Author Archives: Scott

The Bohemian Brigade Art Program at Tredegar

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From The American Civil War Center at Historic Tredegar’s Facebook page:

Want an artistic way to spend the day?

Don’t miss The Bohemian Brigade art program Wednesday July 18 (Middle School) and July 25 (Homeschoolers).
Cost is $8 per participant. Materials are included. Read on for details. Contact skane at tredegar.org to register.

During the Civil War the art of photography was still new. The long exposures times meant cameras couldn’t capture movement and photos couldn’t be reproduced in the newspaper.
The job of providing the public with images of battle as well as scenes of camp life fell to brave men known as Special Artists. These Special Artists called themselves the “Bohemian Brigade” and with pencil, crayon, and brush they provided the world with firsthand depictions of the American Iliad.

In this program students will learn of the adventurous lives of such Special Artists as Alfred Waud and Frank Vizetelly. Then they will take up the tools of the Special Artist themselves to improve their skills under the guidance of an experienced art teacher.

Letter on “Richmond’s Monroe Park: The Unfolding Tragedy”

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Open letter from Oregon Hill resident and Monroe Park Advisory Council member Charles Woodson:

Dear Friends,

Two years or so ago when the Monroe Park Advisory Council stopped meeting and an exciting Monroe Park Master Plan was delivered to our City Government, I figured the Park was at its most downtrodden. It was impossible to fathom Monroe Park – our first City Park and one that just oozes with fascinating history and promise of a great rebirth, falling even further into a rotting, even more trash filled and untended and dangerous corpse of a place. On Sunday, July 15, 2012 at around 3PM, that realization slapped me in the face. Three RPD cruisers were parked by the overgrown fountain with blue lights flashing, responding to reports of a “crazy man screaming and brandishing a gun” in the Park (their words). I felt afraid for my life.

Historic Monroe Park is situated equidistant from the James River, the soon to be refurbished $50,000,000.00 Altria Theatre (nee Mosque) project and VCU’s beautifully planned $32,000,000.00 Institute of Contemporary Art but there is no word on poor Monroe Park with its terrific $6,000,000 plan of redemption. No website for either the Park itself or the phantom Monroe Park Foundation exists on the web. Nothing… Nada … just Yelp.com’s disturbing descriptions of drunks and hobos and a few other meaningless entries.

The many feedings continue to pour trash into the Park. Trashcans full after one or two feedings, the patrons sit on the benches beside the fountain and just throw refuse on the ground where it gets blown with the trash can overflow into VCU and the neighborhoods surrounding the historic Park.
The trees need maintenance, some need removal and a hundred or so need planting.
The barren brown grounds, devoid of grass in many areas need work to revive.
The decrepit sidewalks and pathways crumble beneath your feet.
Substance abuse is rampant. I wouldn’t want my kids playing here.

Im ashamed mostly at myself for not being a more consistent voice for this great Park. But im also ashamed of you, Charles Samuels, since this is your district and you were a champion for the Park at one time. And there is shame for the Mayor who I know to be aware of the dire situation. Im also upset with VCU for not putting a boot in our rear ends for not making ANY progress – this is weak leadership on their end as well. This is, after all, their face for the newbies that come crashing into Gladding, Johnson and Rhodes Halls, etc, each August and have to live with this mess.

It’s time to get rid of the running mouths and roll up our sleeves and crack open the city wallet to address these issues.

Sincerely,

Charles Todd Woodson.

His letter included the following photos:

All Music Players are Invited to Acoustic Jam This Tuesday

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From email announcement:

All Music Players are invited to a 3rd Tuesday Acoustic Jam
at the Byrd House Market, 5:00 – 7 p.m.
That’s this Tuesday, July 18th.

Please meet at the Epic Gardens tent. We’ll play in the middle of the market where vendors and shoppers can hear us. (instead of over under the tree where we won’t be heard. After all, we’re part of the ambiance. Of course if it’s hot as hades and the only shade is under the mulberry tree, we can reconsider).

The genre is determined by the players, so don’t be shy about choosing a song to sing, a rock to roll or a groove to play. It’s all wide open! Folk, Oldtime, Country, Bluegrass, Blues, Gospel, Jazz, Rock, Celtic, Children’s Songs, anything you can play on an acoustic instrument!

Reminder: farmers’ markets are smoke free outdoor places. If you like to smoke, kindly leave the area (across the alley would probably work) … and hurry back so we can get back to pickin’!

Come early and bring your totebags to shop at the Byrd House Market.

Come anytime to play, even (especially!) after work.

