Category Archives: community

OHNA Meeting Announcement/5th District Candidate Forum/Dangerous Chemical In Monroe Park

Posted on by
Reply

OHNA President Todd Woodson sent out an email that announces this coming Tuesday’s Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association (OHNA) meeting. It is very full of additional information, including some information about an upcoming candidate forum for 5th District City Council seat and chemical spraying in Monroe Park.

Good morning Friends and Neighbors

Our monthly OHNA meeting will be this Tuesday August 27th at 7pm at St Andrews.

There are some events coming up that I encourage you to be a part of including 5th District City Council candidate meet and greets and a fundraiser for the 14th Annual Halloween Parade *YES! Its happening again in Oregon Hill this year! Lets make it the coolest ever!:

* Wednesday August 28 Jer’Mykeal McCoy will have a meet and greet at Little Mexico restaurant at 1328 W Cary st 6-8 pm. Refreshments will be served. Please RSVP to: staff@mccoyforrva.com contribution levels go from $25-1000.

* Tuesday, September 10 There will be a meet and greet for Stephanie Lynch at the home of Ruth Twiggs, 329 1/2 S Pine St from 6-7:30. Refreshments will be served and special guest is Ghazala Hashmi, candidate for 10th District State Senator. Please RSVP to Catherine Travers at electstephanielynch@gmail.com

* Thursday, September 12 at 7pm at Patrick Henry Charter School Auditorium there will be a candidates forum for all 8 candidates vying for our 5th District City Council Seat, currently held by Parker Agelasto. This is sponsored by many neighborhood associations including Oregon Hill , Randolph, Woodland Heights, Byrd Park as well as the Sierra Club Falls of the James Chapter. I am doing publicity for this event so will be reminding everybody. Each neighborhood can submit 3 questions for the candidates, so please email me your questions. It is important that we hear the candidates so we can make a wise choice to keep up the high standards provided by Councilman Agelasto.

* 14th Annual Halloween Parade Fundraiser!!! will be held (ironically) on Friday the 13th of September from 7-11 at 2718 Bainbridge St 23225. There will be MUSIC and PUPPETS and DANCING!

Our OHNA meeting will include all the usual updates from police and VCU and our councilman and the only current agenda item is a presentation by a VCU group to promote a writers group.

In other announcements, OHNA has been awarded a Community Roots Grant that will provide 10-12 street trees for our neighborhood! I’ve placed the priority on trees that will positively impact Open High and St Andrews School, but other wells will get trees as well. We will need volunteers to help plant the trees and to participate in watering for the first 2 years. Email me if interested.

Finally, I ask that you be careful if visiting Monroe Park, especially with pets and small children. A lady and her dog from the area were recently in the Park as they were spraying chemicals on trees and her dog collapsed from a seizure, presumably from the exposore. She incurred a $300 Vet bill. One of the chemicals sprayed was an RTSA Horticultural Oil which is listed as a category 1 substance in the Aspiration Toxicity Category by the government. If you get enough of this in your body, it will KILL YOU. I just received the lengthy FOIA Request yesterday and will have more information soon. These chemicals were sprayed by a company hired by VCU.

See you Tuesday, Todd

VCU Ram Camp This Coming Monday – Focus On Graffiti Removal

Posted on by
Reply

VCU RAM CAMP 2019 is approaching August 12-15, 2019. As part of it, there will be a neighborhood clean up and graffiti removal on Monday from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm. Volunteer Sarah Gaskin will be meeting student volunteers at the Altria Theater and leading them into the neighborhood. If neighbors would like graffiti cleaned off their private property, please turn in liability waivers to City Councilperson Parker Agelasto’s liaison, Amy Robins.

OHNA Meeting Tonight

Posted on by
Reply

The Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association is meeting tonight at 7 pm at St. Andrew’s Church.

The agenda will include a short presentation by a group concerned with recidivism and alternatives to incarceration, new data regarding traffic and speeding along Idlewood,
new stop signs, parks master plan suggestions from Storefront for Design, an update on non-demolition overlay district application. Also, 5th District City Council candidate Stephanie Lynch is supposed to make an appearance.

