Near West End

NBC12 reports on a crash outside the Movie Gallery on West Broad Street this morning.

One person is dead after a fiery crash between a car and a truck around 9:20 a.m. in the 4700 block of West Broad Street.

Unconfirmed sources say the man who died drove a red car and worked at the rims/car detail shop near the crash site. Police have not identified the man, so that his family can first be notified.

An article in yesterday’s Richmond-Times Dispatch is about how Tuckahoe Middle School  students may be refusing to wash their hands because there is no warm water in the bathrooms. Between the ice cold water and that they have to exit to the outdoors instead of a hallway on the campus-style school students are sometimes skipping washing their hands on the coldest days. Some say that could be contributing to more sickness. 

There’s a dirty little secret at some area schools.

Kids are not washing their hands after using the restroom — which, admittedly, is not breaking news.

But there’s an explanation.

One student at Tuckahoe Middle School in Henrico County, who wishes to remain anonymous lest her friends and parents think her unclean, admits it: If it’s too cold outside, even ordinarily fastidious students won’t wash after using the restroom.

Tuckahoe, like several other schools in the county, does not have warm running water in the restrooms. The campus-style architecture means students go directly from classrooms or restrooms to the outdoors. There are no interior halls. Three middle and three high schools are affected.

On chilly mornings, the choice between cleanliness and warmth can be difficult, and many prefer a few germs to icicles.

Richmond boosters have 200,123 reasons to feel optimistic about the city’s future.That figure is the estimated 2007 population for the city, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The estimate — and it’s just that — reverses a downward trend and is the first time the figure has crept above 200,000 since 1995.The city’s 2000 population was 197,790. Estimates since then have dropped below 193,000.

“It’s vitally important,” said Rachel O. Flynn, Richmond’s director of community development.

“When you think about it, we’re the only country in the world that has abandoned our cities and actually seen decreases in population, and now we’ve come full circle. . . . It builds confidence in our vitality, and hope for the future.”

“This is great news for the city,” said Jack Berry, executive director of Venture Richmond, which promotes downtown. “It indicates the city’s becoming a more attractive place to live.”

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The University of Richmond has named its new chief academic officer.

Stephen Allred will join the university as its provost and vice president for academic affairs on July 1. He is executive associate provost and professor of public law and government at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

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The University of Richmond will hold two public meetings to update the community on plans to expand First Market Stadium, the campus multipurpose stadium.
The first will take place April 1 at 7 p.m. at Jepson Hall, Room 118. The second will be held April 29 at 7 p.m. at Weinstein Hall in the Brown-Alley Room.
To register to attend the sessions or for more information, call (804) 289-8694. For information about the stadium project, visit the First Market Stadium Expansion Info Center online .

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The RVA blogosphere (here, here, here, here, etc.) has reported that Google Street View is now live throughout the metropolitan area. I actually posted a brief synopsis of the application over on my blog.

Here’s a shot near St. Catherine’s School:

Crestview Elementary, the school I can see out my back door, made the news twice this morning. The it is completely coincidental. This is a tiny school, that hardly ever makes the news. Sort of ironic that both stories are technology related. I guess that speaks to Henrico County’s dedication to technology in education.
The first story made national news after it was picked up by MSNBC, after one of the stolen laptops helped police and school officials catch the suspected computer thief when he had his photo taken by the computer itself, using remote controls.

How does the technology work? A school resource officer was able to identify the student in the picture. That led police to a home on Three Chopt where they found three computers. Brandon Arias, 18, a student at Tucker High School is charged with grand larceny and burglary, both felonies.

[via]
In other news, Crestview 3rd grade teacher, Claudia Ketchum, received at $2,000 Teach Award from Best Buy Co. Inc. to help integrate technology into the school’s curriculum.
Now that they have the arrested the suspected computer thief, that may be possible. [via]

And in other technology news in Henrico, Henrico County Schools “TechWarrior” defends the program, SchoolSpace, that teachers use to help integrate technology into the classroom safely.

