The Richmond Police Department is conducting a homicide investigation after Richmond officers discovered the bodies of a man and woman inside a vehicle in the 1900 block of Hopkins Road yesterday afternoon.

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Rap, lies, and videotape identifies the victim in the shooting last night:

Police are still withholding the name of local rapper killed in a recording studio last night. But sources say the victim was known as “Mike Ezie,” a member of a collective of emcees known at the “Young Richmond Outcasts.” Their songs include “Weirdo Stank,” “Let the Cops Everything,” and “My Buddy and Me.” The group, which consists of ChiChi the Kid, Heir Borne, Jwrek, Jaesen K, Jay Dash, Real and Mike Ezie, incorporated the logo and spelling from the Atlanta rap duo, “Outkast.”

Meet with 9th District Richmond City Councilman Doug Conner and business leaders in the community. The purpose of these meetings is to share information with business owners, the public, and community officials. It’s a great opportunity to share concerns related to businesses and city officials. This is not an exclusive meeting, so go down there and be heard, or at least seen.

Where? Why the 2nd Police Precinct at 177 Belt Blvd. at 3pm this Wednesday (tomorrow). Meet the ever popular Cpt. Steve Drew and his excellent team of officers as well as great people like Mr. Conner who has been helping develop the Rails and Trails initiative as well as cleaning up the district, championing career and technical education and many other issues.

There seems to be something about the area east of the overpass where Midlothian Turnpike meets Belt Blvd. / Westover Hills Blvd. Multiple, serious, auto accidents have plagued the area over the last few months. Twice, telephone poles have been knocked down by the impact. Seeing as how students are often near the area, one begins to wonder how long it will be before these young folk will be mowed down by a speeder or reckless driver.

Certainly the overpass could use some love. I have personally crossed it on a bicycle and its lack of a sidewalk or bicycle lane could have been the death of me. I don’t see how pedestrians can stand walking in the ditch. Then there is the matter of the merging traffic heading east on Midlothian, which requires a driver coming onto Midlothian to rely heavily on her mirrors or crane her neck to a breaking point to watch for people flying across the overpass at speeds exceeding 50mph.

Even more surprising is the amount of people driving over 25mph when the school zone lights are flashing regardless of the effort of traffic police to slow these impatient folks down. In some states the laws require people to drive at speeds as low as 15mph and breaking the law comes with hefty fines, often exceeding $200.

Christmas is coming, I hope to see you there, so slow down!

Southside Richmond Community and Business Leader’s Meeting with Councilman Doug Conner, 9th District Representative to organize and discuss community organization, to make Southside a better place to better place to live, work, learn, play, visit, and raise a family.

Invited attendees include representatives and leaders from: Beaufont Hills Civic Association, Broad Rock Merchant’s Association, Midlothian Business Association, Chesterfield Square Tenants Association, Endicott Community Association, Take-A-Stand Association, Fawnbrook Neighborhood Association, Hollendale Subdivision Civic Association, McGuire Manor Civic Association, South Central Roundtable, Swansboro Business Association, Swanson Woods Association, Town & Country Seniors Association, Warwick Road Neighborhood Watch, Westover South and Woods, Worthington Farms Civic Association.

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009 3:00PM – 4:30PM at the Richmond Police Second Precinct 177 E. Belt Blvd Richmond, VA 23224

For more information, please contact

Doug Conner at 804-363-3443 or email eli.wong@richmondgov.com

The City of Richmond will host the 5th annual “Imagine Festival” at Broad Rock Park on Saturday, October 24, from noon to 5 p.m. Admission to this community and family event is free.

The Imagine Festival is an exciting event offering free food, dance performances, arts, crafts, vendors, and fun activities for the entire family. A unique component of this year’s festival is a softball tournament including participation from the Richmond Police Department and area community organizations.

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Dirty neighborhood? Clean it up! Meet your neighbors and help improve your community by joining Richmond’s own 9th District Councilman Doug Conner this Saturday for a community cleanup.

The South Richmond Community Cleanup is a volunteer event. All individuals, community groups, businesses, families, friends, neighbors, and organizations are invited to come out and help.

Community volunteers and participants include: Southside Baptist Christian School, Richmond Outreach Center, and Virginia Commonwealth University.

WHEN             SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2009
8:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
WHERE          Meet-up at Southside Baptist Christian School
5515 Bryce Lane, Richmond, Virginia 23224

More information: Eli Wong at 804.233.8288 or eli.wong@richmondgov.com

Check out these images from previous cleanups:

With two high profile dog fighting cases pending in our local area, the time could never be better for an event which educates the public and honors these unjustly maligned animals.

