Category Archives: community

Need More Personal Responsibility For Alley Trash

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This photo looks down the alley between the 600 block of S. Laurel and S.Cherry.
Trash and recycling trucks already went through on Wednesday. This photo was from after that.

Dear landlords and tenants,

The citizens of Richmond need you to take more responsibility for your refuse. I know some of you think that taxes are only good for two things, fire protection and refuse collection, but the truth is that OUR taxes also pay for things like police, schools, parks, etc. When the City spends all of its money picking up at the end of your leases, it can take away from other priorities.

While I appreciate efforts to improve the City’s services, you have a personal responsibility to make a point of either taking your excess to the dump, or, at the very least, scheduling a ‘bulk refuse’ pickup with the City. Just leaving it out in the alley, no matter how neatly, is not the neighborly thing to do. Let’s do better.

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

Greater Richmond Solar Co-op Happy Hour Info Session Thursday

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From EventBrite event page:

Live in Richmond and want to go solar? Now’s your chance! Neighbors across the greater Richmond area have formed a co-op with the help of VA SUN to make it easier to save money on the purchase of solar panels, while building a community of local solar supporters. Join us for a happy hour information session at the Three Notch’d Brewing Company to learn about solar energy, as well as how the Greater Richmond Solar Co-op simplifies the process of going solar while providing a discount through its bulk purchasing power.

Thursday, July 20, 2017
5:30 PM – 8:00 PM EDT
Three Notch’d Brewing Company
2930 W Broad St

Editor’s note: I know of at least two neighbors that are part of the Co-op. Looking forward to more solar in the neighborhood!

Tredegar Hosts “Refugees From Slavery” Thursday

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The American Civil War Museum at Tredegar is hosting a talk on Thursday at 6 pm entitled “Refugees From Slavery” as part of their ‘Foundry Series’.

From the FaceBook event page:

What do Dadaab, Kenya and Zatari, Jordan have in common with the U.S. Civil War? Present-day refugee camps share important similarities with Civil War contraband camps. Discover how men, women, and children who fled from slavery to contraband camps influenced emancipation, the progress of the war, and the redefinition of U.S. citizenship.

Featuring:

Chandra Manning, Ph.D., Georgetown University.
Dr. Manning’s most recent book, Troubled Refuge: Struggling for Freedom in the Civil War, about Civil War contraband camps, won the Museum’s 2016 Jefferson Davis Award.

Program Partners:
ReEstablish Richmond
CWS Richmond Refugee Resettlement
Artist Alfonso Perez Acosta

For more info and tickets, click here.

Miles in His Shoes 7.5.17

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Miles in his Shoes is a new video series produced by University Student Commons and Activities (USC&A) in order to showcase many of the premiere locations in Richmond, VA. The series is hosted by Miles Hopkins, marketing assistant for USC&A and a creative and strategic advertising senior. This series will give new students a chance to explore the city vicariously through Hopkins, a Richmond native.

Michael Folland, Medal of Honor Recipient

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Reporter Mark Holmberg does another story on one of Oregon Hill’s most famous progeny, Michael Folland, Vietnam war hero.

Excerpt:

In the military, the formerly wild Mike found “his niche,” his nephew said. Mike had a fiancée as he went off to war. He made corporal and was apparently hoping to make a career out of it when he smothered the grenade.

Nearly 45 years later, nephew Chip gets choked up talking about it. “I actually talked to one of the guys that was in the ambush . . . he gave up everything” for them.

Chip Folland’s son, Ryan Holland, joined the military and wrote to me that his great uncle “is a source of great pride for me in my own military career.

There are others who have reached out with their remembrances, including a woman whose brother went through basic training and to Vietnam with Mike Folland. People who want to you to know that Mike Folland is worth remembering.

Vinyl Conflict, Rest in Pieces Rock Pine Street

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Subculture shops Vinyl Conflict and Rest in Pieces threw a successful block party on S. Pine Street Saturday. The “customer appreciation day” event included sidewalk sales, food trucks, live music, a mechanical spider for neighborhood tots to ride, and lots of sunshine!

This was the third such event, initially dreamed up by Vinyl Conflict owner Bobby Egger as an alternative to Record Store Day. Rather than cue up around the block for limited-edition, high-dollar vinyl rarities, the record store’s followers fingered through piles of discounted tee shirts and seven-inch singles.
There was, however, some crafty, limited-edition merchandise available to lure customers out early. My wife showed up right at 10 A.M. to snag this cute tote of a lazy egg listening to records.

Thrash bands Prisoner, Left Cross, and Dark Thoughts played sensational sets later in the day.

Egger, who lives in the neighborhood with his wife Melissa, says he feels entirely welcome as a shop owner in Oregon Hill. “Foot traffic has increased since Rest in Pieces opened,” he notes. “I would love to see more businesses open, and there are retail spaces opening up around the neighborhood.”
Oregon Hill’s dining and daring retail shops are must-do destinations for both locals and out-of-towners. Saturday’s block party, aside from being a blast, undoubtedly revealed the neighborhood’s potential for even bigger and better things.

–Johnathan Rickman