Street Resurfacing On Thursday

For Immediate Release:
August 5, 2009
For more information, contact:
Sharon North – (804) 646-5607
Jemila Woodson – (804) 646-5665

City Begins Slurry Seal Paving Program

WHO: City of Richmond Department of Public Works

WHAT: Slurry seal paving program

WHEN: August 2009 through October 2009

WHERE:
Bellevue
Oregon Hill
North Highland Park
Dinwiddie Avenue

BACKGROUND: Slurry seal is a pavement restoration technique that consists of mixed asphalt, aggregate, and additives. The technique effectively preserves and extends roadway life by protecting it from the effects of weathering and normal wear and tear. During the project, there should be minimal interruption to traffic flow.

From refuse collection to pothole reports, Customer Care Center representatives are available at 3-1-1 to assist citizens with all of their Public Works needs. For more information on the City of Richmond, visit www.RichmondGov.com .

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From the posted signs, it looks like Laurel Street will get repaved tomorrow (Thursday, August 6). Parking restricted from 7am to 6pm. Towing Enforced.

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Earlier this week the City repaved Cherry Street. If you look at the photo below you can see where the old trolley tracks still show through.

Cherry Street

Cherry Street

Byrd Market & Nate’s Taco Truck Updates

http://twitter.com/natestacotruck/status/3103125886

Message from Nate’s Taco Truck

the taco truck will be closed today for mass amounts of cooking food
for tomorrow at vcu and tomorrow night at byrd house market.

Byrd House Market
They’ll be pie for sale at the market this week and plenty of other
slices of life to enjoy. Meet the folks from Art on Wheels helping make a
difference in their communities.
We appreciate our customers’ loyal support in helping us ensure local
providers earn a better-than-living wage. Remember the market opens at 3:30 p.m.
Activities this week include: Make Art Prints with the non-profit
organization Art on Wheels 3:30 to 7 p.m. Story telling from 4 to 5 pm, Face
painting from 5 to 7pm.
—
Byrd House Market
William Byrd Community House
224 South Cherry Street
Richmond, VA 23220
ByrdHouseMarket@gmail.com
(804) 643-2717

Updated DPU TRAFFIC ALERT – Franklin and Belvidere Streets

RICHMOND, VA— Beginning Monday, August 3 at 9 a.m. and continuing for approximately 18 hours into the early morning hours on Tuesday, August 4, 2009, the City of Richmond Department of Public Utilities will be lining a sewer main from the northeast corner of Franklin Street at Belvidere Street to the northwest corner of Franklin Street at Belvidere Street.

During this construction, the left curb lane of Franklin will be closed from approximately Pine Street to the parking entrance of the Apartment Tower located east of Belvidere St. leaving the center and right lanes available for traffic. The right southbound lane of Belvidere will be closed from Grace St. to beyond the intersection of Franklin with Belvidere streets. The right northbound lane of Belvidere will be closed from approximately Main St. to beyond the intersection of Franklin with Belvidere streets.

Motorists should follow all posted detour signs. Motorists are asked to proceed with caution around the construction area.

The City of Richmond Department of Public Utilities provides natural gas, water, wastewater and stormwater services to more than 500,000 residential and commercial customers in the metropolitan region. DPU also operates electric street lighting utility, which maintains more than 37,000 streetlights throughout the City. For more information, call DPU’s Customer Care Center at 644-3000 or visit DPU’s Web site at www.richmondgov.com/dpu.

Councilperson Jewell’s “Rippin'” Fundraiser

Word on the street is that, following the passing of the Downtown Master Plan, 5th District Councilperson Marty Jewell will be holding a fundraising party this Wednesday, hosted by the Ripp family.

Some background here, here, and here.

Hopefully the Downtown Master Plan will be one topic of discussion at tonight’s Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association meeting.

Two Tuesday Meetings

This Tuesday evening there are two meetings of note (actually, I am sure there are more than that, but two are what my brain is currently handling).

