2008 Trick or Treating Night Central Ohio and Powell

 

Alphabetically listed below. Please remember to accompany your child, practicing a safe and fun evening is important!

Bexley
Trick-or-Treat: Thurs., Oct. 30 from 5:30- 7:30 p.m.

Blendon Township
Trick-or-Treat: Fri., Oct. 31 from 6-8 p.m.
Trick-or-Treat: Fri., Oct. 31 from 6-7:30 p.m.

Clinton Township
Trick-or-Treat: Fri., Oct. 31 from 6-8 p.m.

Clintonville
Trick-or-Treat: Fri., Oct. 31 from 6-8 p.m.

Columbus
Trick-or-Treat: Fri., Oct. 31 from 6-8 p.m.

Concord Township
Trick-or-Treat: Fri., Oct. 31 from 6-8 p.m.

Delaware
Trick-or-Treat: Fri., Oct. 31 from 6-8 p.m.

Dublin
Trick-or-Treat: Thurs., Oct. 30 from 6-8 p.m.

Gahanna
Trick-or-Treat: Fri., Oct. 31 from 6-8 p.m.

Galena
Trick-or-Treat: Fri., Oct. 31 from 6-7:15 p.m.
Costume Party: Fri., Oct. 31 at 7:30 p.m. at Ruffner Park

Grandview Heights
Trick-or-Treat: Fri., Oct. 31 from 6-8 p.m.

Grove City
Trick-or-Treat: Fri., Oct. 31 from 6-8 p.m.

Hamilton Township
Trick-or-Treat: Fri., Oct. 31 from 6-8 p.m.

Hilliard
Trick-or-Treat: Thurs., Oct. 30 from 6-8 p.m.

Lewis Center
Trick-or-Treat: Fri., Oct. 31 from 6-8 p.m.

Marble Cliff
Trick-or-Treat: Fri., Oct. 31 from 6- 8 p.m.

Marysville
Trick-or-Treat: Fri., Oct. 31 from 6-8 p.m.

New Albany
Trick-or-Treat: Thurs., Oct. 30 from 6-8 p.m.

Orange Township
Trick-or-Treat: Fri., Oct. 31 from 6-8 p.m.

Pickerington
Trick-or-Treat: Fri., Oct. 31 from 6-8 p.m.

Powell
Trick-or-Treat: Fri., Oct. 31 from 6-8 p.m.

Reynoldsburg
Trick-or-Treat: Fri., Oct. 31 from 6-8 p.m.

Shawnee Hills
Trick-or-Treat: Thurs., Oct. 30 from 6- 8 p.m.

Sunbury- Big Walnut
Trick-or-Treat: Fri., Oct. 31 from 6- 8 p.m.

Upper Arlington
Trick-or-Treat: Fri., Oct. 31 from 6-8 p.m.

Westerville
Trick-or-Treat: Fri., Oct. 31 from 6-8 p.m.

Worthington
Trick-or-Treat: Fri., Oct. 31 from 6- 8 p.m.

Powell Cruize In – Today August 17th

Starts at 10am and goes till the last person leaves. Located in the center of Powell, Powell Rd and Liberty Rd. All along the streets, over 120 street rods and collectible cars!!!! Enjoy the wonderful vehicles, DJ, City BBQ and Graeters Ice cream. Trophies will be presented at 3:30pm. All proceeds benefit several organizations!!!

Can Powell Learn Something from Columbus, from Hilliard?

Lets say you give me $1 and in return I give you $2. Sounds pretty good. Well, lets say you give me $1 and I give you $2 and provide a job for your Sister and Son-in-law. Sounds even better.  How about you give me $1, in return I give you $2, I provide a job for Sister and Son-in-law, a portion of my tax burden goes to the local school district to better your grandchild’s education and potentially reduces your property taxes in the future. What’s not to like about that last situation?

Over the past seven years I have lived in Dallas, TX and Scottsdale, AZ, two very successful metropolitan cities. In my time in both cities I noted one thing that was constant between the two: Economic and tax incentives that brought in businesses, reduced the unemployment rate and increased the city tax revenue.

It sounds simple, provide a reason for a business to want to be in Ohio, the greater Columbus area, or in Powell and we too could reap the economic benefit. This past year we finally witnessed the powers at be provide incentive to NetJets (a fractional ownership private aviation company) in order to keep the some 2,000 jobs currently held in Columbus and to add 800 jobs in the next five years along with spending $200 million in expansion. What was the cost? $100 million in economic and tax incentives.  Do the math……this was a great move for the city to make.

