roanoke.com - Business Stories -Plan for CVS at old WDBJ site goes through

You know its funny, but my wife and I were just discussing it the other day. We have not been to a CVS or Walgreens since we moved down here.

Up in NY, you had CVS, Walgreens, Eckerd, Duane Reade, and then you had your supermarket pharmacys.

Here, we either get everything at Kroger or Walmart. Which is nice, because I personally have never been a big fan of CVS. They always seemed to jack up prices a tad bit higher than any of the other drug stores.

We were also just discussing the fact that the building at the corner of Colonial and Brandon had finally been sold. I had no idea it was former DBJ studios. To look at it today, with no knowledge of what it was - you really couldnt guess.

Where the Twin Towers used to stand, before there were Twin Towers, there was Radio Row. Home to countless radio manufacturers, stations, sales shops, and the like. Colonial reminds me of that, with ABC 13, Fox21/27, Blue Ridge Public TV, and the former DBJ everything (except the old radio studios downtown) perhaps we should rename a strech of it Media Street.

Well, yes its another historic building slated for demo (unless CVS does the smart thing and builds as Ive seen them do before, within the historic structure), its probably where Robin Reed made his historic "Just a dusting" forecast.

Although now that Im looking carefully at the building, I can now see similarities to the DBJ studios down on Kirk, and the SLS building downtown. Another "tower" just like the SLS one, standing out high above the building itself.

It will be sad to see it get turned into a CVS, but considering how overgrown and dilapadated the building had gotten - its about time something happened with it. Although it would make a great library. Perfect design.

Forgotten-Roanoke is heading to the Octoberfest today... hopefully see you all out and about. Yes, its a bit grey and chilly, but you'll live I swear - a nice brat will warm you up but good.

here they are

The boys, and girl - BlogDogs of Roanoke.

Such a nice day I almost forgot...

That its Friday! And here in Forgotten-Land that means PODCAST.

Yes, lose another 12 minutes and change of your life listening to me. I can make you one promise - you will never hear any news alerts!!!! or advertisements (unless someone wants to make me an offer) on the Forgotten Pod.

Links from todays Podcast:

Blue Ridge Business Journal

Roanoke WiFi

Worlds Smallest Web-server

WiFi, what you need

(not mentioned but easily integrated)

Neighbornode - the next little big thing in Wifi

Well, you know the deal - have some fun.

With the weekend approaching (not quick enough)

I thought I'd take a moment to let you all know whats on the Market. (From the City Market newsletter for Oct. 20th)

This week find: cabbage, collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, turnips, black eye peas, pink eye peas, crowder peas, butternut squash, acorn squash, sweet dumplin’ squash, zucchini, half runners, pole beans, tenderettes, tomatoes, pears, apples galore, corn, eggplant, chestnuts, baked goods, fresh eggs, grass finished meats, goat cheeses, catfish, jerkey, fresh cut and dried flowers, mums, pansies, Indian corn, and pumpkins. We also have a new Vendor couple, Maria and Eduardo Gallia who make fresh empanadas, churros, and tamales. They are at the Market most every day.


If you have not had a fresh empanada, get thee to the market. I realize growing up in the melting pot that is NY, some of this stuff is pratically a childhood food to me, but a good empanada is like nothing else. It's a handheld meal, and so much more. Oh, and you probably have not had a real tamale, most people havent. Go have one.

roanoke.com - Extra stories -Beer? Not here

Now you've done it.

Not only are you throwing down the gauntlet to Roanoke to stop being so shmucky and have a beer, look what you've done to poor Homie.



Bad people, you make Homer sad....

roanoke.com - Business Stories -Let's get cooking

Well SHEESH, now I'm getting competition?

This is great though, I can't wait to see the end product. I wonder how many students would stay in Roanoke after classes end?

Maybe if the city offer'd assistance to alumni of the school in starting a business, Roanoke could be flooded with good restaurants, and maybe.. possibly.. The Olive Garden could finally lose its Platinum spot as Roanoke's Premiere Italian food.

