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Shakespeare Festival May Get Boost from StateBy Shelby Mertens Capital News Service RICHMOND – A bill introduced by Sen. Thomas Norment, R-Williamsburg, would designate the Virginia Shakespeare Festival in Williamsburg as the official Shakespeare Festival of Virginia, in hopes of increasing tourism to the area. The bill comes as the festival prepares to mark its 35th anniversary this summer. Over the years, more than 300,000 people have attended the performances. The legislation notes that Shakespeare’s work was first performed in the New World at Williamsburg in 1753. So it seems fitting that the commonwealth’s official festival would be located there. The idea was brought to Norment in October by Robert Ruffin, the interim producing director for the Virginia Shakespeare Festival, which is presented by the College of William and Mary. “I think it will boost tourism to reach out beyond our local reach,” Ruffin said. With an economy that relies heavily on tourism revenue, the Historic Triangle suffered greatly when the 2008 recession hit. According to the Williamsburg Hotel Association’s tourism statistics, the number of occupied hotel rooms has dropped every year since the recession began, but the decline is starting to level off. Room reservations dropped 16 percent in 2008 and almost 11 percent in 2009. But in 2011, the number dropped only about 3 percent. As the economy heals, tourism may pick up – and it could get an even bigger boost if the Williamsburg event is designated as Virginia’s official Shakespeare Festival. “It would add credibility being an official event,” said Bob Harris, senior vice president of tourism at the Greater Williamsburg Chamber and Tourism Alliance. “It adds depth to what we offer here.” Harris said boosting local tourism can attract businesses to the area, which means more jobs and a healthier economy. Williamsburg has the second-highest unemployment rate in the state – more than 12 percent, according to the Virginia Employment Commission. That’s more than double the statewide average. The Virginia Shakespeare Festival typically consists of three productions performed in Phi Beta Kappa Hall on the William and Mary campus. Norment, who serves as an adjunct professor for William and Mary’s law school, agrees that making it the official Shakespeare festival of the commonwealth would boost local tourism. “The Virginia Shakespeare Festival attracts visitors to the Historic Triangle every year, providing quality entertainment for our visitors and residents alike,” he said. “By designating it as Virginia's official Shakespeare Festival, this outstanding community asset will achieve the recognition it deserves and increase its ability to draw even more visitors to our region.” The festival at William and Mary isn’t the only event celebrating Shakespeare’s work in Virginia. Richmond also holds its Richmond Shakespeare Festival each summer. In the past, Virginia Beach has held the Hampton Roads Shakespeare Festival. Norment’s proposal, Senate Bill 1123, is awaiting a vote in the Senate General Laws and Technology Committee. Capital News Service is a flagship program of the VCU School of Mass Communications. Students participating in the program provide state government coverage for Virginia’s community newspapers and other media outlets, under the supervision of Associate Professor Jeff South. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
Iridescent is IrresistibleBy Celina Suh QuaillBellMagazine.com We love snowflakes because they sparkle. Maybe it hasn't truly snowed yet this winter, DMV, but that doesn't mean you can bring out your favorite iridescent piece this season. Shine, fledglings, shine. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
Anacostia--the next H Street? Try Old Town.By Brainy Bird QuailBellMagazine.com Mention Ward 8 to the average white Washingtonian and you're unlikely to hear any favorable remarks. Why is it that "black neighborhood" often reads as code for "bad neighborhood"? Basic sociology. History. Politics. At the root of it, ignorance and fear. These are not revolutionary observations. They're the repetition of a sad truth. This is not to say I'm oblivious to the crimes committed in Historic Anacostia and nearby neighborhoods. Anacostia, like many DC neighborhoods, has its share of homicides, robberies, and sexual assaults. It is to say that the desire to commit a crime stems from desperation caused by socio-economic problems. That desire is not a race-based genetic trait. You don't steal because you were born black. You steal, perhaps, because you were born poor, didn't get proper schooling, and are unaware of better options, plus or minus factors XYZ. IMG: Elvert Barnes So if you improve the socio-economic state of a place, it doesn't matter if white or black people are living there. Crime rates will go down. The real question, of course, is how do you heal all those socio-economic boo-boos while still preserving the historic and cultural integrity of a place. Ring in a Panera, a Starbucks, and Whole Foods and—boom!—problem solved, right? No, that's just a case of the nasty “g” word. Anacostia won't grow as Anacostia simply because yuppies set up shop. Anacostia has to stay true to itself: its people and the potential of its community. It needs a solid middle-class base of educated blacks, open-minded whites, and people of all races and ethnicities who are willing to cooperate for the betterment of the neighborhood and Washington as a whole. The Art of Ward 8 blogger, Charles Wilson, makes an interesting suggestion, one I've yet to hear from anyone else. He says, that instead of turning Anacostia into the next H Street, Ward 8 should look at Old Town as a model. His advice makes sense because the two places share three major characteristics: The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
The Fallen Film Vixen of Brookland Park By Spencer Turner QuailBellMagazine.com This window said, "Please take my photo." It was like running into a fallen film vixen still dressed in her tattered Oscar gown. (Brookland Park Avenue, Richmond, Virginia.)
