Category Archives: community

CancerDancer Holiday Party at EAT(formerly Pescados)

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On Monday, December 10, EAT Oregon Hill (formerly Pescados China Street) is hosting a fundraiser for a group that focuses on ovarian cancer.

From the FaceBook event page:

We are doing it again this year, because it was so much damn fun last year. Special drinks, great food, friends, free gifts. We want to say thank you to all our supporters. And, of course, Eat is donating 20 percent of all sales.

This event helps CancerDancer spread the word about ovarian cancer to women who need to know about its symptoms. Through our website, www.ocancerdancer.org we support the ovarian cancer community as well.

Eat well — fight cancer.

This week at the Renegade & then some!

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From email announcement:

Who’s Going to Renegade This Week?
Byrd Farm, Faith Farm Foods, Deer Run Farm, Tomten Farm, Agriberry, Ettamae’s Oven …

Last days to buy tickets!
Perly’s (all you can eat) Spaghetti Dinner benefits William Byrd Community House. This annual event will be held this year on Thursday, December 6th from 5:30 to 8:30. Tickets are just $15 per person. For tickets, visit: WBCHPerlys.eventbrite.com or call 804/643-2717. Isn’t this your once a year time to hang with the peeps of your favorite 501(c)(3)? Then don’t miss it!

Dec.18: Byrd House RENEGADE Just-in-Time HOLIDAY Market
Mark your pockets, wallets, cards and calendars. Come shop for those PERFECT gifts that are only inspired during those last breathless gift-selecting moments in the week before Xmas, Channuka, Kwaanza, Etcetera. These are the artisan consumables that really get consumed, never gathering dust on a shelf – eaten, savored, enjoyed. YES! You! Should! Do! This! For yourself, your fella-students, your teachers, mom, sibs, pops, grammies and pop-pops, BFFs, puppy luvs, kit kats and old dogs.

A few notes …
The Renegade Market is an “at-will” market. Except for Byrd Farm/Rural Va Market and Faith Farm who come EVERY week, vendors come when they have goods to sell and/or when the weather permits. I will include a list of participating vendors in these notices, but changes do occur, so please take it as a guide. In addition, new vendors will occasionally test their products at our Tuesday afternoon market, so there’s always the chance of making a wonderful new discovery.

And, don’t forget to thank your Renegade Market vendors. They brave the weathers to grow and tend, harvest and haul their good stuff to this market, sometimes from far far (locally) away for the scant 3 hours they set up in our neighborhood. Good people. Thank them, cause they’re grateful for you too!
See you at the market!
_____________________

Ana Edwards, Manager
Byrd House Market & Library Programs
Grace Arents Library & Education Center
William Byrd Community House
www.wbch.org / 804.643.2717 ext.306

Home Economics

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Excerpts from article/viewpoint Home Economics from American City:

A campaign to retrofit the country’s aging housing stock and commercial buildings could make a major dent in reducing emissions nationwide. But despite all the talk of energy independence during the 2012 presidential campaign, retrofitting buildings received only passing mentions from President Obama. Republican challenger Mitt Romney’s energy platform did not mention it at all.

Yet Democrats, Republicans, environmentalists and financial institutions alike agree that the country must become more energy efficient — not just for the environment, but for the bottom line.
….

“Let’s address communities as communities,” Cochrane said. “We have this perfect alignment of the owners’ immediate needs, the utility’s long-term investment interests and actually delivering these deep savings.”

CDFIs could play an important role here, too. The energy efficiency market is full of uncertainty. From unreliable contracting costs to fluctuating energy prices and shifting weather patterns, there are many unpredictable variables. More standardized data coming from an organized network of local or regional CDFIs could attract more private investment, industry players said.

This is one of the best articles I have seen on this subject. Think about sharing it with your neighbors.

St. Andrew’s Church Silent Auction This Weekend

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From email announcement:

St. Andrew’s Church is holding a Silent Auction this weekend. Get a sneak peak and first dibs at bidding on Friday, November 30, from 4:00-7:00 pm in St. Andrew’s House (236 S. Laurel Street). Refreshments will be served, including samples of home-made brew that is showcased in the auction.

Final bidding will be held on Sunday, December 2, during First Sunday Fellowship in Baldwin Hall of St. Andrew’s School at 11:30 am. For those who can’t make it Sunday, you can leave an “up to” bid on Friday.

Auction items include paintings by Anthony Creech and Jane Joyner, homemade bags by Carole Justice and Oregon Hill resident Marta Powers, gift certificates to Sweet Frog and Mamma Zu, Science Museum tickets, a weekend on the Eastern Shore, and much more! In addition to getting great Christmas gifts and stocking stuffers, you can help raise money for St. Andrew’s outreach (including St. Andrew’s School, Virginia Supportive Housing, Freedom House, Circle of Peace School-Uganda, and others).

