Get better gas mileage
The Sierra Club blog has a few tips on maxing out your miles per gallon with their post: The Green Life: Max Your MPG
Technorati Tags: hypermilers, gas prices
Would you like to make $1500 per second?
The Washington Post is reporting on Exxon Mobil’s second quarter earnings for 2008.
Exxon, that great behemoth of carbon fuel producers earned $11.68 billion (yes, BILLION) which factors out to about $1,500 per second over the last three months.
I have no problem with a business making profits. I own stocks so I like to see business make money. But when these oil-cartel-flunkies are decrying they have no control over the price of oil, then how can they produce such record profits? If their own costs have truly gone up, and they have raised their prices to protect their profits, then you would expect them to continue along a profit line, but this is blatant abuse of the American consumer.
This second quarter profit is “the biggest quarterly profit ever by any U.S. corporation” [emphasis added] according to the reporter. At a time when our country is suffering, people are losing their jobs due to company cuts, homeowners are losing their homes to foreclosure and hard-working citizens can’t afford to put gas in their cars, I call it criminal that a company like Exxon could produce a record profit like this one.
Where are our politicians/protectors now? (On vacation starting tomorrow…) We need to call them to task to regulate these abuses. There are some initiatives out there, but as usual, partisan lines are getting in the way. It’ll be a great day when our representatives actually look out for us, and not their party platforms. I don’t care what side of the aisle you’re on, when Americans and our economy are suffering, we need to come together.
You can read more here, here and here.
No parking
Roanokers love the Grandin Village. It’s a great place to have dinner (all local restaurants), catch a movie at the Grandin Theatre, shop at the Natural Foods Coop and stroll down the sidewalk.
And it’s the sidewalk that is the subject of this email. I was picking up a pizza from Grace’s Pizzeria (one of the two best pizza joints in Roanoke) and as I was walking out, I couldn’t help but notice this large SUV parked directly on the sidewalk. The hilarious part is the sign right beside the offending vehicle.
So all you bicyclists and skateboarders keep off the sidewalk. The SUVs need the space. :o)
2008 Roanoke Arts Festival
Public service announcement:
The second annual Roanoke Arts Festival, re-timed this year to help celebrate the opening of the new Taubman Museum of Art, will be held Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 8-9 with free and ticketed events and activities to appeal to a wide range of audiences.
The 2008 Roanoke Arts Festival will complement the museum’s grand opening weekend and once again pay tribute to arts of the region and beyond with a host of rich offerings capped by a performance by Country-music legend Crystal Gayle. The Festival will include a free downtown rock ‘n’ roll concert, great Bluegrass music, a musical puppet show, an exposition of the culinary arts, theatrical performances, classical music and more.
The Festival will also serve as the grand finale to “40 Days and 40 Nights,” a celebration of arts and culture with daily activities and exhibits coordinated by the Arts Council of the Blue Ridge.
“This year’s Festival – timed for the museum’s opening and this historic moment for the arts and culture for our region – is a great way to celebrate all facets of the arts,” says Susan Jennings, Roanoke’s public art coordinator. “The 2008 Roanoke Arts Festival will extend this excitement onto the streets of downtown Roanoke and into venues in Roanoke Valley.”
“With the Taubman Museum opening its doors as one of the most impressive museums of its kind, we felt the Arts Festival should tie into that spirit and welcome visitors to explore not just the visual arts, but music, drama, film – even the culinary arts,” adds Festival manager Rick Salzberg.
As the final touches are being made to this year’s schedule, planning already is under way for the third annual Roanoke Arts Festival, scheduled to be held next fall.
“With strong interest and broad audience appeal from our inaugural Festival last year, we’ve heard from fans of the arts from throughout Virginia urging us to offer even more choices in years ahead,” Salzberg says. “That’s why we’re already looking ahead to next year, when we will resume a four-day Festival.”
The 2007 Arts Festival was recognized as one of the year’s best festivals by the readers of City Magazine, and even nationally renowned performers lauded the Festival.
