Tomorrow sees the 8th instance of the Westover Hills children’s parade. The parade begins 10AM.at Peterborough & Sylvan and lasts for just over an hour. The WH neighborhood site has the details.

Also from the WH folks, Riverside drive will be blocked off on a couple of spots- between Prince Arthur & Evelyn Byrd and New Kent & Breckenridge - to view Dogwood Dell fireworks.

For those who haven’t yet seen it, CBRE has available an informational flyer about the Shoppes at Forest Hill development. We’ve seen the site plans and such for many months, but this is the first good view of the exterior concept I’ve seen up close. I’ll be curious to hear how it’s received by my fellow residents.

A couple of unrelated questions from readers, the answers to which I certainly don’t know:

Any idea what’s going on with the former equipment rental place on Westover Hills? I’ve noticed intermittent work going on, but can’t tell what might be going in there.

Secondly:

Are there any July 4th activities on this side of the river? Dogwood Dell is nice but it’s too crowded and we’re tired of standing on the bridge trying to catch a glimpse of fireworks.

Anyone?

On the heels of Crosland’s victory at last night’s council meeting comes a nugget from the comments of another post that’s worth bumping up:

Developer is seeking a special use permit for the properties that his company as quietly purchased: all of the buildings west of the CVS in Westover Hills.

The plan is for a 300 unit rental property with commercial space on the ground floor, and the minimum amount of parking required by code.

I suspect this one should really stir some emotions.

Today’s T-D briefly mentions the work underway. The Snelson’s signs have been down for some time now, and work seems to be moving along quickly…

A new month brings a new round of computer classes at the Westover Hills Library. Full flyer below…

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‘Tis the season, apparently. If you can’t wait ’til the Westover Community Center yard sale, you’re in luck, as the Westover Hills Neighborhood Association is holding their own annual yard sale this weekend.

WHNA will place two ads in the classified section of the Richmond Times-Dispatch, one on Friday, April 18 and the other on the day of the sale. Addresses will appear in the ad but no names will be listed. The deadline to sign up and participate and be included in the newspaper ad is Monday, April 14.

If you’d like to participate, please send or drop off your check for $10 (made payable to WHNA) to Jonathan Huyard at 5106 Sylvan Road. If you have questions, contact him at 230-6148 or jhuyard@comcast.net.

Why Richmond, Why takes on a little Nickel Bridge history.

Richmond’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities presents its annual Great Big Gigantic Yard Sale, Saturday April 26, 7AM-3PM at the Westover Community Center (which is on the grounds of Westover Hills Elementary).

For those who want to participate and have interesting items to sell, a few spaces remain. Spots are available for just $35. Vendors are also welcome and can set up shop for $45.

Call 646-8995 or 646-8252

Jonah from Near West End News passed this nugget along from the folks at Victory Farms:

Lastly, the market locations are set (though, as I mentioned, the dates we\’ll start there are not yet). Tuesdays are at Byrd House Community Market in Oregon Hill from 3:30-7pm; Thursdays are at the 17th Street Farmer\’s Market from 9am-1pm; and Saturdays are at the new Forest Hill Park Market from 8am-noon.

So it sounds like the FH Park market is a go. Anyone have the full scoop?

Update: Phil has the full scoop.

Back in September, Westover Hills Elementary won a Dominion Grant to fund an outdoor learning center. Work crews arrived this week and the center, near on the Jahnke Road side of the school, is shaping up nicely. I understand we should see it in regular use within the next couple of weeks.

Doug Wilder’s latest Richmond.com Q&A features a question from Westover Hills resident Howard Carlson:

Why should citizens bear the brunt of increased water costs when the largest users are already getting a break for consumption?

A comment to the same article also asks a question that may be of interest to local readers.

During a rainy and nasty evening rush, a Jeep hit a house on Westover Hills Blvd, near Evelyn Byrd Rd. It looked to be a pretty nasty wreck, but everyone involved seems to be OK. At least 2 TV stations should have the story tonight.

