Monthly Archives: August 2013

JRA Volunteer Opportunities

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From email:

There are several volunteer opportunities across the watershed to come out and help the James River. If you are interested in any of the events below, just let me know.

August 17: The Tire-Less James
Volunteers are needed to remove tires — and only tires — from the James River between Lynchburg and Richmond during the first Tire-less James Event. We recommend that you wear work gloves and closed toe shoes. Canoe or john boats are best. We are encouraging as many groups as possible to choose James River State Park (Dixon Landing) to Wingina (5.5 miles), there will be multiple historic James River batteaux on site to help carry out tires from this section. Groups can look at available sections and register online. http://www.jrava.org/get-involved/volunteer/tire-less-james

September 14, 9am-1pm: JRAC Cleanup
Join hundreds of volunteers across the James River watershed to clean up trash. Select from 15 different sites from Lynchburg to Newport News. Look at available sites and register online. Help with recycling is needed at the Reedy Creek site that JRA sponsors. http://www.jrac-va.org/events/cleanup/

September 21, 9:30 am – Noon: Rain Garden Maintenance and Cleanup
Help with weeding, planting, and mulching of several rain gardens. All tools will be provided. Please wear sturdy shoes and clothes that can get dirty. Meet in the parking lot behind Advance Auto, 6300 W Broad Street, Richmond. Pre-registration is required. To register, please contact Amber Ellis at 804-788-8811 ext 205 or volunteer(at)jrava.org.

September 22, Richmond Splash & Dash
The James River Splash & Dash is a competitive tube race which takes place near Richmond’s Belle Isle. After the race, JRA hosts an after party that includes a live music and food. Volunteers are needed for various tasks that day including registration, race marshals, and set up. http://www.jrava.org/splash-and-dash/richmond/index

Amber Ellis
Watershed Restoration Associate
James River Association
9 South 12th Street, 4th Floor
Richmond, VA 23219
Tel: (804) 788.8811 ext.205
Email: aellis(at)jrava.org
www.jrava.org

Landmark Organ Controversy

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WTVR is reporting on a controversy regarding the Landmark (isn’t it the Altria Theater now?) Theater’s organ.

Recently the antique Wurlitzer organ that Lunde once played upon was disconnected and stored away. There are only about two dozen of its kind left in the country.
“It’s heartbreaking,” said Lunde.
The controversy over the Wurlitzer began last summer. Lunde says renovation management at the Landmark wanted to remove the organ, he claims he was told to open up a few additional theater seats.
After outrage from organ enthusiasts worldwide, city council assured Richmonders that the organ would not be moved. Lunde and others felt relief, that is until this week.
“They cut the voice out of the organ because you can’t play it,” said Lunde.
Just last week after Lunde got a tip from a friend, he went to the Landmark theater and found the cable to the organ cut, cement poured where the playing console used to be and the instrument resting amid a construction site.
“It’s a trust issue,” said City Councilman Parker Agelasto.
He and Council President Charles Samuels were called on the issue and began asking questions. Samuels was told by the administration that the approval for removal came from Richmond CAO Byron Marshall, who was at the time unaware of the organ controversy.

As one neighbor wrote to our Councilperson, “The Administration needs a good talking to on destroying historic resources…A very unnerving pattern has been unfortunately established…”

But honestly, is anyone surprised by this, given what has gone on? What’s next? Center Stage asking for a percentage of every pint sold to fix the organ?

Trash/Recycling Pickup Tomorrow

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This Wednesday is a red Wednesday, which means trash and recycling pickup. Please make sure you pick up containers after pickup tomorrow night. They do not belong on the sidewalk after tomorrow night. In recycling news, Colonial Heights doubles recycling, saves $250,000 with cart changes.

Officials in Colonial Heights, Va., say they made the right choice when they switched to smaller 68-gallon trash carts and gave every household a 96-gallon recycling cart to begin using July 1, 2012, instead of the standard bin.

A year later, the city’s 17,000 residents recycled an additional 540 tons of materials, and conversely, sent 506 fewer tons of waste to the landfill. At the same time, participation in curbside recycling doubled to 61% of the estimated 6,700 households.

