Altria Group, the parent company of Philip Morris USA, will relocate to the Near West End in the near future as part of a cost saving measure. As Altria struggles to cut costs and remain viable as cigarette use decreases, what will this mean to the Near West End’s economy? More jobs? Construction? Expansion if Altria develops alternate sucessful products?

Altria Group is relocating its headquarters from New York to the Philip Morris USA campus on West Broad Street in Henrico County.

Altria Group Inc. is planning additional cost reductions, as the parent company of cigarette maker Philip Morris USA seeks to build its U.S. business after the spinoff of its international sister company.

The cost-cutting is part of a strategy to meet financial targets as U.S. cigarette consumption slowly declines, executives said yesterday.

“We are optimistic about our future,” Philip Morris USA CEO Michael E. Szymanczyk told investors and analysts at a conference in New York. He said the company’s strategy includes gaining market share in cigarettes and capitalizing on its Marlboro brand, while also expanding its business into products such as smokeless tobacco and cigars.

Szymanczyk will become chairman and chief executive of Altria Group after the company spins off Philip Morris International on March 28. Without the international unit, Altria will own its domestic cigarette company, Henrico County-based Philip Morris USA, and a 28.6 percent stake in Britain-based beer maker SABMiller PLC.

……

The company projected that cigarette volume in the United States will fall between 2.5 percent to 3 percent in the next few years, but Szymanczyk said Altria is well-positioned to expand, citing its 50 percent share of the U.S. cigarette market, and its ventures in growing categories such as smokeless tobacco and cigars.

Asked whether the company foresees a bottom to the U.S. cigarette market or even its eventual disappearance, Szymanczyk said he couldn’t answer that.

“I know it is a big business, and it is a profitable business,” he said. “What we do is compete for a share of that market as it exists, and we seem to be pretty successful.”

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The University of Richmond’s stay in the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament was a short one for the third consecutive year.

Fifth-seeded Saint Joseph’s eliminated fourth-seeded UR 61-47 in the quarterfinals Thursday afternoon at Boardwalk Hall. Richmond hasn’t won an A-10 tournament game since beating Rhode Island in the opening round of 2005.

Saint Joseph’s outscored UR 16-0 during a first-half stretch, took a 10-point lead, and the Spiders never really threatened the Hawks the rest of the way. Richmond’s largest deficit was 19 points, with 5:15 left.

The Spiders (16-14) now wait for Sunday, when they’ll discover if they will be included in the fields of the National Invitation Tournament, of the College Basketball Invitational. The Hawks (20-11) advance to Friday afternoon’s semifinal vs. top-seeded Xavier, which eliminated Dayton in yesterday’s first quarterfinal.

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Henrico police and area prosecutors have busted up a prostitution ring that they believe has been using hotels up and down the Broad Street corridor since 2002.

Timothy Cole, 37, has been arrested and faces numerous charges, including prostitution and racketeering.

Police say Cole used his escort service as a front for the prostitution, arranging “meetings” for customers in one of several unspecified hotels in the West End.

Cole was first arrested in January, but additional indictments were handed down this week, claiming the prostitution can be traced back six years.

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Volunteers from the 2008 Richmond Tree Steward program planted replacement trees along Monument Avenue this morning in a class lesson led by Dennis Gaston of the Virginia Department of Forestry.

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Gov. Tim Kaine’s Start Strong Initiativeis finally getting its legs, even if it seems to be a wobbly start. Kaine asked the General Assembly for $56 million dollars, and was granted only $22 million to start expanding the Virginia Preschool Initiative program that eventually would offer universal preschool to any 4-year-old in Virginia whose parent’s desired it — for free. So, for this years budget that brings Virginia’s preschool expenditure to $122 million.

What will that mean to our area? Well, both Richmond and Henrico will be adding additional classroom spaces for Pre-k students.

Henrico County has about 100 children in the initiative. Jean Murray, assistant superintendent for instruction for Henrico, said the district plans to add 68 more slots to Pre-K for this fall. The biggest factor preventing more children from entering was classroom space, she said.

Richmond city schools will add 36 Pre-K spots this fall for a total of 881, and the state money would help buy supplies and outfit an anticipated Pre-K classroom, said Ron Robertson, coordinator for the Pre-K program.

The Times-Dispatch reports. One of those additional classes in Richmond will be located at Libbie and Patterson at Community High School. All programs take children with the highest need first. In Richmond, many factors are taken into consideration including: developmental delays, 2 working parents (or one working parent, and one in full time school), single family households, family history of incarceration, or substance or physical abuse, and many more factors, including income.
Still, aside from funding, the two major problems that continue to be obstacles for the program include classroom space (the funding can’t be used to build facilities for the programs) and transportation (the 4-year-olds in the program aren’t allowed to ride the school bus and many of the parents don’t have cars, or find that the lack of transportation means that they can’t participate in VPI).

Additionally, now that the percentage that a locality will have to pay is capped at 50 percent, New Kent, Colonial Heights and Sussex may all find the money to add programs.

For more information on the City’s preschool program go to their website.

Billy K. Cannaday, Jr., Superintendent of Public Instruction for Virginia, has declared tomorrow Tornado Preparedness Day.

Schools statewide will practice a tornado drill tomorrow at 9:45 a.m. (if there should be a true emergency the drill will be postponed until Wednesday the 19th.)
Schools may choose an alternate time, but it is a requirement to have at least one drill per year. Personally, I know I’ll be warning my kids to be ready for the drill, and remind them, it is just for practice.

In Virginia, tornadoes can occur throughout the state, any time of year, with little or no warning. Recent years have brought record-breaking numbers of tornadoes to the Commonwealth. Tornado preparedness is more important than ever.

Click here for more info on tornado preparedness and local emergencies.

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

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

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.

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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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