Kids in Kayaks Kicks Off In A Week

Posted on by
Reply

From press release:

Nearly 100 local youth are taking to the riverfront this summer to engage in a special program offered in partnership by the National Park Service, YMCA of Greater Richmond, James River Park System, James River Association, American Civil War Museum, and The Valentine. Kids in Kayaks empowers City of Richmond youth with the knowledge of natural and cultural landscapes, provides awareness and access to resources and skill development, and builds confidence and wellness through healthy recreation and community engagement.

YOU’RE INVITED! On Wednesday, July 24, you are invited to visit Historic Tredegar at 470 Tredegar Street from 10:00 am to 11:30 am to view the programs taking place, talk to those participating and planning, and learn more about Kids in Kayaks.

Over the course of six weeks, City of Richmond middle-school students are enjoying a taste of what downtown’s riverfront has to offer. Programs include water safety courses, lessons on watershed science, and discussions about the area’s history. We invite you to come see for yourself!

“The Richmond riverfront is a vital part of the city where we can tell the stories of our nation’s history, both cultural and environmental,” said Richmond National Battlefield Park Superintendent Doyle Sapp. “This valuable partnership allows us to showcase the rich cultural and natural history Richmond has to offer while teaching kids how to safely enjoy the riverfront.”

Last Chance To Give Voters A Voice On VCU/Farrell Coliseum Scheme

Posted on by
3

If Richmond citizens want to be able to vote on the VCU/Farrell/Stoney coliseum scheme, their last chance to do so may be decided in the next few days. Over 13,000 Richmond citizens have signed the petition for the “Choose Children over a Costly Coliseum“ Referendum, drafted by Paul Goldman, supported by the Sierra Club Falls of the James and others. Many of these signatures were done on Election Day last year, but the deadline to file the petition is coming up quickly (like in the next few days!), and more signatures are needed to ensure it getting on the ballot. If it does not make it on the ballot, citizens may be forced to live with and pay up for whatever the Mayor and City Council do with the $1.4. billion scheme, and it could effect City budgets for a decade to come. So, what’s it going to be? Schools or corporate welfare?

In the interest of informing the public, I am going to post the petition/referendum here. However, please ask yourself, why has local media not done so- again, over 13,000 Richmond citizens have already signed it. So why have Times Dispatch, Style, RVA Magazine, etc. mostly ignored this heroic grassroots effort? If you have been following along, including the latest FOIA struggle, things may be more clear. The Richmond Free Press and oregonhill.net have offered the most coverage on it.

The first Put Schools First referendum was fairly straight forward in demanding that Richmond leaders, especially the Mayor, come up with plan to modernize the schools first in the City’s budget planning. This second referendum, perhaps due to opposing nature, is a bit more convoluted, so here’s a quick explanation: it first states that citizens want schools to come before a new coliseum. It then includes a poison pill provision against using a TIFF (Tax Incremental Financing Fund) to finance the scheme by stating that a majority of the funding raised would have to go to schools first. It then ends with a measure to keep the schemers from going back to the meals tax for money.

If you are a resident of the City of Richmond and a registered voter, please take the time to sign this petition, even if you ultimately decide to not vote for it once it is on the ballot. 13,000 of your neighbors have already done so, don’t let them down! Give people a voice!

School Rezoning and Oregon Hill

Posted on by
Reply

Laurel Street neighbor Teresa Birchett wants to be sure that neighbors are aware of the rezoning discussion.

Richmond is currently exploring rezoning of schools. They have released two potential options. If you look at both options they would impact Oregon Hill. For elementary we are currently zoned Cary. From what I can tell for elementary schools, Option 1 would divide the neighborhood at the expressway with some kids zoned for Carver and the majority of the neighborhood Cary. For Option 2 Oregon Hill would be completely rezoned for Carver. For middle school the entire neighborhood is currently zoned Binford. Option one would divide the neighborhood again at the expressway, with the upper half of the neighborhood zoned Hill and the lower Binford. Option two would keep the neighborhood Binford. For high school we are currently zoned Thomas Jefferson. Option one and two would rezone the neighborhood to John Marshall High School. If you have concerns or support one of these changes, now is the time to let RPS know.
Here is a link to the two possible proposed zoning changes, the proposed map changes are at the bottom of the document.