Richmond SPCA is providing free feline spaying/neutering through March 31. Residents of Richmond, Chesterfield, Hanover, Henrico and Goochland can have their owned cats over 2 pounds fixed free of charge.

Even after this program ends, local residents who are “on government assistance, households with an annual income of less than $30,000, full-time college students, owners of pit bulls (and strong pit bull mixes) and feral cat caregivers” can can qualify for free spay/neuter services.

About 15 Richmond & Chesterfield police cars (and a couple of fire/rescue) have descended on Jahnke & Dorchester Ave. A loud crash was followed by lights & sirens galore, as Jahnke between Forest Hill & the railroad tracks was saturated with emergency vehicles.

Edit: Apparently a high-speed chase out of Chesterfield crossed into the city, came up Jahnke and ended abruptly at 5101 Dorchester. I was turned away before I could get closer than a couple hundred yards out, but it appears if the car hit the house itself. Photography was frowned upon.

Rescue took at least one person away, presumably an occupant of the car being pursued. Here’s hoping the residents of the house didn’t get injured in this mess.

Dante Lamont Lewis was convicted today of 6 charges related to his shooting & wounding ice cream vendor Daniel Teodorescu in the parking lot of Greene Elementary last fall.

A closer look at how our neighborhoods voted in yesterday’s primaries:

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As some of you have discovered, we’re suffering from email issues (and now, a series of total site outages). The site was unavailable for several hours this morning while our web host performed an upgrade that will allegedly solve our ongoing email issues. I’m still not convinced, so I’ve set up a temporary contact email for site communications. If you’ve not received a reply to an email you’ve sent over the last several weeks, please resend it to hillsandheights@ineffectual.net. I apologize for the confusion and inconvenience- I’ve had good luck with inexpensive web hosting in the past, but this is truly an example of getting what you pay for.

And if anyone has recommendations on solid web hosts with good uptime that won’t break the bank, I’m all ears!

For the second day in a row, police had to break up fights at George Wythe High School. At least 1 student was arrested, and at least 1 teacher was injured as a result of the fighting.

On March 11, the on ramp from Eastbound Forest Hill to Northbound Powhite Parkway will close for roughly 6 weeks as part of the Powhite toll plaza reconfiguration. The RMA suggests Chippenham South to Powhite and/or the Boulevard Bridge as detours. Alas, I’m expecting lots of last-minute u-turn attempts during rush hour…

Citywide preschool registration begins Thursday March 20 and continues Thursdays through June 12 at all city elementary schools (except George Mason and Fairfield Court). Registration will also be available Wednesdays starting April 2 from 9-3. at the Southside Community Service Center, 4100 Hull St.

Unfortunately for him, the substation near Hull St & Belt Blvd hit back. Following an explosion and fireball, police found Richard Croker on fire; he was subsequently left on with serious burns over 65 percent of his body.

A couple of readers have mentioned receiving automated phone calls from Richmond PD alerting residents to an increase in both automotive and residential break-ins. The messages seem to be targeting the area around Forest View Rescue Squad, even though the crime map doesn’t show too many in that area.

Monday’s T-D reported on George Wythe principal Parker Land’s resignation. “Health reasons” was the cited cause of Land’s resignation, but murmurs from within RPS suggest the 87 police calls to the school this year (including 2 for fights last week) are a more immediate reason, and that it was hardly a voluntary resignation.

Land was a main feature of a 2005 PBS documentary which profiled his attempt to turn things around at Boushall Middle School. The program, though a couple years old at this point, is still very relevant, and seems to have flown remarkably under the radar considering all of the hue and cry over the schools of late.

Potential mayoral candidates are beginning to come out of the woodwork. Dwight C. Jones, who represents many of us in the General Assembly’s 70th District, is considering a run; in today’s Style, he tries to quash suspicions that he would be merely a stand-in for Henry Marsh, a longtime Jones ally and Wilder foe. Look for a possible announcement in Mid-March.

The folks at the Westover Hills Library have changed up their computer class offerings. For March, several specific subjects are on the table- details are in the calendar and the full scoop is below the fold

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RPD Sector Lieutenants will meet with the community Saturday to hear and address specific community concerns. Area meetings are as follows:

• Sector 211 (Reedy Creek, Swansboro) will meet at 10 a.m. at 3600 McRand St.
• Sector 311 (Willow Oaks, Stratford Hills, Stony Point, Huguenot, Southampton) will meet at 3 p.m. at Third Precinct.
• Sector 312 (Jahnke, Cedarhurst, Forest View, Westover Hills, Woodland Heights, Forest Hill, Northrop)will meet at 9 a.m. at the Elizabeth Redd Elementary School, 5601 Jahnke Rd.

Edit: date corrected.