Paying It Forward; Iron Blossom v. Cherry Blossom; Closing The Trail Gap; Good Future For Good Foods; Seminar For Understanding.

RVA 5x5 - August 28, 2023

No algorithms. No content filters. Honest and insightful analysis.
You can find the 5 main stories from Friday’s edition here, and today features the “ALT 5” stories for a nice, leisurely, read. Have a great week!

This week check out our five stories on:

• The latest announcement that the Appomattox River Trail is getting closer to completion with the latest land acquisition and the region's trail network grows.

• A wonderful quote of the week story about paying it forward and how a small act of kindness helped brighten the day of a grieving widow.

• A look back almost 50 years ago comparing this weekend’s Iron Blossom Music Festival success with the total disaster that was the Cherry Blossom Rock Festival in 1974 and earned Richmond notoriety in Rolling Stone and Life Magazine.

• A recent joint seminar between the Autism Society of Central Virginia and Richmond Police where families and officers both learned from each other and taught each other proactively and not reactively.

• The passing of the torch of a nearly 40-year-old grocery store that will continue to hold its place in the Richmond grocery store matrix as well as take on an additional and admirable mission.

THE ALT 5

ALT #1 — OFF THE BEATEN PATH: Closing The Trail Gap
Down the road in Petersburg, the Appomattox River Trail got some more good news as the acquisitions keep coming and completion of the 25-mile path is one step closer and looks to be on course for an intersection with the longer 43-mile Fall Line Trail that will go north through Richmond to Ashland.

News came this week in the Progress-Index that Friends of the Lower Appomattox River (FOLAR) has acquired nearly eight more acres of land from CSX Railroad along the river near the future intersection with the Fall Line Trail. It will be protected under an easement by the Virginia Outdoors Foundation and then transferred to the City of Petersburg once improvements are complete.

This news follows the news from last summer when the Capital Region Land Conservancy purchased 42 acres of land along the river straddling Petersburg, Chesterfield, and Colonial Heights that is now under unified public ownership for the first time in 160 years.