I feel dirty just saying that.

Although this part: "Head chefs in the Roanoke Valley earn an annual salary that is a little above the mean salary for all occupations in the Roanoke Metropolitan Statistical Area. The mean annual salary for all occupations in the Roanoke Valley in 2004 was $33,330. According to 2004 statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, chefs and head cooks made a mean salary of $43,590 annually in the Roanoke Valley. The mean hourly wage for those jobs was $20.96.

Fast food cooks earned a mean salary of $14,870, and supervisors and food preparation managers earned $26,310 a year, according to the statistics."

Well thats a damn lie. Everyone knows I make enough to keep myself warm in the Forgotten-HQ. I get to eat, occasionally.

But the roaches won't do the laundry no-more. The rats refuse to fix the hole in the floor.

But no, its great being a cook/chef. I personally, for those of you who don't know, am a certified chef. Certified in many ways I can assure you. And I get to play with shiny pointy things. Thats a big plus.

OH, and the fire - did I mention the fire???

It's a hell of a career, as long as your not sane. I look forward to strapping on my uniform every day. There's instant gratification, when you take that moment to peek out of the kitchen and see everyone eating.

The French are finicky, the English regimental, Japanese are obsessed with ingredient and nuance, and Italians are only content when everyone is eating. And eating...

The American chefs have taken the best part of each, and combined them into the worlds greatest job. And as times change, and new cooks and chefs come on the scene - they are coming with a keen appreciation for the amount of work and dedication it takes to be the best. For the first time in history, cooks and chefs are now being offered retirement plans, healthcare plans, and actual tangible benefits. Previously you had to work for a hotel or a corporate kitchen to be offered anything beyond your salary.

Check out Foodservice.com for the best information, hands down on the kitchen. The people on the messageboard are more than willing to answer questions on becoming, being, and breaking away from Chef.

When the first class graduates from Roanoke's own culinary school - they will be entering a kitchen far different than their ancestors did. The job has not changed, its still meat-heat-eat.

But its a far cry from the "Hell's Kitchen" you see on TV. It's nothing like that in your average kitchen, although it used to be. Some of the older guys can tell you stories of full on knife fights, pots and pans being launched across the kitchen, intentional wounding.

But it's nothing like the Food Network either. The top 3 problems in any kitchen are as follows: 1) waitstaff, 2)supplier (Sysco), 3)any cook other than yourself.

And the #1 person you always take care of: The dishwasher. I've seen a dishwasher walk out in the middle of a shift because they were treated badly, and the restaurant lost 2 days worth of business. They do alot more than most think, and with no clean plates - what would you serve on?

I've been rolling around the idea of doing a Chef'sBlog, a hardcore look at the kitchen as an industry. Something to track the comings and goings in Roanoke, franchise news (to keep track of the enemy with), possibly market reports - if any of you other chefs out there would find it useful.

Again, something I've been toying with, but the key is making it accessable to all who read it - not just the pros. Chef's can be like hairstylists. They can have a following, bring a good deal of clients when they move to a new spot.

And should you ever be so lucky to attain the level of Executive Chef, you'll realize how much you miss working the line. The 3-5 hours of intensity, sending out plate after plate of perfection, and the casual banter with the rest of the staff as you sit in your office doing paperwork. Thats when you have to pass the torch to someone else, hire a new guy for the line. Watch as he goes through everything you did, offer him counseling before he kills your waitstaff on the night they drop a tray. And wait for him to move on, just like you did, to find something new.

Well, I'll save the rest of this for the ChefBlog when I decide to run it.

I, for one, welcome my new competition and wish them jobs in places "large enough for service, but small enough for craft." (Tom Collichio) Oh, and ample parking as well..

(update)
Ok, so I lied. Here it is: The new blog I was talking about. LeChaim!