Visit the website for more information: www.RoanokeArtsFest.org/
A new design and I’m back from a break!
Well, it’s July, life is good and summer is in full swing. The waves are calling, folks are traveling (maybe not as far as normal with the price of gas!) and I’m back from a “blogging break” with a new site look and some new features coming down the pike for the site.
Every time I turn on the television, there’s bad news about the economy, real estate and the foreclosure crisis. There is truth amongst all the scare mongering, but it’s not all doom and gloom. Houses are still selling. If you’re looking to sell your home and buy a new home, it’s a good time. If you’re a first-time buyer with decent credit and income, it’s a great time to buy! So what are you waiting for?
It’s a beautiful day
Just wishing everyone a happy day. Spring is almost here and I’ve already noticed the number of phone calls I’ve received have increased significantly and my web visitors have doubled in the last month!
Folks are looking to buy and sell real estate this year, contrary to the nay saying we hear in the media.
Five things you might not know about me
Jeremy Hart asked Stuart Mease who tapped me for this meme as a way to share information from blogger to blogger to increase exposure and give a more personal touch to a blog. So here you go-
- I am an Eagle Scout with the Boy Scouts of America. As a Boy Scout I was able to do a lot of amazing things and take some really fantastic trips to places like Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico!
- I spent almost 7 years in jail from 1998-2005. (I actually worked there as a magistrate!) One midnight shift I smashed a giant jail roach with a volume from the Code of Virginia, quite literally throwing the book at it.
- While in college I volunteered with the Roanoke County Fire & Rescue Department as a cardiac technician on the rescue squad. Saw many tragic things.
- We have a golden retriever named Rooster. He’s a mischievous fellow and likes to raid the laundry for his favorite item to play keep-away…our socks.
- I worked for 4 summers at Camp Bethel near Troutville on the summer staff. One of the things I enjoyed most was working as the naturalist and one of my assumed responsibilities was to rid the main areas of any snakes that wondered in. I was given the nickname “Snakeman” by the kids!
So it is now time to pass this along to someone else. I think I will tap Todd Hester and Rhett Fleitz.
Roanoke’s prosecutor should look inward for problems
The Roanoke Times recently wrote an article about the Timothy Workman trial in Roanoke. Mr. Workman is the ex-DEA agent recently acquitted in the shooting death of a man outside a local restaurant several years ago. Apparently Donald Caldwell, the elected Roanoke City commonwealth’s attorney made some statements that local police have found offensive and inappropriate during the trial. Here are a few excerpts from the Times story-
“Roanoke police officers challenged the city’s top prosecutor Tuesday, rejecting remarks in which he compared a city officer to Barney Fife in open court.
Caldwell criticized police for allowing Workman, an off-duty Drug Enforcement Administration agent, to walk around and speak with investigators after the shooting rather than handcuffing him and isolating him like any other suspect.
Comparing Garrett to the bungling deputy sheriff on “The Andy Griffith Show,” Caldwell described him as “the good-hearted guy who tries to help out, but he doesn’t quite get it right.”
As a former Magistrate in Roanoke City, I have worked with the criticized police officer on many occasions and besides always being extremely professional and competent with me, I found him to always be respectful to those under arrest as well.
In this instance, it seems to me like another opportunity for the City’s elected prosecutor to sling mud and blame someone else for his own office’s blunders. I often found Mr. Caldwell’s office uncooperative (they are charged with advising the magistrates if necessary) and condescending towards victims, professionals and others on more than once occasions. Enough to classify it as an attitude endemic to himself and his employees.
Rather than fighting with federal authorities over which crimes they prosecute, it seems like the CA would want the Feds to prosecute in the cases where the criminals would get more time and therefore keep them out of our community longer. Instead, it smacks of a childish, territorial game played out at the expense and slandering of an otherwise professional police officer.
From Roanoke’s Chief of Police, Joe Gaskins-
Roanoke Police Chief Joe Gaskins said he is unaware of any complaint against Garrett in the officer’s 17-year career with the department.