I believe that Hilliard learned a wonderful lesson from the NetJets deal and more importantly is putting that lesson into practice. Through tax-increment financing and abatement’s Hilliard has enticed more and more businesses to move to the West side suburb.

Please hear me!!!! I love the cute, boutique shops of Powell. I love the unique offerings that aren’t usually found in big box retailers. I love the personal relationships that are built in shops like The Collection, Beehive Bread Co., the local barber and I love the community that is built when you walk in to Maca.  This being said, I still believe that we can maintain the integrity and charm of Powell while providing more business opportunities, more jobs and more conveniences.

With incentives for businesses we can increase the commercial tax revenue and alleviate the tax burden on residents. We can lower local unemployment, balance residential and commercial development, increase revenue for schools and more than likely maintain our home values.

Are you with me? If so, make sure that you are as loud as the opposing party. Be a presence in our community of Powell. The squeaky wheel always gets the grease. This is your call to action, if you believe in economics, in simple give and take incentives and in making Powell the best suburb in Columbus….Start SQUEAKING!!!!!!

THE COLLECTION in Powell – Fabulous home pieces!!!

Attention Shoppers!  Be on your guard!

IF you haven’t heard, The Collection @ 41 Depot St. in Powell is A D D I C T I V E!  Its THE place to go when you need fabulous ideas and pieces for your home and garden.  Those of us that have “caught the bug”, run into one another on a weekly basis at our favorite haunt.

Owners Anne and Ron have the best pieces of furniture in town and at affordable prices.  Anne, an incredible designer and artist Emily will thrill you with their style.  What a breath of fresh air to walk “out of Columbus” and into a wonderland that is constantly changing and is open every day.  The staff must get a kick out of the expressions of delight on our faces as we see the latest and greatest backdrops and designs for the day’s treasures!

Anne’s parents and her husband Ron add their expertise to many of the unique pieces.  Most are designer pieces from down south, some of which they reupholster or add their own flair to as they are also artists and woodworkers.  What a wonderful family of talent I’ve found at this, my favorite gem.

Gotta run now = I’m afraid my neighbor might get their first and pick up that one-of-a-kind piece that I’ve been hunting for.  See you there

Greater Columbus and Powell Real Estate Market

Wow, things continue to change in regards to real estate.  Yes, houses are still selling but it is taking a lot longer. According to the OAR, sales volume for Columbus has decreased 13.9% and sales price has decreased 5.6% for the period of January-May of 2008 in comparison to the same time period last year. It is not the best news, at the same time the decrease in price is below the national average. I have recently seen 14% decrease in home values as a common statistic for the country as a whole.

Interestingly, statistics for Powell show that homes for sale are still receiving upwards of 95% of their list price and that the average time that a home in the 43065 zip code stays on the market before it sells is between 110-140 days (roughly 4 months). Please keep in mind that these are statistics and vary from property to property. It’s is amazing how much negative and conversely positive news we hear on a daily basis.

In my opinion the reality of the current market is this. Now more than ever price and product are key. If you want to sell your house you have to price accordingly to the product. Yes, interest rates are still historically low. Current rates for a 30 year fixed mortgage are still below 7% but buyers are use to seeing rates in the high 5’s to 6%. Many buyers don’t remember the double digit interest rates of the 1980’s.  Culminate the interest rate factors with local unemployment rate at 5%+ and there are some buyers that think this is not a good time to buy. I would beg to differ. If you are an individual that plans on staying in the Columbus market for the next 3 years, have job security or heavy cash reserves, now is a great time to buy. There are sellers out there that need to sell and with so many homes on the market you may be able to find a great deal.

So here is a quick re-cap

Sellers

• Price accordingly
• Be patient
• Be reasonable

Buyers

• Get pre-qualified and use it as leverage when you make an offer.
• Be aware of what local market conditions are, they change from city to suburb etc.
• Yes interest rates are higher than they were a few years ago…but they are still low.

If you have any questions about the local real estate market contact Chris Testa with HER Real Living at 614.622.0794. Chris is a licensed real estate agent in Powell, Ohio.