One is a national health care policy symposium held on the VCU academic campus. Unlike some earlier meetings on health care, this one will actually include more view points than just ‘the public option’ one that the Obama administration is pushing. Its being held by a group called United Virginia.
Please click here for more information.

The second one is for the City’s Fifth ‘Central’ District, hosted by City Councilperson Marty Jewell. It is from 6 pm to 8 pm at the Southside Comunity Services Center (4100 Hull Street). On the agenda are presentation on the new stormwater utility, crime report, traffic calming issues, and more.

Youth Dance Program to Perform June 26th and 27th

From press release:

City’s Award-winning Youth Dance Program to Perform

The Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities’ award-winning City dance program will present its annual student performances on Friday, June 26, at 7 p.m., and Saturday, June 27, at 11 a.m. Both shows will be at Richmond’s Landmark Theater.

“Anyone who is interested in dance will be stunned to see these students perform,” said J.R. Pope, director of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities. “Every year the students in our dance program compete with students from dance studios throughout the region and come home with a bag full of trophies. This year they won 14 first place awards and seven second place awards competing with dance troupes from across the southeast, and they were the only municipally-sponsored troupe. All the others represented private studios,” he said.

The Friday night performance will feature a complete story-ballet based on the Wizard of Oz. Children of all ages will enjoy this timeless classic, which includes the tornado and all of the much-loved characters, even the melting wicked witch. The cast will feature more than 200 dancers, some as young as three years old.

Saturday’s show, entitled “Back to the Future,” will also feature a large cast, this time performing a wide variety of dance and movement, including tap, jazz, modern, and hip-hop.

Advance tickets, which can be purchased at the Landmark Box Office, are $12 for adults and $8 for senior citizens and children under the age of 12. At the door, tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for children and seniors.

For more information call 646-3673.

CITY OLD & HISTORIC DISTRICT PUBLIC CONVERSATION

The press release:

A CITY OLD & HISTORIC DISTRICT PUBLIC CONVERSATION

Wednesday, June 24th
6:30 – 8:30 pm
The Firehouse Theatre
1609 W. Broad Street [MAP]
(Free parking across the street at Lowe’s)

Richmond’s Commission of Architectural Review
and City Staff want to hear from YOU!
Why do we have Old & Historic Districts?
Why do we choose to live in them?
Why do we think they are important?
What does the public want from them?
How can the Commission of Architectural Review (CAR), the City, and residents be better custodians of Old & Historic Districts?
How can we strengthen the alliance between CAR, the City and residents?
This meeting is free and open to all residents and interested parties of Old & Historic Districts.
Please attend. Your input is crucial.

For more information, contact James Hill at james.hill@richmondgov.com
or city staff at (804) 646-6313.

Some insight:

Oregon Hill has National and State Historic Designation, but by choice not City O&H, though it may happen in the future. While I am personally favorable towards O&H for Oregon Hill, many of my neighbors have objected to government involvement and any possible economic hardship from maintaining O&H standards, and I try to respect that. I often try to broach this topic at neighborhood association meetings. If nothing else, I try to keep a sense of humor about it.

We have also watched how the City and State government has not exactly been uniform in its approach to historic preservation. Keep in mind that VCU is exempt from City code and continues to encroach and destroy our neighborhood. The debate about Union Hill’s O&H needs to be heard.

Oregon Hill has the distinction of holding the most individual historic easements in the City. There was actually a DHR meeting at the Jacob House about that not too long ago.

To get on my soapbox a bit, those individual easements are important because while Oregon Hill may lack grand mansions, we are very historic for the overall collection of working class small houses and business fronts. Its not just rich neighborhoods and government buildings that are historic and deserve to be preserved.

Thanks,
Scott

Governor Kaine To Visit Byrd Market on Tuesday

Virginia’s Governor Tim Kaine will visit William Byrd Community House Byrd House Market and Grace Arents Community Garden on Tuesday, June 16, 2009, from 3:30 to 4:15 p.m. Gov. Kaine has a long history of supporting Early Childhood Education and accepted William Byrd’s invitation when he learned how the organization used its farmers’ market and community garden as teaching tools for its numerous children’s programs.

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