In addition, Colonial Heights saved $250,000 in operating costs that now will be spent to restore a unique old baseball stadium, upgrade the public safety communication system and buy new playground equipment. Bigger savings are expected in future years because there won’t be any start-up costs.

Residents and businesses also benefited from a recycling rewards program. Every time residents put out their recycling cart, they earn points that can be redeemed for coupons, free appetizers and the like at 32 shops and restaurants. The commercial partners reported an extra $18,000 in new business.

“It was a perfect storm of things,” City Manager Tom Mattis said, adding that it all began at contract renewal time for waste hauling. “We were looking for ways to do more, to do better. We wondered what’s possible to save money. That was the core of it early on but in the end that quickly married up with recognizing an opportunity to enhance recycling and be a leader.”

Dueling Maps of the Towpath

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Venture Richmond Director Jack Berry gave a presentation on the proposed amphitheater at the July meeting of the Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association. One the main assertions Berry made was that the tow path on the south bank of the canal was only 12 feet wide until it was enlarged in the 1880s to make way for the railroad. He wants to remove over half of the tow path on the south bank of the canal, from 25 to 12 feet to improve the sight lines of the the proposed amphitheater.

Disproving Berry’s assertion is the 1848 plat of Lewis Harvie’s property on file at the Henrico Courthouse (Plat 3-417), which is far more detailed than the Morgan map cited by Berry. This plat is of such detail that it actually gives the dimension of the tow path as being 30 ft. wide at the location of what is now Venture Richmond’s proposed amphitheater. (See measurement on the attached Henrico Plat below the word “Path” to the left of the “House.”) The east-west street above the canal is the same width as the tow path and is also labeled “30 feet wide.”

Henrico Plat 3-417, 1848

This 1848 Henrico plat establishes that the towpath was at least as wide as it is today during the canal’s primary period of significance, and long before the railroad purchased the right-of-way on the canal bank. This canal was carefully engineered with an impermeable “puddled” clay layer that would be irreparably damaged if half of the south canal bank is removed.

First Tuesday at Byrd House Market!

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From email announcement:

It’s National Farmers Market Week!
August 4 – 10, 2013
Visit one! Visit Ours! Did you know that Virginia is in the top ten states for number of farmers markets? We are tied with Missouri with 246 markets listed in the USDA Farmers Market Database for 2013. Click here to read the USDA press release. Byrd House Market and all the other wonderful markets in the Richmond area only work because you shop them! Thank all the farmers, gardeners, growers, food makers and their families for bringing you such amazing things! Tell them what you love about what they do for you and Your Neighborhood Farmers Market!

Demo: “What’s In a Ham?” by Salt Pork

“the OTHER white meat” ” Find out what makes ham taste so good, especially when in the hands of someone who knows. How do you eat yours? Bill will share the wheres and whyfores of delicious ham making and eating. At the Salt Pork tent at 4pm and 5pm.

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Live Music courtesy of the Blue Lotus Collective

Artmaking with VACLAA, 3:30 – 5 pm (See their current exhibit by artist Helene Ruiz)

Storytelling by Caroline, 4:00 – 5 pm

Facepainting by Madeline, 4:30 – 6:30 pm

Bike Rack located by the Square Byrd House Market Sign all market day!

Water for Pets available too!

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Chair Massage

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William Byrd community House is enrolling 4-year-olds for the fall Head Start and Early Childhood Education programs. Must be potty trained! Call 804-643-2717 for details.
_____________________

Ana Edwards, Manager
Byrd House Market & Library Programs
Grace Arents Library & Education Center
William Byrd Community House
www.wbch.org / 804.643.2717 ext.306

JIMMY’S SIDEWALK SALE SUNDAY

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From FaceBook event page:

I’m Not Selling Any of the Brick Sidewalk.
I Will Be Putting Things On the Brick Sidewalk to Sell.

