Reporting for the Web

Beat Story: Richmond with a Side of Salsa

As culturally diverse as Richmond is, the Hispanic community isn’t one of the prominent cultures of the city but it is gaining more attention with the help of salsa instructor, Clara Torro.

Read more: https://galavizaa.wordpress.com/2012/12/10/richmond-with-a-side-of-salsa/

 

Web Story: Religious or Not, Gay is Here to Stay

The role religion plays in people’s lives can decide their outlook on equality, especially marriage equality.

Read more: https://galavizaa.wordpress.com/2012/12/10/religious-or-not-gay-is-here-to-stay/

 

Podcast: Gay Marriage Podcast

An interview with Pastor Robin H. Gorsline of the Metropolitan Community Church of Richmond reveals the role he thinks religion plays in same-sex marriage.

Listen: https://galavizaa.wordpress.com/2012/12/10/gay-marriage-podcast/

 

Slideshow: Celebrating Their En”gay”gement

With same-sex marriage not legal is VA., lesbian couple Jessica Rexroat and Emily Dickson are left  to make alternative plans for their wedding.

Slideshow: https://galavizaa.wordpress.com/2012/12/10/celebrating-their-engaygement/

Celebrating Their En”gay”gement

Slideshow: Celebrating Their En”gay”gement

Gay Marriage Podcast

By Amber Galaviz and Samantha Morgan

Interview with Pastor Robin H. Gorsline of the Metropolitan Community Church of Richmond:

Religious or Not, Gay is Here to Stay

New Beginnings Christian Church in Richmond, welcomes a diverse group to worship every Sunday

With so many interpretations of religion, the line regarding gay relationships seems to be in question.

By: Samantha Morgan and Amber Galaviz

Marriage has been a part of human life for as long as record books date back; over a thousand years. However the basic right to a legally bound union with the person you love has been saved exclusively for man and woman, and now that may be changing.

Many American’s agree that a person should be able to marry the person they love despite orientation and express that love through a civil union or like heterosexual couples through marriage. Yet still, religion plays a very important role in many Americans’ decision to oppose same-sex couples being legally married.

There are many support groups in the U.S. that claim to “cure” homosexuality, and many of those groups are rooted with a religious background.

Amy Beltran is a Richmond local and belongs to the gay community.

“Some people really think it is a conscious decision that I made when I was born, I disagree. There was never a time that I just chose this life. Who would choose to go through this?” said Beltran.

Here in Richmond, the gay community is breaking through the barriers of a historically very conservative town. Many local gay support organizations hold religious meetings on a weekly or monthly basis, including the Gay Community Center of Richmond. Numerous people that belong to this community are very religious. They respect their chosen God and strive to serve them just as any other believer would. Many local gay people believe that their God loves them just the same and claim that love is love; there is no distinction when it comes to what God sees.

Amber Hott is an avid church attendee who has strong views on love.

“From my own perspective, God just has love for us. We all are sinners and in the end He will accept us no matter who we love, “said Hott.

The most important aspect to those who support marriage equality is obtaining the legal rights of any other couple. Gay and lesbian couples want to get married not only for the religious aspect of the lifetime commitment. Same-sex couples are often denied the rights to hospital visitation hours, ability to obtain “family” health coverage, inheritance rights and many more.

The Gay Community Center of Richmond has been operating since 1999. The vision of GCCR states, ““We are the physical and virtual center for the enrichment of the lives of sexual and gender minority people in Central Virginia through individual and organizational achievement and growth.”

The center serves as an environment where all residents of Central Virginia can live and work free from discrimination. GCCR holds bingo events, game nights and even worship on Sundays.

The “Saved and Gay,” worship is held weekly by New Beginnings Christian Church at the community center located on 1407 Sherwood Ave..

Pastor Greg Harman has served as a minister since 1980, and provides the Sunday services.

“We are open to all of God’s children, regardless of race, sexual orientation, social status, and all the other things that often separate people,” Harman said. “New Beginnings Christian Church is modeled after the teachings of Jesus Christ. Promoting unconditional love for all of God’s children is the primary mission of the church.”

The church is dedicated to developing a strong community of faith among its members. Gay or straight, all are welcomed to their services.

Bill Harrison has been the CEO of GCCR since February.

“The attitudes on the gay community are changing. (The more people get to know us) they realize the more we have in common, than the more we have in difference,” said Harrison.

