PopLife: To Your Good Health

Dr. A. J. Soucy operated a successful OBGYN practice for many years in upstate New York, but sensed something was missing from the allopathic approach she was trained in. One of the benefits of working in the OBGYN field is that the doctor gets to know her patients very well over the course of a lifetime.  

By Charles McGuigan 09.2023

Ellie’s Hot Dogs and Ice Cream: Savory and Sweet on the Northside

It’s hot, but there’s shade, and fully a dozen and half people, several families, kids and adults alike, congregate around the tables under a canopy that extends off the order window of one of Northside’s newest eateries. They’re hunkered down over treats, savory and sweet.  Easy to understand why Ellie’s Hot Dogs and Ice Cream has become so popular so quickly. They offer what people want—perfect dogs and ice cream, to boot.

By Charles McGuigan 08.2023

RVA Naturals: Where Toys Will Be Toys

There’s a place you can do your holiday shopping for the kids on your list and actually bring a bit of the magic back into Christmas for them. What’s more you’ll be doing Mother Earth a big favor. No plastics here, no black mirrors made of rare earth metals the mining of which wreaks havoc on the environment, no synthetic fabrics, no computer screens.

By Charles McGuigan 12.2022

Guide2Resilience With Meghan Varner

Meghan Varner brings a wealth of science and personal experience to a virtual coaching business she started up last November. It’s called, quite simply, Guide2Resilience.

“I started it out of a passion to still be able to help people in spite of the pandemic,” says Meghan.

By Charles McGuigan 09.2022

Rita Dove: Rara Avis 

When I spoke with Rita Dove, she was hurtling through Iowa, Des Moines-bound, her husband, Fred Viebahn, at the wheel, on road trip across America that started in Charlottesville and would end outside Phoenix where the couple would visit their daughter and granddaughter.  

By Charles McGuigan 07.2022

Northside Dental Co: Changing Perceptions

Interior spaces, when appointed with care and artistic precision, can make a visit memorable and enjoyable. Less is often more, and muted, neutral colors, coupled with inconspicuous lighting, put the spirit at ease.

By Charles McGuigan 11.2021

Richmond Art Garage: Where You Fill Up on Art

Richmond Art Garage on Brookland Park Boulevard isn’t like most other art galleries in town. For one thing the artwork comes primarily from emerging artists. What’s more the prices are extremely reasonable. 

By Charles McGuigan 07.2021

Ms. Bee’s Juice Bar: Here’s to Your Health

Ms. Bee’s Juice Bar on Brookland Park Boulevard, which opened two months before the pandemic struck, never missed a beat, and what’s more just established its second location in downtown Richmond at The Valentine.

By Charles McGuigan 04.2021

Election: 2020 Decision

North of the James reached out to candidates for several local elections—Mayor, and 3rd District Council and School Board representatives. We asked each of them to give a brief platform state.

09.2020

Protests Work: Atlantic Coast Pipeline Dismantled

On July 5, 2020, Dominion Power and Duke Energy formally announced that they were canceling their efforts to build a 600 mile pipeline from West Virginia, through Virginia, to the North Carolina coast.

By Jack R. Johnson 07.2020

Senator Tim Kaine:

This Land Is Our Land

Editor’s note: This interview took place nine days before the brutal murder of George Floyd.

Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, a man of the people, a man of faith and compassion who seeks the North Star of an ever more perfect Union even during this global pandemic and these divisive times, is good enough to take time out of a very busy schedule to talk with me a few weeks ago from his front porch in the Northside.

By Charles McGuigan 05.2020

Outdoor Projects With Victor Ayala

America just got greater.

Sitting across from me on the front porch is a man I am proud to call amigo. We are nursing a couple of tall gin and tonics, the lime tangy, the quinine bitter, the glasses chilled to the touch and sweating as profusely as both of us.

By Charles McGuigan 06.2020

Bellevue Mutual Aid: Neighbors Helping Neighbors

Bellevue—bounded by Hermitage and Brook roads to the east and west, and Laburnum and Westbrook avenues to the south and north—is one of the most progressive neighborhoods in the city, peppered liberally with well-informed citizens—artists, writers, musicians, craftsmen, teachers, lawyers, and many other professionals.

By Charles McGuigan 05.2020

Kambourian Jewelers: The Cutting Edge

The Kambourians are to jewelry, as the James River is to Richmond. They define it. Their signature artistry is unparalleled, and you can spot one of their creations wherever you go, whether it dangles from a neck, encircles a wrist, or hugs a ring finger.

By Charles McGuigan 12.2019