are about to hear and an outro that describes the mission of the City of Richmond town hall meetings as well as their frequency.
May 18th-21st Citizen Involvement Calendar
May 25th- June 1st Citizen Involvement Calendar
June 8th-18th Citizen Involvement Calendar
June 22nd-28th Citizen Involvement Calendar
July 6th-16th Citizen Involvement Calendar
July 20th-22nd Citizen Involvement Calendar
September 7th-11th Citizen Involvement Calendar
September 14th-18th Citizen Involvement Calendar
September 21st-25th Citizen Involvement Calendar
September 28th-30th Citizen Involvement Calendar
The purpose of the Citizen Involvement Calendar is to inform Richmond residents of upcoming meetings of the City Council. Our main mission is to empower citizens with the information required to get involved in the planning and decision-making of the city's legislative body. What we are doing with the Citizen Involvement Calendar is compiling date, time, and place information for the varied meetings that will take place throughout a given month and presenting this information in a clear, concise, and structured manner.
Ideally, this program will run daily or every other day, and will contain information for the next week's meetings. Additionally, we would like to have an informational link on WRIR's homepage where interested listeners can go to access the same information that is presented during the radio segment. Each segment will include an intro that details that what the listeners are about to hear and an outro that describes the mission of the City of Richmond town hall meetings as well as their frequency.
May 18th-21st Citizen Involvement Calendar
May 25th- June 1st Citizen Involvement Calendar
June 8th-18th Citizen Involvement Calendar
June 22nd-28th Citizen Involvement Calendar
July 6th-16th Citizen Involvement Calendar
July 20th-22nd Citizen Involvement Calendar
September 7th-11th Citizen Involvement Calendar
September 14th-18th Citizen Involvement Calendar
September 21st-25th Citizen Involvement Calendar
September 28th-30th Citizen Involvement Calendar
Apr 28, 2009
When the Going Gets Tough, Go Green
The City of Richmond makes it a point to go green and make it easier for citizens to do so.
Going green has been a growing concept since the first Earth Day in 1962 by Senator Gaylord Nelson. With the city of Richmond trying to focus on a more green side and the environment is one of the focuses rather than the economy.
The City of Richmond is also making it a point to go green. Sharon North, public information manager for the city of Richmond said that the city offers compost and recycling options, while educating through schools and businesses and working closely with the Central Virginia Waste Management Association on events and recycling efforts.
“We are encouraging citizens to recycle, from last year to this year we’ve recognized an increase in electronic as well as household recycling,” North said. “This past weekend, as part of Earth Day events, the Clean City Commission sold 37 Earth Machine composters and orders are still coming in.”
Recycling, reusable bags, organic foods, and eco-friendly cleaning products are some alternatives to other products and a greener approach to living.
“Last month we had an e-cycle event where Richmonders brought in more than 34,600 pounds of electronic equipment to be recycled,” North said.
Thad Williamson, assistant professor at the Jepson School of Leadership Studies at the University of Richmond is a going green activist.
“Being an activist is probably the most important thing you can do. It’s more important than all recycling combined,” said Williamson. “These are public, political issues they’re not individual issues, we can’t solve them by simply changing our lifestyles, although our lifestyles have to
Williamson said that the country does need to fix the economy, but global warming is also a big issue.
“I think compared to the past there is a lot of awareness about the global climate change issue, said Williamson. “We have to act pretty dramatically now to stabilize the amount of carbon in the atmosphere. Global warming is going to happen…it’s already happening.”
North thinks the economy may be an issue for more people to go green, but in the end it might end up benefitting many citizens.
“Right now people are trying to save money, and reusing, reducing, which helps save money,” North said.
The City of Richmond “wants to be a good steward of our environment” said North.
Businesses like Ukrop’s Supermakets in the Richmond area have been going green for some time, with their recycling efforts, organic food, and their efforts with the production of biodiesel fuel, according to Susan Rowe, public relations for Ukrops.
According to Rowe, Ukrop’s also has one hundred percent recyclable plastic and paper bags. Ukrop’s also collects cans, bottles, and glasses from eight stores and partners with Central Virginia Waste Management Association for annual electronics recycling drives at selected stores, according to Rowe.
Going green is becoming a big part of the City of Richmond’s businesses and people’s lives. And according to North, the City of Richmond has a responsibility to the community to “exercise due diligence in being a good steward of the environment.”
Apr 27, 2009
Funny Movie
This is a movie my group and I made for our video journalism class. We were given a song and we were to make a movie around the song. Group members include Sofia Briley and Jessica Porter.
A Cheap Day in Richmond
This is my final project for my video journalism class. My group and I decided to show a cheap day in Richmond to give an idea of what to do for less money in this economic downturn. Richmond is a wonderful city with lots of cheaper alternatives to do something during the day. My group member are Sofia Briley and Jessica Porter.
Going Green Made Simple
This slideshow features easy ways for everyone to go green. Recycling, buying organically, and switching over light bulbs are easy ways for the citizens of not only Richmond, but the entire United States to go green in the home or office. Going green helps out citizens of the country along with lending a helping hand to the environment.
Apr 17, 2009
Going Green in Businesses: A Focus on a Non-Profit called Save the Trash
Going, Going Gone!
A real easy way to go green in the backyard of businesses.
By Laura Peters petersle@vcu.edu
In the back lot of The Camel there are hundreds of bottles sorted out between clear, green, and dark; it’s like a garden of recyclable goods. Carter Anderson, an independent contractor, started the non-profit organization Save the Trash to make a difference in his community. Starting with businesses like The Camel was one of his first steps into making the City of Richmond go green.
“The whole idea behind Save the Trash was to have commercial recycling paid for by the good community businesses that are around,” said Anderson.
The main purpose of Anderson’s organization is to provide recycling options for businesses and special events around Richmond. Anderson said that him and volunteers go to festivals in Richmond, like the Irish Festival or music fe
stivals, and set up recycling centers.
Anderson has been saving the trash for three years, and the problem he faces is that most businesses are finding it hard to continue to recycle and find places to take recyclables. Anderson said that if he built separate containers for each type of recyclable, businesses would find it easier to sort all the trash out and make it easier to take the recyclable goods to drop off centers, like behind the Science Museum, to be sent off to be recycled.
Save the Trash became a legitimate a year ago and is signed on with Cooperative Solutions, another non-profit. Save the Trash is tax exempt under Classification 5013 C. Anderson is now trying to get grants for the start up of the more business side of his non-profit.
“I rarely get a good response,” said Anderson. “It’s really a one-man operation… It’s usually a question as to somebody doesn’t want to have it, don’t have space for it, can’t be bothered with it.”
Anderson’s main job is mainly contracting for businesses in Richmond. He does a lot of work with the Camel by building tables and anything that needs to be fixed.
Rand Burgess, owner of The Camel which is a bar, restaurant, and lounge at 1621 W. Broad St. said he’s only been recycling at his bar for a little over three months.
“It does take a little effort. And you don’t get any money for recycling, there’s no financial gain in doing it. It takes extra man hours,” said Burgess. “So, I was very hesitant at first. But once we started, it makes sense as long as we can maintain it.”
Julia McCauley, the WRIR’s, the independent radio station in Richmond, Operations Director has been a supporter for Anderson for some time. The radio station plays public service announcements promoting his Save the Trash organization.
“Save the Trash helps WRIR,” said McCauley. “All of Carter Anderson’s skills are summed up in Save the Trash. Not just Save the Trash recycling, but also Save the Trash carpentry and design.”
