“I had a farm in Africa..." These familiar words begin Baroness Karen Von Blixen's story of her life on a coffee plantation in British East Africa, first in a novel published in 1937, then in the film starring Meryl Streep…

Everyone has a favorite local business. The book store where they know your favorite genre. The cafe where the muffins are always perfect. The garden shop where hard-earned advice is given for free. Throughout the onset of strip malls and…

About a year ago, Ryan Fresco and a group of ninth graders were moving a lacrosse goal across a practice field. In a freak accident, the goal fell on Ryan, causing his head to split open. This is what his…

I don't find amusement parks all that amusing. My idea of an amusement park is the library. You have New Bookland, Non-fictionland, Magazineland, and my happiest stop at the end of a visit - Really Clean Bathroomland. But I have…

It’s a lesson best learned young. Michaela is part of a group from Albert Hill Middle School in Richmond who participated in a recent program run by First Things First of Greater Richmond, designed to educate and empower people of…

When spring finally arrived, my family and I were on the hunt for Richmond’s best parks, places to picnic and play and simply enjoy fresh air and sunshine. Our original goal was to find the best playgrounds for our kids,…

I like to think I know from beaches. I grew up in California, spent summers in Tahoe, and racked up several dozen sunburns in Hawaii. I thought I would always live on the West Coast – kind of felt stuck…

There’s no doubt about it. Technology is a wonderful thing. Kids can text parents when they are ready to be picked up from school, play and learn on iPads during long waits at the doctor’s office, and extended families can…

She’s a Power Kid! The minute John Turner, a Richmond pathologist, met eleven-year-old Taylor Bernard he felt compelled to "be in her corner." "She is one of those people you just admire," says Dr. Turner who is coaching Taylor for…

Caryn Boehm of Henrico County had not heard the term “collaborative consumption,” although her lifestyle defines it. Environmentally aware, Boehm uses Craigslist and other digital resources to save money and trade pre-owned goods. "We try to live green because it…