News from The Roanoke Times -Federal authorities investigate landlord

just as a side note - it would appear that overthrow.com has been pulled from the servers. even google's cache of it is limited.

Oh, but from what I can tell of the site that is existing in cache, he has a problem with "Jewish Christianity"

Boy, is he just out to pick a fight with the world or what

I think I woke up in a different world.. anyone else have that feeling?

Clearly this cannot be the same place I went to sleep in. Or, if it is - the Times should be taken out back behind the woodshed and given the "sock full of oranges" treatment.

Although I think I have finally figured out the problem with the City Council.

In the Roanoke Times obsession article on Bill "Don't I look" White, we learn that nobody likes Mr. White.

Shock there, aside from the guy being a landlord (and no one ever really likes a landlord), he's a pseudo-white supremicist. More likely an instigator than an action-taker, he is the geeky kid we all (and I mean all, even the other geeky kids) used to pick at. Nowadays, no one would mess with him in school for fear of him going "Columbine."

He looks like the kind of guy who always had a girlfriend, but she always lived somewhere else. But he is a simple problem, and if you don't know how to deal with a loudmouth jerk, ASK A NEW YORKER. Don't give this man creedence by writing endless columns about him.

But the Roanoke Times must, because its their job to highlight the very worst of Roanoke, with a wink and a nod. They are reporting all the things about Whitey, peoples reactions to them, and reasons he does not represent us. What?

And how do you think thats going to make Roanoke look - everyone trying to back away from this jackass. You would think he WAS some sort of public official the way the Times portrays him and how our top politicos are backing away from someone they literally have NO CONTACT with.

Oh, and take a look over here (Southern Conservative) for more information about Mr. Whitey - the walking talking brainless wonder.

But heres where the City Council becomes involved and we discover why Roanoke gets so little accomplished. (-sidenote, I actually like most of these people and really hope that its just the Times making them look like this.)

"He's not representativeof Roanoke in any fashion," Wishneff said, later calling Whitey a "creep" "punk" and a "coward." He also said he would like to take part in a "community discussion" about Whitey.

I'm sorry, what? A community discussion on one man who is not even from Roanoke and probably won't be here in another year or two? Is that not a little drastic? Dedicate this much time to him, he's going to get an ego.

Oh, and thats to the Times for pointing out that Mr. Wishneff's anger towards Mr. Whitey stems from the fact he is a Jew. Fascinating. Allow me Mr. Wishneff to say to you: LeChaim! It's nice to find people who actually understand me when I say that...

Oh, and no Mr. Whitey is not "inciting violence," as you say Mr. Wishneff. He is just shooting his mouth off - inciting violence would be shooting his mouth off in the South Bronx. Mr. Whitey prefers to do it from afar, therefore he is nothing more than a rabble-rouser.

Moving on, Mr. Alfred Dowe. From what I have heard, a nice enough guy. But maybe a bit too worried. "Dowe said the situation has him worried about his personal safety, and he suggested that the council return to a former practice of securing its meetings with armed law enforcement personnel."

He is one man. With a big ol' mouth. I highly doubt he even has the guts to walk around in public in his "uniform" unless accompanied by either 20 other guys, or a tv camera. Your best bet Mr. Dowe, find out who is living in his apartments. Contact them personally, and offer to move them to different apartments. If you take away his business, then he has no reason to be here. Again, securing council meetings gives this man more power than he has, or deserves.

And now, Vice-Mayor Fitzpatrick. I like Bev, and think he is a man of ideas. Good ones at that, but this.. well - it goes back to the whole "giving Mr. Whitey more than he deserves." "Fitzpatrick said the council should send a letter to its counterparts in Toledo expressing their support and to distance themselves from White." If we really feel the need to distance ourselves from him, what does that say about us? That apparently - we thought highly of him to begin with. We were shocked when we learned of his big ol' stupid mouth. We were duped.

We have known this man was an asshat since he first moved to Roanoke.