McCauley has been building a new live studio for the station and applying Anderson’s skills to it. According to McCauley, the new live studio is even made out of recycled materials including an old kitchen table from a volunteer.
“He pushed me to start a recycling program,” said Burgess. “The City of Richmond doesn’t collect recycling on the back, so he does that. And my employees are all about it.”
Burgess also mentioned that with the City of Richmond’s trash system around the city isn’t economically or ecologically safe. They could be using smaller trashcans and have more of them per block, according to Burgess.
“The City of Richmond’s trashcans, the super cans, the concrete ones or the metal ones, they cost 5, $600 per can,” said Burgess. “The City of Richmond talks about expense and whatever but if you put one super can or you could do a whole entire block and reduce the amount of litter.”
According to the City of Richmond’s Refuse Collection’s website, each household is entitled to one plastic super can which is priced at $55. As for recycling with the city, Richmond works directly with the Central Virginia Waste Management and come weekly to pick up recyclables in certain areas.
“We’re trying to find to look for other ways for the City of Richmond to increase in recycling,” said Darlene Mallory head of the City of Richmond’s Clean City Commission.
Mallory said that with businesses that are already recycling isn’t through the city, instead with separate companies. Mallory also mentioned that most ideas that the Clean City Commission has are not concrete yet.
With the approach of a green revolution in the current economic crisis, Anderson feels that with thinking green could produce more jobs.
“I want jobs; I want people to have good jobs. I know a lot of people that need good jobs. I think green jobs can do it,” said Anderson. “I think if people are willing to pay for their recycling then that’s going to open up money to get paid doing their recycling.”
In the long run, Anderson hopes to make a program out of his nonprofit that offers scholarships to children who utilize recycling and special.
Not only does Anderson take the reusable materials to be recycled, he does the recycling to make art. He’s made bar counters out of old glasses and a concrete base, one you can find in Shockoe Bottom at Papa Ningo’s. He’s been collecting trash from all sorts of places he’s traveled.
“I like it when I go out walking or hitchhiking and pick up the trash along the way,” said Anderson. “Whatever town I’m at I’m figuring I might as well pick it up.”
Save the Trash needs to be more organized, according to Burgess, who talked about getting a Board of Directors together. Burgess said that it needs to be looked at through a more business-like view, with specific jobs split among a group of people, rather than just Anderson doing all the work.
“I’m excited about and what is to come,” said Burgess. “Once it gets set up it’ll be a successful organization.”
A real easy way to go green in the backyard of businesses.
By Laura Peters petersle@vcu.edu
In the back lot of The Camel there are hundreds of bottles sorted out between clear, green, and dark; it’s like a garden of recyclable goods. Carter Anderson, an independent contractor, started the non-profit organization Save the Trash to make a difference in his community. Starting with businesses like The Camel was one of his first steps into making the City of Richmond go green.
“The whole idea behind Save the Trash was to have commercial recycling paid for by the good community businesses that are around,” said Anderson.
The main purpose of Anderson’s organization is to provide recycling options for businesses and special events around Richmond. Anderson said that him and volunteers go to festivals in Richmond, like the Irish Festival or music fe
stivals, and set up recycling centers.Anderson has been saving the trash for three years, and the problem he faces is that most businesses are finding it hard to continue to recycle and find places to take recyclables. Anderson said that if he built separate containers for each type of recyclable, businesses would find it easier to sort all the trash out and make it easier to take the recyclable goods to drop off centers, like behind the Science Museum, to be sent off to be recycled.
Save the Trash became a legitimate a year ago and is signed on with Cooperative Solutions, another non-profit. Save the Trash is tax exempt under Classification 5013 C. Anderson is now trying to get grants for the start up of the more business side of his non-profit.
“I rarely get a good response,” said Anderson. “It’s really a one-man operation… It’s usually a question as to somebody doesn’t want to have it, don’t have space for it, can’t be bothered with it.”
Anderson’s main job is mainly contracting for businesses in Richmond. He does a lot of work with the Camel by building tables and anything that needs to be fixed.
Rand Burgess, owner of The Camel which is a bar, restaurant, and lounge at 1621 W. Broad St. said he’s only been recycling at his bar for a little over three months.
“It does take a little effort. And you don’t get any money for recycling, there’s no financial gain in doing it. It takes extra man hours,” said Burgess. “So, I was very hesitant at first. But once we started, it makes sense as long as we can maintain it.”
Julia McCauley, the WRIR’s, the independent radio station in Richmond, Operations Director has been a supporter for Anderson for some time. The radio station plays public service announcements promoting his Save the Trash organization.
“Save the Trash helps WRIR,” said McCauley. “All of Carter Anderson’s skills are summed up in Save the Trash. Not just Save the Trash recycling, but also Save the Trash carpentry and design.”
McCauley has been building a new live studio for the station and applying Anderson’s skills to it. According to McCauley, the new live studio is even made out of recycled materials including an old kitchen table from a volunteer.
“He pushed me to start a recycling program,” said Burgess. “The City of Richmond doesn’t collect recycling on the back, so he does that. And my employees are all about it.”
Burgess also mentioned that with the City of Richmond’s trash system around the city isn’t economically or ecologically safe. They could be using smaller trashcans and have more of them per block, according to Burgess.
“The City of Richmond’s trashcans, the super cans, the concrete ones or the metal ones, they cost 5, $600 per can,” said Burgess. “The City of Richmond talks about expense and whatever but if you put one super can or you could do a whole entire block and reduce the amount of litter.”
According to the City of Richmond’s Refuse Collection’s website, each household is entitled to one plastic super can which is priced at $55. As for recycling with the city, Richmond works directly with the Central Virginia Waste Management and come weekly to pick up recyclables in certain areas.
“We’re trying to find to look for other ways for the City of Richmond to increase in recycling,” said Darlene Mallory head of the City of Richmond’s Clean City Commission.
Mallory said that with businesses that are already recycling isn’t through the city, instead with separate companies. Mallory also mentioned that most ideas that the Clean City Commission has are not concrete yet.
With the approach of a green revolution in the current economic crisis, Anderson feels that with thinking green could produce more jobs.
“I want jobs; I want people to have good jobs. I know a lot of people that need good jobs. I think green jobs can do it,” said Anderson. “I think if people are willing to pay for their recycling then that’s going to open up money to get paid doing their recycling.”
In the long run, Anderson hopes to make a program out of his nonprofit that offers scholarships to children who utilize recycling and special.
Not only does Anderson take the reusable materials to be recycled, he does the recycling to make art. He’s made bar counters out of old glasses and a concrete base, one you can find in Shockoe Bottom at Papa Ningo’s. He’s been collecting trash from all sorts of places he’s traveled.
“I like it when I go out walking or hitchhiking and pick up the trash along the way,” said Anderson. “Whatever town I’m at I’m figuring I might as well pick it up.”
Save the Trash needs to be more organized, according to Burgess, who talked about getting a Board of Directors together. Burgess said that it needs to be looked at through a more business-like view, with specific jobs split among a group of people, rather than just Anderson doing all the work.
“I’m excited about and what is to come,” said Burgess. “Once it gets set up it’ll be a successful organization.”
Apr 3, 2009
Mar 30, 2009
STUT-tacular STRUT-tacular
This article is about the VCU Fashion show STRUT that took place on March 28, 2009.
http://media.www.commonwealthtimes.com/media/storage/paper634/news/2009/03/30/Spectrum/Fashion.Show.Dresses.As.karneval.Adventure-3687869.shtml
http://media.www.commonwealthtimes.com/media/storage/paper634/news/2009/03/30/Spectrum/Fashion.Show.Dresses.As.karneval.Adventure-3687869.shtml
Mar 29, 2009
WRIR PSA
This is my PSA's on WRIR in Richmond, VA. I do this every Friday at the station on live air.
