Some left turn signals in Henrico County are about to get a little flashier. At least when it comes to left turns. And it’s all in the name of safety. The Henrico County Department of Public Works will install new traffic signals at four intersections next week to help motorists better understand the need to yield to oncoming traffic before turning left.

The signals will feature a new flashing yellow arrow, which will indicate that motorists may proceed after yielding to oncoming traffic and pedestrians. The signals will replace ones that have permitted left turns by showing a solid green circle with a sign that says, “Left Turn Yield on Green”. The flashing yellow arrow will appear during the signal’s normal cycles, which also will guide motorists with solid red, green and yellow arrows.

The Federal Highway Administration and Virginia Department of Transportation have approved the use of flashing yellow signals in light of research showing they reduce the number of left-turn accidents by more clearly conveying that motorists must yield to oncoming traffic and pedestrians before proceeding.

The Traffic Engineering Division will install the new signals at Hungary Road and West End Drive; Hungary Road and Francistown Road; Gaskins Road and Ridgefield Parkway; and Creighton Road and Cedar Fork Road. Motorists may experience temporary delays during installation.

Engineers plan to monitor the signals for about one month before deciding whether to install them at additional intersections.

This time last year the fashionistas, models, and designers were beginning to buzz with anticipation as they awaited the third annual RVA Fashion Week.  The week takes place each year in April and night after night, the events bring out the city’s most fashionable people to wine, dine, socialize, buy and share in their fashion favorites.

2012 appears to be no different as plans are already in the works for events in Short Pump, eastern Henrico, and downtown Richmond April 15th-21st.  Everyone from the original founders, corporate fashion stores, local boutiques, bloggers, and students are getting in on the fashion fun.

RVA Fashion Week debuted in 2009 as a way to celebrate the locals in Richmond who love fashion just as much as those to who hail from the city that never sleeps.  The original event started out small: shows in bars and nightclubs, minimal publicity, few fancy light shows, and the three founders, Kearsten Feggans, Jason Primrose, and Jimmy Budd, just breaking even.  But for them, the reward came from doing what they loved: putting on a good show dedicated to fashion and pushing Richmond further out onto the fashion map.

Flash forward three years and RVA Fashion Week has steadily gained ground and become a much anticipated weeklong event in its own right.  2011 marked a turning point year for the group.  With sponsors such as Richmond Magazine and CBS 6 News and a collaborative team of 16 directors, there were multiple voices, monies, and creative ideas poured into the serious of events dedicated to nothing but fashion.

Of the 7 main events held in 2011, Short Pump was home to one of the most packed events – Uncorked at the Wine Loft.  The two story wine bar was packed wall to wall with live models draped in jewels, women sipping wine, and men mingling amongst the crowds.

Short Pump was also able to lay claims to one more RVA Fashion Week Event, or at least one of the main attractions: former American Idol contestant and Short Pump native Zak Resnick who returned to Richmond to participate in the Catwalk for Kids charity event.  Now a New Yorker, Zak admitted he often returns to the Short Pump area and was pleased to be able to contribute to last year’s RVA Fashion Week.

Plans for the 2012 RVA Fashion Week are already in the works as venues are being scheduled, shows lined up, and several successful model calls were held throughout the month of January.  This year promises to be even more spectacular both in the events that are available and the size of the events.  Let’s just say that RVA Fashion Week is poised to put Richmond on the fashion radar this year.  With this much progress, the city that never sleeps better keep its eye on RVA.

Keep up with all of the fashion week details, especially surrounding Short Pump’s event, soon to be announced, here on Downtown Short Pump!

Just when you thought there couldn’t possibly be any more variations on the frozen yogurt shop, here come two more. Dustin Smith, Amanda Leininger and her mother plan to open Mix It, a self-serve frozen yogurt and cereal bar, in West Broad Village in March.

And the venture hopes selling bowls of cereal as well as fro-yo will give it a competitive edge in an increasingly crowded market.

“We love frozen yogurt and saw an opportunity to be different and wanted to create a place that wasn’t like anything our competitors were doing,” Leininger said. “Kind of like Jamba Juice meets frozen yogurt.”

The shop will sell 10 frozen yogurt flavors, 40 toppings, and 15 kinds of cereal, such as Rice Krispies and Kashi varieties, for fro-yo lovers to mix and match.

The entrepreneurs have added a few extra items to the menu, including smoothies, juices, coffee and wheatgrass shots.

The three started searching for space in the summer and leased 2,000 square feet on Old Brick Road in December. Mix It will have seating for 45 to 50 people.

Leininger said she expects to draw traffic from the West Broad Village apartments and neighboring businesses.

“We felt Short Pump provided us with the best clientele for our product,” she said.

“We’re hoping to get that going-to-work crowd … and ACAC [a new gym] is opening in December across from us, so we’ll get a good morning crowd from them.”

Mix It’s arrival illustrates how the swirling frozen yogurt scene has started dripping over the sides in Richmond.

Sweet Frog ignited the craze in 2009 and now has over 40 locations, including nine around Richmond. Yapple Yogurt will soon move into Carytown and Willow Lawn. Beriberry is opening in Chesterfield in the spring, and Zinga Frozen Yogurt recently leased space in Henrico County. Mechanicsville-based Bobalicious is also fast on the expansion track with a new location at Chesterfield Towne Center.

And Mix It won’t be too far away from its competition. Very Berry has a location in Short Pump Station, and Sweet Frog has a shop in the Downtown Short Pump shopping center.

A new Fredericksburg-based frozen yogurt chain called Crave will also soon be vying for a piece of the local market.

The shop leased space at Virginia Center Marketplace in the former Private Stock wine store and is set to open in June. S.L. Nusbaum Realty handled the negotiations.