Although it is not exactly in the Near West End, I’m posting a link to coming events at Short Pump Town Center because they are nearby, and best of all free.   Recently, our family has found ourselves at Short Pump often to ride the Short Pump Express, which is $2 and going to our favorite restaturant, Tara Thai Richmond, where our friend, Birdie, is the manager.
Next weekend, the mall will feature a petting zoo:

Spring Petting Farm

Saturdays: April 5 & 12 - 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Sundays: April 6 & 13 - 1:00 – 5:00 PM
Come visit baby bunnies, chicks, ducks, lambs and more…The Spring Petting Farm is located in the Main Plaza, and is held weather permitting. Admission is free. For more information, please call 804-360-1700.

As they are announced, look here for more information on other free concerts in the area.
Summer Concert Series
May 30 - August 29

The Summer Concert Series returns beginning May 30th and continuing every Friday evening (weather permitting) through August 29th. Families are invited to enjoy FREE live music performed by local bands, great food, PRIZES and of course, fabulous shopping! Concerts begin at 6:00 PM and run until 8:00 PM in the Main Plaza.
Friday, May 30
Steve Bassett & The Mystic Soul Bubba’s

Friday, June 6
Susan Greenbaum

Friday, June 13
KOS

Friday, June 20
B2B

Friday, June 27
English Channel

Friday, July 11
The Ray Pitman Project

Friday, July 18
Souler Coaster

Friday, July 25
Son Quatro

Friday, August 1
Marna & Macy

Friday, August 8
E3

Friday, August 15
Cyrus McCormick & The Reapers

Friday, August 22
Ron Moody & The Centaurs

Friday, August 29
KOS

One of our readers sent us the following question:

I live in Monument Avenue Crest (near intersection of Libbie & Patterson).  Is there a neighborhood/civic association for my area?

Any takers?  :)

SHOW DATES: APRIL 11th- MAY 23rd                                                                                           
OPENING FRIDAY, APRIL 11th

Gallery 5800 located at Grove and Libbie above Suitable for Framing will feature a solo exhibition of oil paintings from Roanoke artist Greg Osterhaus. Osterhaus’s 25-year career has established him as a well recognized painter in the Eastern United States and beyond. His vibrant oil paintings are rich in their depiction of rural settings including Cow Portraitures, Southern Landscapes, and Blue Crabs of the Chesapeake.

Join us on Friday, April 11th 5:30-8:00PM for the artist reception where we will be holding a drawing at 7:00PM for a free Cow Portrait.

Contact: Robin Grabinska
285-0774

GALLERY 5800 AT SUITABLE FOR FRAMING
5800 GROVE AVE
RICHMOND, VA 23226
804-285-0774

As a neighbor of St. Mary’s Hospital, I recently received this email:

As part of St. Mary’s Hospital Master Plan, we have discussed renovations to our emergency department.

Enclosed you will find several plans that describe the scope of the improvements to the emergency department and additional space to accommodate our new Intra-Operative Magnetic Resonance Imaging (”IMRI”) scanner, a specialized scanner used during neurosurgery.

The location of the expansion area is on the west side of the main hospital building located east of Bremo Road, approximately 425 feet south of Monument Avenue. The expansion area faces our parking deck on the west side of Bremo Road. The portion of the campus that will be affected by the expansion is shown as “Area of Work” on the enclosed plan entitled “Project Area Plan”. As you can see, this project is internal to our campus and will only be visible from the Bremo Road side of our campus.

The improvements consist primarily of an additional 15,786 square feet on the ground floor to expand the lobby and add the IMRI area. The enclosed plan entitled “Ground Floor Plan” shows the ground floor expansion area. An additional 20,178 square feet of space will be added to the first floor for a future emergency department expansion.

The emergency department addition will be situated above the IMRI addition and will add much needed space for emergency department bays. Approximately 16 additional bays will be added to the emergency department and the remainder of the department will be renovated. The enclosed artist’s rendering shows the exterior building elevation following completion of the expansion.

The parking area located between Bremo Road and the main hospital building will be reconfigured to accommodate the expansion. The plan prepared by Timmons Group and entitled “Layout, Utility, Stripping & Signage Plan” shows the parking area as it will exist following the building expansion.

The Henrico County Planning Commission is scheduled to review our plan of development on Wednesday, March 26, 2008 at 9:00 a.m. in the Board Room of the County Administration Building on Parham Road. The file on the POD is available in the Department of Planning, County Administration Building, for examination between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. each business day. Information may also be obtained by calling 501-4602.

or at www.co.henrico.va.us/planning. Of course, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me [Michael Kerner] at 281-8316.

