From Councilperson Agelasto:
The temporary “LOVE” letters sculpture may be coming to the Oregon Hill Overlook pending the Public Art Commission approval on Tuesday, May 13th, at 9:15 am in the 5th Floor Conference Room at City Hall.
For some examples of “LOVE” installations, click here.
Henrico Citizen newspaper Managing Editor Patty Kruszewski has a nice opinion piece in the latest issue about a small controversy regarding the use of cemeteries. (Click here to see it as PDF)
In it, she mentions her own’s daughter’s burial place in Hollywood Cemetery.
Quote: “I would never have thought to bring my own children to Hollywood (Cemetery) or to use it as a playground or public spot, but it makes perfect sense. It’s beautiful, it’s public, it’s historic”.
Actually Hollywood Cemetery is still a private business that opens to the public. Kruszewski also rightly brings up the role of the cemetery as a valuable green space. We are very fortunate to live next to it.
From City Press release:
COUNCIL PUBLIC INFORMATION NEWS ADVISORY
IMMEDIATE RELEASE TO BE FORWARDED AND SHAREDMonday, 5 May 2014
Virginia First Lady Dorothy McAuliffe and Richmond Councilman Parker C. Agelasto to Open 8th Season of William Byrd Community House Farmers’ Market
Everyone invited and encouraged to attend
WHAT (Richmond, Virginia U.S.A.) – First Lady of Virginia, Dorothy McAuliffe, will join The Honorable Parker C. Agelasto, Councilman, Richmond City Council, Richmond Central 5th Voter District in opening the 8th season of the William Byrd Community House Farmers’ Market. The event will include a tour, preschoolers, live music and 22 farmers, food-makers and hand-crafters.
Accompanying Mrs. McAuliffe will be Mr. Chris Blain, the new Virginia Executive Mansion Chef, who will shop for local foods to be used in the mansion’s kitchen.
The William Byrd Community House Farmers’ Market is held on Tuesdays, from 3:30 – 7:00 p.m., weekly from May through October.
WHEN Tuesday, May 6, 2014
3:30 -4:30 p.m.WHERE William Byrd Community House Farmers’ Market
980 Idlewood Avenue, Richmond, Virginia 23220
(Corner of Idlewood Avenue and S. Linden Street)WHO
First Lady of Virginia, Dorothy McAuliffe
The Honorable Parker C. Agelasto, Councilman
Richmond City Council, Richmond Central 5th Voter DistrictMs. Shelia Givens, Executive Director, William Byrd Community House
CONTACT For more information, please contact
The Honorable Parker C. Agelasto, Councilman, Richmond City Council, Richmond Central 5th Voter District, at 804.646.6050 (tel), or parker.agelasto@richmondgov.com (email)– E N D –
From Richmond Public Library’s FaceBook page:
This month’s VA Veterans Forum will feature the National Cemetery Administration “Burial Benefits” on Wednesday, May 7 from 2 to 3 pm at Main. RSVP ASAP!
Somewhat ironically, on the other side of the fence from the traffic congestion today were these relaxing scenes:
From a neighbor:
Our beloved neighbor, historian and all around great guy Tyler Potterfield passed away suddenly Friday morning. A memorial and celebration of Tyler’s life will be announced shortly.
Many Richmonders know Mr.Potterfield from his book, Nonesuch Place: A History of the Richmond Landscape.
From Times Dispatch obituary:
POTTERFIELD, Tyler, of Oregon Hill, Richmond, died suddenly on Friday morning, April 25, 2014. The loss of this good and beautiful man is unfathomable. His enthusiasm, love and devotion to his work and city planning, the James Riverfront, his cycling, gardening, hiking and community building projects were unbounded. He was a man of information and a writer and researcher of history and culture. He was devoted to his family and much loved in return by them; his wife, Maura Meinhardt; parents, Ruth and Tom Potterfield of Savannah Ga.; sister, Beth Hiers and her family of Destin, Fla.; and countless friends and colleagues, whose lives he generously embellished in his city of Richmond and on his beloved banks of Penns Creek.
As with the recent VCU event Paint The Town Green, VCU should be commended for redoubling its efforts with the City to address public dumping by student renters at the end of school year and lease time. Hopefully messy trash sites will not happen so often in the future. VCU policeman Greg Felton deserves a lot of credit for also getting the word to local landlords.
Oregon Hill may or may not get a dumpster like the one pictured below. If we do, it will likely be on Albemarle Street between S. Cherry and S. Laurel.
From Councilperson Parker Agelasto’s FaceBook page:
Project Clean Move is operational. On Friday, dumpsters were placed at 4 locations near VCU to facilitate with the significant trash and bulk items resulting from students moving out of their residences. The dumpsters will remain until June 2. Please note that these will be emptied by the City’s Department of Public Works.
Dumpster Locations:
1) N. Plum Street between W. Main Street and Floyd Avenue
2) S. Morris Street between W. Main Street and W. Cary Street
3) N. Morris Street at the corner of Grove Avenue
4) Ryland Street at the corner of Grace StreetAll residents are encouraged to use these dumpsters between April 25 and June 2. DPW will still respond to individual bulk pick-up requests as they are received. To report bulk pick-up, please call 311 or use SeeClickFix. If you have items in good condition, please also contact CARITAS Furniture Bank or Goodwill to donate them rather than adding to a land fill.
That last part is important. For VCU to continue to improve its sustainability efforts, it needs to get more students’ belongings recycled. The Sierra Club Falls of the James has helped University of Richmond do this through its Big Yard Sale (coming up this year on May 17th), but its understand able that VCU (and Virginia Union and other schools) may need to come up with its own model.
From Times Dispatch article:
A group of students from Open High School is planning to lead a march on City Hall on Monday to protest the physical condition of school facilities in the city of Richmond.
The students plan to walk out of class at 8:30 a.m. and begin the mile-plus march from Oregon Hill toward downtown. They should reach City Hall by 9 a.m. and plan to hold a peaceful demonstration.“It’s a way for the public to see the faces of students of Richmond Public Schools,” said Isabella Arias, a senior at Open.
She said the idea came up early this month after media reports of several particularly decrepit school buildings.
In a Facebook event called “RPS Walkout,” Arias and other organizers cited several specific problems, including roof failures at Fairfield Court Elementary and Thompson Middle schools and rodent problems at Carver Elementary and Armstrong High schools.
“When we read that, we were really horrified at how terrible the conditions are,” she said.
“These conditions continue to worsen as time passes and are simply disregarded by school officials, City Hall, the mayor and many others,” the organizers say on Facebook.
“Funds could be allocated to repair our dilapidated schools (as was done for the Redskins training camp) if those in charge saw it as a priority. Instead however, the officials of Richmond brush off the needs of RPS students.
“We are not their priority. They fail to see the value in our education or even our general well-being. They must be reminded of our numbers so that they may see our value.”
