Author Archives: Scott

VCU Lecture: Jerusalem: A Tale of Three Cities

Posted on by
1

From announcement:

VCU professor Dr. Jack D. Spiro will give the 27th Annual Brown-Lyons Lecture, titled “Jerusalem: A Tale of Three Cities,” on Thursday, March 29, 2012 at 7:30 p.m. in the W.E. Singleton Center for the Performing Arts, 922 Park Avenue. Dr. Spiro will investigate memories, practices, literary sources, values and beliefs to uncover the diverse meanings of Jerusalem in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, in addition to shedding light on the controversial issue of Jerusalem as the unified capital of Israel. A public reception will be held immediately following the lecture. Doors open at 7 p.m.

Dr. Jack D. Spiro holds the Harry Lyons Distinguished Chair in Judaic Culture at Virginia Commonwealth University. He is also director of the VCU Center for Judaic Studies and editor of its online publication, Menorah Review. He has earned two doctorates from the Hebrew Union College and the University of Virginia. He has authored, co-authored or edited over 30 books and written numerous articles.

The event is sponsored by the VCU Friends of the Library, the VCU Center for Judaic Studies, the Jewish Community Federation of Richmond, the Richmond Jewish Foundation and the Weinstein JCC. It is free and open to the public, but because seating is limited, registration is required. For details and registration, please see the event website: http://www.library.vcu.edu/events/blyons/. For special accommodations or to register offline, please call (804) 827-1165 or (804) 828-0593 prior to March 27. Event parking is available for a fee in the West Main Street and West Cary Street parking decks.

Spring Street Connector?

Posted on by
4

Laurel Street neighbor Tommy Birchett continues to ask some good questions in reference to the proposed 2nd Street connector.

His latest:

What if they built a Spring St connector instead?

Newmarket could donate land at the bottom of their hill above Tredagar and they could connect Spring through to 5th st.

No disruption to canal

No steep incline

Direct connection to west meadvaco from 2nd st

Seems like it would be better for traffic

Just a thought for an alternative proposal.

In fact, this question actually goes back farther to 1991 when Ethyl was given permission to destroy the architecturally significant 2nd Street Bridge. It should be noted that Oregon Hill residents spoke against this demolition. What’s even more interesting is that according to a 1991 Richmond News Leader article, Ethyl received permission to demolish the 2nd Street bridge on the grounds that Spring Street would be extended to increase access to the river.

Local public watchdog C. Wayne Taylor shared the thought. In investigating the question, he discovered that the city entered into a deal with Ethyl (NewMarket) to remove a planned Spring Street extension from the master plan. In exchange, Ethyl agreed to provide land and partial funding for street improvements in other areas. Part of that agreement is that if the city ever extends Spring Street, the city has to pay for the other land and give back the partial funding. In other words, Ethyl may have bought protection against having to fulfill their earlier promise to extend Spring Street.

Happy World Water Day….and local water issues

Posted on by
3

I hope everyone has had a nice World Water Day.

While there are a lot of international water issues, its as good as time as any to bring up water as a local issue.

So, a couple of things:

Despite all the earlier attempts to bring attention to the City of Richmond’s water rates, as far as I can tell this city still has the highest minimum residential water rate in the country.

Richmond continues its regressive water rates, offering a discount to those using vast amounts of water while maintaining the highest minimum water/sewer service charge in the country. Meanwhile, Henrico County’s minimum service charge is a third of Richmond’s while promoting conservation by offering a one-third discount in water/sewer volume charge for those using 6 ccf (hundred cubic feet) or less.

Continue reading →

Style Raises Questions About Landmark/Center Stage Deal

Posted on by
Reply

Scott Bass has a story in this weeks Style magazine that illuminates some questionable funding plans for the Landmark Theater (previously known as The Mosque), brought on by the controversial Center Stage.

From the article:

Increasingly, the city’s cultural hubs are paid for by taxpayers. The mayor’s plan to renovate the Landmark is almost identical to the taxpayer-funded renovation of the Carpenter Theatre, which reopened as part of CenterStage in 2009. Nearly three-quarters of the $73.5 million used to renovate the Carpenter came from the public kitty: $25 million from the city; $9.7 million from state and federal grants; and $20 million in historic tax credits.

Mayor Jones proposes allocating $14 million in city money for the Landmark renovation, but that only scratches the surface. His plan involves millions more in public dollars, primarily through diversion of state and federal taxes.

There’s precedent: The CenterStage project engendered quite a bit of controversy and political mayhem, in part because of fundraising struggles and provocation from former Mayor L. Douglas Wilder. The project also remains something of a financial mystery. Despite receiving more than $40 million in city and state funds and $500,000 annually from the city for operating costs, CenterStage’s comprehensive agreement with the city exempts the foundation from the Freedom of Information Act.

While the foundation receives more than half of its revenues from taxpayers, it isn’t required to publicly disclose how it spends the public’s money.

Continue reading →

A Reading by Pulitzer Prize-winning Poet Yusef Komunyakaa

Posted on by
Reply

From announcement:

Pulitzer Prize–winning poet Yusef Komunyakaa will give a reading on Thursday, March 22, 2012 at 7 p.m. in the W.E. Singleton Center for the Performing Arts, 922 Park Avenue. Komunyakaa is the author of many books, including his collected works, “Pleasure Dome” (2001, Wesleyan University Press), and his latest, “The Chameleon Couch” (2011, Farrar, Straus and Giroux). He received the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry and the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award for “Neon Vernacular” (1993, Wesleyan University Press), his selected works. In 2011, he received the Wallace Stevens Award from the Academy of American Poets. He is currently Distinguished Senior Poet in the creative writing program at New York University.

Komunyakaa’s often autobiographical poems draw from diverse experiences and interests: the civil rights movement, classical literature, the Vietnam War, class struggle and jazz. He received a Bronze Star for his service as a war correspondent in Southeast Asia. His book “Dien Cai Dau” (1988, Wesleyan University Press) is lauded as some of the finest writing about the Vietnam War and its times. His poems about black America and music are celebrated as both masterpieces of verse and vital cultural documents. “The task of the poet,” he says, “is to pose serious questions that can make us more human.”

Books will be available for purchase at the event, and a public reception and book signing will be held immediately following the reading. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. The event is sponsored by the VCU Friends of the Library and the VCU Department of English. It is free and open to all, but because seating is limited, registration is required. For details and registration, please see the event website: http://www.library.vcu.edu/events/komunyakaa/. For special accommodations or to register offline, please contact Gregory Kimbrell at (804) 828-0593 or kimbrellgg at vcu.edu. Event parking is available for a fee in the West Main Street and West Cary Street parking decks.