Click to look at the campus site plan, ground floor plan, and two story layout.

Three men, one wearing a black jacket with a white bird emblem on the back, are being sough by police in two thefts from Sam’s Club. Click on the link below to view the photos.

Henrico County police are searching for three people who have been stealing computer and electronic equipment at Sam’s Club stores in Virginia, including two thefts from a store on West Broad Street.

Police retrieved images of the suspects in larcenies on Jan. 28 and Feb. 27 at the Sam’s Club at 9440 W. Broad St. They describe the suspects as black males in their 20s.

Anyone with information about the crimes or suspects should call Henrico Police officer R.R. Riopedre at (804) 501-5000 or Crimestoppers at (804) 780-1000

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A Man from the Near West End was arrested on charges that he chased his ex-girlfriend and caused her to crash on Williamsburg Road.

Elvon Amon Kelley, 19, of the 9200 block of Quioccasin Road, was charged with two counts of malicious wounding for allegedly using his vehicle to strike the woman’s car, causing it to crash, Perry said

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A law student at the University of Richmond died Saturday afternoon after he fell off a cliff during a hiking trip to the popular Crabtree Falls, relatives said yesterday.

Robert Slimak, 26, was on a weekend camping trip with a group of Virginia Commonwealth University alumni when he slid down a rock and fell about 150 feet, said his sister Katherin Crossling.

Slimak, a native of Northern Virginia, had lived in the Richmond area since he came to VCU for his undergraduate studies in 1999.

He later went to the University of Richmond to pursue a law degree and was to graduate in May, said his wife, Holly Slimak, 24.

Crabtree Falls, a popular hiking destination in Nelson County off state Route 56, about two hours from Richmond, is “the highest vertical-drop cascading waterfall east of the Mississippi River,” according to the U.S. Forest Service, which manages the area.

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Never been to Shula’s 2 Steak & Sports?
Open House
April 1, 2008
5:30p-6:30p

Try our Award Winning SHULA CUT Steak
Please RSVP to Jacque Brown @ 281-5969 by March 27, 2008

Printmaking Open House

In conjunction with the exhibition “Virgil Marti: Ah! Sunflower,” the Visual Arts Center of Richmond will host a printmaking open house 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., on Saturday, March 29, featuring demonstrations of screen and relief printing techniques as well as activities visitors can take part in.
Faculty and student work will be on display inside and outside the printmaking studio.
At 4 p.m. Artist Virgil Marti will present a Gallery Talk.
All events are free and open to the public.

The Ukrops evacuation we reported on last week was actually cause by beer. Sounds like a practical jokester to me!

A suspicious package that shut down a Ukrop’s grocery store in western Henrico County for more than two hours yesterday afternoon turned out to contain nothing more than cans of beer.

The grocery store at West Broad Street and Pemberton Road was evacuated from about 3:30 to 5:45 p.m. while a Henrico bomb squad investigated a book or duffel bag that had been left near the entrance to the store’s cafe.

Investigators used an X-ray to check the package and eventually determined it was harmless, said Lt. Gary Hutchison, an investigator for the Henrico Division of Fire. Officials found cans of beer inside. Authorities have not determined who the would-be drinker was.

Ukrop’s stores do not sell beer.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Darrell Olgers
(804) 943-2283 or (804) 355-2100

RICHMOND, VA - Those wondering what lies inside of one of Richmond’s most stately mansions can now not only stop wondering, but also can own some of the contents themselves. An impressive collection of antique and reproduction furniture and fine art amassed over the years by the Brown family of Windemere Mansion on Cary Street Road will be auctioned by Motley’s Auction & Realty Group on April 2, 2008.

Built in the 1860s, the three-story mansion nestled on 3.1 acres was renovated and enlarged in 1907 to 11,000 square feet. The seven-bedroom, eight-bathroom house was highly praised for its interior décor and collection of fine art and furniture. Many of those items, ranging from an enviable collection of American and French antique furniture, fine art, sterling silver, Oriental rugs from small to palace size, and china and porcelain, are now being de-accessioned by the Brown family and will go home with the highest bidder on April 2.

Read more >

Hello, everyone. We’ve received a request for help from Ms. Ann Antonietta in hopes of assisting her in finding her dog, Gracie. We’d greatly appreciate it if you would please keep a lookout for her. Please click the picture to the right for a larger view. We’ve also included the flyer.

