Monthly Archives: November 2017

City’s Cold Weather Overflow Shelter Open November 22 – 27

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From City press release:

Richmond, VA – The Cold Weather Overflow Shelter will be open Wednesday, November 22 – Monday, November 27, 2017 as temperatures are forecast to remain at or below 40 degrees.

Residents in need of overnight shelter are asked to report to Commonwealth Catholic Charities (511 W. Grace Street) during operational hours for a comprehensive intake and referral to the appropriate shelter. Shelter registration is from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. For individuals who are not eligible for existing shelter space or if all available beds have been filled, Commonwealth Catholic Charities will provide a referral to the Cold Weather Overflow Shelter.

The Cold Weather Overflow Shelter is located in the City’s Public Safety Building at 505 North 9th Street. The shelter opens each evening at 7 p.m. and closes the following morning at 6 a.m. Individuals seeking access to the Overflow Shelter must have a referral. Food will not be provided and pets are not allowed.

City residents are also advised the Department of Social Services provides emergency assistance with gas and electric disconnection notices for residents who qualify. Residents may also call the Fuel Line at (804) 646-7046.

The elderly or residents with disabilities should contact Senior Connections for assistance at (804) 343-3000, Monday through Friday; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

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17th Annual Oregon Hill Turkey Bowl Tomorrow

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From FaceBook event page:

this is our 17th annual thanksgiving day soccer pickup game! This game is purely for fun, to work up an appetite, and to run around and act like kids. ALL SKILL LEVELS ARE WELCOME! Super friendly game of friendly soccer!

Tomorrow at 10 AM – 12 PM
316 S. Linden St. 23220 (near what was Grace Arents community garden)

Photo from a previous Turkey Bowl:

Trash/Recycling Pickup Tomorrow

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This Wednesday is a “Red Wednesday”, which means trash and recycling pickup. Ideally, rolling recycling containers are stored and deployed in the back alleys along with trash cans. Please make sure you pick up containers after pickup tomorrow night.

If you have not done so already, don’t forget to sign up for your Recycling Perks.
In order to take your recycling to the next level, read this: 10 ways to improve your recycling.

There’s been a bit of recent hullabaloo down in Portsmouth, VA, where there was a report that the city has been taking residents’ recyclables to be burned — without telling them. Now the Executive Director of the Virginia Recycling Association is weighing in with a letter that defines recycling and makes a strong economic case for it.

A Reiteration Of Opposition To The Monroe Park Conservancy

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From email:

Dear Councilperson Gray and other friends

Please find enclosed a petition of over 350 signatures of people opposed to the damage that has been done to the tree canopy of Monroe Park, Richmond’s oldest and most historic municipal park.
During the park’s period of historic significance, there were 362 trees of 26 varieties in the park. When the approved Monroe Park master plan was conceived, the park was down to 155 trees due to natural causes and lack of consistent maintenance and planting. Currently, there are less than a hundred trees in the park, many destroyed through actions violating established city policy. Even after trees that are planned to be planted are put in, there will be approximately one third as many trees as during the period of historic significance. This damage has been caused by a departure from the approved master plan and work documents through piecemeal alterations advocated in the last year by the City of Richmond on behalf of the Monroe Park Conservancy. The resulting damage cannot be corrected for at least a generation even if a comprehensive tree restoration plan were to be immediately enacted.
The approved Monroe Park master plan (2008) was celebrated for its community inclusivity and exhaustive research into the historic value of the park and was assembled by city council appointed community representatives with the assistance of the firm Rhodeside and Harwell at a cost of over 700,000 dollars to the taxpayers of the city of Richmond. It is tragic that it has been recently superseded by such a radical departure.
The approval of a 30 year lease to the the private Monroe Park Conservancy has turned out to be a tragic mistake and has served the city of Richmond poorly.
In closing, may I remind you all that the taxpayers of Richmond have invested well over 4.53 million dollars on this “renovation” and yet are denied legitimate representation on the MPC executive board, even though VCU has three seats and a seat was recently added for Dominion Energy. This lack of community representation violates the spirit of council approved resolution 2014-R64-64. It is notable, councilperson Gray, that both you and the Mayor’s chief of staff are sitting board members of the Monroe Park Conservancy.
It is in the best interest of the city of Richmond to consider dissolving the lease agreement and for city council to appoint a community based board to advise the city on Monroe Park matters.

Sincerely,

Charles Todd Woodson

(Editor’s note- The Sierra Club Falls of the James previously called for termination of the lease)

L’Opossum Featured In Wine Enthusiast

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Wine mag Wine Enthusiast gave China Street restaurant L’Opossum this rave as part of a write up on Richmond’s ‘vibrant culinary scene’:

This restaurant somehow merges the concepts of French fine dining, American steakhouse, New Orleans bordello and punk rock club. It’s an experience that transports diners and never loses sight of what’s on the plate. The “cold hot pink soup” is an immaculate beet vichyssoise with blue crab, corn and sorrel, while the crab cakes are the meatiest in town. The jokey names and descriptions of dishes either poke fun at the self-importance of many restaurants or are merely wacky, like the “Darth Grouper Held At Bay By A Rebellious Coalition.” However, that’s part of the mischievous fun here.