*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?

Richmond Police report that around 1:40 AM last night two people were robbed near the intersection of Mulberry Street & Kensington Avenue.

Says the RPD report:

500 block of Mulberry Street
A female and a male reported they were robbed by two unknown males.

Reader Josh asks us "I've noticed a number of restaurants and businesses in Carytown and the Fan refuse to accept Visa or other credit cards for transactions less than $5 or $10. Is this allowed? I thought Visa had to be accepted everywhere the logo is displayed."

According to our research any business that displays the Visa or Mastercard logo has to accept your credit card without any limitations. When a merchant signs up with a bank for a credit card processing device they agree not to require a minimum charge or charge you a fee for using your credit card.

The Consumerist.com blog has details on filing a complaint with your credit card issuer about merchants not following the rules:

Visa

"Visa merchants are not permitted to establish minimum transaction amounts, even on sale items. They also are not permitted to charge you a fee when you want to use your Visa card."

Reporting Information:
Phone Number: 1-800-VISA-911 (International: 1-410-581-9994). Or call the number on the back of your card

Online: Your card issuer's website may let you send them complaints about merchant violations and start a dispute if your were charged a fee to use your card.

MasterCard

"A merchant must not require, or post signs indicating that it requires, a minimum or maximum transaction amount to accept a valid MasterCard card."

Phone Number: 1-800-MASTERCARD (International: 1-636-722-7111) Or can also call the number on the back of your card.

Online: Make a report online.

American Express

"American Express's regulations do not explicitly prohibit minimum charges, but its policy is to discourage any merchant practices that create a "barrier to acceptance." Amex does prohibit "discrimination" against the Amex card, however, so if a merchant has no minimum or maximum charge or require ID for Visa and MasterCard, the merchant may not discriminate against Amex by imposing a minimum or maximum charge or requiring ID."

Phone Number: 1-800-528-4800 (International: 1-336-393-1111)

Online: Make a report online

What's Up With That? Send us an email and we'll investigate.

Summer's sizzle will be in the air tomorrow night at Byrd Park with the kickoff of the 54th annual Festival of the Arts. The summer celebration at Dogwood Dell will start at 8 PM with a performance by the Upper East Side Big Band.

Says the Department of Parks and Recreation on the Festival:

In addition to the lineup of performances on the Dell stage, this year's summer-long festival of free outdoor entertainment for families includes a series of Tuesday Blue Plate Specials at 12:30 p.m. for active adults; a series for young audiences on the Ha'Penny Stage adjacent to the Dell; a Gospel Music Fest on July 11 from 3 to 9 p.m.; a Words & Music Festival on July 18 from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m.; the Fourth Annual Latin Jazz Festival on August 14 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; a series of Carillon concerts performed by the city's Carilloneur Larry Robinson; and the popular Fourth of July annual performance series concluding with cannon fire and a fireworks spectacular.

Unlike much of Richmond's bumpy history, Monument Avenue will be a smooth ride after next week. The Department of Public Works says that they will resurface the famous avenue starting next Monday and continuing through the week. The construction project will restore the asphalt on Monument Ave from Thompson Street to the Boulevard.

Residents can expect periodic lane closures along with special parking restrictions during the construction project.