Monthly Archives: July 2009

Anniversary of Streetcar Bombing

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The Tuesday, July 14, 1903 edition of the Times Dispatch reports of ‘torpedoes’ going off under a streetcar on Laurel Street during the tense times of a labor strike.

It sort of puts the previous post in perspective…I have been fascinated by the now-online archives of Richmond newspapers. Most of the stories I have read so far that mention Oregon Hill are about dogs, smallpox, and violence, but there are also beautiful descriptions of the neighborhood that could easily apply to today.

Do yourself a favor and search and read through them sometime. I will be sure to be including more Hill history now that these are available.

So Next July 4th…

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…the police will be ready!

News Release
Richmond Explosive Ordinance Disposal Unit Receives $1.1 Million Dollar Grant

July 9, 2009
This week, the Department of Criminal Justice Services notified the Department that its EOD Unit will receive $1,176,300 in federal funds from the Department of Homeland Security.

“This will enhance our operational capacity with equipment allocations and training with our local, state, federal, and international law enforcement agencies. The grant allows us to add public value to our community without a local financial impact,” stated Assistant Chief Dave McCoy.

Contact: Sgt. Ron Brown
Richmond Police Department
Phone 804-646-0607
Fax 804-646-3496
http://www.richmondgov.com/police

Sector 413 Police June Newsletter

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Click here to get to the PDF of the newsletter.

Some excerpts:

During the month of June 2009, Sector 413 experienced an overall increase
of crime by 7% as compared to June of 2008.
…
There were 5 robberies to individuals in Sector 413 during June 2009. Two
of these occurred in Oregon Hill.
…
6/16/09-618 Idlewood Ave – 0148 a.m., the male victim was
robbed by 4 b/males. These males were later apprehended in a
taxi cab on the Southside and charged with this robbery.
(Note: This was reported on this site earlier.)
…
06/21/09 – (attempt) – 100 S. Cherry Street, 0315 a.m., the
male victim was walking on Cherry Street when he was
approached by a b/m. The suspect had a knife and demanded
the victim’s money. The victim struck the suspect and ran to his
home.
…
1 house break-in on Laurel Street
…
In the last week the trend has been to remove license plates from vehicles.
2 occurred on Pine Street in Oregon Hill. Monroe Ward and Jackson Ward
had 3 a piece. We feel they are stealing them for the expiration date
sticker.
…
Three individuals were arrested in the Fan district for graffiti. We feel these
individuals are also responsible for some of the tags located in Oregon Hill,
Jackson Ward and Monroe Ward.
…
The homeless continue to bring complaints and are tied into some of the
crimes I have touched on. The detectives and Officers have worked very
hard at identifying these individuals and what areas they may be hanging
around.

The Spigot Is Turning…

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I am very glad to hear from Richmond Water Utility officials that, according to initial estimates, VCU will pay for 2,356 ERUs resulting in an annual stormwater utility charge of approximately $106,000. I am told this involves 185 parcels. This is a lot better than nothing, which is what I was initially lead to believe and I do appreciate their willingness to answer questions. Now, how does this compare to average annual residential charge of $45? And what is VCU doing to actually solve its stormwater runoff issues? More scrutiny is not a bad thing.

In the meantime, a few more notes:

The stormwater utility issue is refocusing attention to the water rates issue. Silver, as usual, is doing a lion’s share.

Its great to see more neighbors using rainwater barrels, some of them bought at the Byrd Market. It’s also good to see the City getting with the program…

I would love to see Richmond establish a ‘Green Alley’ program like Chicago’s (not to be confused with Oregon Hill’s Green Alley)

Now, what about micro-hydroelectric and grey water systems?