Road Expansion Plan Angers Bel Air Community

For Bel Air Patch: June 8, 2011

Residents of an upscale Harford County community took Tuesday’s County Council meeting by storm, displeased about road expansion plans they say could make their neighborhood more dangerous. At issue are plans to continue Cedarday Drive, on the southern edge of greater Bel Air, so that it intersects Cedar Lane next to Cedar Lane Regional Park.

Read more: http://patch.com/A-jhsc

Bel Air Baton-Twirling Coach Keeps Girls on Their Toes

For Bel Air Patch: June 13, 2011

Glenna Krebs is the heart and soul of the baton-twirling group called the Bel Air Applause. The 76-year-old rules over the group’s twice-weekly practices (more if there is a big competition coming up), keeping time and reminding the girls to stay on their toes.

Read more: http://patch.com/A-jkt1

Bel Air’s ‘Guinea Pigs’ Complete Inaugural Biomedical Program

For Bel Air Patch: May 31, 2011

Bel Air High School celebrated the first batch of graduates from its Biomedical Sciences program Thursday night. The nationally-recognized program offers high school students a hands-on opportunity to learn math, science and engineering in real-world settings.

Read more: http://patch.com/A-hMw1

Bel Air Teen Makes Special Delivery at Baltimore County Hospital

For Bel Air Patch: July 14, 2011

What started as a simple community service project for 13-year-old Bel Air Middle School student Cassidy Schirmer ended in a much-needed surprise for a Baltimore County hospital.

Read more: http://patch.com/A-kdj2

Bill Strickland Pitches His Vocational Model for Virgin Islands

ForThe Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: December 29, 2010

Island Expressions: Kimberly Young

For The V.I. Source: June 27, 2010

Local artist Kimberly Young doesn’t just create works of art – she recreates the space around her.

She works in Tillet Gardens selling art supplies, working on drawings, mixed media and ceramic pieces, but she also creates what she calls a concept gallery, a place to showcase themed collaborations between Young and other local artists.

Every time I do I show, I reinvent the entire space,” she said. “The whole gallery becomes an art piece.”

or a fairy-tale themed show she painted a yellow-brick road, she said. Once, to showcase a drawing she had done of a boat, she painted waves on the wall behind it.

Young moved to St. Thomas from Wisconsin almost nine years ago. She had been working as a waitress and arrived on island with just a one-way ticket and a few suitcases. Living here has definitely influenced her work, she said.

“The subject matter, the color palate has mainly been from the Caribbean and from my surroundings,” she said, adding that she is most fascinated by the small details found outdoors here.

There are definitely certain themes that I’ve used for years – I’ve used a lot of repetition and pattern. Nature, trees — that’s what I’ve been focusing on lately.”

Young said the artists’ community that Tillet Gardens creates is also a big source of inspiration. The nearby music school and theatrer she said, give the place a whimsical feel.

“It’s inspiring being around different kinds of artists. I’m lucky. It’s nice because all of us artists kind of feed off of each other.”

Young’s next showing will be July 24. The theme is “dream in green,” and it will be all about the environment. Young said she is sending out invitations in handmade envelopes made out of recycled magazines. Also showing will be a photographer who will tackle the theme of pollution in St. Thomas, a mixed-media artist who works using recycled and repurposed elements and a D.J. who will show new ways to recycle and remix beats.

Young’s gallery and art supply store are located in Tillet Gardens in Anna’s Retreat. Store hours are 10 am through 5 pm Monday through Saturday. On Thursdays the store is open until 8 pm. She can be found online at http://www.everydayclayvi.com.

Link: http://stthomassource.com/content/news/local-news/2010/06/27/island-expressions-kimberly-young

@Work: Buddha Sushi

For The V.I. Source: July 5, 2010

Twenty-six-year-old Buddha Sushi restaurant owner Taj Siwatu is a bundle of youthful energy.

Customers can find him at his St. Thomas establishment seven days a week— creating new and beautiful ways to showcase his combinations of fish, rice and sauces; soothing frazzled employees; and mixing up cool and sweet sorbets for dessert.

“I try to bring it to life,” Siwatu said, as he put the finishing touches on his latest creation: the sugar stick sushi roll. The roll is made of cream cheese, cucumber and smoked eel, topped with white tuna and a little bit of sugar and then crusted over crème brulee-style with a butane torch.

He said that an employee came up with the name – and that was all he needed for inspiration.

“Usually, I come up with a flavor, or look, or great name,” he said. “I work together with my team, and we come up with different combinations.”

For Siwatu, food is more than something to eat – it is his chosen art form. From the restaurant’s funky, Asian-inspired décor to the colorful flourishes that he adds to each plate of fish – his connection with presentation is obvious. He comes from a family of artists but says he chose the kitchen instead of the canvas.

“I was looking for my art form,” he said. “I didn’t really lean toward drawing and painting. I fell in love with the kitchen.”

Siwatu said he always knew he wanted to be a chef and got his first job in a local restaurant when he was just 12. He learned more about the business as a student at Charlotte Amalie High School, where he took hotel and restaurant management classes. As a student, he interned at local eateries to learn the ropes, and now he is helping other would-be restaurateurs by giving them a chance to intern with him. He said he doesn’t sugarcoat the business at all for his young interns.

“I try to be realistic with them,” he said, “to really help them decide if this is what they want to do.”

Siwatu said he hopes to one day expand his business by selling the unique and flavorful sauces he creates to go with his dishes. He said he’d also like to create a cookbook and open up other franchise restaurants.

For now, his passion for the restaurant is evident. He can seem to be everywhere at once and has his hands in everything to make sure his customers’ dining experiences are just right. Here, he is prepping rice; there, slicing up fish; and elsewhere, he is collecting locally grown tamarind for his newest sorbet flavor. He mixed up the sorbet himself using fruit from a tree across the road from the restaurant.

“I had to climb a tree for those,” he told customers.

Buddha Sushi is located in Frydenjoj. Call them at 340-714-3474 or find them online at www.visushi.com.

Link:  http://stthomassource.com/content/news/local-news/2010/07/05/work-buddha-sushi