Bicycle Safety Project
Just click Radio Pieces to get to the audio. This is my final project for my audio class. The two segements are on bicycle safety in Richmond,VA.
Mar 19, 2009
Flamenco Festival
This article is a preview for the first VCU Flamenco Festival which showcases three famous flamenco artists.
http://media.www.commonwealthtimes.com/media/storage/paper634/news/2009/03/19/Spectrum/Flamenco.Festival.Set.To.Dazzle.Students-3676722.shtml
http://media.www.commonwealthtimes.com/media/storage/paper634/news/2009/03/19/Spectrum/Flamenco.Festival.Set.To.Dazzle.Students-3676722.shtml
Feb 16, 2009
Town Hall Meeting
Green Means Go In This Economic Recession
Congressman Bobby Scott spoke to the City of
By Laura Peters petersle@vcu.edu
Tuesday night marked a momentous occasion for the American citizens. Congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to provide clean energy and green jobs to the people of
Tuesday night’s Town Hall Meeting held at the
“A lot of jobs are created through investment in green jobs, most of which cannot be outsourced,” said Scott. “So we’re optimistic.”
J.R. Tolbert, an advocate for Environment Virginia, a citizen-based environmental advocacy organization, said that this was only one of the three town hall meetings being held in
“The goal is to let people know the environmental benefits of the green recovery package, as well as the job opportunities that can be created through investment in renewable energy, energy efficiency and mass transit options,” said Tolbert.
“When I watched the president talk today and sign that, tears came to my eyes,” said Karl Bren, part of Green Visions Consulting, a green organization that helps corporations with events and planning. “We’ve been needing this for a long time. The world changed today. And it’s got to change.”
The new bill passed Tuesday is to create and save 3.5 million jobs and give 95 percent of American taxpayers an immediate tax cut.
The bill will also help will the school system, according to Scott. The school’s K-12 will get a significant amount of money directly through the school system as well as Colleges will get an extra $500 bonus to their bell grants, said Scott. School construction is also a major part of the stimulus in the bill.
Michael Schewel, Chair of the Corporate Department at McGuire Woods, a legal practice and former Virginia Secretary of Commerce and Trade said that to have green jobs, they have to make money. He also noted that going green is expensive.
According to Glen Besa, the Director of the Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club, an environmental organization, there many sources in this bill to help invest in those green alternatives.
“There’s a tremendous amount of money in there and programs in there directed at green jobs,” said Besa. “I think that’s important for a lot of reasons. One….is the issue of climate change. We need to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.”
“Experts have announced that in this decade, the 2000s carbon emissions worldwide have been increasing at a rate of 3.5 percent a year,” said Dr. Thad Williamson, an assistant professor of leadership studies at the
Bill Kuster, a volunteer for the Democratic Campaign said that he is excited about the new credits that are going to be given with the bill.
“I’m a new homeowner so I’m interested in windows credit, tank-less water heater credit and a lot of things like that,” said Kuster. “You know there are guys that have been dying to install windows in my house, and I’m kind of glad I waited till this year because this year there’s a tax credit.”
With the new American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, education will be invested in, science and technology will transform the economy, and workers hurt by the recession will be helped.
The new bill passed Tuesday is to create and save 3.5 million jobs and give 95 percent of American workers an immediate tax cut.
The bill will also help will the school system according to Scott. The school’s K-12 will get a significant amount of money directly through the school system as well as Colleges will get an extra $500 bonus to their bell grants said Scott. School construction is also a major part of the stimulus in the bill.
Michael Schewel, Chair of the Corporate Department at McGuire Woods and former Secretary of Commerce and Trade said that to have green jobs, they have to make money. He also noted that going green is expensive.
According to Glen Besa, the Director of the Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club, there is a lot of money in this bill to help invest in those green alternatives.
“There’s a tremendous amount of money in there and programs in there directed at Green Jobs,” said Besa. “I think that’s important for a lot of reasons. One….is the issue of climate change. We need to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.”
“Experts have announced that in this decade, the 2000s carbon emissions worldwide have been increasing at a rate of 3.5 percent a year,” said Dr. Thad Williamson, an Assistant Professor of Leadership Studies at the University of Richmond. “Which is a rapid increase from what happened in the 90s, which was at an increase of only 1 percent.”
Bill Kuster, a volunteer for the Democratic Campaign said that he is excited about the new credits that are going to be given with the bill.
“I’m a new homeowner so I’m interested in windows credit, tank-less water heater credit and a lot of things like that,” said Kuster. “You know there are guys that have been dying to install windows in my house and I’m kind of glad I waited till this year because this year there’s a tax credit.”
With the new American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, education will be invested in, science and technology will transform the economy, and workers hurt by the recession will be helped.
Feb 9, 2009
Economy and Its Effect on Restaurants
Richmond's Residents are Full with the Economy
With the economy in a rut, restaurants in the Monroe Park area of the City of Richmond don't seem to be hit hard by tough times.
By Laura Peters petersle@vcu.edu
With the economic recession hitting the citizens of Richmond hard these days, everyone still needs to eat. Despite closings of some business in the Richmond area, like Circuit City, restaurants in the Monroe Park area don’t seem to be suffering as bad.
Sam Chase, a server at the Village Café at 1001 W. Grace St. said there hasn’t been much change in business, maybe even an improvement.
“We’re not in a regular market space,” said Chase. “There’s 30 some odd thousand kids at VCU and they have to walk between the dorms and here so we kind of get a good break … Everyone has to eat.”
It’s not all about eating; it’s also about the atmosphere. Chase said that The Village is one of the few restaurants smoking is permitted in early in the morning and may be the reason why people keep coming back.
After the holidays are over some businesses struggle to keep their customers coming back.
Grayson Collins, a manager at the Strawberry Street Café at 421 Strawberry St. said business is down.
“Our business is down some,” said Collins. “But it typically is in January…the holidays. We’re probably down 5 percent from what we’d normally be.”
Collins also said Strawberry Street Café offers specials for lunch and brunch. He isn’t too worried about his business though.
“We’ve got a lot a history here and a lot of regulars,” said Collins.
Jeremy Dunn, a server and bartender at Mojo’s Philadeli at 733 W. Cary St. said that their business is pretty steady. They only thing he’s seen change in the five months he’s worked there is that there’s only one waitress working during the day rather than two. Mojo’s also offers a new budget section on its menu for customers.
The business at Crossroads Coffee & Ice Cream at 26 N. Morris St. remains in good standing as well. Owner Jeff Kroll said it’s the same crowd, same people and regular business.
“We have not necessarily seen a drop in business as much as we have probably seen changes in what customers are buying,” said Kroll. “Instead of a $4 latte they’re buying a drip coffee. Instead of buying a sandwich, they’re buying a muffin.”
Kroll said that at Crossroads he hasn’t changed anything from the way he ran his store before. They only thing he said that has changed is making sure that there aren’t workers that don’t need to be there.
To keep customers coming back he said that it’s more of a routine for customers to come to his shop.
“I’d say it’s a cross between loyalty and routine,” said Kroll. “They don’t want to stop that routine just because they’re a little light in the pocket.”
The Roxy Café at 1104 W. Main St. has actually improved in business. Jason Quintana, a server and bartender at Roxy said after ownership switched last year numbers have been up. Roxy is also offering specials where everything is $5 and putting in a dart room to make it more appealing to get more customers in.
