The Patrick Henry Charter School is open to any Richmond City elementary student and the upcoming School Board vote, likely to occur on 5/5/08, will impact every child and district within the city limits. They’re asking for your help. See their mailing for all the details: PDF here, Word doc here.

A woman’s body was found inside a home at 102 W. 33rd St late Sunday afternoon. Police are treating the incident as a homicide.

At last night’s school board meeting, the PH Charter group had their proposal returned pending more information. Meetings with the school board to provide that information should occur soon, with a tentative vote scheduled by the board for May 5.

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.

VCU students will help clean up Reedy Creek on Saturday, November 3rd from 9am-12pm. Help from the community at large will be needed and greatly appreciated! Meet at the corner of Roanoke St. and Dunston Ave. at 9am. Clean-up supplies will be provided. (Bring rubber gloves or light work gloves if you desire.) Parents are invited to bring their children (it is an excellent teaching experience)

A man was shot to death on Dundee Ave last night. The T-D has details on the suspect wanted in connection with the shooting.

A large number of Reedy Creek fish have died suddenly of late, prompting a DEQ investigation into water quality. A local eyewitness suggests a connection to the flushing of the water lines that’s occurring across the area.

NBC12 has video on the story.

As was recently mentioned in a comment, an effort is underway to revive & rebuild the Reedy Creek neighborhood association. The neighborhood consists roughly of the area bounded by Forest Hill, 30th St, 41st St and Midlothian Turnpike. Visit their Yahoo group and contact Karri Peifer with questions.

Steve passed along the photos of a neighborhood rap video shoot last week. I’ve not had the chance to do anything with them, but he took care of that for us. Frankly, I’m envious. We’ve had a SWAT team in our backyard and countless emergency vehicles clogging up our street, but never a hip-hop shoot.

I guess that’s what dreams are for.

Your favorite neighborhood foodies, Seven Hills Market, are having a wine tasting tomorrow evening, 4:30-7:00.
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The folks at Urban Richmond and VCU’s Commonwealth Times let us know that our own Crossroads Coffee & Ice Cream is taking over the World Cup Coffee space on Morris Street, near VCU. Here’s hoping they hang tough against the Big Green Monster.

On the other end of the beverage spectrum, Bellevue’s favorite Beer & Wine shop, Once Upon A Vine, is soon to open a 2nd store in the Shops At Stratford Hills, in the vicinity of Rock Falls Tavern. The Bellevue store’s selection has been known to attract beer fans from out state and the summer movie nights they host have been a big hit with neighborhood residents. Their expansion to Stratford Hills will be a very welcome addition!

No online sources yet, but NBC 12 is reporting a large overnight apartment fire at The Park at Forest Hill. No injuries apparently, but no word on extent of damage.