Yearly Archives: 2009

Brunswick Stew and Guitars Too

Posted on by
Reply

Two notices from Rev. Turner of Pine Street Baptist Church:

Brunswick Stew Sale
Saturday, April 25
Pine Street Baptist Church

$7.00 per quart
Stew may be picked up after 2:00 P.M.
brunswick-stew-ck-1662875-l

The VCU Guitar Ensemble will be performing at Pine Street Baptist Church on Sunday, April 26 during the 11:00 worship service. The VCU Guitar Ensemble has been a part of the Richmond music scene since 1982. Consisting of 15 to 20 music majors, this unique ensemble’s repertoire ranges from Bach to the Beatles, from Renaissance to contemporary music. In addition, this group frequently premieres new compositions by VCU student composers, as well as commissioned works by established arrangers and composers. The ensemble has been featured on several National Public Radio stations and on local television arts segments. John Patykula, coordinator of the guitar program, directs the VCU Guitar Ensemble.

Trani’s Legacy

Posted on by
2

Times Dispatch reporter Karin Kapsidelis researched and wrote a good, fairly objective overview of outgoing Virginia Commonwealth University President Eugene Trani’s term. Of course, I may not be that objective as I was the ‘loudest protester’ named in the article.

“He’s expanded VCU at the expense of a lot of other components of Richmond,” said Scott Burger, president of the Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association.

I would have liked to have seen more examination of Trani’s role as powerbroker, especially when he used his Richmond Renaissance position to not so gently persuade City Council to approve Dominion Power’s Special Use Permit for its headquarters and trading floor expansion at the expense of the river view, but I know its difficult to cover everything, even in a front page article.

Also, Oregon Hill Home Improvement Council Executive Director and Oregon Hill resident Todd Woodson had a whole commentary piece published that should not be overlooked.

We are hopeful that the new VCU president will be a reasonable man and a man of
honor. The sign of a great leader will be to make things better for the
surrounding communities as well as being an advocate for the university’s
improvement.
VCU is blessed with many gifted faculty members and students. Its president
should serve as a role model and use this talented staff for the betterment of
all parties involved. Oregon Hill and the other historic communities of Carver,
Jackson Ward, and Randolph have paid a dear price for the unbridled VCU
expansion. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” is a pretty tough
golden rule to argue with.

But what is interesting are the anonymous online comments on the article. Here is a sample:

Trani bears much of the responsibility for this, when he took over there was a quick and drastic shift in the attitude VCU took towards students, faculty, and staff. In the end, Trani’s work has benefited property owners, local politicians, contractors, and the corporate entities that he has allowed to prey upon his students (read commodities). The students have not benefited at all, unless the student is a college basketball fan.

As usual, the RTD has it wrong. The negative posts regarding Trani on this thread out number the positive, and for someone who lives in the university community and knows many people that work at VCU at many different levels I can attest they share no love for the man either.

Ouch, and people call me harsh. A Sunday school lesson for us all: arrogance and “pride goeth before the fall”.

Part of Grace Arents’ Legacy- Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden

Posted on by
3

Every Richmonder worth a salt should know who Grace Arents is.

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Arents&GSfn=Grace&GSbyrel=in&GSdyrel=in&GSob=n&GRid=7014698&

http://www.rbc.edu/library/SpecialCollections/Women_history_resources/vfwposter2004.pdf

http://www.nps.gov/history/Nr/travel/richmond/OregonHillHD.html

One of the most important groups of buildings is the St. Andrews’s complex at South Laurel Street and Idlewood Avenue. Richmond philanthropist and social reformer Miss Grace Arents funded and supervised construction of the St. Andrew’s Church Complex (243 South Laurel) of 1901-1903, to the designs of the Indiana architect A. H. Ellwood. The complex also includes a parochial school from 1901 and St. Andrew’s Hall at 711 Idlewood Avenue from 1904.

