The new express lane system is being tested on the Powhite today, 10:30-2ish. No word whether any lane closures or delays are expected, but be forewarned…

After seeing a car go into the FasMart and a vehicle rollover in the Shoe Warehouse lot, the Westover Hills/Clarence/Dunston parking lot curse reared its head again today in the form of a car hitting the exterior of the Family Dollar store. Store damage was noticeable, but apparently not structural.

It’s been just over a year since the accident that claimed the life of Forest View resident and beloved man-about-town Jonny Z. A tribute to Jonny is shaping up in the form of a mural on the side of the fan location of Joe’s Inn. Spearheaded by ART180 and manned by friends and a contingent of kids from St. Andrew’s School, the general consensus is the tribute couldn’t be any more fitting.

Thx to Terry @ FDH for the heads-up.

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?

The paperwork is in, and the Council & School Board candidates are official. Council-wise, Kathy Graziano will run unopposed in the 4th while Marty Jewell has 2 competitors, realtor Mark E. Brandon and Lee Shewmake (a name that should be familiar to area residents) in the 5th. 9th District incumbent Doug Conner also has 2 competitors, former School Board rep and City Councilman Eugene Mason and Adrian R. Preston.

On the School Board side, the 4th District race should prove to be interesting. Regular readers are by now getting familiar with Bert Berlin. Jon Mallard, John Lloyd and Adria Graham Scott are also in, making this the most crowded school board race of the year. 5th District incumbent Betsy Carr has one challenger, Rev. Otis Mallory, while Evette Wilson runs unapposed in the 9th.

And on a related note, the good folks at the Virginia Public Access Project have already started adding contribution data for council races.

A woman was assaulted and robbed this morning on the grounds of George Wythe High School. According to police, the assaulter is described as “a black man in his mid 20s, about 5 feet, 5 inches tall and wearing a gray shirt and blue denim shorts…close-cropped hair, a goatee and tattoos on both arms.”

June’s Music in the Park event is this Sunday, 6-8PM, in Forest Hill Park, featuring Cashmere Jungle Lords. [read more]

…to hate having your car towed.

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.

An argument turned into a shooting last night, apparently in the Ashton Square apartments. Combined with the police chase that ended with a truck plowing through the gates at George Wythe High School, it’s been an active 24 hours for the general Midlo/WH Blvd vicinity.

The latest issue of Richmond Magazine includes a brief feature on life in Stratford Hills, with a focus on Riverside Outfitters owners Matt Perry and Scott Turner.

With the weather seeming more akin to one of Dante’s concentric circles these days, it’s easy to stay inside, but there are some interesting happenings this weekend. Of course, the South of the James market runs as normal tomorrow morning, Vibefest ‘08 at the Stratford Hill Shopping Center is Sunday afternoon, and the Once Upon A Vine folks are having a wine tasting tonight, 5-8. And just a bit outside the neighborhoods, the Richmond Tattoo Arts Festival takes over the Holiday Inn Select Koger Center.

From Greg Johnson of the Springhill neighborhood:

Dear Richmond Neighbors,
We in the Old and Historic Neighborhood of Springhill request your assistance in opposition to the Manchester on the James development project. The property owner, Floyd “Pat†Patterson, is attempting to get a Special Use Permit to allow Charlotte, North Carolina developer Crosland, to build a massive 200 unit rental apartment complex at the very edge of our historic neighborhood. Although, the project is actually 15 feet outside of the historic district we feel that the enormous size of the structure, the increased traffic congestion and the 50% increase in population density will have a detrimental effect on our community. Springhill is a tiny neighborhood only three blocks wide and four blocks deep.

We feel this is of particular interest to both historic districts and all other neighborhoods, as this apartment complex is being constructed on just over 2 acres. A density of 100 units and 150 cars per acre. There are many one, two and three acre lots in Richmond, and Springhill agrees they should be developed, but developed responsibly and with great consideration of the existing neighborhood fabric. Our established neighborhoods are too fragile to be subjugated to massive development encroachments which are improperly sited and inconsistent with the surrounding neighborhood features.

On Monday June 9, 2008, City Council will vote for or against the project. The City of Richmond’s Department of Community Development and our own Councilperson, Marty Jewell, are in favor of the project and will not lend us their support. We are working in concert with the Foresthill and Woodland Heights neighborhood associations, who also oppose the project, to recruit people to attend the City Council Meeting. We have also embarked on a letter writing campaign and a petition that has garnered over 800 signatures.

We would request that you pass along this notice and attend the City Council meeting on Monday June 9, 2008 at 6:00pm in City Council Chambers, 2nd floor 900 East Broad Street. We have been told the only way to stop the adoption of this ordinance, is to have a great citizen turnout. If you are unable to attend, please write or call your Councilperson or the President of Council. Below I have included their contact information. If you have any questions, feel free to call or email me.

Thank you and hope to see you at City Council on Monday, June 9.

Starting tomorrow, northbound Powhite’s gonna be a rush-hour parking lot:

Motorists traveling northbound through the Powhite Parkway mainline toll plaza will experience significant morning rush hour delays beginning Tuesday, June 3, as toll lanes are reduced from nine to six lanes. The three-lane closure marks the beginning of the northbound installation of the Open Road Toll (ORT) lanes, also known as express lanes. This traffic situation is expected to last for 90 days.

Let the good times roll!

According to a list of filed candidates, Jonathan Christopher Mallard has thrown his hat into the 4th District School Board race. Bert Berlin had previously announced his intention to run for the seat being vacated by George Braxton. 5th District representative Betsy Carr is the only candidate who’s filed for that particular seat.

On the City Council side, Kathy Graziano is so far unopposed in the 4th, and nobody has yet filed to run in the 5th.

Special Olympics Virginia’s summer games will be held June 6-7 at UR, and they’re looking for 3000 fans to attend the games. All the details can be found here.

…still doesn’t seem to like the PH charter school.

The T-D asks if the Springhill/Semmes development is a “good fit or sore thumb.” Unsurprisingly, the line seems to be pretty much split between residents on one side and city officials & developers on the other.

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…

The James River is above normal, and there have been a couple of lower-key rescues the last couple of days. Lots of folks are expected to be out on the river the next couple of days, so please use caution.

A kayak’s eye view of the James, from Huguenot to Reedy Creek.

Positive Vibe Cafe’s Vibefest is coming, Sunday June 8. A $5 donation gets you a full day’s worth of music and a taste of their much talked about food. As usual, proceed go towards their daily mission of providing food service training and employment for the disabled. They’re looking for volunteers- contact information can be found here.

Overshadowed by the recent furor over, um, other things, City Council gave a tentative nod to the much-debated Cowardin/Semmes development (referred to as City View Towers, Manchester on the James, among others). The SUP vote will go before council as a whole at its June 9 session, a meeting which will doubtless see a sizable turnout from Springhill and Woodland Heights residents

The 2nd of this month’s 4th District meetings is tonight, 7PM, at Crestwood Presbyterian Church. The meeting’s focus will be the Jahnke Rd widening project, though something tells me that the buzz over a certain other hot-button issue might well come up as well.

The Richmond School Board met this evening at 6PM to consider a host of what looked to be rather typical items and also to receive and vote upon a recomendation from the Charter School Review Committee (SR07-08-72)(agenda). Dispatched to the back corner of a room adjacent to where the schoolboard meeting was taking place, part of the overflow crowd, the obvious draw was the Patrick Henry Initiative vote.

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