Through hosting open events and welcoming everyone into their center, GCCR hopes to open minds and strengthen the Richmond community.

Richmond with a Side of Salsa

Clara Toro and her son, Giovanni Roggiero, are the directors of Salsa4Life in Richmond.

As culturally diverse as Richmond is, the Hispanic community isn’t one of the prominent cultures of the city but it is growing.

By Amber Galaviz

Clara Toro has made it her career to teach and share her passion for Salsa so she teaches private and group lessons on top of planning weekly and monthly events for the Salsa community of Richmond.

The Hispanic community of Richmond took getting used to for NY native and Salsa instructor, Clara Toro, realized after relocating with her family here in 1998.

“Some of the differences I find in comparison to NY is that in the Hispanic community in Richmond is much smaller in size when it comes to the clusters of different types of Hispanic cultures,” Toro said.

Clara Toro grew up in the Bronx, NY and started dancing Salsa in 1993. She is of Puerto Rican descent and got to experience many different heritages while growing up in NY.  After graduating from Baruch College with a B.B.A in accounting, she moved to Richmond where she began teaching and promoting Salsa events. In 2008, Toro took her passion for Salsa to the next level and established her own company, Salsa4life.com.

Toro directs Salsa4Life with her son and dance partner, Giovanni Roggiero, who started dancing Salsa when he was 14. Roggiero teaches Salsa classes, DJs and is a full-time student at VCU, majoring in business administration.

“The Hispanic community in Richmond is a lot smaller than the Hispanic community is New York. There is more unity with Hispanics is Richmond versus New York.,” Roggiero said. “I don’t see as many Hispanics in Richmond as I see other cultures but I have seen the number of Hispanics increase in attendance.”

The Salsa community is one Toro hopes will continue to grow with the formation of Salsa4Life.

“Salsa is not just a style of dance or music, it’s our passion and a way of life,” Toro said. “It is through this dance that we’ve met wonderful people throughout the world and great relationships have been created. Our goal is to continue to grow our Salsa community in Richmond, VA by providing monthly and weekly events that are fun, friendly and vivacious.”

Tanya Smith is a Salsa instructor from Mr. Mambo’s in the District of Columbia, who often attends Salsa4Life events.

“They make the studio a fun place to be and learn,” Smith said. “They host and organize several of the hottest weekly and monthly Salsa events in the Richmond Area.”

“Even if you’ve never danced before, we’ll help you feel right at home. We always provide a dance lesson before our events,” Toro said. “Salsa dancing is fun for all ages. It’s a great way to make new friends, be active and even relieve some stress.”

Sara Bass is a former student of Toro’s and has an increasing love for Salsa.

“Clara Toro is an amazing teacher and person. I have had so much fun learning to dance and meeting people in a new area of interest for me,” Bass said.

Owning a company was never a dream of Toro’s but was an easy transition after she became so involved in promoting Salsa in Richmond.

“In New York, you may not see a lot of businesses owned by the Hispanic community,” she said. “I think Richmond has a lot of potential for the Hispanic community in terms of growth and achievement in the work sector and financial economics,” Toro said. “Richmond is growing in the Hispanic sector and will continue to grow.”

VCU: Black and Gold- Go Green

The term going green is nothing new to Virginia Commonwealth University, which has been trying to commitment to sustainability for years yet many students don’t notice or partake in VCU’s green initiatives around campus.

In 2011, VCU received an A- in the national “Green Report Card,” which provides in-depth sustainability profiles for colleges across the country. In this survey, VCU was ranked as an Overall College Sustainability Leader out of the over 300 campuses surveyed. “The current VCU 2020 Master Plan identifies sustainability and green construction as one of its tenants and goals,” it states on greenreportcard.com.

VCU has many employees that contribute time to advancing sustainability initiatives on campus including the VCU Sustainability Committee. Parker Long is their Sustainability Assistant and gets to be a part of almost every sustainability project at VCU.

“Most recently I worked for about a year on filling out the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System (STARS) survey. VCU was ranked at the Silver level in STARS and the survey was also used to rank VCU 21st out of the 96 schools participating schools in the Sierra Club’s Cool Schools Survey 2012,” she said.

Parker is proud of the efforts VCU has taken and continue to make towards becoming a greener campus, saying “we are doing really well.”

“Sustainability is a lot about changing people’s behaviors, and for many people change is hard,” Parker said. “We know there is only so much we are able to do at the university and hope that the work we do gives others at the university the resources and education to create some change in their specific departments.”

