Most people consider an heirloom something special, to be held dear. Our growers would agree with you. Their heirloom veggies are grown from seeds of varieties from bygone days — before industrialized farming made every tomato identical and tasteless. Classical guitarist Alexander Rodriguez will also be reminding us of days gone by with his beautiful Baroque music. Great food, great music, and great friends are, historically speaking, the best combination.

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Dear Monroe Park Campus Community Advisory Group:

I wanted to let our neighbors know that at noon on Wednesday, September 3, 2008, VCU will conduct a full test of its emergency communications system.
The full test of the system will include 10 sirens on both the Monroe Park and MCV campuses along with text messages, digital signs, e-mails and Web site information that are part of a multi-channel system for communicating emergency information to VCU students, employees, parents and neighbors.

The sirens will sound a fast, up-and-down wail for three minutes, and after a one-minute pause, sound a steady wail for one minute to signal “all clear” to end the test.

We want to remind our neighbors that in a real emergency, sirens will sound for four minutes to signal that an immediate, life-threatening emergency has occurred or is imminent. The purpose of the siren is to alert people outside of campus buildings to immediately seek secure shelter and additional information. People in campus buildings should remain where they are and seek additional information about what is happening and how to respond. People off campus should not come to campus but should seek additional information. Once the campus environment is determined to be safe, the “all clear” even tone siren will be activated for two minutes.

A reminder about text messaging and our VCU Alert Web site: text messaging is the only channel available that can provide personal communication to you wherever you have cell phone service. Text messages will be used for notifications about emergencies, but will also be used to announce closings and delays for inclement weather. There is no cost for enrolling. If you haven’t done so already, you may sign up for text messaging now at www.vcu.edu/alert/notify.

Emergency information also will be available on the VCU Alert Web site at www.vcu.edu/alert, (also accessible off the VCU homepage at www.vcu.edu).

Following the test, we welcome your comments or feedback. You can e-mail us at vcualert@vcu.edu.

In addition, please note that full tests of the VCU Emergency Communications system are conducted near the beginning of each semester. Monthly checks of the siren system, consisting of a one-minute fast wail that also recharge the siren batteries, are conducted at noon on the first Wednesday of each month.

As always, we will communicate with our community neighbors when there is any enhancement or change about which you would want to know. And please, do not hesitate to forward this email to your neighbors, to help spread the word about the siren test.

Sincerely,

e-mail: samessme@vcu.edu

WHO: Richmond residents can register to receive free training in basic survival skills during an emergency

WHAT: “Survivor Day,” sponsored by the City’s Office of Emergency Management, is a four-hour, free training session in fire safety, first-aid, and terrorism and weather response measures

WHEN: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturday, September 13, 2008

WHERE: Landmark Theater, 6 North Laurel Street

This training is designed to prepare citizens with information and planning tools in the event of a widespread disruption of public services, commerce and transportation due to a local emergency.

Training is free and open to all City residents. Citizens can register by calling 311 or visiting www.RichmondGov.com .

A free Survival Kit, with supplies including flashlight, gloves, batteries, toilet paper and a blanket, will be provided upon completion of the training (limit one per household).

The mayoral race is running hot and heavy. Meanwhile, the Downtown Master Plan still simmers…

I have been hinting at various other plans, both past and future, and with Murden’s help I am going to try to unearth and present some past ones here.

Starting with this prospectus for a Virginia Transportation Museum (this is a big .pdf file and it may take time to load) that would have gone just below Oregon Hill and the Virginia War Memorial. I found it in the local history section of ‘the Book Lady’s’ booth in the Super Flea on Midlothian.

While I worry about losing more private/public green space, I like the idea as an urban, intermodal, FUNCTIONING museum that would tie in canal, bicycle, train, auto, streetcar, and pedestrian uses. Imagine how cool it would be as a stop on the East Coast Greenway, right above Tredegar Iron Works/ Civil War Center. I understand that some talk about this possibility for the Byrd Pump House in the future.

Anyway, think about it when you visit the site during the Richmond Folk Festival.

Times Dispatch shares the bad news.

The work week is going to start with higher tolls for many Richmond-area commuters.

The tolls go up tomorrow on the highways, bridges and ramps owned by the Richmond Metropolitan Authority.

Where exactly is all the money going?