Miss Arents’ work extended throughout the neighborhood well beyond the Episcopal buildings. In 1904, she built the brick Colonial Revival style St. Andrew’s Houses at 912-914 Cumberland Street and 200 and 202 South Linden Street, which constitute one of the earliest examples of subsidized housing in Virginia. She also built a complex of buildings for the Instructive Visiting Nurses Association, dating from 1904 and 1923 at 213 and 219 South Cherry Street, the Noland and Baskervill designed Grace Arents Free Library at 224 South Cherry from 1908, and the 1911 Grace Arents Public School at 600 South Pine Street. Miss Arents also donated the Holly Street Playground on Holly west of Laurel Street, one of the oldest public playgrounds in the City of Richmond.

http://www.richmond.k12.va.us/indexnew/sub/history/arents.cfm

So on that note…

An update from Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden:

* There are still a few seats available for next week’s No Child
Left Inside: Restoring Nature to Early Childhood symposium (April 29th,
8a.m.-4 p.m.) We are excited to announce that Virginia’s First Lady,
Anne Holton, will provide opening remarks at the event. In addition,
you’ll see we’ve added Chip & Ashley Donahue, founders of Kids in the
Valley, Adventuring to the line-up. And, Tracy Kane, noted author and
illustrator of The Fairy Houses
Series(tm), will read from her
books and help families build fairy houses in the Children’s Garden
during our Homespun Fun for Families event.

* We’ve just opened a few remaining slots for the FREE Dinner in
the Garden for Teachers. If you are an educator interested in attending
please see directions below.

* If your organization would like to provide an educational
display at the No Child Left Inside: Restoring Nature to Early Childhood
symposium, please contact Adele MacLean for more details. Call Adele
MacLean at 262-9887 ext. 222 or email her at adelem@lewisginter.org.

Anniversary Year Symposium: No Child Left Inside: Restoring Nature to
Early Childhood
Wednesday, April 29, 8a.m.-4p.m.

For a PDF of the agenda (subject to change), click here.

Join the national dialogue about the critical relationship between
direct exposure to nature and healthy childhood development. Learn about
the physical, cognitive, emotional, social, and creative assets that
young children gain through outdoor experiences, and how direct,
authentic experiences in nature can be created for children wherever
they live, play, and learn.

This symposium is for everyone concerned about the healthy development
of today’s children, including early childhood professionals, teachers
and administrators, recreation leaders, pediatric healthcare providers,
parents and caregivers, urban planners, environmental educators,
architects, landscape architects and designers.

Featuring presentations by:
Jane Kirkland, author of the award-winning children’s nature series,
Take a Walk books
Robin Moore, Director of the Natural Learning Initiative and Professor
of Landscape Architecture, North Carolina State University

Plus Chip & Ashley Donahue, founders of Kids in the Valley, Adventuring
(KIVA)
$25 includes lunch; advance registration required; earns 5 training
hours.
Related Events:
Teacher Workshop: Dinner in the Garden for Teachers
Tuesday, April 28, 5-8:30 p.m.
Presented in cooperation with the Center for Life Sciences Education,
Virginia Commonwealth University Homespun Fun for Families
This symposium is the second in a four-part series marking the Garden’s
25th anniversary. These events are made possible with generous support
from the Robins Foundation.

The Dream of High Speed Rail

Posted on by
13

Ever since I started living here I have had the dream- that one day, I could walk out my door with a small backpack, and hike or grab a ride down to Main Street Station in Shockoe Bottom, and catch a high speed train to the airport, to D.C., to Norfolk, to anywhere in the world. I am certainly not the only one. Virginians for High Speed Rail have been making the case for years (though they do it very drily).

When I first arrived here many years ago, I mentioned in a conversation how excited I was about the day that high speed rail to and from D.C. became reality in Richmond and how it would really change things. The person I was talking with gave a sympathetic chuckle and said, “You are new here, aren’t you? You will see…”

And I have seen. I have listened to the excuses and the reasons for the delays. I have heard the naysayers and distractions. I have learned about the Acca train yard and CSX obstacles. I have grown to understand and appreciate Richmond’s other tremendous needs for educational and institutional reform.