VCU biology student, Taylor Green, said, “Taking care of the environment and going green is extremely important, especially as students at VCU since the actual environment is out of reach while living in the city.”

The university has embraced its urban environment and the principle of greener transportation providing students with tools such as electric charging stations for electric vehicles, free bus passes and over 200 bike racks throughout campus.

“Every little thing we do, such as recycling, walking to class instead of driving or pickling natural products to reduce toxins we let out into the environment makes a huge difference in our carbon footprint,” Green said.

Austin Pajda, is an environmental studies student who said he doesn’t know much about VCU’s green initiatives around campus.

“I know they want to plant more, which is obviously beneficial,” he said.  “Also they want a rain collection on top of the buildings, which would save watering costs and preserve the water levels. And there’s recycling to eliminate waste and reuse to save the environment.”

Students recognized the importance of being green yet many don’t know that the university is taking such efforts to get there.

“The best thing student’s can do is express interest in VCU going green and sustainability. Many of the initiatives that we have supported have been student-driven,” Parker said. “Students have a big say in a lot of the decisions that are made at VCU, so if there is a cause that a student group thinks is important, then I suggest they talk to the administrators and let them know what VCU students care about.”

If students are interested in learning more about VCU going green, they are encouraged to attend Campus Sustainability Day, on Oct.12, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., on the Commons Plaza, which brings together departments from across the university (and some other companies) to highlight the sustainable practices at VCU.

Washington

Nickname: The Evergreen State

Motto: Alki (Chinook Wawa: “Eventually” or “By and by”)

Capital	Olympia
Largest city	Seattle

I was born in Washington state and moved when I was too young to remember any of it. I consider myself quite the “west coast kinda girl” and cannot wait to return there. I would like to see the state I was born in and experience it for myself and not have to rely on stories from my parents about it.

I am obsessed with the show Grey’s Anatomy, and in the intro. to every episode the Seattle Space Needle. The Space Needle to me just screams Washington. The Space Needle is open 365 days a year and contains a restuarant at the top. The restaurant moves 360 degrees allowing you a complete view of the city as you eat. The Seattle Space Needle was built for the 1962 World’s Fair and stands at 605 feet tall.

Seattle is also home of the original Starbucks which opened in 1971. I worked at Starbucks for over 3 years and to visit the original store would be an interesting trip.

Facts about Washington:

• The state of Washington is the only state to be named after a United States president.
• Seattle is home to the first revolving restaurant, 1961.
• Washington state produces more apples than any other state in the union.
• Washington state has more glaciers than the other 47 contiguous states combined.
• Washington state’s capitol building was the last state capitol building to be built with a rotunda.
• Everett is the site of the world’s largest building, Boeing’s final assembly plant
• Medina is the home of the United States wealthiest man, Microsoft’s Bill Gates.
• Microsoft Corporation is located in Redmond, Wash.
• Before it became a state, the territory was called Columbia (named after the Columbia River). When it was granted statehood, the name was changed to Washington, supposedly so people wouldn’t confuse it with The District of Columbia.
• Washington is the birthplace of both Jimi Hendrix (Seattle) and Bing Crosby (Tacoma).
• The oldest operating gas station in the United States is in Zillah.
• Washington’s state insect is the Green Darner Dragonfly.
• The world’s first soft-serve ice cream machine was located in an Olympia Dairy Queen.
• Starbucks, the biggest coffee chain in the world was founded in Seattle.
• Spokane was the smallest city in size to host a World’s Fair. – 1974
• Residents are called “Washingtonians” (emphasis on the third syllable, pronounced as tone).
• The first European record of a landing on the Washington coast was by Spanish Captain Don Bruno de Heceta in 1775, on board the Santiago, part of a two-ship flotilla with the Sonora.
• The Lewis and Clark expedition entered the state on October 10, 1805.
• The first settlement in Washington was New Market (now known as Tumwater) in 1846.
• In 1853, Washington Territory was formed from part of Oregon Territory.
• Washington became the 42nd state in the United States on November 11, 1889.
• Early prominent industries in the state included agriculture, lumber, shipping, fishing, salmon canning and mining.
• In 1980, the northeast face of Mount St. Helens exploded outward, destroying a large part of the top of the volcano.
• As of 2004, Washington’s population included 631,500 foreign-born (10.3% of the state population), and an estimated 100,000 illegal aliens (1.6% of state population).
• The six largest reported ancestries in Washington are: German (18.7%), English (12%), Irish (11.4%), Norwegian (6.2%), Mexican (5.6%) and Filipino (3.7%).
• Washington is home to many innovative Internet companies, including Amazon.com, Classmates.com, Whitepages.com, and Marchex.
• There are 140 public airfields in Washington, including 16 state airports.
• Three ships of the United States Navy, including two battleships, have been named USS Washington in honor of the state.
• Popular games Pictionary, Pickle-ball, and Cranium were all invented in Washington.

