Live or park on Ellwood Avenue? There is good news for you from the Richmond Police Department:

Third Precinct Officer Brian Shows recently responded after a citizen saw a man pulling on door handles in the 3200 block of Ellwood Avenue in the rear alley. Witnesses followed the suspect until officers could arrive on scene to make an arrest. The witnesses' description and reporting of the man's movements led to his arrest. Good job to both the citizens and Officer Shows!

Showtimes for August 13th through August 19th, 2010

Shrek Forever After | Rated PG
Nightly at 7:15pm continuing Friday, August 13th
Plus Matinees Saturday & Sunday, August 14th & 15th at 4:30pm
 
Sex and the City 2 | Rated R
Nightly at 9:30pm starting Friday, August 13th

CBS 6 reports that Richmond Police are now seeking a suspect in the July 25th beating of a nude male outside of Star-lite on Robinson & Main Streets:

Investigators say 39 year-old Thomas Darlington Connor, Jr. from Richmond participated in the attack. Police are trying to find him. They say assault charges will likely be filed against the other two men once they are positively identified.

The incident happened Sunday morning, July 25, 2010 in Richmond's Fan district on the corner of West Main and Robinson Street soon after the bars let out.

Police say Byers, intoxicated and completely nude walked up to an SUV full of men. In the video, you see three men jump out of the SUV. One of them punches Byers, and the other two kick him.

Read & Watch More About This Shocking Attack From CBS 6

BUZZZZZZZZ! Just beyond Byrd Park's Roundhouse is a fallen tree with a sign warning curious visitors of the angry bees in this arboreal disaster area. Many large trees and much debris remain in the park after last Thursday's severe storms ravaged the Boulevard area.

Richmond.com visits some of Richmond's oldest dining establishments including one very special destination on Kensington Ave: Chiocca's.

Reports Richmond.com:

According to Scott Ripley, the current owner of Chiocca's, each of three Chiocca brothers opened his own restaurant-featuring specialty sandwiches and bearing the family name-in the 1950s. Two locations, one on Park Avenue and the other in Carytown, have long since closed. But the North Belmont Avenue location, which was opened by Mario Chiocca in 1952, endures.

Read More On The History Of Chiocca's & Other Richmond Restaurant Treasures at Richmond.com

After suffering a financial setback several weeks ago when a thief smashed the glass doors of the Byrd Theatre the non-profit movie palace has rebounded bringing in several thousand dollars of new donations. According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch the theatre has brought in more than 100 donations and pledges totaling almost $4,000 and plans to sell t-shirts at the Carytown Watermelon Festival.

Reports the RTD on the upcoming fundraising plans:

JHI, a local graphic design and advertising company, responded by leading an effort to design and sell T-shirts benefiting the Byrd, which opened in 1928 and primarily serves as a second-run movie house. An initial order of 500 shirts would generate up to $7,500.

"What we're hoping is we'll sell out of the 500 and order another 500," said Jo Watson, a partner with JHI.

The firm was spurred to act after reading about the Byrd's plight and considering "how it's so much part of what makes Richmond Richmond," she said.

Read more about the Byrd Theatre's fundraising efforts at the Richmond Times-Dispatch

Residents of an apartment building on South Boulevard at Cary St are going to have a difficult time getting into their homes this morning after a two vehicle crash sent a Jeep barreling into the structure's front porch. Richmond police, fire and RAA are limiting traffic in the area to one lane as emergency personnel work to clear this messy accident scene.

Shrek Forever After  Rated PG
Nightly at 7:15pm continuing Friday, August 6th
Plus  Matinee Saturday, August 7th  4:30pm

The A-Team  Rated PG-13
Nightly at 9:30pm starting Friday, August 6th

Don't Short Pump Carytown! That's the message area merchants are sending a commercial developer with eyes on the old Verizon property at the corner of Floyd Ave and Nansemond.

Reports the Richmond Times-Dispatch:

"What they've shown is beautiful," said Frances Daniel, owner of Mrs. Marshall's Carytown Café. "But what bothers me is the attitude. I don't want [Carytown] to be a mini Short Pump."

Others said last night at a meeting of the Carytown Merchants Association that they worry about what kind of national retailer the developers might land as a tenant.

Daniel wondered how a retailer without local roots would work in the area. "What are you going to do to become a part of Carytown?" she asked the developers, saying area shop owners are a close-knit group that "looks after one another."

Read more about the concerns of area business leaders in the Richmond Times-Dispatch

*DEVELOPING*

View Our Photos Of This Savage Storm

UPDATE 11:15 PM - Richmond Police Report that the fallen tree at Monument & Roseneath has claimed another victim: VEH RAN INTO THE TREE DOWN AT THIS LOCATION...VEH POSS LEAVING THE AREA.

Shattered glass and an empty cage! That's what the staff of the Byrd Theatre discovered on Sunday morning after a vandal/thief destroyed a glass door to acquire the contents of a cage containing dollar bills.

Reports the Richmond Times-Dispatch:

Yesterday morning, someone broke into the theater and cleaned out the bird cage, which probably held less than $100, said General Manager Todd Schall-Vess. A bigger problem was the damage to the theater doors, which may cost $1,200 to fix when the bills come in....

.... "It's a shame that there wasn't more donated money to steal," Schall-Vess said. "It would have been sequestered somewhere else. The sad thing is, they didn't get away with much because there wasn't that much to take."

