St. Andrew’s Church To Hold ‘Blessing Of The Animals’
Reply
Category Archives: community
Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association Meets Tuesday
From email announcement:
September OHNA Meeting:
Will be held on Sept 22 at 7pm, on Zoom.
Agenda and August minutes attached; see below.
September OHNA Calendar:
Check the OHNA calendar on OHNArva.org for more events and information!
EVERY SATURDAY, 9AM: Community garden hang – Linear Park 614 Holly Street
SEPT 25, FRI 7:30PM MOVIE NIGHTS W/ PINE STREET BAPTIST CHURCH
OCT 3, SAT 10am FOOHP Pleasants park cleanup
OCT 6, TUE 7:30 PM OHNA BYLAWS COMMITTEE MEETING (VIRTUAL)
OCT 9, FRI 7:30PM MOVIE NIGHTS W/ PINE STREET BAPTIST CHURCH
October: ____________________________
Fall festival and Hallowe’en events:
Fall festival: October 17, Pleasants Park.
NOVEMBER : ________________
OHNA Elections:
Run for (OHNA) Office!
OHNA holds its officer elections each November. Any OHNA resident or member can serve as an OHNA officer or committee chair. Get involved! Express interest in serving here: https://tinyurl.com/cnj2p7r4
An ad hoc Elections Committee will review expressions of interest, matching candidates to interests, skills, and available positions.
Learn more: OHNArva@gmail.com.
Oregon Hill Street Tree Planting Blitz
Thursday 11/5 9:00am – Dominion workday
Friday – 11/6 9:00am – Alliance for Chesapeake Bay lead
Saturday – 11/7 9:00am – Community day
Come for as many of the three days as you can, or just one! We’ll be planting trees each day. Meeting place is 9am at Pleasants Park, and all help is welcome. If you are able to help earlier than 9am, please sign up here for a few special tasks https://volunteersignup.org/Y9XFA
Other News & Events: _________
RVA Utility Billing Problems:
DPU has hired additional local staff to respond to ongoing problems with utilities billing since the system was updated. Learn more: https://rva.gov/public-utilities/accountupdate
Call or email DPU staff here: (804) 646-4646, dpucustserv@rva.gov
Tuesday, September 22 at 6:00 p.m.
Code Refresh 4th/5th District Joint Meeting
Lucille Brown Middle School
An opportunity to dig into how Draft 3 of the Code Refresh proposal will impact the 4th and 5th districts with Councilmember Stephanie Lynch and Councilmember Sarah Abubaker
Additional links and RSVP information:
RSVP and Submit Questions in Advance
Code Refresh Website
PDF Draft Three of Code Refresh
Interactive Draft Three Zoning District Map
Saturday, September 26, 11:00 AM to 7:30 PM.
¡Virginia Fiesta! 5th annual Hispanic Heritage Month celebration. Free, family-friendly event with live music, cultural dance, interactive workshops, and authentic cuisine at the Southside Community Center, 6255 Old Warwick Road. https://www.facebook.com/share/1BycXfXqNZ/
Thursday, October 15, 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM
RVA Schools Modernization Plan Meeting
District 5 Meeting (at Richmond High School for the Arts)
5th District City Budget Priority Form
Councilmember Lynch has posted a form to collect top priorities for the 5th District and for the City in the City’s FY28 Budget (July 1, 2027-June 30, 2028). The FY28 Budget will be delivered in March 2027 but budget planning starts early. You can review previous budgets HERE.
VCU Mary & Frances Youth Center on Linden St
–Pickleball Open Play Sessions–all skill levels are welcome.
Equipment is available on-site. Saturdays & Sundays: 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM
–After School Program for kids: applications are being accepted.
For more info, email Verenda Cobbs at s2vkcobb@vcu.edu.
OHNA Monthly Meeting Agenda: Sept 22 2026
Join Zoom Meeting (Editor’s note: contact OHNA directly for Zoom link)
Welcome
Approval of Minutes: Scott Racette
Community and local Officials Updates: Councilmember Stephanie Lynch; Verenda Cobbs, VCU; Ashley Graves (VCU PD); Kelyn Gibson, Commonwealth Attorney’s Office; Johnny McRoy, RVAPD
Committee reports: Zoning, Parks, Events, Traffic and Safety, Bylaws, Amphitheater, Treasurer
Announcements: Upcoming committee meetings and events; October Parks events; November officer elections; November tree planting
Zoning Committee Presentation: How does Code Refresh Draft 3 impact Oregon Hill?