 

Niagara Falls, NY

This past weekend my family road tripped to Niagara Falls; something my mom has been wanting to see. We have made a list of attractions that are somewhat close that we’d all love to travel to before my dad retires from the Marine Corps and we move. We left Friday morning and drove about 9 hours to Niagara Falls Air Force Reserve Base, where we stayed. The drive was long and full of farmland but it was nice to road trip with my family again, it’s something we don’t do so often now that I live in Richmond.

The falls were breathtaking and there are so many angles and places to look at them from. My camera died halfway through the day because I was using it so often. The park was full of tourists but it didn’t detract from the beauty of the falls.

The Visitor’s Center was our first stop. The Visitor’s Center offered maps and information about what attractions were open. We missed several due to the cold weather but April is the month when most of the attractions open for the season.  We bought wristbands that allowed us on a trolley that took us to all the attractions around Niagara Falls State Park for only $2. Though all the sights are within walking distance, it was nice to sit down and have the conductor share some information about the falls and its surrounding park.

The Cave of the Winds is one of the attractions we saw. An elevator takes you 175 feet into the Niagara Gorge and extremely close to the falls. When you buy your tickets you are given ponchos which I didn’t think we’d need as much as we did. Once you get off the elevator you are amazed at the views around you. We were able to see the falls from the base and actually get sprayed by the falls as they hit the rocks.

Niagara Falls Observation Tower offered the best view of the American Falls and Ontario, Canada which lies just on the other side of the water.

• Niagara Falls is America’s oldest state park, established in 1885
• Frederick Law Olmsted, landscape architect of Niagara Falls State Park, also designed Central Park in New York City
• 3,160 tons of water flows over the falls every second
• The Falls are capable of producing over 4 million kilowatts of electricity, which is shared by the United States and Canada
• The Niagara River is actually a strait, connecting two large bodies of water, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario
• Over 12,000 years ago, Niagara Falls extended seven miles down river at what is now Lewiston, New York and Queenston, Ontario. Over the years, the brink has eroded sometimes as much as six feet per year, to its present site
• At one time, before Goat Island became part of Niagara Falls State Park, there were suggestions on what the island could be used for. Mr. Vanderbilt planned to use the island as a pleasure ground for people riding his trains to the falls. P.T. Barnum wanted to turn Goat Island into circus grounds

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Paris, France- ‘The City of Light’

Paris is the capital and largest city in France. Paris has a population of approximately 2.2 million people. Famous for the Eiffel Tower, Paris averages over 25 million tourists a year and July and August are the peak of tourist season. The top Paris attractions are Disneyland Paris, Notre Dame Cathedral, Sacre Coeur, the Louvre Museum , Eiffel Tower, Versailles Palace, Centre Pompidou and the Cite des Sciences.

Paris is divided into 20 arrondissements numbered 1 to 20.The first arrondissement contains the Ile de la Cite, the Louvre and the Tuileries Gardens. The other arrondissements spiral from there in a clockwise direction.The first arrondissement contains the Ile de la Cite, the Louvre and the Tuileries Gardens. The other arrondissements spiral from there in a clockwise direction.

The Eiffel Tower was built in 1889, by Gustave Eiffel  as the entrance arch to the 1889 World’s Fair. The Eiffel Tower stand at 1,063 ft.  tall. “Only intended to last 20 years, it was saved by the scientific experiments that Eiffel encouraged, and in particular by the first radio transmissions, followed by telecommunications. For example, the radio signals from the Pantheon Tower in 1898; it served as a military radio post in 1903; it transmitted the first public radio programme in 1925, and then broadcast television up to TNT more recently. Since the 1980s, the monument has regularly been renovated, restored and adapted for an ever-growing public.”

