The RTD’s New restaurants boomin’ in Bottom takes note of all of the activity in Shockoe Bottom and gives props to LuLu’s, The Halligan Bar & Grill, Alex’s Thai Cuisine, the soon-to-open Sheba Restaurant & Lounge (this weekend?!?), Julep’s New Southern Cuisine, and GlobeHopper Coffee House & Lounge.

Word has it that Sheba, Shockoe Bottom’s new Ethiopian restaurant, will be opening sometime this weekend. Sheba is located at 9 North 17th Street at the Farmers Market.

Club Velvet owner Samuel Moore, charged with a felony for allegedly filming himself having sex with a 17-year-old from video snagged during a February raid on the strip club, “argued today that he cannot be prosecuted for having sex with a minor and filming it because the girl was married and two months shy of her 18th birthday”. [via]

The RTD looks at the benefits of the local farmers’ markets:

The food products are fresher, plus you’re helping the local economy,” said Rory Bray, who runs CCL Farm in Keysville with wife Mary and son Justin and produces all-natural pork, poultry and eggs.

Style Weekly is reporting that the archaeological dig at Lumpkin’s Jail, the slave auction house and nicknamed the “Devil’s Half Acre”, could resume this summer. The site is currently a parking lot behind Main Street Station.

Paul Goldman, candidate for mayor, says that the Wilder-backed Echo Harbour marina project is not in the best long-term interests of the city, and that he will oppose it. The candidate also says that backers of the marina project “have left many important fiscal and other questions either unanswered or incompletely answered”. [via email]

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It’s not too late to sign up for Tuesday’s LIVESTRONG Day Ravenchase Adventure game throughout downtown Richmond, one of the more than 500 events taking place in communities across the world “to raise awareness of cancer survivorship, to benefit the Lance Armstrong Foundation, and to honor cancer survivors who have touched our lives”. The race, organized by Ravenchase Adventures, will start at 4PM and will involve walking to where the clues take you, including historic sites, parks, and more.

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GRTC will be holding a public meeting today at 6PM at the Children’s Museum on West Broad Street on their proposed rapid transit system and the transfer station possibly slated for Main Street Station. [via]

Bikes in the Bottom; Mother’s Day at the Poe Museum; Sunday Vintage Market; discuss: International Environmental Concerns; open mic @ Poe’s Pub; James River Writers meet&greet; DeVotchKa @ Toad’s; Mini Flicks & Stories; Thursday Fresh Market; River District Canal Cruises (Friday-Sunday); GREAT STRIDES Walk-a-thon for Cystic Fibrosis; Marionette; Shockoe Bottom Neighborhood Meeting; The New Three R’s; book signing: Jim Malusa; MORE…

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In addition to being known for their food, the folks at LuLu’s can take the crown as the city’s most reviewed restaurant in the past 6 months or so. The most recent visit was by freelancer Ginger Warder for richmond.com who comes out swinging, saying of the food that “I would have been more satisfied at Cracker Barrel than with this bland bowl of noodles” and of the service that “I assume if you become a familiar face, that service might go up a notch”.

All lanes of Canal Street between 7th Street and 9th Street and all lanes of 8th Street between Franklin Street and Cary Street will be closed from 6AM to noon on Saturday for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. The southbound lanes of the Manchester Bridge will also be closed for the race from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. The northbound lanes of the bridge will not be closed.

Segway of Richmond has announced daily guided tours of downtown that includes the Canal Walk, Brown’s Island, Belle Isle, and more. [via]

The guided Segway tour is approximately 2.5 hours with a 15-minute lesson to make sure you’re safe and comfortable gliding around town. You’ll discover architectural features of downtown buildings. Along the way, you’ll stop and see things you just can’t get to see by car.

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To raise awareness of the vital role rail plays in our nation’s transportation system, the City of Richmond will join Amtrak and other partner organizations in celebrating the first annual National Train Day in a public event at Main Street Station on Saturday, May 10 at 9:30AM.

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Ordinance 2007-321 (PDF) which seeks to “declare a public necessity to acquire the Lehigh property, along the riverfront near the old Annabel Lee dock“, towards using the land as public greenspace and also as part of the Virginia Capital Trail, comes before City Council on Monday, May 12. [via]

A public hearing on the Richmond Downtown Master Plan in front of the City Planning Commission has been announced for Monday, May 19th @1:30PM. The Commission will consider adoption of the plan and recommendation for approval to City Council; the public is encouraged to attend the meeting. (event flyer)

Style Weekly’s Look Away, Look Away delves into Richmond’s history as a major center of the nation’s domestic slave trade, possibly the city’s biggest industry during the first half of the 19th century. The “facts found underfoot in Shockoe and at Rocketts and Manchester” paint a grim and astounding picture.

The future of the James River in today’s RTD is a great overview of the issues that will be part of Monday night’s RTD Public Square on the James River. The discussion of “the single greatest physical asset that we have in the Richmond metropolitan area” will certainly touch on the balance between private and public interests, public access to the river, the preservation of natural areas, the impact of private development, and what role the local government should play.

Jason Jenkins Trio; Sunday Vintage Market; Smart Growth in Richmond ; The James River - RTD Public Square; open mic @ Poe’s Pub; Mini Flicks & Stories; Thursday Fresh Market; Easy Star All-Stars (w/ Trumystic) @ Friday Cheers; River District Canal Cruises (Friday-Sunday); 6th District Town Meeting; HOTEL X; Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure; Bikes in the Bottom; Mother’s Day at the Poe Museum; Local Foods; MORE…

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GlobeHopper has a announced a series of open dialogue events each Monday. The calendar so far has 3 great Monday night discussions set up for the next 3 weeks: Smart Growth in Richmond, Local Foods, and The New Three R’s Moving from Reduce, Reuse, Recycle to Renew, Replenish and Restore

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Richmond Police are looking for suspects after a man was stabbed at around 1:30AM this morning on Belle Isle. The stabbee was found having been stabbed several times in his leg; his injuries are not considered life-threatening. [via]