Although, big huge round of applause for Shaheed Omar. Mr. Omar had the brains to step up and call it like it is at the meeting. "Omar said that Roanoke's news outlets are giving White too much attention, and that only perpetuates his cause.

White's "really not saying anything," Omar said."

Nope, although you could probably run a very lucrative Hot Air Balloon business off of Mr. Whiteys head.

Oh, wait for it.. waiiiit.. just moments after saying that Whiteys group only has about 300 members nationally, we get this: But according to White, his group has enough supporters in Roanoke that it is considering leasing an office downtown to serve as its regional headquarters.

Ladies and Gentleman, I give you the B*llsh*t artist of the year, Mr. William "My Name is Bill" White.

Let's show this guy the backdoor to Roanoke, and flush him into the river. All you have to do is ignore him, take away his livelyhood (warn people before they rent from him), and most importantly, do not give him a 2nd thought.

And its all perfectly legal. Cuz this little pansyass is a lawsuit serving tool, what he can't get done personally - he turns to the courts to do for him. So I would not be suprised if he tries to sue Mr. Wishneff for slander, or even the city council itself. But if you go through the mere act of warning people before renting from him, its perfectly legit. It's called full disclosure. And yes, what goes for home buying also goes for home renting.

Or, just buy him a one-way greyhound ticket to Hempstead, NY. Make sure he packs his little suit in his Hitler Youth travel luggage, and send him on his way. Or.. well - no. Omerta might be too strong an idea for Roanoke yet.

I did have more to say about the council itself, but thats going to have to wait about an hour now..

Good Monday to you all...

Well, it finally happened. Fall has come to SWVA. This is the WDBJ7 Towercam on Poor Mt. Although the leaves have not changed up there yet, they are starting to change. Bedford is seeing color, as well as Rocky Mount and even Virginia Western CC is starting to change. (If you have weatherbug, its easy to find all these cams. if not - go to WeatherRoanoke.com) The air is crisp and clear. Chill some might even say. I have pulled out my denim jacket for while Im out and about.

Now I can carry my camera on me instead of in my bag. I've started playing more jazz as I work around the house and on the site. We are coming upon the time when Charlie Brown will fill the airwaves. It begins with The Great Pumpkin, and carrys forth.

Now I allready know its too easy to begin harumphing about Christmas. Especially when WalMart is displaying decorations, TV is allready beginning to show christmas-themed ads, and we all know... we dread.. November 1st. Because we know on November 1st, the Christmas displays go up fully in stores, the mall is festooned and construction begins on Santa's pad. And certain stores begin playing seasonal music endlessly.

But we still have time before that happens. Time to gather a pile of leaves and dive on in. Time for a cool hike on Mill Mountain, or a stroll through downtown. Good time for some early morning fishing on the lake, or some flycasting in the river. Good time to exist basically, provided you can forget lifes worries and just be for a while.

And remember, we are probably just a few weeks away from the constant use of the word "windchill".

This full moon is the Hunter's Moon, and has been hanging stunningly near the Star at night. The early morning sky is breathtaking, and the clouds that pass during the day are straight out of a Bob Ross painting. Have your minds set on record, I have a feeling this is going to be a fall to remember.

Remember, new page at Forgotten-Roanoke.com, new podcast at Odeo. And should you be interested, some nice quality Forgotten-Roanoke wear at Cafepress.

Have yourselves a good day.. and take time to stop and smell the leaves.

It's Kirk

It's Kirk

And here you have it, installment 1 of 2. Kirk Ave. Roanoke's backstreet.

See, I don't always break a promise now do I?

Technorati tags: roanoke, history, kirk, streets, wdbj, urbanology

Kirk is coming

Look sharp! Kirk is nearly here. Expect Kirk to arrive tonight, before midnight. (yeah well, its nice out, and I have to work today - so there.)

Otherwise, just another NICE day in Roanoke.