Crave also has plans for a location at VCU. Calls seeking comment from Crave were not returned.

With all that competition, Leininger hopes offering a cereal bar and additional drink options will set her venture apart.

She got the idea to add cereal to her startup after trying out Cereality, a cereal bar with locations in Texas and West Virginia and one in Richmond at Chippenham Hospital.

Leininger, 22, is an advertising major at VCU and worked for Red Bull for about a year before getting the urge to step into entrepreneurship.

Dustin Smith, 31, is a George Mason University graduate and met Leininger while working at a surf shop in the Outer Banks. Leininger’s mother, Susan Timberlake, is also helping fund the venture. She worked as an investment banker for the former Signet Bank.

The three are funding the venture together, but Leininger wouldn’t disclose how much they have invested.

Video still from WTVR-TV

A former Republican candidate who ran for the position of Henrico County’s Commonwealth’s Attorney was found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound Sunday. Henrico Police were called to the 2200 block of Lauderdale Drive around 1:00 p.m. and found 42-year-old Matt Geary’s body.

Current Henrico Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor, a Democrat who defeated Geary in the November race, shared her condolences in a statement released late Sunday afternoon.

“I want to offer my heartfelt sympathy to Matt’s wife Tabitha and his children and family,” Taylor said. “I’ve known Matt since our days in law school and he was a colleague and a friend whom I held in both high personal and professional regard. Matt was an effective prosecutor who served the public with commitment and dedication. The respect in which he was held by law enforcement is something that any prosecutor would wish to achieve. He will be missed.”

In this week’s edition of Short Pump Shorts, our roundup of smaller happenings in the Far West End, we have information on a new church planning to build at Nuckols and Pouncey Tract and a playground in the works for the West Broad Village development.

St. Mary Coptic Orthodox Church of Richmond has acquired a seven acre parcel of land at the intersection of Nuckols and Pouncey Tract Roads, near Wyndham to expand their reach to the West End. The congregation was founded in 1993 in Chesterfield County and is part of the Coptic Church, which originated in Egypt and is considered the largest Christian congregation in the Middle East. The land backs up to homes in the Berkeley subdivision. No word on when any construction on a new church building will begin.

According to the Residents of West Broad Village site, a new tot lot-style playground should be in place by spring. From James Barrett:

The West Broad Village community playground should be completed this Spring. It will be located where Geese Landing and Brownstone Boulevard intersect Liesfield Parkway. In addition to the tot lot, there will be several parking spaces, road improvements, and crosswalks for residents.

A rendering of the proposed playground is below.

Henrico Police released new information Thursday on a homicide that took place at the Quarter Mill Apartments. After the initial incident, officers received a second call for service to respond to the 4700 block of Twin Hickory Lane, near Nuckols Road.

Upon arrival, police discovered a male identified as 22-year-old John Phifer, of the 2300 block of Good Luck Road in Maidens, Virginia, bleeding from the head and the arm. Phifer advised officers that he drove his vehicle to the Twin Hickory address after being in an altercation at the Quarter Mill residence. Based on other information and evidence gathered, Phifer was charged with possessing a weapon while possessing schedule I or schedule II drugs, which is a felony, conspiracy to violate the drug control act (a misdemeanor), and possession with intent to distribute marijuana, which is a felony charge.

The incident is connected to a January 18th crime in an apartment in the 3000 Block of Quarter Creek Lane. When officers arrived, they found 23-year-old Dreshaun A Travis, of the 800 block of Willomett Avenue, deceased. The victim had signs of trauma from an apparent gunshot wound, according to a police statement.

UPDATE: On January 26th, 26-year-old Montai Christopher Howard of the 3000 block of Heather Ridge Drive turned himself in to Henrico Police Warrant Service Unit. Mr. Howard was wanted for attempted robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery, conspiracy to distribute marijuana, and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony in the January 18th homicide in the 3000 block of Quarter Creek Lane.

Henrico Police have arrested two suspects who are believed to be connected to a string of West End robberies. The area experienced what police call a “dramatic increase” in residential break-ins in December through the 18th of January.

The incidents in question occurred in broad daylight, the majority of which happened when the homeowners and neighbors were not present.

Subsequently, an Intelligence-Led Policing strategy was developed and deployed in the area. On January 18th, Benjamin Heslep and Michele Rintoul were apprehended immediately after committing two additional burglaries. Both were developed as suspects after police received information from an alert citizen who noticed suspicious activity in the area.

The subjects have been charged with burglary, grand larceny, larceny with intent to sell, and conspiracy for each charge in four incidents. Additional charges are pending as the investigation is ongoing.

CarMax announced Monday that it is looking to add almost 1,000 new positions. The company, headquartered on Tuckahoe Creek Parkway, just west of Short Pump, said the 965 positions will be added at its locations across the country to satisfy seasonal staffing needs.

CarMax has 107 used car stores in 52 markets and more than 13,000 employees.

Most of the positions will be in sales and service at its retail stores.

The company did not specify how many of the jobs will be in the Richmond market. The company has two retail locations in Richmond, in addition to its headquarters here.

Henrico Police have released the name of a victim in a West End homicide. On January 18th around 10:20 p.m., Henrico Police Communications received a call for a firearm violation from an apartment in the 3000 Block of Quarter Creek Lane, in the Quarter Mill Apartments.

When officers arrived, they found 23-year-old Dreshaun A Travis, of the 800 block of Willomett Avenue, deceased. The victim had signs of trauma from an apparent gunshot wound, according to a police statement.

The State Medical Examiner’s Office will perform their examinations and determine the manner and cause of death.

Detectives have several leads in the case and are currently looking at several suspects. Anyone who has information regarding this offense is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 780-1000 or Henrico Police at 804-501-5000.