A new-ish feature over at Richmond.com has recently included some items of local interest, including some answers regarding traffic patterns at WH Blvd and Forest Hill and an inquiry about the Patrick Henry School Initiative.

The railroad tracks roughly between Forest Hill and the Powhite saw several small brush fires this morning. The T-D suggests that the fire department had a rough time reaching the sites of the fires, but everything seemed normal as far as I could see by around 7:45.

…the big white tent in front of O’Tooles. Their annual St. Patrick’s celebration runs tonight through Monday with all sorts of live entertainment, Irish and otherwise.

The idea was circulating amongst the neighborhood associations, but now the T-D has picked it up: Preliminary efforts are underway to start a possible farmer’s market in the general area.

Some Fourth District residents have suggested locations including Forest Hill Park, possibly in the paved parking area adjacent to 42nd Street, or near the intersection of Westover Hills Boulevard and Forest Hill Avenue. Several told Hathcock they like the idea of a weekend market that would offer organic produce or locally grown produce.

With the equipment rental place now vacant, there’s a prime starter spot just sitting on Westover Hills…

The $29.99 Shoe Warehouse lot at Westover Hills Blvd/49th St & Clarence St saw an overturned vehicle this morning. The T-D has a short video available.

People fly through that lot regularly, especially to use it as a cut-through to avoid the Forest Hill/Westover Hills light. I’m surprised this doesn’t happen more often…

The “South of the James” section of this month’s Richmond Magazine has a nice article on the retail state of Westover Hills. Much of this is old news to the neighborhood association folks, but for the rest of us, some juicy tidbits are there. More below the fold…

Read more >

In an article on the proposed statewide restaurant smoking ban, Today’s T-D talks with John O’Toole, whose own O’Toole’s went smoke-free in 2007.

“Our food business has increased,” he said. Sales have grown 6 percent since the Irish pub started asking smokers to step outside last March. “We lost a few customers,” O’Toole said. “But for every one we lost, I think we gained 10.”

Yet O’Toole said he does not like the idea of a state-mandated smoking ban in restaurants. “I still think it should be up to each owner. Some of them cater to smokers, and they shouldn’t have to stop.”

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.”

…to the old McCrory Dollar building. Demolition permits are in, and the sucker’s coming down. With the Shoppes at Forest Hill project dead and no other plans for development submitted to the city, it appears as if we’re in for a lovely vacant lot.

Is that better or worse than a years-empty building?

A reader just alerted us to yet another Forest Hill/Jahnke Rd wreck, and that it “looks really bad” and “someone has to be hurt.”

Sigh.

Today’s T-D profiles the Westover Hills branch of the Richmond Public Library. As one of the components of the “City of the Future” plan, the library should see such improvements as “more computers and digitized catalogs to meet rising demand, and new electrical systems to handle them [...] new, energy-efficient windows and doors, better-equipped work spaces and public meeting rooms, fresh carpeting and paint, signs and shelving.”

It’s been painfully obvious that the library system has been neglected for a long time (the Main branch downtown is, frankly, embarrassing for a “flagship” building), so this is indeed welcome news.

This coming weekend sees the return of the Richmond Marathon. Once again, the CVS parking lot will host a “Party Zone” with musical entertainment by Worn Glory. Other musical spots include the intersection of Scottview & Longview in Stratford Hills, the entrance to Willow Oaks Country Club, Forest Hill Ave. & Leicester, Forest Hill Park, Forest Hill & Semmes, Semmes & 22nd and the south end of the Lee Bridge.

Traffic changes abound too:

• Riverside Dr. closed b/w Huguenot Bridge & Scottview Drive 6AM-Noon
• Forest Hill Ave. westbound closed b/w Roanoke St. & W. 47th 8AM-11:30 AM
• Huguenot Bridge closed to northbound traffic 8 AM-11 AM
• The southbound exit ramp from the Powhite Parkway to Forest Hill and the northbound entrance ramp from westbound Forest Hill onto the Powhite closed 8 AM-11 AM.