“It’s been up and down,” said Quintana. “It hasn’t really changed too much in that at night we pretty much still have the same crowd…but food sales are kind of if-y.”
Even though the current economic crisis has hit some places hard, the restaurants are still surviving.
With the economy in a rut, restaurants in the Monroe Park area of the City of Richmond don't seem to be hit hard by tough times.
By Laura Peters petersle@vcu.edu
With the economic recession hitting the citizens of Richmond hard these days, everyone still needs to eat. Despite closings of some business in the Richmond area, like Circuit City, restaurants in the Monroe Park area don’t seem to be suffering as bad.
Sam Chase, a server at the Village Café at 1001 W. Grace St. said there hasn’t been much change in business, maybe even an improvement.
“We’re not in a regular market space,” said Chase. “There’s 30 some odd thousand kids at VCU and they have to walk between the dorms and here so we kind of get a good break … Everyone has to eat.”
It’s not all about eating; it’s also about the atmosphere. Chase said that The Village is one of the few restaurants smoking is permitted in early in the morning and may be the reason why people keep coming back.
After the holidays are over some businesses struggle to keep their customers coming back.
Grayson Collins, a manager at the Strawberry Street Café at 421 Strawberry St. said business is down.
“Our business is down some,” said Collins. “But it typically is in January…the holidays. We’re probably down 5 percent from what we’d normally be.”
Collins also said Strawberry Street Café offers specials for lunch and brunch. He isn’t too worried about his business though.
“We’ve got a lot a history here and a lot of regulars,” said Collins.
Jeremy Dunn, a server and bartender at Mojo’s Philadeli at 733 W. Cary St. said that their business is pretty steady. They only thing he’s seen change in the five months he’s worked there is that there’s only one waitress working during the day rather than two. Mojo’s also offers a new budget section on its menu for customers.
The business at Crossroads Coffee & Ice Cream at 26 N. Morris St. remains in good standing as well. Owner Jeff Kroll said it’s the same crowd, same people and regular business.
“We have not necessarily seen a drop in business as much as we have probably seen changes in what customers are buying,” said Kroll. “Instead of a $4 latte they’re buying a drip coffee. Instead of buying a sandwich, they’re buying a muffin.”
Kroll said that at Crossroads he hasn’t changed anything from the way he ran his store before. They only thing he said that has changed is making sure that there aren’t workers that don’t need to be there.
To keep customers coming back he said that it’s more of a routine for customers to come to his shop.
“I’d say it’s a cross between loyalty and routine,” said Kroll. “They don’t want to stop that routine just because they’re a little light in the pocket.”
The Roxy Café at 1104 W. Main St. has actually improved in business. Jason Quintana, a server and bartender at Roxy said after ownership switched last year numbers have been up. Roxy is also offering specials where everything is $5 and putting in a dart room to make it more appealing to get more customers in.
“It’s been up and down,” said Quintana. “It hasn’t really changed too much in that at night we pretty much still have the same crowd…but food sales are kind of if-y.”
Even though the current economic crisis has hit some places hard, the restaurants are still surviving.
Feb 4, 2009
Mountaintop Removal
There’s Coal in Thar Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains are no longer purple mountains majesties but now stripped bare for the consumption of coal.
The Appalachian Mountains are no longer purple mountains majesties but now stripped bare for the consumption of coal.
Students at Virginia Commonwealth University are voicing their opinions on efficient energy sources and the end of mountaintop removal. It is a big controversy that people need to become more aware of, according to organizations like Appalachian Voices, an organization trying to stop the practice. All Dominion Power users in Richmond are contributing to it, because Dominion gets its energy from a plant in Hopewell, which uses mountaintop removed coal.
Mountaintop removal is a quicker way of obtaining coal when the top layer of the mountain is removed to access coal. According to Appalachian Voices, mountaintop removal has an effect on the environment by creating deforestation, contaminating drinking water, and destroying mountains.
“The reason we have a demand for coal is the way the utilities are structured. It makes it more economically attractive to them to produce electricity from coal powered because they make more money that way,” said Hilary Lufkin, the Virginia Campus Organizer for Chesapeake Climate Action Network.
The CCAN’s main goal is to fight global warming in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.
“We can avoid all of our projected energy use up to the year 2025 by simply investing our money in available efficiency technologies,” said Lufkin. “That’s actually economically better for the consumer, but Dominion isn’t making as much money that way…coal companies aren’t making as much energy that way.”
More efficient technologies include solar, wind, and thermal energy; all sources that are renewable.
According to Do
minion’s report Dimensions in 2008, coal is the most abundant and inexpensive fuel source. Dominion also believes that any attempt to improve the nation’s energy must include coal. Dominion Power and the Hopewell plant run by James River Cogeneration Company were contacted several times but refused to comment for the purpose of this article.The Energy Information Administration says coal is a nonrenewable energy source because it takes millions of years to be created. Once it's used, more can't be made, all that is left is what has already been produced.
“I became interested in clean energy sources primarily because the idea of global warming scares me,” said Chris Stoicsitz, a biology major at VCU. “Even though it probably won't have a huge impact on me during my lifetime, I don't want my kids coming up later and being like, ‘Hey thanks, Dad, because of you, we're living under a mile of ice.’”
Mountaintop removal causes rapid changes to landscape and habitats for animals, according to ILoveMountains.org, a site that gives information on mountaintop removal and ways to be active in stopping it. The Environmental Protection Agency states that the burning of coal emits carbon gases which causes greenhouse gases to rise.
“With mountaintop removal you're drastically changing the landscape,” Stoicsitz said. “Forests don't grow overnight, so hypothetically speaking when they're finished mining and have a reforestation attempt, you're still talking about a long time before that forest actually grows back.”
Peter Defur, part of VCU’s Center for Environmental Studies, thinks that it is important for the U.S. to move more towards clean energy, because it has the largest carbon dioxide emissions per person in the world.
“We have to get that emission rate down in order to slow and reverse global warming,” said DeFur.
Chris Dorsey, a member of the peace rallying organization RVA4PEACE, is a big advocate for ending mountaintop removal.
“The energy we’re using is destroying the planet,” Dorsey said. “Specifically with mountaintop removal and coal. Coal is the most climate changing carbon that we can put into the atmosphere.”
DeFur said ways to get involved in informing people of mountaintop removal and its effects are through on-campus chapters, such as the Sierra Club, talking about the issue in classes, sending in letters, or organizing public forums.
Jan 28, 2009
The Importance of Voting
Getting Your Voice Across
“Whether you voted dozens of times or your first time this is one of the most important [elections],” says Jared Leopold, spokesman for the Democratic Party of Virginia. “That’s why it’s so important for Virginia to vote.”
First, you need to consider the importance of voting. In our history many Americans were not born with the right to vote, and if the legislation was still intact from back then, the only people who could vote would be white land owners, which rule out a vast majority, especially college students, African Americans, and women. It only came to be in 1870, with the Fifteenth Amendment, that African Americans had the right to vote. Even then they were widely discriminated against with poll taxes and literacy tests. It wasn’t until 1920 that women were secured the right to vote, which is only about 90 years ago.
Voting is a great way to have your voice heard. Many countries have fought for the right to vote and others are still fighting to have their voice heard. It’s a privilege that many people around the world don’t have.
“We have different people on campus, people coming out and knocking on doors,” says Leopold. “We expect Virginia to be very, very close this year and every single vote counts.”