Where it’s happening: Oregon Hill, behind William Byrd Community House on the corner of South Lindenand Idlewood. It’s on the left when you hop off the Downtown Expressway at the Belvidere Exit. You can’t miss it. For more directions and a market update, visit http://byrdhousemarket.blogspot.com or call me.

—
____________________

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

Upcoming: Brunch is for the Birds

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From email announcement:

An invitation to explore the practice of backyard bird language based on the new book by Jon Young, “What the Robin Knows.” Three Sundays, starting July 29, from noon to 1:30 pm at St. Andrew’s Community House, 236 S. Laurel Street. July 29, Aug 5, and Aug 12.

Brunches: Brown bag or $5. (Please RSVP regardless)

The last weekend, August 11-12, we’ll be joined by Michael Blackwell, a trained naturalist (including work with Jon Young) who has been learning and teaching bird language for over a decade. Michael will lead several optional bird language “group sits” throughout the weekend ($10 per sit).

Contact Abbott Bailey for more details. (abbottbailey at comcast.net or 687-0122).

Link to Flyer: Brunch is for the Birds

A Two Person Yardsale This Saturday

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From the Craigslist ad:

Hello! Having a two person yardsale this saturday, one of us is is moving so there is a little bit of everything you could hope for
Where : Albamarle Street in Oregon Hill, between laurel and pine
When: 8:30am- 1:00pm

We will have—
Lot’s of vintage items
Nintendo DS
Cannon SLR
Retro Dinning table and chairs
Outdoor furniture
Tons of crafting supplies Knitting Needles, yarn, crochet supplies, paper goods
two kitchen tables
ikea tables
shoes
clothes
tools
kitchen goods
Furniture
Books
Electric Heater
Dress Form
Room divider
Assorted Baskets/ Boxes
Glass Sets
Plates
Records
Clothes
Lots of vintage linens
Christmas stuff
Housewares
Knick Knacks
and more!

cash only no checks please

City Council and 2nd Street Connector

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Despite letters of concern from citizens, neighborhood association, and the local Sierra Club, an ordinance was introduced for the 2nd Street Connector this past Monday. C. Wayne Taylor’s questions have not been answered and there is no word on alternatives.

Ord. No. 2012-152 (Patron: Mayor Jones) – To declare a public necessity for and to authorize the acquisition of the property identified as the “Project Area” in a certain Gift and Dedication of Real Property and Development Agreement between Gamble’s Hill, LLC, Venture Richmond, Inc., the City of Richmond, Virginia, and Dominion Resources Services, Inc., currently owned by Gamble’s Hill, LLC and to be conveyed to Venture Richmond pursuant to such Agreement, for a purchase price not to exceed $916,640.00, for public right-of-way purposes. (Planning Commission, Monday, July 16, 2012, 1:30 p.m.; COMMITTEE: Land Use, Housing and Transportation, Tuesday, July 17, 2012, 3:00 p.m.)

3 Things

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RVAnews.com has an article series called “5 Things” where they preview and highlight five local events for the upcoming weekend.

This week, two of those things are sports events happening close to Oregon Hill on the James River:

3. James River Splash and Dash

Of all the races that I will never run, the James River Splash and Dash is the one I regret not running the most. First: you run. Then: you tube down the river. Then: you run your tube on land. It sounds as ridiculously fun to watch as it must be to participate. What could add more hilarity to this event? Oh, just a party afterwards with food and beer and music and stuff, NO BIG DEAL.

Sat. Jul. 14 • 4:00 PM
Belle Isle
$34 to race and participate in the no-big-deal party

4. Project Athena Richmond Relay Marathon

“Ho ho ho, a race involving TUBING,” says you, the famous tubing killjoy. “‘Tis not for I,” you said, (still talking, I see). “Instead, I plan to stay unsoiled and bone dry while simultaneously helping an excellent cause. Please drop me off at the Project Athena Richmond Relay Marathon, where a team of friends and I will run parts of marathons together, benefitting Project Athena and all the dream-fulfillment it does for people who’ve been through physical hell. It’s like physical hell in order to help those in physical hell. Appropriate!”

Sat. Jul. 14 • 7:00 AM
Brown’s Island
$6 per race enthusiast

And then there is this last event, which usually brings at least a few crews of filmmakers to the neighborhood:

5. The 48 Hour Film Project

Fast filmmakers, heed the call of the 48 Hour Film Project, aka “49 Hours? No Dice.” You’ll lose a lot of sleep and have a crap-ton of fun, I bet, as the festival peeps give you a character and some background information (kickoff is this Friday at The Camel). Then you’re off, writing, filming, and editing a movie to be turned in at this very event. Watch the fresh-faced hopefuls greet each other amiably on Friday or giggle sympathetically as they stagger in, cowed by the very briskness of this idea on Sunday. Screenings begin in a few weeks.

