Police responded to a call of a fight with shots fired outside the BP Gas Station at 1600 West Broad Street at 10:41PM last night. Upon arriving, they encountered a crowd of several dozen people and discovered one individual with gunshot wounds. He was transported to VCU Medical Center where, at last report, he remains in critical but stable condition.

The RTD reports that Croaker’s Spot has closed:

Two signs were posted on several of its front windows. One notice, signed by management, said the restaurant had been closed for “restructuring.” A second, bright orange sign, by the Virginia Department of Taxation said Croaker’s Spot was closed because it owes 43,985.57 in unpaid taxes.

Enjoli Moon, general manager of Croaker’s Spot, said last night that the restaurant is in talks with the state about the delinquent taxes. “We are deciding what we want to do.”

The newer Manchester Croaker’s Spot is still open.

The next meeting of the Historic Jackson Ward Association is tomorrow, Tuesday, February 16, at 6PM at the 533 Club (corner of 3rd and E. Jackson Streets.

Two meetings on bringing Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) to Broad Street have been called for the end of February:

Join us to improve transit service and traffic congestion on Broad Street. This important roadway and transit route serves many commercial and residential areas and averages more than 700 bus trips daily. The study will focus on the most congested section – a 7-mile length from Rocketts Landing to Willow Lawn.

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Join the Friends of Shockoe Hill Cemetery on Valentine’s Day from noon-3PM at the Keeper’s House in the Cemetery (4th Street and Hospital Street). Hear from Chris Semtner, Curator of the Edgar Allan Poe Museum and author of Edgar Allan Poe in Richmond; and Chief Justice John Marshall scholar Sylvia Evans, in this interactive celebration of timeless love.

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Wikimapia is a mapping tool that allows you to add new locations and comments to existing locations in your neighborhood or anywhere in the world. There are many new businesses, galleries and restaurants in Carver, Jackson Ward, and all over Richmond that are waiting to be added.

Due to inclement weather, a majority of First Fridays participating venues will be closed this evening, Friday, February 5, although a select group will be open for regular operating hours.

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Tomorrow’s First Friday is running right up against a call for yet more winter weather. It could be a beautiful urban winter experience, with people out and about & the street lights and storefronts reflecting on the falling snow…

We mentioned this a little while back but it’s worth a reminder as we get closer:

The 2010 North American Handmade Bicycle Show will be held at the Greater Richmond Convention Center in Richmond, Virgina, February 26-28. We’re expecting a great showing from the handmade community for our first show on the East Coast! Exhibitor registration is off to a great start, with builders like Crumpton, Richard Sachs, Vanilla, and Independent Fabrications already committed.

The American Civil War Center has info on Take Our Stand: the African American Military Experience in the Age of Jim Crow:

Take Our Stand: the African American Military Experience in the Age of Jim Crow is a new exhibit from the American Civil War Center that chronicles the Black military experience from the Spanish-American War to the desegregation of the U.S. military in 1948.

Take Our Stand features rare historic images and documents reproduced from the Center’s John H. Motley Collection, an interactive lesson plan for students, and feedback panels where visitors can record their reactions. Location: Richmond’s Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia from Feb. 5-May 29. Take Our Stand was funded in part by a grant from The Community Foundation.

Synopsis from Theater IV:

When Mulan learns that her ailing father is drafted into Khan’s army, she protects him by serving in his place.

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