Black Olive Restaurant

  I guess Jan and I belong to the “You never have enough good restaurants” school.  We always seem to enjoy trying new places and having new experiences. Then of course we get to share these experiences with you, our friends. The Black Olive is a place that you will want to try, and you too will want to share that experience with your friends.
   Our experience started when our friends here at the Buggyworks,  Rick & Merry, asked us if we would like to have dinner with them. Duh! We agreed to meet at the Black Olive which had been open for about a week. I had heard good things… but you never know.
  Rick had arrived ahead of us and already had a table and a drink. Jan and I started with water but quickly moved to a chilled white wine. We discussed the menu, and ended up with Hummus & Tapenade Plate, which I would never would have ordered on my own. But this dish was enough for the  four of us to share and get a sampling of house made Hummus which was very tasty and the also house made olive tapenade which I could have made a meal of if there were enough there.
  We also ordered the Shrimp & Grits – an unusual marriage, it would seem, but one that works perfectly. The grits, which have been made with parmesan cheese, have just enough of that sort of nutty flavor that, combined with the red pepper coulis, marries quite well with the lightly grilled shrimp. You should try this for sure.
  Our final appetizer was the Caprese Salad; the thickly sliced tomatoes are layered with fresh Mozzarella, basil, and balsamic vinaigrette. A home run. The only way it could even think about being better would be with heirloom tomatoes. But that is a personal thing for me.
  For our dinners, Merry and Rick had the Pan Seared Peppered Scallops ($18). The scallops are peppered and heavily seared, but not over done, in a brown butter sauce. Then they were served over a carrot, corn, onion, and potato hash. They say it has a hint of provolone cheese but I didn’t get the hint. All in all, this is a great dish if you like scallops (which I normally don’t).
  Jan and I shared the Crusted Red Snapper ($19). The potato crust is light and flavorful and the dish is served with sautéed asparagus and red skin potatoes. There is a hint of tarragon (and I got the hint this time). The crust wasn’t too thick and seemed more like a light breading, – just right for the fish which was very flavorful and flakey.
  We did not stay for desert; Jeni’s is across the street.
So give this a try, I don’t think you will be disappointed.
Black Olive   p.298 8750   a. 731 N. High Street

Great Events this Weekend

There is a lot happening this weekend in Central Ohio. I wanted to post some other hot topics but did not get around to it this week. None the less take a look below to find some great things to do this weekend.

Taste of Worthington – July 11th

Enjoy the restaurants of Worthington, plus kids activities. The event kicks off at 5:30 and end at 9:30pm

North Market Food and Ohio Wine Festival – July 11th-13th

Ohio wine tastings, cooking demonstrations and more. 7pm-10pm of Friday, 10am-7pm on Saturday and 1pm-6pm on Sunday. I wish I was there right now!!!!

The Granville Irsh Festival -Saturday July 12th

Live music including drums and bag pipes. This event is taking place at the Denison University Medical Center. Should be interesting.

Westerville Music and Arts Festival

Located at Heritage park on the corner of Main St. and Cleveland Ave. Artists, crafts, kids activities, auctions and live entertainment. I just drove by the park this evening and there must be 60+ little tents. Saturday 11am-7pm and Sunday noon-5pm.

This weekend also represents the start of the Franklin County Fair. Located at the Franklin County Fairgrounds. 4100 Columbia St. in Hilliard.

4th of July Event and Fireworks Schedule

In typical Central Ohio fashion, the wonderful suburbs of Columbus are going all out this 4th of July celebration. Many of the cities are having 5k runs, community picnics, live entertainment, pancake breakfasts and baseball games!!! See below for schedules of firework displays and locations.

Delaware

July 4th at 10pm at Ohio Wesleyan University.

Dublin

July 4th at 10pm at Dublin Coffman High School

Westerville – Celebrating 150 years of Incorporation

July 4th at 10pm  click here for a schedule of events

Worthington

July 4th at 10pm at Worthington Thomas High School

Worthington Hills

July 4th at 9:45pm on Worthington Hill Golf Club driving range. Fairways will provide viewing areas. Members may park in the parking lot of the Club House. Click here for more information of events.

For a list of additional Fourth of July celebrations click here

The Powell Festival

The Powell Festival (Located at 47 Hall St.) is just around the corner (June 27th & 28th) and it is going to be bigger then ever. A larger kids area, more arts and crafts vendors and more food vendors.  Not only will there be your typical fried foods but also local restaurants will be in attendance.

From Friday through Saturday there will be performances by two teen singing sensations, bands: Ark Band, British Invasion, Ghengis Green, Lockbox and more.

The kids will enjoy guest appearances by Spiderman, Kickin-Kat and Crew Cat. On the last nigth the event will be finalized with a fireworks display!

This is going to be a wonderful event for the entire community.

Powell Festival Events

Pizza bonoTOGO

  We heard about this cute little place about two weeks ago. It lives in the Rigsby’s Kitchen bakery, Eleni-Christina.  Since the Eleni-Christina bakers do their work late at night and in the early morning, the Rigsby’s have rented/loaned the place to Bill Yerkes to perform his pizza-magic from 5pm to midnight Wednesday – Sunday nights. And it is magic.

  Bill’s pizzas were designed to be baked in the wood-burning ovens that he specializes in building, but the …read more