On the heels of the release of the Richmond City Schools Facility Master Plan (PDF), you are invited to be part of a community conversation around the building of new schools in the East District. 7th District School Board Representative Keith West will be present. Tuesday Dec.4 @ EDI - 701 N 25th Street.

Mr. and Mrs. George W. Thompson Jr. of 22nd Street celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with a renewal of their vows last Saturday at the Thirty-first Street Baptist Church. The former Mary White, retired from the Richmond Public Schools system, is President of the New Visions Civic League in Fairmount. Mr. Thompson is a retired designer/pattern maker of custom-made shirts and a former church school superintendent. [via]

Read more >

The first public hearing on the recently released updated Downtown Master Plan will be Monday, Dec.3rd at 6:30PM at the City Planning Commission meeting in the 5th floor conference room in City Hall. Backers of this vision of Richmond’s future are urging citizens to turn out to show their support for the plan.

Read more >

About 25 people turned out for a “community conversation on building new schools” last night at EDI. The meeting began with a presentation (PDF) by Torey Edmunds on the recently released Master Facility Plan Update (PDF) as it impacts the East End, followed by a lively back and forth on the issues raised.

Read more >

MLK Middle School is on lockdown in response to sightings of Alonzo Logan in the immediate area. 8:50AM: THEY CAUGHT HIM IN FULTON.

According to the City’s online Land Use Logbook (PDF), a Plan of Development (POD) has been submitted to construct a 33-unit condo complex called “Oakwood Heights Condos” at 3618 E Broad St. The property is zoned to allow this, though the address is within a City Old and Historic District and will require approval from CAR.

From the minutes of the 11/28 joint meeting of Union Hill Civic Association and Friends of Jefferson Park at the Cedar Street Baptist Church (FOJP Minutes / UHCA Minutes): announcement of and invitation to the Dec. 8th lighting of the Jefferson Park Holiday Tree (9AM, bring your coffee, they’ll have danishes!!!) and the declaration of Venable Street as a “Prostitution Free Zone”.

Motley’s will be auctioning for the city a group of 12 different properties (PDF), including undeveloped lots in Union Hill, Woodville, and Oakwood, on Wednesday, December 12th at 6:00PM.

Read more >

All of the seasonal neighborhood fun happens this weekend! Vespers (12/7), Candlelight Walk (12/7), the Church Hill Holiday Ball (12/8), lighting of the Jefferson Park Holiday Tree (12/8), Parade of Lights on the James River (12/8), the Church Hill House Tour (12/9), and the Holiday Open House @ St. John’s Church (12/9). Check out the calendar for more info.

New RVA satire blog Tobacco Avenue points out that With crime down, local prostitutes feel safer on city streets. From the post:

A rolled wad of bills - fives, tens maybe - emerge from the dark interior along with the aroma of Northern Lights-brand marijuana, the heavy thump of bass rattling the partially-rusted trunk. He whispers something to LaTawnya; she nods her head and enters the passenger seat, gently winking at a Tobacco Avenue reporter as they drift into the night, seemingly disappearing into the grandly illuminated Richmond skyline.

And with that, LaTawnya was off to her next gig - and likely safe one, at that.

The Church Hill Association has a new bloggy website.

Friends of Jefferson Park met last Saturday to decorate the park and light the tree in Jefferson Park. Their next project is this Saturday, 12/15 @ 8:30AM to assist with the planting of the trees in the park, “a wonderful opportunity to give a gift to future park users”. All are encouraged to come out and help plant trees!

Read more >

The calendar on the left side of each page has been updated. Instead of showing a week from Sunday to Saturday, it now displays a rolling week from one day back to six days out.

Three buildings (that are not Oakwood Heights…) that have come up in conversation recently: the languishing renovation at 401 North 27th Street, the boarded up house at 404 North 27th (pictured above), and the new construction house going up at 500/502 North 32nd.

Read more >

The street lights have been off around here all night, and I just saw a cop car cruise by slow with the blue lights rolling but no siren.