“It’s really important because for a lot of us this is our first election, I mean why miss it?” says Katie Rivara, a volunteer for the Obama Campaign in Richmond and Education major at VCU. “And for women especially, we haven’t even been doing this for a hundred years, and you can’t let this chance pass us by.”
She voted for the first time on Saturday, using her absentee ballot, saying, “It was exciting, I got kind of giddy!”
This election is being recognized as the year that the younger generation will make the difference. In four years college students will most likely be graduating, or already in the real world playing some part in society. It’s a big deal to be a part of something that would directly influence your future. By voting, you’re electing a president that you think will do the best for you, and by voting for that candidate, it makes them one step closer to carrying out ideas that will benefit you.
James Watkinson, a History professor at VCU says, “There are very few times in a person’s life he gets to express him or herself and have it count in regards to our government.”
People also complain a lot about what is going on in politics, saying how the government should fix our problems. But, you really don’t have any right to complain if you don’t partake in the process. By voting, you voice your opinion on who you think can fix the problems that trouble you. If you haven’t voted, then you shouldn’t complain about problems. Voting is one way to fix those problems.
“People who think that it doesn’t count haven’t heard about the 1960 election,” says Watkinson. “Where one vote change in each precinct in the country made the difference, just one vote…Richard Nixon would have been president 8 years sooner than he was.”
“I’ve always thought that it was important, it was my right and my duty and I’ve voted when I first got the chance,” states Watkinson. In regards to how historic this election is he says, “It’s a referendum on how far America has come, someone is going to be in a position of power that’s never been then before, so it’s absolutely historical, in that regard it’s probably one of the more important elections we’ve had in the last hundred years.”
Another huge dilemma in voting is if your vote really counts. Most think that it doesn’t count and it’s just a bunch of old men sitting in the Electoral College make the decision for us.
The way the Electoral College works is this, when you cast you vote on the ballot you are essentially voting for an elector when voting for president. Those electors have pledged to cast their votes for a certain presidential candidate. In Virginia the Electoral College uses the method of “winner-takes-all” meaning that whatever elector gets the most votes that presidential candidate wins.
To give an example; say you’re going to the polls and you vote for Candidate A. By voting for Candidate A you are actually voting for Elector A. The more people who vote for Candidate A the more votes go towards Elector A and the same if it were for Candidate B. So the more votes you make for Candidate A, the more of a chance Elector A will make the final vote for Candidate A.
Virginia has 13 electors based on population, each chosen by their party and they have never held an elected office before, like Senate or House, and so on. In some states you are allowed to vote from a selection of electors, by having their names on the ballot, who therein vote for president. The process of using the Electoral College is called an indirect election where the citizens elect people to make the decision of who will be president for them.
Jacob Epstein, an Urban Planning and Geography major at VCU, voted a month and a half ago through absentee has already voiced his opinion.
“I don’t think anything’s really going to change unless both Congress and the President are Democratic,” Says Epstein. “So, it’s important to vote for your senator.” Epstein thinks that people should “go out and do something, show that you care, and voice your opinion.”
If you are unable to make it to you voting destination, for example you go to school in a different city than you are registered in, there is still time to make your voice heard. The mail in deadline has already passed, but you can also present your absentee ballot to your voting district by November 1st. If you’ve already sent in your ballot and are afraid it got lost, damaged, or destroyed than you can go to www.sbe.virginia.gov/cms/ and click My Absentee Ballot Status and it tells you when it arrived. This site also tells you where you vote if you are not sure of your voting precinct by clicking on Where Do I Vote in Virginia.
Despite Electoral College and the supposed hassle of voting, it’s an easy thing to do, and such a privilege. Just go to the polls and vote the way you want because we are the United States of America and we’ve earned the right to be heard.
By Laura Peters petersle@vcu.edu
With the upcoming election many registered voters are debating whether or not to go to the polls. Citizens think that their vote won’t count no matter how they vote, and many think it all depends on the Electoral College.“Whether you voted dozens of times or your first time this is one of the most important [elections],” says Jared Leopold, spokesman for the Democratic Party of Virginia. “That’s why it’s so important for Virginia to vote.”
First, you need to consider the importance of voting. In our history many Americans were not born with the right to vote, and if the legislation was still intact from back then, the only people who could vote would be white land owners, which rule out a vast majority, especially college students, African Americans, and women. It only came to be in 1870, with the Fifteenth Amendment, that African Americans had the right to vote. Even then they were widely discriminated against with poll taxes and literacy tests. It wasn’t until 1920 that women were secured the right to vote, which is only about 90 years ago.
Voting is a great way to have your voice heard. Many countries have fought for the right to vote and others are still fighting to have their voice heard. It’s a privilege that many people around the world don’t have.
“We have different people on campus, people coming out and knocking on doors,” says Leopold. “We expect Virginia to be very, very close this year and every single vote counts.”
“It’s really important because for a lot of us this is our first election, I mean why miss it?” says Katie Rivara, a volunteer for the Obama Campaign in Richmond and Education major at VCU. “And for women especially, we haven’t even been doing this for a hundred years, and you can’t let this chance pass us by.”
She voted for the first time on Saturday, using her absentee ballot, saying, “It was exciting, I got kind of giddy!”
This election is being recognized as the year that the younger generation will make the difference. In four years college students will most likely be graduating, or already in the real world playing some part in society. It’s a big deal to be a part of something that would directly influence your future. By voting, you’re electing a president that you think will do the best for you, and by voting for that candidate, it makes them one step closer to carrying out ideas that will benefit you.
James Watkinson, a History professor at VCU says, “There are very few times in a person’s life he gets to express him or herself and have it count in regards to our government.”
People also complain a lot about what is going on in politics, saying how the government should fix our problems. But, you really don’t have any right to complain if you don’t partake in the process. By voting, you voice your opinion on who you think can fix the problems that trouble you. If you haven’t voted, then you shouldn’t complain about problems. Voting is one way to fix those problems.
“People who think that it doesn’t count haven’t heard about the 1960 election,” says Watkinson. “Where one vote change in each precinct in the country made the difference, just one vote…Richard Nixon would have been president 8 years sooner than he was.”
“I’ve always thought that it was important, it was my right and my duty and I’ve voted when I first got the chance,” states Watkinson. In regards to how historic this election is he says, “It’s a referendum on how far America has come, someone is going to be in a position of power that’s never been then before, so it’s absolutely historical, in that regard it’s probably one of the more important elections we’ve had in the last hundred years.”
Another huge dilemma in voting is if your vote really counts. Most think that it doesn’t count and it’s just a bunch of old men sitting in the Electoral College make the decision for us.
The way the Electoral College works is this, when you cast you vote on the ballot you are essentially voting for an elector when voting for president. Those electors have pledged to cast their votes for a certain presidential candidate. In Virginia the Electoral College uses the method of “winner-takes-all” meaning that whatever elector gets the most votes that presidential candidate wins.
To give an example; say you’re going to the polls and you vote for Candidate A. By voting for Candidate A you are actually voting for Elector A. The more people who vote for Candidate A the more votes go towards Elector A and the same if it were for Candidate B. So the more votes you make for Candidate A, the more of a chance Elector A will make the final vote for Candidate A.
Virginia has 13 electors based on population, each chosen by their party and they have never held an elected office before, like Senate or House, and so on. In some states you are allowed to vote from a selection of electors, by having their names on the ballot, who therein vote for president. The process of using the Electoral College is called an indirect election where the citizens elect people to make the decision of who will be president for them.
