17 Days of April Showers Bring…

hail, three confirmed tornadoes, a temporary end to the ongoing drought and possibly the wettest April on record. And we still have one day left.

Last night it was down right scary. Tornadoes ripped through Suffolk, Colonial Heights and Brunswick County injuring over 200 people. Trees were snapping like matchsticks and cars were tosses like toys. The tornado that touched down in Colonial Heights was eerily similar to that of the one that hit back in 1993 at a nearby Wal-Mart and killed four.

Suffolk received the worst damage where there was at least one fatality and cadaver dogs were sent out this morning. Nearly 120 buildings were damaged by the twister. Click here to see photos.

If it hasn’t been severe weather, it’s been rain – lots of it. The soggiest April on record was way back in 1889 when the Commonwealth received 8.89". Depending on totals received a RIC that could be broken. As of 11 last night, the total stood at 8.19”.

The recent downpours have halted the severe drought in Central Virginia for now. But with another month of dry weather, we could be back in drought conditions.

Don’t put away the rain slickers and galoshes just yet. After a few days of much-needed sunshine, we can expect to have the ninth straight weekend of measurable (miserable) rain.

At a Crossing: Passenger Rail in Ashland

An ongoing study being conducted by the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation has residents of Ashland fearful that the whistle of a train in the Center of the Universe will become a thing of the past. Earlier this week it was reported that there is strong consideration for moving the commuter rail line east of Interstate 95 to the Buckingham Branch that connects Downtown Richmond to Doswell, near Kings Dominion - and one day becoming high-speed. (heard that one before)

This alternate route would bypass the Acca freight yard, Staples Mill Road Station and the Ashland stop.

Currently freight and passenger trains barrel through the sleepy Hanover town all day long – morning, noon and night. Roughly seven passenger trains stop at the unmanned station across the street from the Henry Clay Inn on a daily basis, none for more than a few minutes.

In addition to losing a large part of its identity if the trains move across the interstate, Ashland town officials say it could derail the local economy.

According to town manager Charles Hartgrove, the income of some businesses could be slashed by 20%. Cuts could come to businesses like Homemades by Suzanne or The Club Car, (formerly the Whistle Stop) where you can enjoy some of the best ice cream on earth.

Ashland actually has more to offer than gas stations and McDonald’s. You just have to know where you’re going.

Not only does the rail service help businesses out, it also serves Randolph-Macon College and many of its students. The college moved to Ashland after the Civil War in part because its proximity to the railroad.

The study is scheduled to be completed by next year.

(This message was NOT paid for by Ashland Town Council)

Friday Fhoto

He'd get us out of any predicament. Just give him a pair of tapered jeans, white high tops, a swiss army knife and duct tape.

Hype Haiku

Rams running again

Grant staying, Maynor playing

Watch out Colonial!

The Office fax 4.24

In “Night Out,” Michael and Dwight K. Schrute decide to surprise Ryan in New York (home of a little-known pizza joint, Sbarro) for a night of clubbing and meet his friends. Back on the work scene in Scranton, DM employees are outraged when they find out they have to come in on a Saturday for Ryan’s website project. Jim has an idea that might save them from spending their weekend at work, but it comes with some unintended consequences.

Magically fantastical quotes from last week:

Oscar: Been here nine years. Now all of a sudden I'm supposed to park half a mile away.
Andy: I lost a penny out of my loafers, Oscar.

Michael: Oh hello Oscar Mayer Weiner lover. I bet that you have a bunch of very liberal girl type friends that trust you implicitly because they know you'd never touch 'em, because of your condition. Umm...
Phyllis: Michael?

Andy: Gentleman please. We called this meeting. Andrew Bernard is the name of me.

RIC Opens Cell Phone Waiting Lot

No more circling around the Richmond International Airport like a nomad waiting for that special someone to arrive in town. You can now park for FREE in the cell phone lot – that’s if you snag one of the 40 spots. This should be fun once the holiday season rolls around.

The lot is less than a minute from the recently-redesigned RIC terminal and is located near the South parking garage.

Cell phone waiting lots have popped up at major airports across the country in recent years mainly as a security feature by curtailing curbside congestion.

RIC Press Release

AI Hopeful Nixed from Appearance on Fox's "Don't Forget the Lyrics"

Plan 9 to Close one C’ville Location

Fans of CD’s and vinyl in Charlottesville will have one less option choose from soon. Plan 9 Records will close it’s location near the University of Virginia campus at the end of May.