Continued Business:
New Business: SUP Application, 313 S Pine St; Overlook Gazebo
—
Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association
Valerie L’Herrou, President
John Bolecek, Treasurer
Amanda Bradley, Co-Vice-President
Bryan Clark Green, Co-Vice President
Jennifer Hancock, Co-Vice President
Susan Hill, Co-Vice President
Scott Racette, Secretary
JOIN OHNA: https://forms.gle/joCpHqcPrShu8qf86
For events and more: https://ohnarva.org/
A Plea To Local Non-Profits: Ditch CodeRefresh Before It Is Too Late!
On the eve of ‘Richmond Habitat’s Framing the Future Gala’ at the Altria Theater this Saturday evening (sponsored by Co-star of course), I would like to make this direct plea to its board and the boards of other local non-profits: Ditch the City Code ReFresh plan before it is too late!
Code Refresh is a scam for developers that is being forced on Richmond citizens. It will not help affordable housing, it will raise taxes and displace more poorer, long term residents. We have already seen CodeReFresh backtrack on some of its promises for affordable housing- trust me, in the end, the planners will backtrack more to gain favor with their developer buddies.
Furthermore, if it is rammed through City Council, despite almost 70 percent of Richmond’s citizens being against it, it could spell the end for Oregon Hill and other City neighborhoods.
Oregon Hill, which historically became one of Richmond’s most dense neighborhoods, has fought hard for decades for historical preservation and its environment, despite continued pressure and encroachment. Notably, it has also embraced truly affordable housing decades ago and still provides ‘starter homes’ for young families. Don’t ruin it by giving developers (and, behind the scenes, VCU), free rein.
Also to the local Sierra Club: Code ReFresh will incentivize more demolition and take away green space, creating real environmental disasters. If you think storm water runoff is a problem now, wait until Oregon Hill plots are zoned with only a 5% vegetative space requirement. Expect more highly questionable excuses to bring down more mature trees. It’s truly a ‘taxes up, trees down’ situation that deserves rebuke, not coddling.
There are alternatives to this that need to come forward, free of corporate developers’ ambitions. Send a strong message that supports affordable housing that does NOT give into CodeRefresh’s bad planning and allow it to use your good name, with your hard work, in support of such disaster.
Community Craft Night Thursday
Pine Street Baptist Church is hosting ‘Community Craft and Pizza Night’ tomorrow, Thursday, night from 6 pm to 8:30 pm.
From FaceBook event page:
“Join us for another Oregon Community Craft Night at Pine Street. Enjoy your craft and your neighbors’ crafts, good conversation, and a slice of pizza. All ages welcome.”
(Editor’s note: I would have loaded the flyer for this post, but I am having technical difficulties)
Monday = Labor Day = Chainsaw Day
From Oregon Hill Parks event page on FaceBook:
Otherwise known as Labor Day – do you have a chainsaw or know how to use one? Do you hate invasive trees and spotted lantern flies? Please come help for an hour Monday to clear the two raised beds in Linear Park by the gazebo. Future home to community herb garden and pumpkin patch!
Throwback Thursday: More From ‘Bottled In Richmond’
More from former Pine Street neighbor Tom Elliott:
Photo from canal tow path, Belle Island in the distance
This image of the Under The Bank Saloon (505 Canal bank) next to the Tredegar Ironworks Bridge to Belle Island was posted on the internet within the past 5 years. I was interested in discovering more about the business hiding under the bank of the James River & Kanawha canal. The stereograph photo was taken from the canal tow path above the saloon. Bartholomew V. and John A. Connolly were the proprietors from at least 1876-1877. They were both living on Arch between 6th & 7th St in 1876 and had moved to 226 S. 5th St in 1877. B.V. was born in Ireland in 1848 and died on Dec 16, 1881, buried in Mount Calvary Cemetery. I identified the probable saloon location next to the river and the two housing areas where they lived. The saloon looks like a cool shady spot to grab a drink after a hard day at Tredegar or boatman hopping down the hill. It’s easy to imagine the crowd inside. Credit: VCU library & Ancestry.
