Boards Inc skatepark and skate shop opened its doors to the public for first time today. Located next door to the Cycling and Fitness Warehouse, Boards Inc is Richmond's only private indoor skatepark. The park was designed by Suburban Rails, a highly regarded regional skatepark contractor known for designing the highly popular Florence, Kentucky skatepark.

The compact skatepark features a large four foot mini ramp with a hip and a five foot extension, as well as other quarter pipes and a number of street course elements. The park has a good flow, allow skaters to move fluidly from one element to another. The shop manager reports that there are plans underway for an adjacent cafe, with possible expansions including a wooden bowl and 10' halfpipe.

While many towns around the country have some kind of skatepark now, very few have two quality parks as Richmond does. Further details about the business including their hours, location and contact details are available through their website.

Earlham Forums are a year-long series of community-oriented presentations and discussions about issues important to the Richmond-Wayne County community locally, nationally and internationally. In this forum, Jim Dinkle, President/CEO of the Economic Development Corporation of Wayne County, will present on "What's Developing in Wayne County?" at 8 AM in the Landrum Bolling Center on the campus of Earlham College. Make your $5 reservation for the optinal 7:30 AM breakfast in the Richmond Room by Friday, Fefb 22 at 765-983-1393, or e-mail leama@earlham.edu.

Join us for Peace Forum, a weekly gathering for free food, fellowship, and education, at noon on Thursdays in the Earlham School of Religion Dining Room.
Richmond (and many other small cities) seems to be emptying into the coasts. Jim & Vicki Hair have reversed that trend, moving here from Berkeley 1 ½ years ago. Since then, they have taken Downtown Richmond by storm, opening Richmond Art Works (full of Jim's photographs and other local artists' work) and Unwind Yarn Shop (where Vicki sells yarn and hosts knitting parties). Their vision for this city is inspiring – how will you get on board?
Contact Anna Lisa Gross, grossan@bethanyseminary.edu or 914.2973, for more information.

In today's Palladium-Item, Bob Hansen of the Economic Development Corporation of Wayne County has a column on how requesting locally grown food can benefit the local economy:

If only 1 percent more of Wayne County's food was purchased from local sources, it would be $1.54 million more staying in the local economy...We should be making more efforts to help connect local growers with local customers. In my work at the Economic Development Corporation of Wayne County, we are trying to connect local food producers with regional processors.

You can read the full article.