RTD has some information on the upcoming changes to Jahnke Road.

The Richmond Department of Public Works outlined two potential designs at a community meeting last month. One would create a continuous turn lane in the center of the road between the two travel lanes. The other would create a grass median. Both options would include sidewalks, curb and gutter, with a bike path on one side of the road, as well as space for landscaping.

As always this type of work is neither speedy nor cheap but certainly welcome.

The city estimates the project will cost about $18 million, “although we expect it to be less after we get long further in the design process,” said Public Works spokeswoman Sharon R. North. The city is relying solely on federal funds channeled through the region’s Metropolitan Planning Organization, but it doesn’t have money yet for construction.

The timetable for completing the project is three to five years, according to Graziano’s office. The city has not decided which option it will pursue but expects to complete the design by spring 2011.

The RTD is reporting that on Thursday the school board will be voting on Thursday on setting construction priorities including replacing Huguenot at the cost of over $81 million. Originally Huguenot was in Phase II of the construction plan but Mayor Jones submitted an altered plan that moves Huguenot High construction into Phase I.

Because of the aggressive timeline set forth by Jones, the School Board may make its decision with little input from the public.

“I think any major alterations to what was voted and decided needs to go back to the public, because it’s a substantial amount of money we are talking about,“ said School Board Vice Chairwoman Kimberly B. Gray. “If it’s some minor tweaking, then I think we’re OK, but if it’s a major shift in the priorities, then public involvement is critical.“

LaShawn Merritt, a Virginia native and the 2008 Olympic gold medal winner in the 400 meters and 4×400 meter relay, will speak to Redd Elementary School students about working hard in the classroom and having respect for self and others. Merritt is speaking on Nov. 6 at 9:30 a.m. at Elizabeth Redd Elementary School.

The James River Association held a contest that had people submitted a video about the James River. The final day for voting on the the 3 finalist is today. Finalists’ videos will air on FOX Richmond. On November 26th, the winner will be revealed in the Thanksgiving day football game on FOX Richmond and may be featured throughout the remaining of the year as a Public Service Announcement! (PSA).

Vote Here

Drivers on Forest Hill Avenue experienced a backup today just after noon, when a deer leapt into a car crossing over Reedy Creek. The driver was (presumably) shaken but unhurt, and her vehicle badly damaged. The deer was put down by police. Some lanes were shut down while the deer was being removed and the street washed down.

Councilwoman Kathy Graziano, Southwest 4th District, Richmond City Council will hold a meeting WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2009 from 7:00-8:30 p.m. at  St. Luke Lutheran Church.  All citizens are invited and encouraged to attend. The meeting will include:

Richmond Department of Public Works

• Report on Leaf Collection
• New trash collection schedules
• New bulk trash pickup schedules

Flu updates and information from Dr. Daniel Stern Virginia Department of Health

Go out and vote today. If you have a young child take them with you and give a short lesson on democracy. You give up all rights to bitch about government decisions if you don’t vote. I won’t be going out until lunch time so no local report on lines but the news is saying turnout is low right now (early morning) so no excuses.

Questions: State Board of Elections at (800) 552-9745 or Richmond’s voter registrar at (804) 646-5950

The Commission of Architectural Review is meeting on November 5th, 4:00 p.m. at the Richmond Fire & Emergency Services Admin Headquarters. The agenda will cover Architectural Guidelines, Process and Commission Members. 11_5 CAR Agenda, 10_1 CAR Minutes

The south side of the “Nickel” bridge is finally being repaved so keep an eye out for a flag man and be prepared to stop and wait. Hopefully this repaving will reduce that “I’m about to lose my life” feeling I’d get every time I headed for the bridge as the bumps and waves sent my car careening.

I have been a big fan of the Ukrop’s Fuelperks program since it started so I am dismayed this morning to read in the RTD of the changes. As a rational adult I understand the need for a company to make money but as a cheapskate adult who hates high gas prices I am bummed.

Customers now have to spend $50 or more on a single transaction in order to earn a 5-cents-per-gallon discount, the company said yesterday on its Web site.

Before, customers received the reward for every $50 they spent regardless of the number of transactions and the timeframe.

The other downside is that you have to use up your Fuelperks each month as opposed to the 90 days you had before. If you earn the perks in November you have to use them by the end of December. There is some hope because Ukrop’s also announced “specials that automatically give customers the discount of 5 cents per gallon regardless of the $50 minimum single-transaction purchase.”

From Craigs List: Two corgis found on Forest Hill running in the road near exxon. I caught them @ 6:10 a.m. (it was hard they are fast). Very lovable dogs male and female. I have two goldens so come get them soon. Its a full house.

Yesterday RTD had a story on Patrick Henry School.

“It seems to me, this is late in the process to be talking about how to transport the students,” said Kimberly B. Gray, vice chairwoman of the School Board. “It is critical to make sure all of our programs . . . are accessible to all children.”

The Patrick Henry School group acknowledges the issue and has a different view of the timeline.

“Failure is not an option,” said Deborah Butterworth, president of the charter school’s board.

Butterworth said it is difficult to develop a transportation plan because charter-school officials don’t know exactly where the student body is coming from. They aim to enroll 110 to 130 students in the K-5 school being developed in a former city elementary school on Semmes Avenue in South Richmond.

Read more >

Many folks (myself included) see a run down strip mall when they go past Southside Plaza but that may not be the whole story. Today’s Style Weekly has a different viewpoint. The main focus is the grocery store Farmer’s Foods and manager Rodney Saunders.

Saunders brought back the shuttle service for which Community Pride was known — spend at least $40 and get a ride home — and he passed out flyers to get the community to come back. It didn’t take long. “The secret is catering to the lower-class people,” Saunders says, meaning the mostly lower-income households that make up the surrounding neighborhoods. “You have to be a neighbor.” So far it’s worked: The store’s been profitable for three years, Saunders says, and sales this year have increased 15 percent despite an economic recession.