Sun. Jul 15 • 5:00 PM
The Camel, 1621 W. Broad St.
Free!

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, recycling company Newark Group VP Jonathan Gold offers views on single-stream collection and processing at a Congressional hearing.

“As an industry, we now collect two-thirds of all paper available for recycling and have increased the recycling rate for paper by 81 percent over the past 20 years,” said Gold in his testimony. “Despite this, there is still an enormous amount of paper that is not being collected and there remains quite a bit of misinformation in the data that suggests that more of what is collected for recycling is actually used in the creation of new products. That’s where the need for better information enters.”

In commenting about the practice of single-stream recycling, Gold remarked that recovered single-stream recyclables often contain materials that contaminate the usability of the paper. “The EPA does the best job they can at the moment in reporting on the tonnage of collected recyclables, but information isn’t really available to them regarding how much of that tonnage is later diverted to landfills. Better information on this could impact future decisions regarding single vs. dual stream recycling while leading to better solutions to maximize sustainability and continue the kind of economic job growth that results from new product development of recycled materials,” Gold stated.

MoveToAmend.org Comes To Richmond

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I am marking this ‘editorial’, since full disclosure, I wrote the following press release also. Unfortunately, I have not seen any notice of this is in the corporate, mainstream media, so as a public service, I am posting it here. I will delete this post if I see good notice and coverage appear elsewhere.

Virginia Greens Speak Up Against Corporations And Look Forward To Cobb’s Visit

by Scott Burger

Green Party of Virginia

http://vagreenparty.org/

For immediate release:

July 9, 2012

With Fourth of July holiday celebrations over, Greens across Virginia are eager to work towards freeing their government from the undue influence of corporations. This should come as no surprise as the Green Party of the United States has actively called for repeal of ‘corporate personhood’ and the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling as well as an end to the influence of corporate PAC money on elections.

On May 4 of this year, the Green Party of Virginia adopted the following resolution at a regularly scheduled meeting:

RESOLVED, the Green Party of Virginia stands in defense of democracy from the corrupting effects of undue corporate power by calling for amending the United States Constitution to establish that:
1. Corporations may neither claim for themselves nor limit the rights of persons or of citizens;
2. The right to spend money or direct economic resources to influence elections, legislation, or the decisions of government is not unlimited.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that we encourage our local, state and federal representatives, as well as organizations that value the health of democracy, to enact resolutions and legislation to advance this effort.

As part of these efforts, Greens are looking forward to an upcoming visit to the Southeast by 2004 Green Party Presidential candidate David Cobb on behalf of the citizens’ organization, MoveToAmend.org. Cobb deserves recognition for not only his electoral efforts, but his civil rights protest of the vote tampering in Ohio.

Cobb will be in Richmond, VA on Wednesday, July 11 at 7:30 pm at the Friends Meeting Hall, located at 4500 Kensington Ave, Richmond, Virginia 23221-1827.

After that, Cobb will be attending the Green Party National Convention in Baltimore.

For more information on Cobb’s tour schedule, please check MoveToAmend.org’s Campaign Calendar.

~END~

Byrd House Market This Afternoon

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From the Byrd House Market blog:

A Cool 86 Degrees…
– Market Map and Product Search under “For Market Goers” tab… Stanley Rayfield is back to draw your face! Nadine Delano draws ON your face! Freeman High intern (Jodie) will draw you to your favorite vendor – just ask! Natasha will give you tokens for “swiping” your SNAP/CC/Debit card! Shop, eat, drink, relax, enjoy – your pantry, your tummy, your mind’s eye view on the world will thank you.

Visit the Farmlet
– a learning laboratory and “we feed our community” project! a greenhouse under construction! a scarecrow guarding the gourds! a second childhood paradise!

Raffles and Massage? Yes!
Byrd Farm Raffle for the market and is this week’s featured vendor for Masseuse Robin Raver’s weekly special offer: For every $10 you spend you get 1 minute of chair massage! Different vendor every week! Support them all!

First Tuesday Films: Urban Roots
Great film, moving and pragmatic! Goodies from the market and a great conversation with our guests Duron Chavis about McDonough Community Garden and John Lewis of Renew Richmond about food access, urban self-sufficiency, commitment and good food. Join us for next month’s film, and stay tuned to find out what it will be!

Cooking Class Returns
Visit EatGoodGrowGreat.blogspot.com to register by July 18! Honduran Tamales con Pollo and Something Cool to drink from the Farmlet!

This Week and Every Week ! with You !
Facepainting, Storytelling, Great Food, Great Shade, Great Nutrition, Great People!

Check out a slideshow from last week’s BHM by clicking here.