Still on the theme of plans. Last post was of a prospectus for a museum that never happened. This post is of something that did happen- the linear park along Belvidere. These plans (link takes you to .pdf file, which may take a little time to load) are dated 1990, but the idea for the park goes goes back much further. Before the new Lee Bridge was built and U.S. 1 was created, Belvidere was a one lane, tree-lined, residential street like Laurel St. Sadly, the last house that faced Belvidere was destroyed earlier this year. The park concept was thought of as something that would offer a buffer from the increasing traffic of Belvidere and also lead to peaceful passage to the river. The hope was also that it would extend north to Monroe Park and northern neighborhoods as a real greenway for the City. The river connection finally came into place with the help of grants and attention from resident Napi Ippolito. Although grant money and assistance has been sought for the northern extension from Idlewood, that has not yet happened. I know a lot of us were hoping that this small greenway could become part of the East Cost Greenway. Anyway, I am hoping others can add more in the comments on this post.

Hi Everyone-
We are having our September Oregon Hill Community dinner THIS Monday
at 6pm!!!! Our doors will be open to anyone who wants to come and share
a meal with neighbors and meet our new 2008/2009. We do ask if you can
to bring something to share, even if its small or a paper good
donation. In order to keep these dinners going, we do need help from
the neighborhood! There will be music at the dinner by our new music
director, Bean Weatherford. Some of you may have seen him play at the
Byrd Farmers Market with his childrens band: The Ps and Qs. And it is
going to be his goal to find musicians in the neighborhood to play at
the upcoming dinners(which are every 3rd monday of the month!!)

We all hope to see you on Monday! Please help us by spreading the word
to friends/neighbors.
Have a great night
Katie Cowles

SynerGeo Inc.
349 S. Laurel st.
www.synergeo.org

Lets work to keep it Open in Oregon Hill.

Thanks,
Scott

For Immediate Release Contact: Charles Pyle
September 10, 2008 Director of Communications
(804) 371-2420
Julie C. Grimes
Communications Manager
(804) 225-2775

Virginia Schools Earn Federal Blue Ribbon Honors

The U.S. Department of Education has designated seven Virginia public schools and three parochial schools as 2008 No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon Schools. The Blue Ribbon Schools Program honors public and private K-12 schools that are either academically superior or that demonstrate dramatic gains in student achievement.

The public schools receiving federal Blue Ribbon School status are as follows:

Edgemont Primary in Covington
Graham Road Elementary in Fairfax County
Ocean View Elementary in Norfolk
Open High in Richmond
Springwoods Elementary in Prince William County
Temperance Elementary in Amherst County
Virginia L. Murray Elementary in Albemarle County

“These schools share a commitment to instruction and accountability that is grounded in the belief that all children can succeed,” said Superintendent of Public Instruction Billy K. Cannaday Jr., who nominated the schools for federal recognition.

All of the public 2008 NCLB Blue Ribbon Schools earned awards earlier this year through the Virginia Index of Performance program that recognizes schools and divisions that exceed state and federal accountability standards. Virginia L. Murray Elementary in Albemarle County earned the Governor’s Award for Education Excellence while the others received the Board of Education’s VIP Excellence Award.

Three schools in the Catholic Diocese of Arlington, Holy Spirit School in Annandale, St. John Academy in McLean and Nativity School in Burke, were also recognized as Blue Ribbon Schools. The Council for American Private Education nominates private and parochial schools for Blue Ribbon awards each year.

The Blue Ribbon Schools Program was established in 1982 to spotlight the country’s most successful schools. The program, which allows both elementary and secondary schools to be recognized in the same year, was renamed and modified last year to emphasize the goals of NCLB.

The U.S. Department of Education will honor Virginia’s Blue Ribbon Schools during an awards ceremony in October. Two people from each school, the principal and a teacher, will be invited to the ceremony where the schools will receive a plaque and a flag signifying their Blue Ribbon Status. Since 1982, more than 100 Virginia public and private schools have received federal Blue Ribbon designations.

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Statistically speaking, August was a really good month for Oregon Hill. Overall we
seen a 66% decrease in Major Crimes in your neighborhood. During the month we
had only 3 crimes, one was the theft of a moped and unfortunately 2 were robberies.
The first robbery occurred at 200 S. Cherry on 8/4 at approx. 12:58 am. 2 black
males displayed a revolver, robbed the victim and possibly fled in a dark red older
model Buick. The second robbery occurred at 335 S. Cherry St. on 8/28 at
approximately 9:08 pm. 2 black males displayed a small black handgun with a
silver tip and attempted to rob the victim. The victim was smacked but fortunately
he did not sustain any serious injuries.

Just a reminder, that this Saturday, September 13th at 2:00 P.M., there will
be a ceremony to dedicate recently placed Confederate soldiers’ markers in
the Confederate Section ofthe cemetery. There will be artillery (cannon)
fire at approximately 2:45 P.M.