According to an email from Lt. Hood, Richmond Police and possibly VCU Police will meet at the corners of China and Pine (near Open High School) on Wednesday, October 20th at 4 PM for a roll call. Once the Roll Call is over, about 5-10 minutes, the Sector 413 officers will walk and/or bike around Oregon Hill. If you have been wanting to raise an issue with the police department, this would be the perfect time to do so.
Message:
Hello Oregon Hill!
We at SynerGeo are having our October Community Dinner this coming Monday. It’s a potluck, so bring a dish if you can.
It starts at 6PM. Hope to see you there!Mary Beth
Ray Bonis, who works at VCU’s library, is a treasure trove of Richmond history knowledge. He shares it in part by being one of the co-authors of the The Shockoe Examiner blog (along with neighborhood resident T. Tyler Potterfield). This week they included an addition to the VCU Special Collections, the original draft, or closest thing to it, of the music group Cowboy Junkies’ song “Oregon Hill”. To see it online, check out the blog post (by clicking here), and do yourself a favor while you are there and bookmark the blog.
This is a reminder that there will be a walking tour of Oregon Hill on Sunday, October 17 from 2pm to 4pm.
Settled by Irish and Welsh ironworkers in the 1840’s, Oregon Hill is one of the oldest intact neighborhoods in Richmond and continues to thrive as a tight-knit, working class neighborhood. Includes a visit to St. Andrew’s Church and School. Meet at Laurel and Idlewood streets.
For more information, please click here.
This coming Saturday Hands On Greater Richmond is hosting a big volunteer day with projects all over the region. There are at least two of them that are directly related to Oregon Hill. One is at the William Byrd Community House and one is at Open High School. Here is the Open High one’s details:
Description:
Open High School’s mission is to produce students who will be goal oriented individuals proficient in all of the core subject areas. Equally important is our commitment to fostering competence in and an appreciation for the arts and humanities. In addition, we view students as individuals, competent in the use of technology as well as community resources to further their personal and academic goals. Through shared decision-making and community service, it is our belief that students will develop a sense of personal and social responsibility that will guide their future decisions and actions as democratic citizens.
In lieu of a cafeteria, Open High School has a student lounge where students can eat lunch and interact when not in class. But the lounge desperately needs your help to make it an inviting place to hang out!
Specific Tasks:
– Paint the lounge
– Assemble new furniture and tables to be used for eating and studying
– Construct student cubbiesThe minimum age for volunteers is 16 years old. All volunteers under the age of 18 are required to bring a signed copy of the Youth Waiver form to the project in order to participate.
Please note: HandsOn Day will start with a Kick Off Celebration at Richmond International Raceway.
Impact Areas: Other
Interests: The interests recommended for this project are:
Construction/Home Repair, Education, Special EventsSkills: The skills helpful for participation in this project are:
Construction, No skills needed
Click here for direct link to the HandsOn Greater Richmond Open High project.
Click here for direct link to the HandsOn WBCH project.
Now that other neighborhoods are getting their own EarthAid.net groups, what else can we look for?
The obvious aspect is some friendly competition. Do Oregon Hill households on average use more energy than say, Church Hill households? (My prediction is that OH ones do simply because of the number of VCU students and their computers, hotplates, miniature fridges, etc., but that may be based on a faulty generalization on my part).
Of course to get a good competition, we need more people to join EarthAid.net and share their utility information. Don’t forget, EarthAid.net users can also win rewards from local merchants. Maybe in the future, groups could collectively win rewards.
Regardless, more Richmond neighbors are looking to reduce their energy use (and save money!). On that note, the Sierra Club is a hosting a free, public meeting this Wednesday that will feature local experts on home energy audits as well as solar power.
The local Food Not Bombs chapter just sent this via email:
The following statement is just the first step in a campaign of resistance being coordinated by Richmond Food Not Bombs and others to resist the criminalization of homelessness and the further gentrification of an area of Richmond that is already advancing rapidly down that path. For more information about the campaign, or to get involved, email rvafoodnotbombs@gmail.com
Richmond Food Not Bombs has been sharing food in Monroe Park for over sixteen years now. We have developed many connections and friendships over the course of our existence, helped provide healthy food to many individuals who may not have had access to it otherwise, and become a staple of social activity for many people’s Sunday afternoons.The proposed renovations to Monroe Park are an attack , a judgement on who the park should and shouldn’t be for. It is an attack on the homeless, the “homeless-appearing” (whatever that means – it’s in the Monroe Park Advisory Council’s renovation plans), and groups and individuals who don’t judge people by their social status or whether they have conventional means of acquiring shelter.
We will not stand for it.
The only change that the park really needs is for the city to do its job when it comes do doing maintenance on the bathrooms, as they are functional but one of the water pipes to the sinks has corroded away. Other improvements, such as installing permanent chess tables, or a playground area for kids would be nice, but NOT at the cost of driving out the folks who currently congregate in the park, shutting the entire park down for 18 months, or privatizing the security of the park.
Food Not Bombs will resist all attempts to shut the entire park down for any amount of time. This is a congregating place for students, families, homeless individuals, activists, folks who like to play frisbee, and various other people who currently enjoy the dynamic of the park. The ONLY people currently not represented in the day-to-day activity of the park are affluent white folks, and the proposed renovations are CLEARLY designed with ONLY them in mind.
To the end of maintaining the park as a place for people from ALL walks of life to gather, enjoy themselves, share meals, resources, and conversation we have a few very specific demands:
1) We require that a minimum of two acres be kept open and un-fenced at all times during construction. We understand the nature of construction and are ok with it not being the SAME two acres at all times, but they must be contiguous and accessible to ALL people.
2) During the construction, at any time that the bathroom facilities are not accessible/functional we require at least 4 portable toilets and two hand washing stations, as well as a source of drinking water, to be accessible to the public.
3) We require open, clear, and direct communication from the City Council, the Monroe Park Advisory Council, and any other companies, groups or organizations involved in the renovation efforts. This is to include publicly posted signs IN the park regarding renovation proposals, active dissemination of any new developments in construction, and active participation in dialogue with the current users of the park.
4) There will be no regulations at any time restricting the distribution of free food, clothing, or other resources.
5) IF a private security company is hired to do security for the park, their protocols and handbooks will be available for free on request from any member of the public, and there will be a predetermined and transparent accountability process for any instances of security officers abusing their powers or violating individuals’ rights.
We feel that these are reasonable requests, and we will NOT compromise on any of them. Public parks are for the people who use them, not “Advisory Councils” or universities who would like to see them change to better suit their vision of gentrification.
We will not tolerate further attacks on those already most oppressed by the oppressive institutions of capitalism that are behind the push to “renovate” Monroe Park, and we WILL fight back against them.-Because food is a right, not a privilege.
Food Not Bombs
There is welcome word of a new bicycle repair shop coming to the former Candyland Music store space at the corner of W.Cary and S. Pine Streets. It may be opening as soon as this Tuesday.
VCU sent out an email earlier this month about VCU’s Strategic Plan and their new website for it: http://www.future.vcu.edu/
In terms of VCU’s community outreach, I will just remind the VCU community of a two-year old request from its neighbor for a permanent commitment.
We need a lasting compact that includes NOT building new facilities or purchasing additional property south of Cary by the University OR its private real estate foundation,” says Burger. He suggests that this positive step would perhaps allow a normalization of relations with VCU from its current state of distrust. He also notes the original Downtown Master Plan draft, which suggest that Richmond’s historic downtown neighborhoods receive more protection
.