Today’s T-D “Street Beat” addresses two issues not quite in our neighborhoods, but close enough to be of interest: road construction at Forest Hill @ Huguenot, and missing Chippenham sings @ Jahnke Rd.

Huguenot High students will be greeted by Richmond Police tomorrow morning following a series of fights over the past two days. Reportedly a recent talent show sparked the incidents that culminated with one student receiving serious injuries.

We’ve received a couple of reports of an afternoon fire in the Auditorium at George Wythe High. No word as to severity, but if anyone has heard anything…

It seems that this morning’s commute has wrought destruction in the area, with multiple accidents on Forest Hill Ave, including at least 1 overturned vehicle, and other assorted nastiness, including a brief total shutdown of the Huguenot Bridge.

Today’s T-D is reporting on two mailbox explosions, believed to be caused by homemade explosives, in the Cedarhurst neighborhood. I heard some distant “booms” last night around that time, but chalked it up to the McCrory’s demolition cleanup or general noisiness. Here’s hoping it’s nothing more than bored neighborhood kids.

Remember the RPD car vs. cyclist incident at our favorite, death-defying intersection? Kristin Stokes took a heck of a hit, resulting in some now-healed brain injuries. As a story in this week’s Style tells us,

the city sent her a bill for repairs to the police car, adding insult to her potentially life-threatening injury. In addition to bills from three days in intensive care, Stokes faces $2,757.23 in repairs to the patrol cruiser, including $10 for hazardous waste disposal (“Me,” Stokes says).

And for those of you still keeping score at home, the police car “entered the well-timed light at about 40 miles an hour.”

Nothing says “Good Morning!” like the sight of a fire truck, several police cars and a man collapsed on the ground right outside your window at 7AM on a Saturday. What at first appeared to be the after math of a shooting or stabbing turned out not to be. Apparently a very intoxicated individual ran into asign at the railroad crossing, then fled on foot, and made it 1.5 blocks before running out of steam.

Hey folks, due to a snafu on the part of my web host, I just received about 3 weeks worth of email this morning. If you sent email via the Contact feature recently and haven’t heard anything, I apologize. I’ll be working through the backlog over the next couple of days. You’re not being ignored, I promise!

Again, sorry for the delay in responding!

The folks at the Patrick Henry School Initiative are making progress with their efforts….

We have submitted our application for 501-3C status (thank you for your donations!) and are raising funds now for PR “get the word out” costs and other incidentals. We will have a fundraising campaign for school related projects once we have charter approval. Please send your donations, large and small, to:

The Patrick Henry School Initiative
P.O. Box 2459
Richmond, VA 23218

We need your calls, e-mails and letters!

The application for the Patrick Henry School Initiative was submitted to the School Board clerk on October 7th.

As the School Board reviews the proposed charter, now is the critical time for the public to voice support of this project. The more calls and letters our school board members receive, the clearer it will be to them how important this initiative is for the community.

If you support the Patrick Henry School Initiative, please take five minutes to call or e-mail your School Board Rep. Contact info is listed below.

A few talking points:

- An innovative curriculum in the city.
- Will keep you from leaving for the county.
- Puts to good use a school asset.
- Outdoor classrooms and a green education are incredible opportunities.
- Promotes diversity, because any city resident can attend.
- I hear that parents must be involved, and I like that.

Additionally, yard signs bearing the slogan “Patrick Henry CHARTER SCHOOL NOW” should be available from the group. Contact them for more details.

The fine folks at Once Upon A Vine South have been up and running for a couple weeks in the Stratford Hills Shopping Center, featuring the same format (and occasionally some of the same faces) as the Bellevue original. Please note that H&H is not affiliated with Once Upon A Vine in any way, but as wine & beer enthusiasts, we feel it’s our duty to let everyone know that there’s finally a proper beverage shop in the neighborhood.

Since there are no major celebrations hereabouts, we’re releasing our delegates to Carytown NYE and Petersburg’s Red Light Burlesque celebration. However you choose to celebrate (in our case, an appetizer assortment that puts the crude back in crudité and enough booze to keep Hunter Thompson sated for at least 27 minutes), stay safe and thanks for helping make 2007 a very successful year for Hills & Heights and Richmond community blogdom as a whole.