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Southside Plaza By QB History Buff QuailBellMagazine.com With online shopping becoming an ever-popular option in mainstream society (and not just with cybergeeks), it's no surprise that malls are seeing a decline in business. Admit it, you hit up Amazon.com more often than your local bookstore or Etsy.com more often than your local craft fairs.
You might sometimes wonder what these retail mammoths looked like in their heyday. You know, back when malls were THE place to see and be seen. Central Virginians, for example, may be familiar with Southside Plaza on Richmond's Hull Street corridor. In the 1960s, Southside Plaza was a hustling-bustling sort of place. Just look at all those cars! Psst...Want to see it return to its mighty, chest-pounding state? Haul your tail feathers over to the Hull Street Road Corridor Revitalization meeting taking place tonight. It's the last one where the general public can comment on the grant-funded Hull Street 360 project. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
Democrats Rap Cuccinelli Over Federal LawBy Whitney Spicer Capital News Service RICHMOND – Virginia Democrats slammed state Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli on Tuesday for refusing to support reauthorization of the federal Violence Against Women Act. In a telephone press conference, Delegate Jennifer McClellan of Richmond and Arlington Commonwealth’s Attorney Theo Stamos criticized Cuccinelli for being one of three state attorneys general who did not sign a letter urging Congress to reauthorize the act. “Virginians deserve to know what prevented Ken Cuccinelli from sticking up for the Violence Against Women Act, not a half-hearted excuse for sitting on his hands while Republicans killed the reauthorization,” McClellan said. “As attorney general, Ken Cuccinelli is the chief law enforcement office in the Commonwealth, charged with doing whatever it takes to keep all Virginia safe from those who would do them harm. “In light of that responsibility, and his desire to be our next governor, Virginians deserve to hear a real explanation from him as to why he would refuse to support the Violence Against Women Act.” Cuccinelli’s spokesman said there is a simple explanation: By policy, the attorney general’s office does not sign letters of support for federal legislation that is still subject to amendment. “It is beyond comprehension how anyone could seriously try to blame a single state attorney general because 535 members of the U.S. Congress didn’t pass a piece of legislation,” said Brian Gottstein, the attorney general’s director of communication. He noted that Cuccinelli supports many programs against domestic abuse. For example, the attorney general operates the Address Confidentiality Program, a mail-forwarding service that keeps the addresses of domestic violence victims confidential. Cuccinelli’s office also collects cellphones to donate to Verizon Wireless’ HopeLine Program for victims in protective shelters. In an interview, political commentator Bob Holsworth said he believes Democrats are attacking Cuccinelli on this issue to paint him in a bad light in this year’s gubernatorial race. “The Democrats are trying to position Cuccinelli as someone out of touch with the mainstream. Using social issues like this is a great way to do that,” said Holsworth, the founding director of the Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University. During the conference call, Stamos, who has been a prosecutor in Arlington County and Falls Church for more than two decades, said the Violence Against Women Act has helped law enforcement officials. “The act has helped people in our office to deal with the very specific and specialized needs of domestic violence victims. It has provided the training and tools that we need at the local level to prosecute very difficult cases,” Stamos said. Since 1994, the Violence Against Women Act has provided funding for rape crisis centers and hotlines and assistance for women who have escaped domestic abuse. “It is a piece of federal legislation that works in the trenches at the local level,” Stamos said. Capital News Service is a flagship program of the VCU School of Mass Communications. Students participating in the program provide state government coverage for Virginia’s community newspapers and other media outlets, under the supervision of Associate Professor Jeff South. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
Guadalajara in 35mm Give someone a camera and they'll give you memories—tangible ones that you can develop and print and keep for as long as the paper keeps. The children of Villas Miravalle, a shelter for sexually abused minors in Guadalajara, Mexico, gave us a set of memories. Meanwhile, we hope that we gave them a sense of empowerment. Clicking a camera takes strength. It means intentionally acknowledging a certain visible truth for posterity. We were a dozen Virginia Commonwealth University students, half of us studying Spanish interpretation and half studying public health for a couple of weeks during the summer of 2012. At the last minute before our planned visit to Villas Miravalle, I thought to bring the children disposable cameras to play with. So a couple of my classmates and I scrambled to find the cameras at drug stores and supermarkets. We eventually scrounged up ten of them. If only we had had three or four times as many cameras. Though shy at first, more and more children emerged from their rooms to join our group in the courtyard. We started out with exactly