Ms. Antonietta sent us the following regarding a gathering this Saturday to help distribute a flyer in search for Gracie:

“This Saturday Mar 22nd beginning at 9am I am trying to organize a mass group of people together to help distribute flyers door to door to help find my dog Gracie who has been missing since Sunday evening. If anyone can help me I would greatly appreciate it. I live at 4514 Kensington Ave. You can just show up at anytime or call me at 475-1877 to let me know you can help. I may also be reached at Ann.Antonietta@pmusa.com or AnnAntonietta7517@comcast.net. Breakfast will be provided.

I ask to please forward to this anyone.

Thank you all for your support and prayers that you have sent my way.”

Further details:

“My dog Gracie is missing. She is a 10 year old Husky-Shepherd mix. She is very friendly. I moved into a new house ion the 4500 block of Kensington Ave on Sunday and Gracie got out of my fence Sunday evening and has not returned. I have posted flyers, gone back to my old neighborhood, been to the Richmond and Henrico pounds, SPCA, posted in the newspaper, have it on the radio, on Craig’s list and other websites, have put flyers in mailboxes of my neighborhood. I have not had any leads to her whereabouts. Gracie has her collar on with her id tags and she is micro chipped.

I ask you to PLEASE circulate this flyer to anyone to get the word out. If you would, please tape it to your car. I just want more visibility. I am offering a $1000 reward.

I am desperate to find Gracie and ask for any help or advice you can offer.”

Thanks much for any assistance anyone might offer.

Regards,
Kory Mohr & Jonah Holland
Publishers and Editors
Near West End News

About 15 years ago, back in 1993, I was on the Lecture Committee at Virginia Commonwealth University. No, we didn’t lecture people…I think it was just a poorly named group. We actually were a committee of students who gathered together to choose speakers to come to the university and talk to us. For a short while there, I was the chair and vice chair of the committee. We brought Malcolm X’s daughter, Atillah Shabazz, Alan Ginsberg, Nadine Strossen, Chuck D and more to the university to speak to the students. The fringe benefit was we also got to take these folks out to dinner and pick their brain. Of all the folks we picked, I’d say Chuck D was the most popular. And while I did get to take him out, because of his popularity, I didn’t get to say much….there must have been 10 people taking him out, instead of the 3 we had who wanted to escort Alan Ginsberg.
Anyhow, 15 year later, it seem Chuck D is still relevant….and now, even the University of Richmond wants to hear what he has to say, and invited him to their leadership forum. Something I can’t say I thought I’d ever see. Actually, his comment seem remarkably similar to what I heard about 15 years ago. Almost identical, I’d say. I guess we were pretty cutting edge back at VCU in 1993.

“It takes real minds and real people to do real things,” said the rapper/author/activist/political commentator/producer and advocate for the Internet.

“Americans are short on geography and history, especially black folks who don’t know who we are or where we come from,” he said during a visit to the University of Richmond’s Jepson Leadership Forum yesterday.

Knowledge — especially history — he said, is power. But using it may make one unpopular.

“We’re in a country that doesn’t give props for intelligence,” he said.

“Young, intelligent people stay quiet. In the last 15 years, the bully who used to get a dunce cap is getting a crown and is rewarded.”

Commercial radio and television are responsible for a lot of the dumbing down, he said. Corporations, he said, profit by keeping consumers ignorant. But he believes they can overcome it.

Education is the solution, he said. “Study black music, and you’ll get black history by default.

If you take a look at UR’s Jepson Leadership Forum’s past lineup, there are lots of great events that they’ve recently held. Next up:

Lani Guinier, Bennett Boskey Professor of Law at Harvard Law School
Wednesday, April 2, 7 p.m.
Jepson Alumni Center

The first black woman to be appointed to a tenured professorship at Harvard Law is the author of numerous articles on democratic theory, political representation, educational equity and issues of race and gender. A leading voice for political reform, she advocates rethinking race and class and changing the way we look at affirmative action. She is the author of Lift Every Voice: Turning a Civil Rights Setback into a New Vision of Social Justice, The Tyranny of the Majority: Fundamental Fairness in Representative Democracy, co-author of Who’s Qualified? and co-author of The Miner’s Canary: Enlisting Race, Resisting Power, Transforming Democracy. Book signing