A Full Weekend In Oregon Hill: Community Movie Night, Yard Sale, and Community Cookout
From FaceBook event page:
A full weekend in Oregon Hill. Join your friends and neighbors Friday night at 7:30 pm for our community movie, Sheep Detectives in Pleasants Park. As always free refreshments are served.
Saturday and Sunday look for neighbors sharing treasures in a community yard sale.
On Sunday, stop by Pleasants Park and enjoy a hamburger or hotdog while playing some outdoor games with friends. Everything is free. Start up time at noon.
Oregon Hill Murder Still Unresolved; Alleged Shooter Still Not In Custody
At last night’s Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association (OHNA) meeting, neighbors listened carefully to a presentation by a representative of the Richmond Police.
When he was asked about the June 30th shooting and murder on the 100 block of S.Pine Street, he said it was not in his report because the 100 block of S. Pine is not part of Oregon Hill. Thankfully, neighbors, including the OHNA President, quickly corrected him.
Oregon Hill residents are tired of this continued nonsense.
The ‘Heights’ are ours!
MESSAGE TO CITY AND VCU OFFICIALS (ESPECIALLY CITY PLANNERS WITH CODE REFRESH): To say that the 100 blocks north of the Expressway are not part part of Oregon Hill is ‘fighting words’ – considered not acceptable and will be fully rebuked. If this keeps up, then some sort of retaliation may be in order to make the message stick. Code Refresh is already dead in the water due to the misrepresentation and distrust.
It’s one thing for the Richmond and VCU police to not count all the underage drinking in their crime stats for the neighborhood. It is another to not include violent crime. We are very aware of increased crime due to our proximity to the university.
Furthermore, and it should not be lost in this, the main suspect in the murder is still on the run, as far as citizens know.
From previous Richmond Police Department press release:
Richmond Police Department detectives are asking for the public’s assistance in locating a wanted subject related to last night’s homicide on South Pine Street.
John Pettaway IV, 26, of Chesterfield County, has a warrant on file for Discharging a Firearm in an Occupied Dwelling. He is wanted in relation to the fatal shooting of Charlamon Stokes, 23, of Richmond, in the 100 block of South Pine Street last night.
Pettaway is approximately 5’9” tall and weighs approximately 155 pounds. His photo is attached. Pettaway should be considered armed and dangerous. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call 911.
Anyone with information about this homicide investigation is asked to call Major Crimes Detective M. Godwin at (804) 317-6922 or call Crime Stoppers at (804) 780-1000. The P3 Tips Crime Stoppers app for smartphones may also be used. All Crime Stoppers reporting methods are anonymous.
Throwback Thursday: Bottled In Richmond
Courtesy of former neighbor and longterm friend of the neighborhood Tom Elliott:
A good Oregon Hill friend (now a world traveller for many years) recently gave me a book “Bottled in Richmond 1819-1920” by Vernon Grant. I flipped through it and found all the saloons, liquor dealers and pharmacies in Richmond. There were about 20 in Oregon Hill during that period. This is the story of just one of them.
614 Church St (demolished) was obviously a commercial establishment being on the corner in a packed urban neighborhood. I found brothers John & Soloman Gross operating as a “Grocer and Saloon” there from 1869-1885 (Bottled in Richmond pg.139) . Both were born in Germany, John in 1832 and Solomon in 1837. Both married Virginians, Nancy G. and Mary J. John died (Cirrhosis of the liver) in 1884 and Solomon (Diarrhea) in 1886. Nancy and Mary obtained the help of (Englishman) Wm. B Illingworth (b-1833) and wife Lucinda and continued in business at 614 Church St. They were operating as a “Grocer and Liquor Dealer” as “Illingsworth & Co.” from 1888-1903 (Bottled in Richmond, pg. 150) . William died in 1890, The women then operated the business for the next 14 years. Nancy Gross died in 1902 and Lucinda Illingsworth in 1904. The business had stopped by 1904. Mary J Gross was still living at 614 Church St in 1904. These various families lived within this single house from at least 1869-1904. I will assume the business was on the ground floor and they lived on the upper floors. Credits: The Valentine, Ancestry, Bottled in Richmond 1819-1920 by Vernon Grant, Hollywood Cemetery, VCU Library.
Crafts, Clothes, AND Ice Cream
It’s that time of year when the university students are back and the number of events starts accelerating. September will likely be a blur. Still, trying to keep up…starting with tonight…
Screenshot