But that day is getting closer, and as citizens of Richmond, we should hunger for it, prepare for it, and even demand it. High speed rail and mass transit are too important for the future of this City to just wait idly by. And it should be part of other important conversations.

Call for Art + Fish Festival/Earth Day

Posted on by
Reply

From City press releases:

Call for National Arts Program Entries

Richmond’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities announces the call for entries in its 11th annual National Arts Program® at Richmond, which will award more than $3,000 in prize money to artists of all ages and levels of experience.

The program is free to enter, and all artwork submitted according to the rules will be exhibited in one of two shows that will hang from late June through mid-August.

Youth ages 5-17 are invited to submit their works of art to compete for awards in the Youth and Teen Showcase, which will be exhibited at the Science Museum of Virginia from June 24 to Aug. 14. Adults may submit their artwork to compete in Creative Reflections, which will be shown at the department’s Pine Camp Arts and Community Center from June 24 to July 17.

The National Arts Program® is known as one of the most innovative grassroots arts projects in the country and has achieved widespread recognition for successfully nurturing creativity and fostering self-confidence among artists. It is sponsored by the National Arts Program Foundation of Malvern, PA, and in Richmond by the City’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities’ art program. Additional sponsorship is provided by the Science Museum of Virginia, and the James River Art League.

Anyone who wants to submit their artwork must register to enter by June 5. Registration brochures providing details on how to enter are available at Pine Camp, which is located at 4901 Old Brook Road, or by calling 804-646-3674. For more information, call 804-646-3675 or visit the department’s website at www.RichmondGov.com/parks.

###

Celebrate Fish on Earth Day

Come celebrate Richmond’s fish on Earth Day as the City’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities holds its annual James River Fish Festival on Saturday, April 18, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in conjunction with Earth Day Richmond 2009.

The department’s Fish Festival commemorates the annual return of spawning fish to the James River in Richmond with music, art, dance, biology, food, and of course, fishing. The Fish Festival is held adjacent to the south end of the 14th Street Bridge, marking the beginning of Earth Day Richmond 2009, which expands approximately six blocks along Hull Street from the river to ArtWorks.

Activities at the Fish Festival include make and take fish arts and crafts for children, fly fishing demonstrations, a shad fishing school for children, fishing from a canoe, and a variety of programs and exhibits on water quality and water quality testing, including one that will teach you how to test water quality and become a volunteer water quality monitor. In addition, an interpretive dance of the spawning James River shad will be presented by the department’s award-winning City Dance Theatre at 1 p.m., and free tours of the Bosher’s Dam Fish Ladder will depart at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Other Earth Day activities include tree planting demonstrations, organized bike rides, art activities, plant sales, yoga sessions, canal cruises, and farmers’ markets. In addition, a variety of guided walks and workshops will be held. Just some of the topics include the health of the river, the tree canopy and green infrastructure, a future master plan for the river, Victory Gardens, planting seeds, composting, and building recycling boxes.

Live music will be performed throughout the day on four stages.

For more information, the complete schedule, and to see a video of Earth Day Richmond 2008, visit www.earthdayrichmond.org.

###

Homeless Man’s Belongings Burned

Posted on by
18

wr-1

There was a fire on Laurel Street on the south end of the 195 overpass. A homeless guy that has been camping near there for the last month or so was storing some of his belongings on the bridge railing. He is wheel chair bound and possibly unable to speak. He did not know who set his stuff on fire. It looks like someone set fire to his bundles on Monday night. Has anyone heard anything?

Continue reading →

More of Neighborhood Demolished

Posted on by
9

From Greg:

I was just driving up Laurel Street into the neighborhood when I looked over to see that 809 and 811 West Cary Street were being demolished. These two long abandoned brick houses were in deplorable condition to be sure. But it’s always heartbreaking to see any homes in the neighborhood go, especially ones that are on our most prominent block and face of the neighborhood. Anyone have any details or information regarding this and or what may be in the works for this fairly sizable lot.

2883511214_71baac949c