Hey folks! This site was hacked to spew some kind of malware at y’all for a while today. Everything should be clean now. Thanks to everyone that contacted us!

Style Weekly has the story on how Samuel Best, Armstrong High School’s class of ‘08 valedictorian, may not be able to attend UVa because his parents make a little too much money to get much help but not enough to able to come up with even with the share required by student loans.

Style Weekly’s Edwin Slipek Jr. delves into the history and architectural import of the old WRVA tower, now the headquarters for the nonprofit ChildSavers.

ChildSavers, an organization providing care for local children since 1924, has renewed one of the city’s most visible and important mid-20th-century architectural landmarks. [...] A row of dilapidated brick houses near the corner of East Grace and 22nd streets, in the then-rejuvenating historic district, was demolished and an intriguing, Acropolis-like broadcasting complex was completed in 1968. It was a brilliant move architecturally on the part of the radio station, as the facility all but claimed Richmond: Its broadcasters looked out from their studios through cargo-bay-sized windows over the downtown skyline, the sweep of the James River and the curves of Interstate 95.

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A reader writes: “I’m considering buying a multi-family property set of apartments in Church Hill as an investment, and to be able to provide some guidance as this part of the neighborhood cleans itself up a little. I have some questions and I’m not sure who to turn to.”

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Remember: it is the season of minor property crime! Lawn equipment from yards and sheds, tools that can be resold or used to make money, are always popular targets. Make sure that your stuff is secure and keep an eye out on your block.

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The Richmond Parcel Mapper is a map of the city of Richmond that “permits querying and display of real estate Parcels”, and can also be used as an interactive map of the various Council Districts.

Liberty or Death Reenactment ; Beginning Computer Classes for Adults; open mic @ Poe’s Pub; CAPS Meeting / Public Safety Meeting; Unity Civic League; Union Hill July clean-up; MORE…

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Fireman are working to control a house fire at 22nd and Cedar Streets. No word on what started the fire or the fate of the residents.

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The City of Richmond Planning Commission will hold what may be the last public hearing on the June 2008 Revised Draft Downtown Master Plan TONIGHT, July 7 @6:30PM on the 5th floor conference room in city hall. John Sarvay over at Buttermilk&Molasses has a timely update and recap on the Richmond Downtown Master Plan.

Bishop Richard Hall announced a plan in March to convert the Higher Ground Tabernacle into a coffee shop. It now looks like the property is up for auction… We’ve also heard that Sandra’s Home Cooked on 29th Street has moved out.

The Church Hill Association site has the agenda for the July 22nd Commission of Architectual Review meeting (which includes projects on East Franklin Street, East Grace Street, East Broad Street, East Marshall Street, North 26th Street, North 28th Street, North 29th Street, and North 36th Street).

The Fairmount area contained a few non-residential developments prior to 1890 that helped to shape the neighborhood as it displaced them. The most important of these was the Central Lunatic Asylum, built on property originally part of a military hospital during the Civil War. The southern edge of the grounds was S Street, which later became Fairmount Avenue.

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As part of the on-the-ground work towards a possible Old&Historic designation for Union Hill, volunteers have scoped the area and identified the vacant lots in the area. Check out the map and drop’em a line if you have any corrections/additions.

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Style’s weekly restaurant round-up Short Order lets everyone know that Patrick Henry’s Pub & Grille is open:

The former Acappella, which closed last year, is in enthusiastic new hands. Owner Eric Warner, a longtime regular there, got to work on a major cleanup and menu redesign that’s “fresher and more cohesive - nothing frozen,” he says. “And we think we’ve solved the smoke problem” that used to annoy some customers. [...] Upstairs, the dining rooms, newly painted and hung with artwork from Eric Schindler Gallery, are served by a new kitchen and chef, Nicolai Creatore, formerly of Kitchen 64, Kuba Kuba, Davis & Main and a six-year stint at Millie’s.

Tricycle Gardens are presenting the first of a series of workshops on organic gardening: Introduction to Organic Gardening (7/24), Getting Started with Organic Gardening (8/7), and Fall Gardening and Winter Preparations (9/11). Each workshop will cost $15 and take place at 211 West 7th Street in Old Manchester. Please contact allison@tricyclegardens.org if you have questions.

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There are 2 local items on the agenda for Monday’s city council meeting:

Ord. No. 2008-156 To conditionally rezone the properties at 1201, 1203, 1205, 1207, 1208, 1209, 1224 North 28th Street and 2832 R Street from the M-1 Light Industrial District to the R-63 Multi-family Urban-Residential District ***.

Ord. No. 2008-161 To authorize the special use of *** 2304 East Broad Street for the purposes of furniture repair and storage within a completely enclosed building ***.

Police arrested several drug dealers this afternoon in the 1200 block of 24th Street, a block described by neighbors as a drug hot spot for “quite some time”.

Liberty or Death Reenactment ; Bellevue PTA meeting; Beginning Computer Classes for Adults; open mic @ Poe’s Pub; Church Hill Creative Homemakers Society; MORE…

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LOST: Contact Diane at dgworth@yahoo.com. i if you have you seen Pella (photo after the jump). FOUND: Dark brown/black and white female unspayed wandering Clay Street between 31st and 32nd. If this is your dog or someone you know, please contact chimbodogs@hotmail.com. You will have to give identifying information such as breed and any significant markings.

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