National Pit Bull Awareness Day is a concept created by a Tennessee pit bull rescue in 2007 with the intent of creating a national day on which pit bulls are celebrated versus demonized. In stark contrast to the daily abuse and victimization of these dogs, this day is intended to be a day to cherish these animals. The event has grown in support since it’s inception with 2008 being marked by 150 celebrations across the United States and even events as far away as Canada and Russia.

In celebration of National Pit Bull Awareness Day on October 24, 2009, Ring Dog Rescue is hosting a series of activities surrounding that date to celebrate these dogs. The centerpiece event of the celebration is a public event intended to provide insight, education and a place to network for animal welfare advocates:

NAME: “In Defense of Dogs – An Evening on Animal Welfare”

WHEN: Friday, October 23, 2009 from 6:00pm to 10:00pm (doors open at 5:30pm)

WHERE: Plant Zero, 0 East 4^th Street, Richmond, VA 23224

WHO: Any member of the public with a valid admission ticket (Tickets are $20 and can be purchased via the Ring Dog Rescue website or at a number of locations listed on the website. TICKETS MUST BE ORDERED IN ADVANCE AND WILL NOT BE SOLD AT THE DOOR AND ALL PROCEEDS BENEFIT RING DOG RESCUE)

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The Greater Jefferson Davis Area Civic Association in partnership with the Richmond Crusade for Voters is sponsoring a meet and greet with all local candidates for the upcoming election on October 6, 2009 at 6:30-8:00 p.m. at the Southside Community Service Center in Southside Plaza 4100 Hull Street Road.

Don’t miss this important, informative meeting!

For more information:

Contact President Carrie Cox at 804-743-1636

George Wythe High will have its annual Back to School Night event on September 23, at 5:30p.m. (4314 Crutchfield Street) The focus of this event is to develop community involvement with the school and inform parents and other community stakeholders about activities, event, mission, and goals of the school and the Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA).

The event will include music, singing, ice cream, and a chat session with the following dignitaries who are attending: 5th District Councilman Marty Jewell, Under-sheriff Alonzo Pruitt, 5th District School Board member Betsy Carr, Richmond Police 2nd Precinct Capt. Steve Drew, and non-profit agencies such as Families Are Magic, as well as others.

The folks at WCLM RADIO 1450AM have launched The Heart and Soul of the City (PDF), a new monthly print publication. The inaugural August issue has info on upcoming events, a column by King Salim Khalfani, and information about and “Soul Poll Dream Team” endorsements in the upcoming statewide, delegate, and City Council 7th District races.

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The Richmond Police Department is seeking the public’s help to identify two men who robbed the Stop N Go.

Here’s the police communique:

Richmond Police needs the public’s help identifying and locating the suspects responsible for Wednesday morning’s robbery of the Stop N Go convenience store at 1600 Mechanicsville Turnpike.
The suspects entered the store around 6:20 a.m. Aug. 19 brandishing firearms and demanding money.
Both suspects are black males and wore black clothing and white gloves during the robbery. The first suspect wore a red ski mask. The second suspect wore a black ski mask.

Anyone with any information about the suspects in this commercial robbery is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 780-1000.

My apologies for not getting this out sooner, but our friends at Church Hill People’s News was able to get the video and the post out before I was. Please visit the site to see the video!

This article might have been in the Times Dispatch, but I received it from Major Baldwin of the  Sheriff’s office.

Sheriff C.T. Woody, Jr. announced today that the Richmond City Sheriff’s Office will host its Second Annual Back to School Event. While other events are designed to support the community as a whole, the purpose of this event is to provide school supplies to the more than 500 children who have a parent housed in the Richmond City Jail. Boxes of note-books, paper, pencils, crayons and other school supplies will be distributed in an event held outside in front of The Richmond City Jail.

When: Saturday, August 22, 2009

Time: 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Where: Richmond City Jail, 1701 Fairfield Way, Richmond, VA 23223

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The Times-Dispatch is reporting the arrest of Kent Peace, who has been robbing Southwood Apartment residents and perhaps others by riding up on a bicycle and brandishing a gun. He is involved in as many as seven robberies. Fortunately, Kent never pulled the trigger.

For those of you who recall the story I wrote on Howard Scott, who was involved in the Byrd Park murder of Tyler Binstead, this story is so similar it’s disturbing. I knew Kent, as well as I knew Howard. Kent certainly had a lot more going for him than Howard, but he had all the signs of an angry, apathetic, young man just like Howard.  I never imagined Kent becoming a crook. I didn’t think of Howard as becoming one either, but I could see they were on the road to a bad life.

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Councilman Conner allowed me to tag along as he travelled from party to party on National Night Out. In total we attended 12 parties. Although some were larger than others, the spirit of community was present at every event.