Style Weekly has word of a shake-up at LuLu’s:

Millie’s Diner owner Paul Keevil has taken over operations at the Shockoe Bottom spin-off LuLu’s; former partner Steve Jurina is no longer involved at the restaurant.

Writing for richmond.com, Alix Bryan reports on last week’s working meeting on the future of the canal:

It was clear that a strong majority want to interact with the Canal, not just observe it. There was a demand for fewer restrictions and for biking, pet walking, and even kayaking through the Canal. While Venture Richmond said ticket sales have increased for the Canal boat cruises that run on evenings and weekends, many want more use from the Canal. Also mentioned was an observation deck for the rapids.

Rumor has it that the Lifetime movie getting ready set filming in Richmond was scouting locations in Shockoe and Tobacco Row today…

The film will be shot in Richmond beginning Sept. 13 through the first week of October, according to Darilyn Mason, the extras casting director on the production. Mason couldn’t give too many details on the plot or the budget of the film.

It’s been 6 years since Gaston flooded Main Street and Shockoe Bottom:

Then, at about 6pm at night as we all stood in the main entrance way to our street level offices the front doors opened….. it was a wall of water about 12 inches high. It swept through the office. Everyone ran to get stuff off of the floor and into the cars in our parking deck behind our office. Within a minute or two the water had risen to about 3 feet deep. It was time for us to leave. [...] We ran up stairs and spent the next 5 hours on the second floor of the building watching in amazement as we looked out the windows onto what was East Main Street. It was now a 9 foot deep river.

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Richard Florida’s Creative Class projects Richmond being the #2 gainer in creative class employment in the country over the next 8 years:

More than 35 million people are currently employed in creative class work in fields like science, technology, and engineering; business, finance, and management; law, health care, and education; and arts, culture, media, and entertainment. The creative class makes up roughly a third of total employment and accounts for more than half of all wages and salaries in America. Creative class employment has seen relatively low rates of unemployment during the course of the economic crisis. Creative class jobs will make up roughly half of all projected U.S. employment growth – adding 6.8 million new jobs by 2018. [...] Gainesville, FL – home to the University of Florida – is the biggest projected gainer, with a projected 17.7 percent increase in creative class jobs, followed by Richmond, VA (17.5 percent) [...]

Karri Peifer has details and photos from the new Fish Bowl Bistro & Bar coming to the old Relish spot on 15th Street:

Owner Ross Renfrow is planning a soft opening for Friday, Sept. 5 where diners can come and sample the seafood-inspired entrees in the $15 – $25 range or sandwich and salad fare for $8 – $12. Fishbowl will also offer daily happy hour specials (4 to 7 p.m.) which will be served inside or on the patio from their open-air bar.

FYI – East 17th Street between Stockton Street and Decatur Street will be closed on Saturday, August 28, 6AM-10PM for a Neighborhood Watch block party.

Jeff Ruggles guest-posts over at The Shockoe Examiner on the origin of the Shockoe in Shockoe Slip and Shockoe Bottom:

It is plausible that the Powhatan called such dams “stone-things” or shacquohocan. In time, what began as a word for stone dams could have comeinto use as a place name for the part of the river the dams occupied, and then for the banks adjacent, where the Indians might have had a temporary encampment. [...] It was there that the English, when they journeyed up the river in their boats, could proceed no farther, and so it became a place significant to the English as well. The same place on the river was known to the Powhatan and the English for different reasons—the English as the head of navigation, and the Powhatan as a place for fishing. The English heard the Powhatan name for this place and adopted it. They abbreviated it, attached it to a nearby creek, and eventually it became the name for their settlement on the north bank of the river.

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Hon.Ellen Robertson, 6th District, invites you to an exercise in placemaking & experience design for the Canal on Saturday, August 28 from 9AM-noon at the The Hat Factory.

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The First Annual Jazz on the Hill 5K Music Festival takes place on and around Brown’s Island on September 12th:

Join the fun as we raise awareness and money to keep Jazz alive in Richmond for our youth. The Rhythm Section Foundation, Take Me to Happy Hour.com presents the 5K and the Music Festival featuring independent artist from all genres. This family event will feature food and merchandise vendors. We invite all to take a part in our run/walk. The top two finishers will win cash and merchandise prizes. Runners are invited to stay for the party.

Oregon Hill tipped us to an RTD piece on Department of Environmental Quality report on pollution in Virginia waterways:

The stretch from the Boulevard Bridge to just upriver from the Mayo Bridge — an area popular with paddlers, waders and swimmers — was listed as polluted with mercury and the long-banned pesticides DDT and chlordane.

That stretch already was known to be polluted by fecal bacteria, primarily from the waste of wildlife and upriver cattle, among other sources.

DEQ spokesman Bill Hayden said the additional pollutants don’t pose a threat to people in the river. They primarily mean that eating fish from that stretch could be unsafe.

Gerel said, “More than likely all this has been there forever, and we just haven’t caught it” until now.

Style has word that that the Adam Craig House at 1812 East Grace is for sale for $1.095 million dollars.

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RVA Magazine has a great set of photos from the recent Andrew WK show at the Canal Club from BFD 2010.

The folks at Tricycle Gardens invite everyone out for the Open Farm, Black Light BUG Night & Party:

Join us for an evening on the farm (corner of 9th & Bainbridge Streets in old Manchester), Thursday August 26th, for a late summer celebration at the farm! Check out the Farm Stand, meet our staff and volunteers, and learn about the work of Tricycle Gardens. AND, as biodiversity is one of our favorite topics, we will be having a bug count with some folks from VCU!

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Just before 3AM Sunday, two men robbed three citizens at gunpoint on the 2000 East Franklin Street. Minutes later, one of the robbers called a victim and demanded more money. With the help of First Precinct detectives and officers, the victim instructed the robbers to meet him at a specific ATM on East Cary Street. When the robbers arrived, officers captured them both and recovered the stolen items.

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