The brick and mortar record store is a dying breed, just ask Tower Records. And heck, they tried books!

With mega stores like Best Buy and Wal-Mart selling CD’s and DVD’s at lower prices because they also sell televisions and refrigerators, mom and pop record stores just can’t compete.

Throw in the iTunes rage and the “sorry, we’re closed” sign isn’t too far behind.

That is unless you’re Josh Madell, the co-owner of Other Music, a New York retailer specializing in obscure CDs and vinyl. He’s changing with the times and jumping on the digital tour bus. Click here to read more about Madell in BusinessWeek.

Hopefully Plan 9 will be a mainstay in Richmond for years to come and this is just a downsizing effort.

As for residents of C’ville, the small record chain will keep its store in Albemarle Square open, which is a good sign for music enthusiasts. At least in the short term.

Former RIC Emergency Management Director Finds New Way to Navigate City

Patrick Powers RIR Ticket Sales

The family of Danica Patrick wasn’t the only ones celebrating her historic victory in Japan over the weekend. IRL track presidents all over this country were jumping up and down as well (sans the spraying of champagne.)

Today's RTD reports that ticket sales for the SunTrust Indy Challenge on June 28th have taken off full throttle since Patrick's fuel-strategy phenomenon at Twin Ring Motegi.

RIR representatives said ticket sales were unusually high for a Sunday, considering the race is still over two months away.

Patrick has always had a strong presence in the IRL since she came on the scene in 2005. She has the "girl power" following and also knows how to start the engines of many males that might not be the biggest IRL fans with provacative photo shoots.

But Patrick could never get that elusive victory. After 49 failed attempts to stand on top of the winner’s podium, the 50th time was a charm.

RIR officials don't openly have favorites, but one can bet that they won't be upset if win number two comes on the action track.

Let’s Play 2?

Could the R-Braves play the 2009 season at the Diamond instead of its new home in Gwinnett County, GA? It’s possible, but not likely.

An article in today’s RTD reports robust season ticket sales for the teams new home. In fact, Gwinnett has already accepted over 1,200 non-refundable deposits for seats in a stadium that has yet to be built.

According to Beth Marshall, director of public relations for the Atlanta Braves, ground has yet to be broken and no date has been set.

Should Gwinnett residents be worried? Not in the least bit. They live in a county that completed a deal to bring minor league baseball to its residents in less than a year - and in process sweeping the rug out from under the slow-moving Richmonders to the North.

Surely Gwinnett can build a stadium just as fast. What will stop them, the weather? Gwinnett is located in drought-stricken Georgia, a state that practically only allows the watering of lawns named Augusta National.

So unless there’s a shortage of lumber and concrete and CAT 4 cane barrels down on the burbs of Atlanta, R-Braves baseball in 2009 will be nothing more than the dreams of a few hundred fans, (Richmond’s mayor not included).

Friday Fhoto

The 2008 NFL Draft is only days away. Here's a look at the strengths and weaknesses of former Virginia Cavalier standout and certain top five pick, Chris Long, courtesy of the Onion. (click on image for larger view)

Amusement Park Tests New "Everest" Ride

The Black Sheep Restaurant Opens

There's a new place to dine near the VCU campus. The Black Sheep opened its doors last night. Located on Marshall at Goshen, Black Sheep offers not so ordinary food at not so ordinary prices. Most dishes are less than 10 bucks.

Much of the fiscally friendly menu contains items from New Orleans, where owners Kevin Roberts and Amy Hess gained much of their experience in the restaurant business.

The Black Sheep will definitely be added to my list of places to dine downtown, probably taking advantage of the brunch, served daily until 2 pm.

Click here to read the write-up in Style Weekly

The Most Bias Announcer in Professional Sports is…

Ken “The Hawk” Harrelson, the play-by-play announcer for the Chicago White Sox. Congrats Ken!

Any fan of America’s pastime knows about Hawk. He’s absurd catchphrases like “He gone!" or "Grab some bench!" after a strikeout of an opposing player, "Sacks packed with Sox," and the well-known “You can put in on the booooooooooooard YES!” make me want to turn down the TV and turn up the radio.

Hawk doesn’t just belt out his trademark phrases, he also tends to rally behind “the good guys in black” in an excessive manner. Just last night he said, “C’mon (Joe) Crede, you’re a great two-strike hitter, you got this.” Refering to the Sox final at bat in a 2-1 loss to Oakland last night. It's almost like Hawk thinks the White Sox third baseman can hear him call down from the press box in the cold Chicago air.