Jacob Epstein, an Urban Planning and Geography major at VCU, voted a month and a half ago through absentee has already voiced his opinion.
“I don’t think anything’s really going to change unless both Congress and the President are Democratic,” Says Epstein. “So, it’s important to vote for your senator.” Epstein thinks that people should “go out and do something, show that you care, and voice your opinion.”
If you are unable to make it to you voting destination, for example you go to school in a different city than you are registered in, there is still time to make your voice heard. The mail in deadline has already passed, but you can also present your absentee ballot to your voting district by November 1st. If you’ve already sent in your ballot and are afraid it got lost, damaged, or destroyed than you can go to www.sbe.virginia.gov/cms/ and click My Absentee Ballot Status and it tells you when it arrived. This site also tells you where you vote if you are not sure of your voting precinct by clicking on Where Do I Vote in Virginia.
Despite Electoral College and the supposed hassle of voting, it’s an easy thing to do, and such a privilege. Just go to the polls and vote the way you want because we are the United States of America and we’ve earned the right to be heard.
Jan 14, 2009
Southern Hospitality
This article is an opinion piece about the manners that people have in our country. It mainly focuses on how it has been a different experience to live in Northern Virginia and then moving to Richmond.
http://media.www.commonwealthtimes.com/media/storage/paper634/news/2008/09/29/Opinion/Southern.Hospitality-3458105.shtml
http://media.www.commonwealthtimes.com/media/storage/paper634/news/2008/09/29/Opinion/Southern.Hospitality-3458105.shtml
Jan 13, 2009
Rainbows, Suicide and Women
Art in motion is the only way to describe the recent production of “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf,” by Virginia Commonwealth University Theatre Department.
“It’s a work of art come to life,” says freshman Carla Joseph, a theatre performance major at VCU and the ticket collector for the show. She said audience members should expect a “broad perspective of lives” with each one telling their story.
Stepping into Hodges Theatre in the
Before the show began the audience was treated to music from the 60s and 70s, including Aretha Franklin’s “Respect,” which many audience members sang along with. The audience was alive and ready to be entertained and interact with the show.
The play, by Ntozake Shange, is about the journeys of colored women and their struggles to find out who they are and what their purpose in life is. The progression starts with a girl, 16, in 1955 in
“In general, a really good show…unique,” says freshman Joey Reynolds, a lighting design major at VCU.
A total of thirteen girls dance and sing on stage, and tell their stories. They bring up issues like abortion, abuse, and heartbreak, resulting in a show that any woman can relate to.
The Lady in Purple, played by junior Felisha Barnes, tells of being raped, and feeling too ashamed to tell anyone. She invited a man into her house for dinner, into her territory. The night went wrong and he raped her, and couldn’t explain that to anyone.
The Lady in Blue, played by junior Olisa Enrico, tells how you can’t take away her memories of her life. They are her memories and she remembers them they way they were, and no one can take that from her.
The journeys of these women are uplifting and every girl who sees this show can see themselves in these people and are given a message by their acting on the stage.
With so many shows going on around campus, most students don’t even know about them. They spend time placing flyers everywhere around campus, but most students don’t realize that they are there.
According to Cyndi Wontrop, a freshman light-design major who worked on the show, the advertising aspect of all shows needs work. They have posters all around campus and the VCU TelegRams announce the upcoming shows, but not many students read them. VCU Theatre has a really good reputation and many members of the community come to the shows, according to Wontrop.
Wontrop enjoys being part of the productions at VCU. With her major she is required to do something for each production that is put on. She has no free time during the productions and doesn’t see much of the outside of the theatre. But she enjoys her job as the spot light operator on the show. She was also an electrician for the show and hung and focused most of the lights.
The show ran from February 15th through 24th. But, starting on April 10th, VCU Theatre will be performing their
Jan 12, 2009
A Neighborly Tale
February 18, 2008
As I enter Sarah Richards’s apartment she’s eats cheese off of a knife. This isn’t the only time I’ve seen her eating cheese off of a knife, she claims she’s just too lazy to cut it up and put it on a plate; that creates dishes.
“I want to do something that actually has a real world application,” Richards said.
She originally applied to the Art Foundation program at
“This is the ugliest place I’ve ever been in my entire life, I thought it was really ghetto and really scary,” Richards said.
“I had like eight majors and I originally wanted to do Interior Design but my parents said that was for stupid people, so I became an Art History major at Tech,” Richards said. “I really hated how analytical it was like I thought I was going to be looking at art but instead I was looking at people’s opinions of art.”
After being a Virginia Tech for two years, the boredom caught up with her so she gave
“Seriously for fun, we went to Barnes and Noble,” Richards said.
The terrifying events that happened at Virginia Tech last spring made Richards less willing to come to VCU.
“It was hard to think about leaving [Tech] after all that happened,” she said. “Nobody ever imagined something like that ever happening at Virginia Tech. When I say it was picturesque, it was like Pleasantville over there…Everything’s perfect all the time.”
Richards knew two people who died, Leslie Sherman and Jaclyn Couture’nowak, her French teacher. Her friend Kevin Sterne was shot, but survived and still has part of the bullet in his leg holding his bone together.
Even with her past experiences at Virginia Tech, Richards still plans on making
Leesburg Today Articles
This article is about a new church that was built in Purcellville, Virginia and how the land it was placed on is where they held Emanicipation Day celebrations. The church decided that they would hold a celebration for Emanicipation Day and invite the whole community. It's a celebration of history in which marks the day the Emanicipation Proclamation was signed.
This article is about an organization called Liberty's Promise that helps young immigrants that have just moved to the area get more involved. The organization is a non-profit and offers placement of immigrants into internships or other business opportunities as well as educational opportunities.
- http://www.leesburg2day.com/articles/2006/09/19/news/leesburg/lb55liberty091506.txt
Park & Ride:
By Laura Peters
Correspondent
The approved Park & Ride location at
To access the
A temporary Park & Ride lot is currently located at the former Barber and Ross site off
Nancy Gourley is transit division manager for
To fill the time gap between the Barber and Ross’ lot contract expiration in April 2007 and the Bolen Park’s lot expected opening in the fall, Gourley said she will attend the Sept. 25 Town Council work session to discuss extension options. Because the contract for use of the Barber and Ross can’t be extended, Gourley said she needs to find another way to prolong the use.
According to Reid,
Reid said elected officials haven’t shown any leadership to find a good location. Since transit is significant to the majority of
Councilwoman Katie Sheldon Hammler raised the concern about the timing of the lights at the intersection of
At the Barber and Ross site 365 spaces are available for parking and about 300 of them are filled each day, Gourley said. The first phase at
Reid describes commuting as a grueling and extensive activity, to have the new location off
Jan 1, 2009
Old High School Articles
I was looking through my computer and found a bunch of my articles from my column back in high school. I really got a kick out of them so I'd figure I'd post them.
A Cranky Corner Carol
by Laura Peters Raider Staff
Fa la la la la la la la… and all that rubage.
The holiday cheer is all around in expensive gifts on little children’s lists. Department stores sales with not only ten but twenty percent off…EVERYTHING!
Have you got the spirit? The spirit to compete with your friends for the better present. To gather around you family spitting out carols, loving one another and then leaving as soon as you get your gifts.
The season of giving…love? Scrooge says it’s not, but to get out that mindset, you have to see the holidays from all different angles.
Commercialism has hit an all time high around the same time every year. It’s just coincidence hitting that high during the holiday season (everyone just wants to give).