My first grade teacher moved to Paris after I had her class. I remember keeping in contact with her and asking her to send me a postcard with the Eiffel Tower on it; it’s now one of my favorite possessions.

Disneyland Paris opened on April 12, 1992, as the Euro Disney Resort. The park contains two theme parks, a golf course, an entertainment complex and six Disney resort hotels. Disneyland Paris covers an area of 4,940 acres.

The Musée du Louvre or the Louvre Museum is one of the world’s largest museums. As the most visited art museum in the world it’s also a historic monument. Louvre was first opened to the public as a museum on November 8, 1793, during the French Revolution. The Louvre hosts the  “Mona Lisa” from Leonard de Vinci, among other world-famous paintings and artwork from all era’s and areas of the world.

Notre Dame Cathedral  is the official seat of the Archbishop of Paris and has been a Roman Catholic Cathedral since the Middle Ages. Maurice de Sully, the Paris Bishop, started its construction in 1163. He deemed the church that already stood in the location unworthy of the prestige of his position. Construction continued for years, with many bishops and architects making their mark on the seemingly never-ending building process. The fact that so many people had a part in building Notre Dame is what accounts for its unique and varied design. Notre Dame is 130 meters long, 48 meters wide, 35 meters high. Notre Dame witnessed many historic events, including the coronation of Napoleon (1804) and the mass for Paris liberation (1944). Major components that make Notre Dame unique include one of the world’s largest organs and its immense church bells. Of the five large bells, the one in the South Tower is the most prominent; he bourdon bell Emmanuel weighs over 13 tons.

 

Down Under: Australia

     Australia is home to the Great Barrier Reef, Ayers Rock, and Sydney. The glorious landscape and popular cities are popular places for tourists to visit. Rich in culture from the original Aboriginal land to British settlements, Australia is a place I’ve always wanted to visit.

     Urulu in Australia’s Northern Territory is most popularly known as Ayers Rock. The large sandstone rock formation is the heart of Australia. Uluru is sacred to the Aṉangu, the Aboriginal people of the area and is listed as a World Heritage Site.

Urulu is 1,142 ft. high and has a circumference of 5.8 mi. Uluru is notable for appearing to change colour depending on the time of the day and year. The rock usually glows red at dawn and sunset.

• Ayers Rock is located in the middle of Australia, in fact very close to the actual geographical centre
• Research suggests that Aborigines have lived in the area for at least 10,000 years
• About one in ten visitors climb Ayers Rock
• 400,000 to half a million people a year visit Ayers Rock

The Great Barrier Reef covers 133,000 sq mi., making it the world’s largest coral reef system and visable from outer space. As one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Great Barrier Reef homes thousands of different animal species and over 3000 individual reef systems and coral cays . There are numerous tours you can take to see the reef including  swimming, snorkeling, diving and sailing.

Australia’s Great Barrier Reef offers a range of diving experiences for both the beginner and the experienced diving expert. You can also experience the reef from the air by taking a helicopter flight or skydiving. From the air you can see the magnitude of the reefs.

• The Great Barrier Reef has over 900 islands stretching for over 2,600 kilometres
•  Tourism to the reef generates approximately AU$ 4-5 billion per year
•  Thirty species of whales, dolphins, and porpoises have been recorded in the Great Barrier Reef
• Six species of sea turtles come to the reef to breed
•  215 species of birds (including 22 species of seabirds and 32 species of shorebirds) visit the reef or nest or roost on the islands
•  More than 1,500 fish species live on the reef
•  There are at least 330 species of ascidians on the reef system

Sydney is the capital of New South Wales and the most populous city in Australia. Made popular by the 2000 Summer Olympics and Finding Nemo, Sydney has beautiful beaches and the Sydney Harbour National Park. Sydney hosts most of Australia’s largest social and cultural events. You can even hike the Sydney Harbour Bridge, which opened in 1932 and is still the largest steel arch bridge in the world. The Sydney region was first discovered by Captain James Cook in 1770 during his first voyage into the Pacific region. Sydney’s weather patterns follow southern hemisphere rules which would make it the perfect place to escape a cold Virginia winter.

• From beaches to bushland, unparalleled natural beauty to world-famous architecture in a beautiful harbour city, Sydney offers a vibrant lifestyle
• Sydney’s culture, lifestyle and food bring together elements from all corners of the world
• International art, music, film and cultural festivals fill Sydney’s streets all year round
• There are 40 species of kangaroos  and wallabies in Australia