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

http://www.richmondgov.com/PublicWorks/UrbanForestry.aspx

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.

Flying Brick Screens From The Back of the Room

This Thursday at 8:30 pm, the Flying Brick Library shows the film From The Back of the Room.

Many people have the impression that the Riot Grrrl movement in the mid-90s was the end-all, be-all of female involvement in DIY punk. This is definitely not the case! Plenty of amazing ladies prior to this era paved the way for it, and plenty of amazing ladies continue to help keep DIY together today. This documentary chronicles the past 30 years of female involvement in DIY punk, and has interviews with over 30 women from across the country, ages 17 to 40. Race, gender, sexuality, motherhood, class, and activism are all addressed in this film, giving a more complete picture of how these women participate in the DIY community, and how it affects their daily lives.
Please join us for these wonderful films!

The Flying Brick holds sober events, unless otherwise noted. So please, no booze.

Know Your Rights Workshop at July Really Really Free Market

From Facebook event page:

Richmond Copwatch will be facilitating a Know Your Rights Workshop at the July Really Really Free Market at 1pm. The Really Really Free Market is at the corner of Main and Laurel streets in Monroe Park. It is always on the last Saturday of every month, so this event will be on July 30th.

This workshop will help participants learn the basics of asserting their rights when dealing with the police. We highly recommend this workshop for EVERYONE. But especially anyone who engages in any level of political protest or demonstrations.This workshop consists of skits that are performed by Copwatch members and then edited by participants from the audience. We encourage participation, questions, and dialogue around the topics covered in the skit. We are not lawyers, but we are able to provide useful information about a lot of legal questions.

For more information about this workshop or Richmond Copwatch you can call 804 303 5449 or email sbhcopwatch@gmail.com

The monthly really Really Free Market happens on the last Saturday of each month from noon until 3pm. It is an alternative to the capitalist “free market” where everything actually is free. People come to share things they no longer need or want, share skills, share music, etc. You can find out more about the RRFM at rvaradicalendar.blogspot.c​om

“An Opportunity To Celebrate Our Shared Humanity”

Email announcement:

A group of folks from St. Andrew’s Church and the neighborhood are volunteering this coming week with the 1000 Homes for 1000 Virginians-Richmond Campaign to help folks who are chronically homeless move into housing. We’ve been “assigned” the Oregon Hill neighborhood and will be out in the wee hours of the morning on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday (Aug. 1-3). For more information, see http://1khomesrva.org/. You may also check out the recent blog post by Barbara Ambrose on the Virginia Supportive Housing Blog (NOTE – religious content):

http://www.virginiasupportivehousing.org/blog/?p=997

They may still be looking for volunteers, so if you’re interested, please join us. You can register to volunteer online, though if you’re interested in joining our group of volunteers in this and surrounding neighborhoods, please let me know and we’ll get you on our list.