New Years cheer and resolutions appear. Every brand new year it’s the same thing, “I want to lose ten pounds…that’s my resolution.” Or “I’m going to forget about Bobby, who dumped me five months ago…I’m really moving on…”
There’s nothing like the holiday season like food, A Muppet’s Christmas Carol, and the rotation of Star Wars over and over on Christmas day.
I’m not one for the glee of the holidays, but I do enjoy certain songs, dashing through the snow and seeing mommy kissing Santa Clause. Sleigh rides, silver bells, and even Grandma getting run over by a reindeer are all time favorites.
Tradition is key. Let it be a turkey or ham in the oven or putting garland on your tree instead of candy canes. Lighting the menorah or the kinara.
It doesn’t matter what you celebrate; it’s celebrating it that keeps the tradition alive.
Once school is back in session, new outfits will deck the halls, the latest mini-micro-maca-whatever I-pod will be stuck in many ears, and cars with bows may fill the parking lot with cheer.
To all have a very Merry-Happy Chrismakwanzaka! And a great New Years!
Love is for Losers…This is Cranky to the EXTREME!
by Laura Peters Raider Staff
Love, love, love…
All you need is love.
Every February 14th the power of love is skyrocketed. It’s plain and simple…a greeting card holiday.
It’s an excuse for girlfriends to get overly upset at their boyfriends because of their lack of consideration on that special day of “love”.
Do you know where the whole Valentine’s Day originates? Okay, okay…so it isn’t entirely the greeting card Corporation.
The legend of Saint Valentine was that he was a priest in the third century in Rome. Now, Valentine was angry with the Emperor Claudius II when he outlawed marriage for younger men, so he could have more soldiers to fight and be apart of his army. Valentine was so enraged, he continued to perform marriages even after the Emperor’s ruling.
Due to the defiance of his emperor, Valentine was sent to jail. It is said that in jail he fell in love with the jailer’s daughter and wrote her a letter before his death signing it “From your Valentine” giving everyone that expression in present day.
So, basically, Valentine’s Day can be romantic. The basis around it in this light, over Saint Valentine’s death, can be viewed as heroic and very much romantic. But, then again this is America, it’s all about the goods.
Laura’s Cranky Corner
by Laura Peters Raider Staff
Do you ever have that feeling where someone is telling you a story, they build it completely up, and you’re totally psyched about it, only to be let down by the fact that it completely sucked and had no significance to your life, what-so-ever. And then you realize, you never get those thirty-plus minutes back in your life that you just wasted on listening to that person, or even reading this article.
That’s the theme of my high school existence, but not to put a downfall on this school or anything. I’m just so blank and worn out from high school drama, and stupid situations. We’re all ready to move on, and grow up. Which is practically impossible to do in a prison-like campus, where we’re treated like inmates when we don’t have a pass to go to the water fountain.
Deadlines are pushing me to write this one. But the only deadline that I’m facing now is to my freedom; Graduation.
I can feel, see, and imagine it now, walking across that stage, with the gleaming sunlight beaming onto my pale skin, making my freckles darker. I’ve been waiting for that moment since I first entered these halls.
The halls that shone so brightly from the first waxing of the school year, only to be scuffed up the next day and turned into a matte finished that soon fades into a unnoticeable floor that you walk on to go to you seventh period class.
Awkward phases that you never really grow out of, they grow out of you. Bumming rides due to the fact that you have no license and your big brother decides to leave you at school.
Times when homecoming was sort of cool, in your own alternative way. With boas, homemade dresses, and amazing up-do’s. Pancake dinners and after parties.
That feeling of freedom with the wind in your hair with all the windows down in YOUR car, even though it’s your parent’s car, but it’s yours because you’re driving it alone. Music blasting, and zooming around seemingly cool in the school parking lot.
The thrill of winning, the happiness of succeeding, the defeat of failing. The ups and downs of high school seem to be a rollercoaster, but that’s the intensity you look forward to each day, even if you don’t want to admit it to yourself.
Study halls filled with no talking for the fear of getting in trouble, back when the rules were enforced so harshly, only to be let down as the years pass, and then to be replaced by a useless “FLEX” period, that causes more hassle than help.
Last minute projects in attempt to get the seniors more involved with the schoolwork, then realizing that they don’t care, and senioritis has hit an all time high, and everyone is infected. It’s useless. The summer is already here for half of us. We’re practically free.
I feel your pain, for all you underclassmen, as I rant on about the feelings of a senior. We’ve all been there, we know exactly how you’re feeling. You’ll get out soon enough, and have the same feelings as I do now.
Growing, as this article is, is like a timeline. Retracing and remembering your steps is the fun part. Thinking of past experiences, when times seemed to be so hard and unbearable, only now were clearly easy and practically no big deal at all.
With new additions to the school, come great losses. The weathered faces of maturing adults will soon be replaced with different ones. The same repeating process over and over, until the end of time. With ever new generation you see new sparks, different in every way. Just realize that as you grow up, things may be hard and challenging but, that’s the fun of it. Like a winding road with unexpected turns of the life ahead of you.
Laura’s Cranky Corner
by Laura Peters Raider Staff
Senior year…supposedly the best year of your life. You’re moving on, getting ready start your life and enter a new chapter. Everything is supposed to be big, great, and grand.
Or, not. You’re life is now a big confusing mess of college essays and applications galore. It’s one thing after the next of what you want to study, where you want to go. And here’s the catch, you must decide right now.
Many people may disagree with my last statement, saying you don’t need to decide right away but, then again, isn’t college pointless if you don’t have a set idea in your mind of what you want to accomplish? It’s like taking all your life’s earnings and flushing them down the toilet.
Here’s an idea. Maybe somewhat uplifting. No one knows what they want. As much as some people want to have it set in their mind of what they want to do, everyone is just as confused and freaked out by the life ahead of them. Succumb to your fears everyone! We are all in this together. We are not alone!
High school to me is childish. I’ve finished what I need to accomplish here, my brain is done consuming all that it needs to consume as of now. I can’t gather any more information, and if I do I am going to lose it.
All that high school really is is just a popularity contest. Everyone has their little clicks and friends that they have had forever, and once you’re in that group you stay in it, and there is a members only policy.
One thing I have realized is that this year alone, more people have talked to me. Maybe it’s because I have some growth coming out of the side of my head or a booger hanging out of my nose, but the real true people have come to the same realization that I have discovered; I will never see these people ever again, I might as well make the best of it.
Not to put a damper on you’re last year of high school with a depressing note, but I’m speaking my mind. The truth is, that the people you know in high school, you will most likely never speak to again, besides those in which you plan on keeping a good connection with. That’s life, we all are moving on.
Senior year…the best year of your life? No, not for me, maybe the most frustrating year that I have ever had to endure. But, I could say that about my entire high school existence. I’m not going to lie, but I hate going around in school pretending that I really care about it. I don’t. I’m sick and tired of it all. I want to leave and start something new. I’m eighteen, partially legal, and I’m drained of everything.
Is it just me or do you ever just get in your car and drive? Just, no place in mind of where you’re going, just drive. A continuous drive that ends nowhere and starts in the same place. That’s where I feel right now, a figure eight of continuum that will never extinguish. As of now, I’m trying to find my tangent…where’s yours?
A Cranky Corner Carol
by Laura Peters Raider Staff
Fa la la la la la la la… and all that rubage.
The holiday cheer is all around in expensive gifts on little children’s lists. Department stores sales with not only ten but twenty percent off…EVERYTHING!
Have you got the spirit? The spirit to compete with your friends for the better present. To gather around you family spitting out carols, loving one another and then leaving as soon as you get your gifts.