Renegade Market This Afternoon

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From email:

Come one. Come all.
The goods are here. Shop our hardy, willing food producers, crafters, growers, makers, sellers. Call me a sourpuss, but I wouldn’t mind if we got snow… The Renegade Market it pretty in the snow. Alas, it is our lot to get rain. Tuesday’s forecast is for light rain throughout the afternoon, so really no hindrance to market vending or shopping. Winter soups, sautees, sauces – the kind of goodness that keeps colds and influenzi at bay (bey?).
Tuesdays, November through April, 3pm to 6pm.
byrdhousemarket.blogspot.com for details…

Spaghetti Dinner at Perly’s
If you’ve never joined friends and family for this annual WBCH event, you’ve missed out. All you can eat spaghetti, some famous rolls, great company, a happening part of Grace Street…you get all that for $15 per person and somehow manage to support the great work done by great people for great people at WBCH. Click here for details!

Ana Edwards, Manager
Byrd House Market & Library Programs
Grace Arents Library & Education Center
William Byrd Community House
www.wbch.org / 804.643.2717 ext.306

Pre-Holiday Renegade Market Today

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From email announcement:

Greetings All!
For your last-minute pre-holiday farmers-market shopping-pleasure
this week’s Renegade Market vendors will offer…

Fresh, seasonally delicious foods:
Apples, Cider, Jams, Jellies, Honey…
Salad mix, Broccoli, Sweet Potatoes, Radicchio, Escarole…
Grass-fed Beef, Pork, Free-ranging Chicken – in roasts, parts, ground, sausages…
Eggs, Cheese and Noodles…
Artisan Breads, Rolls, Biscuits, Pies, Tarts and other desserts…
Raw food Dog and Cat foods and treats…
information about CSAs and Herd Shares
See you at the Market: 3pm to 6pm Tuesdays, November through April

byrdhousemarket.blogspot.com

Visit wbch.org for more doings at William Byrd Community House
—

_____________________

Ana Edwards, Manager
Byrd House Market & Library Programs
Grace Arents Library & Education Center
William Byrd Community House
www.wbch.org / 804.643.2717 ext.306

Speech to Council

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This is a speech that neighbor Todd Woodson gave to City Council this past Monday night:

Hi- I’m Todd Woodson and I’m here to speak for the Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association. I have served as treasurer for the last 11 years. We have serious concerns on an sup proposal pending on the Victory Rug Building on S Cherry St. We feel there have been serious flaws committed and don’t think that fair or due process has been served to our residents.

some background info on sup:

The Victory Rug current parcel assessment of 270K has risen 236% in last 10 years. We believe this assessment is correct and fair for a building in this condition.

The parcel was bought at auction for 660,000 by developer.

a message was sent to developer from OHNA before closing on the property outlining inherent problems in developing the building.

Consequently, hardship cannot be used to justify the aggressive density requested with off street parking limited to only 8 questionable spaces. The proposal is for 29 bedrooms which would require somewhere between 30 and 45 parking spaces. Parking is already a hardship due to our proximity to VCU. This development is 2 1/2 blocks from the mammoth VCU recreation center.

The City has received 114 letters of opposition- no letters in favor—

A main concern is that in early October, neighborhood reps met with Mr. Jewell, the developer and Mark Baker of Baker Development Resources who is representing the developer on this sup. No concessions were made and the meeting was a disappointment. On Oct 22, the SUP ordinance was introduced. Sometime between then and Oct 30, Councilman Jewell solicited help in securing campaign funds from Mr Baker and an email was sent to other developers as well as to a networking group maintained by Baker. I mean no disrespect to Mr Jewell and am not an attorney so I cant say if this is illegal. I will say that the hundreds of residents facing hardship from this sup find the appearance of impropriety of major concern.
I have included the solicitation in your package.
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we feel it to be prudent and reasonable for the Council hearing on this SUP be postponed until after our concerns are fully resolved and the new council is seated.

We are anxious for a quality reasonable development at the Victory Rug Building and hope for an enterprise that has the best interest of the community at heart.

Victory Postponed

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With the elections over, neighbors are watching to see how they might effect Victory Rug building’s proposed Special Use Permit (SUP). Neighborhood leaders remain in strong opposition. The City Planning Commission’s consideration of the Victory Apt. Special Use Permit has been postponed at the developer’s request until Dec. 3. The assumption is that City Council will consider the issue the following Monday on Dec. 10.