Success is not limited to Farmer’s Foods.

The out-parcels are healthy, too, including a renovated Radio Shack and a high-performing McDonald’s. Even the old duckpin bowling alley, Plaza Bowl, has seen a revival of late, becoming a popular live music venue.

Check out the full article for a closer analysis of this success.

Lieutenant John A. O’Kleasky, Jr. has published the latest Crime Report for Sector 312 (Report.pdf). The good news is that violent crime was down a whooping 45%. The bad news was that property crime in particular breaking and entering increased by 8%. Local commercial crimes included yet another robbery of the McDonalds on Forest Hill, attempted break in at O’Toole’s, burglary at Janhnke Auto Care, and burglary of Target.

A Hills and Heights shout out to Officer Mary Paulette who arrested an individual at 4900 Forest Hill Ave. (Blockbuster Video) as he was attempting to steal metal shelving from behind the business. The metal was valued at over $1,500.00 and the suspect admitted to committing a similar crime in August.

As part of the monthly Woodland Heights meeting Tom Flynn of City Traffic Engineering Department will be there to discuss the proposed traffic circle for Roanoke & Forest Hill Avenue. The meeting takes place on Tuesday, November 24th, 7 p.m. at the Berryman Center. The subject of the circle should be up around 7:30.

Richmond Slumlord Watch which was launched to bring attention to blighted properties and hold those owners accountable has found a Hills & Heights connection. Charles Parham who owns 6745 Monitor Road near Willow Oaks Country Club is also the owner of 2117-2119 Cedar Street which is suffering. He also owns some other properties in the Church Hill area that are in fine shape.

Style Weekly took an active role in catching an alleged thief of $50,000 from southbank business Scoot Richmond. Scoot was previously profiled by CNN and at the time the thief was still on the run.

Two weeks ago, Style Weekly ran a Google search for Tourtelot and found her Facebook page. Tourtelot responded and accepted a request from a Style reporter to be her online friend within 40 minutes.

With access to her Facebook page, Style found Tourtelot had posted pictures of a new car — a green Firebird — with a clearly visible license plate.

Check out the article for the rest of the story. I am smelling a made for TV movie or even a series. The series will be called “Social Media Action Strike Heroes or S.M.A.S.H.” and will star group of sassy young people dressed in too much leather solving crime through Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace.

I am a huge fan of Nate’s taco truck that is at the South of the James Farmer’s Market on Saturdays and I am not the only one. Richmond Inside Out gives them a try at Nate’s weekday location on the VCU campus. The picture definitely looks like it was taken at the farmer’s market.

I was surprised that my beef tacos were made with shredded beef, not ground beef. Nicely spiced and covered in cheese, lettuce and a glob of sour cream: Just the way I like my truck tacos. And it was packed full, stretching that little tortilla to capacity. There wasn’t much time for socialization because, you know – some people have to work around here – so we ate quickly and messily. Thankfully Nate’s Taco Truck doesn’t have a napkin limit.

I usually have one beef and one chorizo, salsa and cheese only, in case anyone wants to buy me lunch. I don’t use Twitter much but Nate does and it is a good way to keep track of the mobile truck.

John M. at Church Hill People’s News attended last nights informational meeting on school construction. In a poll the majority of council members are in favor of the mayor’s plan which includes a new Huguenot High School. This meeting was the first of two and John’s summary is here. Also read the comments as there is some interesting discussion going on.

The Committee for Historic Designation in Forest Hill Neighborhood Association will have a panel discussion on historic designation next Tuesday, Nov 10th, 7 PM at Forest Hill Presbyterian Church at the corner of 44th St. and Forest Hill Ave. The FHNA will vote on Wednesday night at their monthly meeting whether to seek historic designation on the State and National Registers.

Anyone interested in learning more about historic designation is invited to attend this meeting. A representative from the Department of Historic Resources will be in attendance.

One question that I am sure will come up is will either designation (State or National) prohibit what I can and cannot do to my property.

Read more >

The Maymont Dooley Noted Society is hosting a day of leaf raking in Maymont’s Japanese Garden Saturday November 21st from 9 a.m. to noon. Meet up at the Hampton street entrance for your chance to give back to Maymont. If you have any questions the contact number is 804-358-7166 ext. 310. Leaf Raking Flyer

Map of Forest Hill Neighborhood

Read more >

also performing will be EL PRESIDENTE and SYNVIOUS. I don’t have the ticket price.

Celebrate the James River with an evening of storytelling on Thursday, Nov. 19, from 6 to 8 p.m. at The Richmond Times-Dispatch downtown offices. The event will feature stories from the people who fish, explore, swim and protect the James. Times-Dispatch writer Rex Springston and photographer P. Kevin Morley will also share their experiences creating the year-long series, the James River Journal. Rex and Kevin will be available to sign copies of their new book created from the popular series. Copies of the book, James River Journal: A Year in the Life of a River, will be available for purchase for $14.99, plus tax.

For more information, call Sundra Hominik at 804.649.6765. Reservations are not required.

This post was stolen verbatim from Jacqui at River City News, thanks Jacqui.

We have already had a post about the efforts to have the Forest Hill neighborhood declared historic but I also want to call some additional attention to the blog Historic Forest Hill Neighborhood that the organizers have launched. So far only two posts but this group is just starting out. I am looking forward to hearing about their discoveries.

Since we are on the topic of “historic” John M. at CHPN had a post yesterday that linked to an article by Steven Semes’ From Contrast to Continuity: A New Preservation Philosophy, that takes a look at development in historic areas.