“Kenny Garrett is a fine officer and for anyone to assume they knew what was in his mind without any proof was erroneous, period,” Gaskins said.
Roanoke Arts Festival - October 4-7, 2007
The Roanoke Arts Festival is coming again!
I just received a press release from the tba: Thomas Becher Agency about the upcoming Roanoke festival and want to pass it on to you.
Highlights of this year’s festival include performances from Judy Collins, Grammy Award winner Ramsey Lewis and the Ramsey Lewis Trio & Little Feat. Also there will be literature and poetry reading from the faculty and students of Hollins University Graduate Program in Creative Writing (which is a real treat if you’ve never attended a Hollins reading) and of course the Downtown Living Tour.
See more things to do here.
iRealEstate Kiosk at Valley View Mall
The real estate kiosk at Valley View Mall, brought to you by iRealEstate, LLC is finally here. It took the better part of two days to get this interactive real estate center up and running. If you’re an agent and are interested in advertising, call (540) 397-0014. If you’re a homeowner and want your house advertised at the mall, visit the kiosk and talk to the agent on duty!
Here are some photos from the install!
This is a WPSimpleViewerGallery
More kiosks coming soon to-
Tanglewood Mall
Smith Mountain Lake
New River Valley Mall
River Ridge Mall
Valley View cracks down on kids
The Roanoke Times is reporting that Valley View Mall has created a new underage policy, to go into effect on July 13, prohibiting “teenagers from hanging out at the mall without adult supervision on Friday and Saturday nights.”
The policy will require anyone under the age of eighteen to be escorted by a parent or guardian on Friday and Saturday evenings after 6:00pm. Valley View Mall advises ID will be required at mall entrances.
You can read Valley View Mall’s announcement here. I wonder how many extra security guards and Roanoke City Police officers that’s going to take?
The Bald Eagle
“I know he’d be a poorer man if he never saw an eagle fly“
John Denver from Rocky Mountain High
Although not a Smith Mountain Lake real estate story per se, I felt that writing about the delisting from the endangered species list today of the Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) was definitely a topic worth writing about. The Bald Eagle has always held a special place in my heart as the symbol of our great country and also having earned the rank of Eagle Scout as a younger me in the Boy Scouts it holds even more significance (did you know only 5% of boys who enter Boy Scouts earn the Eagle Scout rank?).
Several news organizations wrote on the delisting today-
Washington Post - U.S. Declares Bald Eagles No Longer Threatened
CNN - Bald eagle soars off endangered list
New York Times - Bald Eagles, Thriving, Settle Into Suburban Life
Former Roanoke Postmaster runs for Botetourt Supervisor
My cousin, Billy Martin, former USPS Postmaster for Roanoke, local artist and mediator has been endorsed by the Botetourt County Republican Committee for a seat on the Botetourt County Board of Supervisors, Blue Ridge District.
You can read more from the Roanoke Times and this Botetourt County blog.
Vinton, VA crime locator map
The Town of Vinton, Virginia has joined the ranks of cities such as Chicago, Las Vegas and San Francisco by implementing an online crime tracker map according to this Roanoke Times story.
It’d be nice if Roanoke City, Roanoke County and other surrounding police departments did the same. It’d be a real service to home buyers who want to check out the crime stats in the neighborhoods they’re looking to buy real estate in.
You can check out Vinton’s crimes here- http://vinton.va.crimeviewcommunity.com/
New York Yankees donate $1M to Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund
The Roanoke Times, New York Yankees and HokieSports.com are reporting that the New York Yankees has donated $1M dollars to the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund in memory of the Virginia Tech tragedy. Virginia Tech President Charles Steger was invited to New York to throw a pitch off the mound at Yankee Stadium Wednesday night.
It’s also being reported that the Yankees will play an exhibition game against the VT baseball team next spring somewhere near the Blacksburg campus. The Salem Avalanche stadium in Salem, Virginia has been mentioned as one possibility. That would be pretty cool!