Read More From The Richmond Times-Dispatch

Help Fill the Byrd Theatre's Online Bird Cage With a PayPal Donation

Showtimes for July 16th through July 22nd, 2010

Date Night | Rated PG-13
Nightly at 7:15 & 9:30pm continuing Friday, July 16th
EXCEPT Tuesday July 20th, when it will show at 8:00pm Only
AND Thursday, July 22th, when it will show at 9:30 only
Plus Matinees Saturday & Sunday July 17th &18th  at 4:30pm
 

One Of Each Productions Presents:
The Learning Curves
2:00pm Saturday, July 17th
Suggested Donation of  $2 benefits Project Linus
 

Richmond Alzheimer's Association Presents:
The Alzheimer's Project
5:30pm Tuesday, July 20th
FREE to public
 

Richmond Justice Initiative Presents:
Call + Response
7:00pm Thursday, July  22nd

Convicted! A serial robber who rattled Carytown last autumn received a 30 year sentence today for his role in multiple robberies and larcenies along the popular shopping corridor. Says the Richmond Times-Dispatch on the conviction and sentencing of Christopher M. Davis:

Over a six-week period beginning last August, Christopher M. Davis robbed two taxi drivers and targeted four women, in one case knocking a victim down and dragging her along the pavement into an alley.

Today, Circuit Judge Richard D. Taylor Jr. sentenced Davis to 20 years for each robbery charge and 10 years for each larceny count. The judge suspended all but five years for each count.

Read more about this story from the Richmond Times-Dispatch

Showtimes for July 9th through July 15th, 2010

Date Night | Rated PG-13
Nightly at 7:15 & 9:30pm starting Friday, July 9th

How To Train Your Dragon | Rated PG
Matinee Sunday July 11th  at 4:30pm

How To Train Your Dragon  | Rated PG
Nightly at 7:15pm continuing Friday, July 2nd
With Matinees Saturday & Sunday July 3rd &  4th  at 4:30pm
 

Robin Hood  Rated | PG-13
Nightly at 9:30pm continuing Friday, July 2nd 

Looking for something to do on Thanksgiving or Christmas Day? In the past your options were limited to The Byrd Theatre or Movieland at Boulevard Square but now a new venue has risen to challenge these pillars of holiday entertainment. The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts announced today that the museum will be open 365 days a year, offering special holiday hours so that you can share Richmond's art treasures with your guests from out of town:

Historically, the museum has been closed Mondays and in recent years, it was also closed on Tuesdays. Holiday closings were on New Year’s Day, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Starting on the Fourth of July, VMFA will open on these holidays from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

• Establish special holiday hours from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. for New Year’s Day, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.
• Maintain regular 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday hours for state and national holidays that fall on Mondays, such as Memorial Day, Martin Luther King Day and Labor Day.
• Operate the VMFA Shop, Best Café and Amuse Restaurant during open holiday hours.
• Offer a special holiday-specific menu on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s in the museum’s restaurants.

Do you want to be on tv? Mutual of Omaha is offering you the opportunity at fame and television stardom as they setup their mobile television studio in Carytown. Says the Times-Dispatch:

Insurance giant Mutual of Omaha is in town for two days looking to find new stories for its "Aha Moment" ad campaign.

The company is parking its 34-foot mobile TV studio outside the Byrd Theatre in Richmond's Carytown business district beginning this morning.

It's asking area residents to drop by the studio to share their personal "aha moment," which could then wind up in ads running next year. The campaign, according to Mutual of Omaha, is built around the concept that "everyday people can create extraordinary possibilities."

Read more about the ad campaign and Mutual of Omaha's plans at the Richmond Times-Dispatch

Richmond Police report that their focus mission team successfully seized thousands of dollars in drugs and made an arrest at a residence on Douglasdale Rd:

Third Precinct Focus Mission Team investigators recently searched a home on Douglasdale Road. The search resulted in the arrest of one man for misdemeanor and felony drug possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine and ecstasy. Investigators also seized crack cocaine, ecstasy pills, marijuana, nearly $4,000 in cash, drug packaging materials and drug paraphernalia.

Robin Hood Rated | PG-13
Nightly at 7:15pm starting Friday, June 18th

A Nightmare On Elm Street (2010) | Rated R
Nightly at 9:45pm starting Friday, June 18th

Clash Of The Titans Rated | PG-13
Matinees Only Saturday & Sunday June 19th & 20th at 4:30pm

A 21 year old man is in critical condition today after falling from the roof of a three story apartment building at the intersection of Boulevard and West Main Street. According to the Richmond Police Department the individual fell after engaging in an alcohol fueled dare to jump the gap between two buildings.

Reports the Times-Dispatch:

Richmond police Capt. David L. Martin said the victim was taken to VCU Medical Center with life-threatening internal and head injuries.

Martin said authorities were called to an alley behind 9 N. Boulevard at 2:53 a.m. and found the victim on the ground, bleeding from his head and other areas....

....Martin said the three had decided to use a ladder to climb to the roof of 9 N. Boulevard, where the victim jumped to the roof of adjacent 7 N. Boulevard. When the victim tried to jump back to the roof of 9 N. Boulevard, he didn't make it and plunged to the alley below.

Much ridicule has been directed at the poor judgment of the intoxicated victim on area news sites such as the Times-Dispatch and CBS 6 with little inquiry into the conditions that led to this tragedy. Where did this ladder come from? Was it the tenant's ladder or the property owner's? If the ladder was the latter, did it serve as an attractive nuisance?