This tree or part of tree just fell across Laurel Street (600 block near China Street).
Tree Down As Storm Worsens
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Category Archives: community
Earthquakes, Hurricanes, Etc.
It’s been a crazy week, and I apologize for not posting more. As far as I know, no one in the neighborhood has reported any noticeable, significant damage from the recent earthquakes. There have been some downed tree branches and at least one downed power line, but some of that may be attributed to the thunderstorm that came through the area last night.
Now many neighbors are wondering what Hurricane Irene will bring– besides refugees from the southeast. Many neighbors remember all the trees knocked down by Hurricane Isabel in 2003. Anyway, please feel free to post some good Oregon Hill survival tips and stories in the comments section below. Hope folks have chain saws ready.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effects_of_Hurricane_Isabel_in_Virginia
http://rvanews.com/features/are-you-prepared-for-severe-weather/37982
Oh yeah, welcome back VCU students!
OHNA Meeting Tomorrow Night
Field Trip and Capitalism Critics Crimethinc On Flying Brick’s Calendar
The Flying Brick Field Trip!:
On Sunday August 28th, meet at the Flying Brick Library, 506 S. Pine St in Oregon Hill for a trip to Washington DC to visit the Museum of the American Indian, as well as the National Museum of Natural History to see the RACE: Are We So Different?,exhibit, developed by the American Anthropological Association in collaboration with the Science Museum of Minnesota, It is the first national exhibition to tell the stories of race from the biological, cultural, and historical points of view. Combining these perspectives offers an unprecedented look at race and racism in the United States.
Folks will need to bring money for food, metro fair, and gas. If you can’t afford this, there is a chance that the Library can sponsor a few people.
Contact theflyingbrick@riseup.net to RSVP (for carpool info) or to ask about funding. If this field trip goes well, there could be a trip to Harper’s Ferry in the future!
Also,
On Monday, August 29, from 7 to 10 pm, the Flying Brick is hosting a couple members of Crimethinc on tour for their latest book, Work. This is from the website, crimethinc.com:
After so much technological progress, why do we have to work more than ever before? How is it that the harder we work, the poorer we end up compared to our bosses? When the economy crashes, why do people focus on protecting their jobs when no one likes working in the first place? Can capitalism survive another century of crises?
Our newest book, entitled Work, addresses these questions and a great many more. To answer them, we had to revisit our previous analysis of employment and develop a more nuanced understanding of the economy. We spent months studying obscure history and comparing notes about how we experience exploitation in our daily lives, slowly hammering out a grand unified theory of contemporary capitalism.
All Flying Brick events are sober unless otherwise noted. Please no booze. Hope to see you there :)
WBCH Carnival/Community Movie/Best Friend’s Day/Chair
Looks like a busy weekend-
William Byrd Community House’s Carnival is tomorrow afternoon and evening.
If it does not storm, there is an outdoor movie in Pleasants Park tomorrow evening.
Also, BFD activites at Mojo’s:
11 am- FIELD DAY SIGN UP
12 pm- SHOW
FREE
Sexy Crimes
Grown Ass Men
Saturday morning has a great yard sale…and…
Best Friends Day
@Fine Foods Grocery
10 am
FREE
Night Birds (surf-punk!?)
Hey, and if that’s not enough- get a plush chair!
‘Old Dogs’ in Pleasants Park
Adopt A Tree Deadline is September 1
From the Tree Stewards website:
Do you want to help grow Richmond’s future tree canopy? Is there a space for a street tree in front of your home or business? If the answer to both of these questions is “YES”, then please consider participating in the city’s Adopt A Tree program.
To participate:
Complete an application
Contribute $50.00 toward the purchase of the tree
Agree to care for the tree, including watering for the first two growing seasons.
Applications are accepted July 1—September 1.The planting season is from November 2011— April 2012.
For more information or to download an application go to
Plan Ahead For The WBCH Carnival
The William Byrd Community House will hold its annual Carnival on Friday, August 19 from 4 to 8pm.
From the WBCH webpage:
Come join us for this free fun family event featuring games, moon bounces, slides and more! Food and prizes are waiting for you and your family!
Brookfield Group Home Story Has Oregon Hill Roots
Richmond BizSense carried this story today: Glen Allen nonprofit shuts down
Here is an excerpt:
Brookfield Group Home, a rehabilitative facility for teens and young women, shut down in June. The organization on Brook Road has been around since 1874, and until recently provided housing, counseling, transportation and other services to female youth with behavioral and emotional problems.
Executive director Tim Reading wrote in an email to BizSense that the nonprofit had ceased operations effective June 30. He would not comment further on why the nonprofit was closing or whether the residents would be transferred to another home.
How does this relate to Oregon Hill?
Neighbor Charles Pool has the local history:
Yes, there is a direct link between Brookfield and the Parsons House, which took some tracking down. Here is some info from my Parsons House report:
In 1874 the Magdalen Association established the Spring Street Home at the Parsons House as a home for rehabilitating “women of the street,” and later provided care for unwed mothers. In 1932 the Spring Street Home moved to the 90 acre “Brookfield Estate” off of Broad Street where the Richmond Hyatt is today. The Brookfield name was adopted and the agency continued to care for unwed mothers. The new president of the agency announced that, “We wanted to call it ‘Brookfield’ instead of the Spring Street Home to save the girls from any embarrassment in being in a ‘home.'” In 1968 Brookfield sold this valuable property at the I-64 interchange for $1,280,000 and moved to the location on Brook Road near the Henrico-Hanover boundary. Brookfield maintained the original motto of the Magdalen Association: “Ut Misercordiam Obtineant” (They Shall Obtain Mercy). In 1975 the mission of Brookfield changed from working with unwed mothers to helping adolescents of both sexes.
Ask Questions Of New City Bicycle and Pedestrian Official
RVANews.com is going to be meeting with Richmond’s new bicycle/pedestrian
coordinator and they thought it might be a good time to try out using
Google Moderator to solicit questions from residents from all over Richmond.
Click here to read, rate, or submit a question.
Here’s one I submitted (in reference to my neighborhood issue #4):
What is going on with my neighborhood’s new canal bridge? Its more than a bit frustrating, given that it was the neighborhood association that applied for the state transportation grants.