The season of giving…love? Scrooge says it’s not, but to get out that mindset, you have to see the holidays from all different angles.
Commercialism has hit an all time high around the same time every year. It’s just coincidence hitting that high during the holiday season (everyone just wants to give).
New Years cheer and resolutions appear. Every brand new year it’s the same thing, “I want to lose ten pounds…that’s my resolution.” Or “I’m going to forget about Bobby, who dumped me five months ago…I’m really moving on…”
There’s nothing like the holiday season like food, A Muppet’s Christmas Carol, and the rotation of Star Wars over and over on Christmas day.
I’m not one for the glee of the holidays, but I do enjoy certain songs, dashing through the snow and seeing mommy kissing Santa Clause. Sleigh rides, silver bells, and even Grandma getting run over by a reindeer are all time favorites.
Tradition is key. Let it be a turkey or ham in the oven or putting garland on your tree instead of candy canes. Lighting the menorah or the kinara.
It doesn’t matter what you celebrate; it’s celebrating it that keeps the tradition alive.
Once school is back in session, new outfits will deck the halls, the latest mini-micro-maca-whatever I-pod will be stuck in many ears, and cars with bows may fill the parking lot with cheer.
To all have a very Merry-Happy Chrismakwanzaka! And a great New Years!
Love is for Losers…This is Cranky to the EXTREME!
by Laura Peters Raider Staff
Love, love, love…
All you need is love.
Every February 14th the power of love is skyrocketed. It’s plain and simple…a greeting card holiday.
It’s an excuse for girlfriends to get overly upset at their boyfriends because of their lack of consideration on that special day of “love”.
Do you know where the whole Valentine’s Day originates? Okay, okay…so it isn’t entirely the greeting card Corporation.
The legend of Saint Valentine was that he was a priest in the third century in Rome. Now, Valentine was angry with the Emperor Claudius II when he outlawed marriage for younger men, so he could have more soldiers to fight and be apart of his army. Valentine was so enraged, he continued to perform marriages even after the Emperor’s ruling.
Due to the defiance of his emperor, Valentine was sent to jail. It is said that in jail he fell in love with the jailer’s daughter and wrote her a letter before his death signing it “From your Valentine” giving everyone that expression in present day.
So, basically, Valentine’s Day can be romantic. The basis around it in this light, over Saint Valentine’s death, can be viewed as heroic and very much romantic. But, then again this is America, it’s all about the goods.
Laura’s Cranky Corner
by Laura Peters Raider Staff
Do you ever have that feeling where someone is telling you a story, they build it completely up, and you’re totally psyched about it, only to be let down by the fact that it completely sucked and had no significance to your life, what-so-ever. And then you realize, you never get those thirty-plus minutes back in your life that you just wasted on listening to that person, or even reading this article.
That’s the theme of my high school existence, but not to put a downfall on this school or anything. I’m just so blank and worn out from high school drama, and stupid situations. We’re all ready to move on, and grow up. Which is practically impossible to do in a prison-like campus, where we’re treated like inmates when we don’t have a pass to go to the water fountain.
Deadlines are pushing me to write this one. But the only deadline that I’m facing now is to my freedom; Graduation.
I can feel, see, and imagine it now, walking across that stage, with the gleaming sunlight beaming onto my pale skin, making my freckles darker. I’ve been waiting for that moment since I first entered these halls.
The halls that shone so brightly from the first waxing of the school year, only to be scuffed up the next day and turned into a matte finished that soon fades into a unnoticeable floor that you walk on to go to you seventh period class.
Awkward phases that you never really grow out of, they grow out of you. Bumming rides due to the fact that you have no license and your big brother decides to leave you at school.
Times when homecoming was sort of cool, in your own alternative way. With boas, homemade dresses, and amazing up-do’s. Pancake dinners and after parties.
That feeling of freedom with the wind in your hair with all the windows down in YOUR car, even though it’s your parent’s car, but it’s yours because you’re driving it alone. Music blasting, and zooming around seemingly cool in the school parking lot.
The thrill of winning, the happiness of succeeding, the defeat of failing. The ups and downs of high school seem to be a rollercoaster, but that’s the intensity you look forward to each day, even if you don’t want to admit it to yourself.
Study halls filled with no talking for the fear of getting in trouble, back when the rules were enforced so harshly, only to be let down as the years pass, and then to be replaced by a useless “FLEX” period, that causes more hassle than help.
Last minute projects in attempt to get the seniors more involved with the schoolwork, then realizing that they don’t care, and senioritis has hit an all time high, and everyone is infected. It’s useless. The summer is already here for half of us. We’re practically free.
I feel your pain, for all you underclassmen, as I rant on about the feelings of a senior. We’ve all been there, we know exactly how you’re feeling. You’ll get out soon enough, and have the same feelings as I do now.
Growing, as this article is, is like a timeline. Retracing and remembering your steps is the fun part. Thinking of past experiences, when times seemed to be so hard and unbearable, only now were clearly easy and practically no big deal at all.
With new additions to the school, come great losses. The weathered faces of maturing adults will soon be replaced with different ones. The same repeating process over and over, until the end of time. With ever new generation you see new sparks, different in every way. Just realize that as you grow up, things may be hard and challenging but, that’s the fun of it. Like a winding road with unexpected turns of the life ahead of you.
Laura’s Cranky Corner
by Laura Peters Raider Staff
Senior year…supposedly the best year of your life. You’re moving on, getting ready start your life and enter a new chapter. Everything is supposed to be big, great, and grand.
Or, not. You’re life is now a big confusing mess of college essays and applications galore. It’s one thing after the next of what you want to study, where you want to go. And here’s the catch, you must decide right now.
Many people may disagree with my last statement, saying you don’t need to decide right away but, then again, isn’t college pointless if you don’t have a set idea in your mind of what you want to accomplish? It’s like taking all your life’s earnings and flushing them down the toilet.
Here’s an idea. Maybe somewhat uplifting. No one knows what they want. As much as some people want to have it set in their mind of what they want to do, everyone is just as confused and freaked out by the life ahead of them. Succumb to your fears everyone! We are all in this together. We are not alone!
High school to me is childish. I’ve finished what I need to accomplish here, my brain is done consuming all that it needs to consume as of now. I can’t gather any more information, and if I do I am going to lose it.
All that high school really is is just a popularity contest. Everyone has their little clicks and friends that they have had forever, and once you’re in that group you stay in it, and there is a members only policy.
One thing I have realized is that this year alone, more people have talked to me. Maybe it’s because I have some growth coming out of the side of my head or a booger hanging out of my nose, but the real true people have come to the same realization that I have discovered; I will never see these people ever again, I might as well make the best of it.
Not to put a damper on you’re last year of high school with a depressing note, but I’m speaking my mind. The truth is, that the people you know in high school, you will most likely never speak to again, besides those in which you plan on keeping a good connection with. That’s life, we all are moving on.
Senior year…the best year of your life? No, not for me, maybe the most frustrating year that I have ever had to endure. But, I could say that about my entire high school existence. I’m not going to lie, but I hate going around in school pretending that I really care about it. I don’t. I’m sick and tired of it all. I want to leave and start something new. I’m eighteen, partially legal, and I’m drained of everything.
Is it just me or do you ever just get in your car and drive? Just, no place in mind of where you’re going, just drive. A continuous drive that ends nowhere and starts in the same place. That’s where I feel right now, a figure eight of continuum that will never extinguish. As of now, I’m trying to find my tangent…where’s yours?