JIMMY’S SIDEWALK SALE STARTS 10AM THIS SUNDAY

10am-3pm (Sunday Aug 4)
310 S. Cherry St. (Richmond, VA 23220)
(Just South of VCU Campus) CASH or CHECK ONLY – NO PLASTIC

JUST BACK FROM MIAMI w/ a HUGE NUMBER OF LPs

*30 crates of Rock, Soul, Jazz, Blues, Reggae, Folk & more*

(Start @ 50 cents.Best Ones are Market Priced ($4 up to $20)

(Wide range of Great Artists From The Fall to Art Ensemble of Chicago to rare New Wave Picture Sleeves to Yazoo & Pacific Jazz label in great shape)

Several Boxes of 45RPM Singles

10 Boxes of CDs (Many are 10 cents ea.)

200 Old Music Mags (Mojo, Option, NME, Guitar Player, Paste)

(Held in the shade out of the sun!)

*** I’ll also have LPs next Sat. at the Wonderful
<>
all day on Strawberry St.

– Kitschy Printed Matter
– Old Posters
– McIntosh 1700 Stereo Receiver $600.00 (in excellent working condition)
– Klipsch Speakers
– Dual Turntable with Wooden Base $80.00 (in excellent working condition)
– A Few CD Players
– An Accordion That Got Left in the Basement So Now It’s Ruined
– Rolex Watch From the First Lady
– Many Other Hard-To-Find Items

Councilperson Agelasto Takes On Illegal Dumping

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WTVR recently had a report on illegal dumping in City neighborhoods.

Excerpt:

Farmer claims this year is the worst yet. She claims as renters move out, their belongings move out to the curb or the alley. Sometimes the items remain in public right of ways for weeks.
“This one has been out here over two weeks,” said Farmer as she points to several old mattresses left in the alley behind her home.
It sometimes takes weeks before someone calls the city for a bulk pick up. Farmer believes it’s wrong to create such a poor reflection of the neighborhood and to assume someone else is supposed to pick up after you.
“I think its people who are used to their parents taking care them,” said Farmer.
City councilman Parker Agelasto recently captured video of an illegal dump near his home.
“it’s out of control essentially,” said Agelasto, who claims he sees similar messes all the time all across Richmond.
He was so appalled by the recent dump however that he called Richmond’s Department of Public Works and the Richmond Police.
“We’re talking huge amounts of garbage that’s not their primary function, that’s cleaning up an illegal activity,” said Agelasto.
Agelasto then stuck around to capture images of the DPW clean- up. He claims DPW is backlogged with calls to pick up what’s been illegally dumped and it’s putting strain on them and the police to have to correct other people’s mistakes. He says it’s time for the city to crack down on those who do it.
“Wherever you’ve moved, we’re going to find you and you’re going to be held accountable for what you’ve done, you can’t do this,” said Agelasto.
Richmond Police also acknowledge a huge problem with illegal dumping in the city, mainly in area where there is a high density of student housing.

From Councilperson Parker Agelasto’s FaceBook page:

Thank you Catie Beck for featuring the issue about illegal dumping in Richmond. Many people are concerned about the timeliness of bulk pick-ups; however, I believe we need to turn attention to the problems that are taxing City resources such that they impeded our regular response times. This includes the illegal dumping that occurs when rental properties turn over near the beginning and end of the school semester.

I ask that all City residents that witness such activity 1) explain that such activity is illegal and request that the individuals correct the issue, 2) document it with your cellphone, and 3) report it to the Richmond Police prior to requesting a bulk pick-up.

As a reminder, garbage must be properly bagged and in placed trash cans. If it is more than can be reasonably accommodated in the trash can, it is the resident’s responsibility to take it to the City dump. You may call for a bulk pick-up; however, there is generally a fee for this service.

If the illegal dumping persists, a lot of “personally identifiable information” can be obtained by simply looking at the garbage. The Richmond Police Department will use this information to investigate and make an arrest for a Class 1 Misdemeanor.

Certainly, this site has reported on on this problem in the past (here, here, here, here, and here) and it is exciting to have our new Councilperson address it. Hopefully his activism will spur more parties (landlords, VCU, THE RENTERS THEMSELVES, etc.) to take some responsibility.