It’s one thing to support the team you call the games for. It’s another to be excessive about it. Hawk fits the latter. I’m just happy I only have to MUTE his ridiculousness five or six times a year. And you can put that on the board.

Friday Fhoto

come fly our empty skies

"The Office" Returns Tonight

Time to make sure the DVR is still programmed for the right shows! Thursday night laughs are back for at least a few weeks. “The Office” is scheduled to run six new episodes starting tonight with “Dinner Party.” Pam and Jim find they have run out of excuses and are forced to go to Jan and Michael’s house for dinner. When Andy and Angela are also invited to dinner, Dwight’s jealousy gets the best of him.

Hype Haiku

Will sun shine today?

It hasn’t for an eternity

Have faith in Duncan

Vandals Strike W'Burg Pottery - Eat Potato Chips

Were they Baked Lays? Or possibly Sun Chips? Were they 99 cent grab bags? Only the James City County police has the answers to these important questions.

But what the police department doesn't know, is who decided to break into the popular Williamsburg Pottery Factory over the weekend.

The vandals struck early in the morning, 3:30 to be exact. Not only did they snack on a favorite sandwich side item, the bastards also spray painted swastikas on one of six buildings targeted, and drove a forklift through another.

Even with thousands of dollars of damage and the loss of a few bags of chips, the store opened as scheduled, allowing tourists and locals to by pottery. Lots of it.

NBC12 Brings on New Weekend Sports Anchor

If you saw an unfamiliar face covering the Monument Avenue 10K this past week on channel 12, it’s probably that of Jamie Scavotto.

Scavotto just hit the air last weekend. In fact, he’s so new, central Virginia’s leading news network has yet to add his bio to the broadcast staff page on its website.

Like many of his NBC12 co-workers, Scavotto comes to Richmond via upstate New York. He recently worked at WPTZ NBC Channel 5 in Plattsburgh.

Scavotto knows New England well, living in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont, before landing here in Richmond.

Skybus Says Goodbye

Low-cost airline carrier Skybus has turned in its wings after less than a year in service. Rising fuel costs and a slow economy are the cited reasons.

"We deeply regret this decision, and the impact this will have on our employees and their families, our customers, our vendors and other partners, and the communities in which we have been operating," said Chief Executive Michael Hodge.

Skybus had two daily flights from Richmond to its hub, Columbus, Ohio and marketed a select number of $10 seats on every flight. The airline had an "a la carte" system of fees to make up the low prices.

Just a few weeks ago the airline talked about adding flights from RIC to St. Augustine, Florida.

The end of Skybus follows the departure of Indianapolis-based ATA and Aloha Airlines.

Friday Fhoto

Add a mere 1,287 fans plus a cold rain and you have Opening Day 2008.

Two CAA Coaches Staying Put - One For Good, One For Now

Jim Larranaga and Anthony Grant arguably coach the cream of the crop in the CAA, George Mason and VCU. Larranaga plans on coaching at George Mason for some time to come. However, most VCU fans expect Grant to take his basketball expertise elsewhere – more than likely to a conference with a bigger crop to coach.

Just today, Larranaga signed a three-year extension to remain coach of the Patriots on, turning down an offer to move to his alma mater, Providence College. Larranaga is now under contract to the school through the 2014-2015 season. He took his team to the Final Four in 2004, and made the tournament again this year, before losing to Notre Dame in the first round.

As for Grant, he can cross South Carolina off his list of big conference coaching gigs. South Carolina filled its vacancy last week when the Gamecocks hired Darrin Horn. Horn most recently coached at Western Kentucky, taking the Hilltoppers to the regional semifinals of this year’s NCAA Tournament.

Grant is still rumored to land in the SEC with LSU, who fired their head coach John Brady after a decade at the helm. If Grant does become the coach at LSU, he should feel at home – sort of. The SEC is a conference he knows very well from his days as an assistant coach at the University of Florida. Grant almost took the job at Florida last year, but Billy Donovan had a change of heart and nixed a deal to coach the NBA's Orlando Magic.

Once the final buzzer sounds on the 2008 college basketball season next week, the off-season will have just begun. And for VCU fans, all hopes are that it will be a quiet one.

Does John Adams have a fat dip in his mouth?

I wonder if this colonial gentleman prefers Skoal or Copenhagen? And does Abigail approve?