eight little girls. At some point, I lost count of how many children were clamoring for cameras, so I asked the children to take a picture and pass the camera to someone who had not yet had a turn. We ended up having less time than any of us had expected. When dark clouds eeked out warm rain, we collected the cameras in a frenzy. With monsoon season in full swing, flash floods were not just a hypothetical occurrence. Some of the children pouted and whined about our sudden flight, while others rushed toward us with hugs. Though only little more than an hour had passed, it was time for us to leave. The children would stay behind—but we had proof that the encounter had happened. Almost 270 photographs worth of proof, I later discovered at a pharmacy in Richmond, Virginia. The children had used up every picture on every camera and most of the images were fully-formed. There were thumbs and blurs, sure, yet there was also thought and feeling in each picture. These are the ten photos I chose from those 270. This exhibition was made possible thanks to Virginia Commonwealth University - Global Education, University of Guadalajara, and Virginia Center for Latin American Art. As I walked through the gates to visit the children of Villas Miravalle, I felt a patchwork of emotion. I was excited to see the kids again, but I felt a sense of abandonment, as I had returned to the United States to complete my professional degrees leaving behind the kids who I have always considered family. I think my heart froze when I saw one of the little girls again. Her 3-year-old face will always be embedded in my memory. Now she is 7, and quickly growing up. A group of boys yelled out to me as they always had, as I would arrive to the Villas. “¡Maestra! ¡Maestra!” When I saw them, I barely recognized them as the skinny 13-year-old kids I had taught to garden and brought out on excursions around Guadalajara. They were adults now, but once our eyes connected I immediately remembered our trips to the wax museum and the guards chasing us out of the department store while riding the escalator for the first time. I will be forever grateful that they let me into their hearts and shared with me the stories of the lives they had before arriving to Villas Miravalle. These kids have experienced horrors that no human should ever have to face. These are the kids that changed my life and have molded me into who I am today. -Lynn VanderWielen, the VCU PhD student who coordinated the visit to Villas Miravalle. She taught English at the shelter after completing her undergraduate studies at the University of Wisconsin. I remember arriving at the shelter not exactly sure what to expect. Many children and adolescents gathered around and started hugging and holding hands with our students, seeking approval, comfort and love. Our students just hugged back, began playing games with the boys, teaching girls how to take photographs, started a basketball game. Others toured the garden and saw the pool where children had to share towels because there weren’t enough for all. We wanted to stay longer but the sky got black and a bad storm which would leave us stranded was imminent. The children didn’t want us to leave and I believe we all left frustrated that we could not stay longer, felt we had done so little for them, yet had made them feel happy for a little while. The compassion of our own students was an eye opener for me. -Patricia Michelsen-King, program co-director, Spanish & Cultural Competence for Health & Human Services Today we went to a shelter for children who have been victims of sexual violence, either through families, communities or through prostitution. I had imagined a small dark place that was dilapidated and miserable. What we found was a big green campus with a simple pool, jungle gym, basketball court, fantastic staff, and children who are on their way to healing. This isn't to say that all is well. In fact, the director gave us a laundry list of things they need badly and challenges they have in the face of so much trauma and poverty. Nevertheless, it didn't take long for us to feel welcome and start interacting with the kids who were happy to see us. In fact, we had to leave quickly because of the storm that would possibly flood us out. Our students were very hesitant to leave. I hope that as a group, we can find some way to continue our support for this magical place. We owe Lynn VanderWielen a big thanks for sharing her special space with us! -Cecily Rodriguez, program co-director, Spanish & Cultural Competence for Health & Human Services. This statement was edited from her original post to the program's Facebook group. Editor's Note: "Guadalajara in 35mm" is on display at the Virginia Center of Latin American Art. through January 31, 2013. The show will tour the state on VACLAA's art bus and later be put on permanent display at Virginia Commonwealth University, University of Guadalajara, and Villas Miravalle. Support the cause! And make the exhibit part of your home forever by ordering the accompanying booklet. The booklet is beautifully printed in full-color on high-quality cardstock. Enjoy the children's photographs and participants' words in a larger format spread across 16 memorable pages. 10% of your purchase of the "Guadalajara in 16mm" booklet will benefit the Virginia Center for Latin American Art. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
Ethel Person said...By QB Word Nerd QuailBellMagazine.com
-Ethel Person, Psychoanalyst who died in October '12
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