Category Archives: government

Richmond Marathon Saturday- Plan Ahead

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From email:

Dear Neighbors:

The Richmond Marathon takes place Saturday, November 15 and several roads in the city will be affected/closed in the morning hours:

5th Street will be closed from Broad St to Tredegar St starting 4:00am to 4:00pm
Broad Street (both eastbound and westbound) between 5th and 11th Streets will be closed to traffic from 4am to 10am. Westbound traffic will be detoured north onto 11thStreet and west on Leigh Street.
Broad Street (both eastbound and westbound) between 5th Street and N. Boulevard will be closed from 6 to 9am. Eastbound traffic will be detoured north on Sheppard Street, east on Marshall Street, north on the Boulevard, east on Leigh Street, south on 10thStreet, east on Marshall Street, south on 12th Street back to Broad Street.
Grace Street from Allen Ave. to 3rd Street will be closed from 6am to 3pm.
3rd Street from Broad Street to Cary Street will be closed from 6am to 3pm.
Mulberry Street between Broad St. and Monument Ave. will be closed from 6 to 9am for the HCA Virginia 8K.
Grace Street will be closed between Boulevard and Allen Ave. from 6 to 9am for the HCA Virginia 8K.
Lombardy Street between Brook Rd. and Monument Ave will be closed from 7am to 3pm.
North Boulevard northbound from Broad St. to Hermitage Rd. will be closed from 7 to 10am for the American Family Fitness Half Marathon.
Hermitage Road northbound from Boulevard to Pope Ave will be closed from 7 to 10am for the American Family Fitness Half Marathon.
Brookland Parkway both eastbound and westbound from Hermitage Rd. to Lamont St. will be closed from 7 to 10am for the American Family Fitness Half Marathon
Bellvue Avenue from Hermitage Rd to Bryan Park entrance will be closed from 7AM to 10AM for the American Family Fitness Half Marathon.
Monument Avenue westbound between Mulberry and Westmoreland will be closed from 7:30 to 9:30am.
Westmoreland between Monument Ave and Grove Ave will be closed from 7:30am to 10am.
Grove Avenue westbound between Commonwealth and Maple will be closed from 7:30 to 10:00am.
Maple Avenue from Grove to Cary Street will be closed from 7:30am to 10:00am
The Huguenot Bridge will be closed to all traffic from 8:00am to 11:00am. Northbound traffic on Huguenot Road will be detoured north from Huguenot Road onto Chippenham Parkway to the Willey Bridge.
Riverside Dr. will be closed from the Huguenot Bridge to Scottview Drive from 6am to Noon.
Forest Hill Ave. westbound from Roanoke St. to Hathaway Rd. will be closed from 8 to 11:30am.
Semmes Ave. Westbound from Cowardin Ave. to Roanoke St. will be closed from 8:30am to Noon
Belvidere Street northbound at Grace Street will be closed from 7am to 3pm. The recommended detour will be east on Byrd Street to the Downtown Expressway eastbound to I-95 northbound.
West Main Street, from Belvidere to Boulevard will be closed from 9:00am 1:00pm. Westbound traffic Main St will be detoured North on Belvidere, East on Franklin, and South on 1st Street to the Westbound Downtown Expressway.
Belvidere Street southbound between Broad and Grace Streets will be closed from 7am to 3pm. The recommended detour for southbound Belvidere Street will be onto I-95 southbound just north of Leigh Street
The southbound exit ramp from the Powhite Parkway to Forest Hill Avenue and the northbound entrance ramp from westbound Forest Hill Avenue onto the Powhite Parkway will be closed to traffic from 8am until approximately 11am.
There will also be numerous and frequent lane closures along the Marathon, Half Marathon & 8k routes, including closures on: Broad Street, North Boulevard, Monument Avenue, Grove Avenue, Maple Avenue, Cary Street Road, River Road, Scottview Drive, Forest Hill Avenue, Semmes Avenue, the Lee Bridge, Belvidere Street, West Main Street, Hermitage Road, Fauqier Avenue, Brook Road. Motorists are advised to use extreme caution when entering these roadways or making turns across the runners’ paths along these roadways.

The race begins at 8:00 am and roads will be affected for several hours. There are 6,500 runners competing in the full marathon. Residents should be on the lookout on Friday night and Saturday for No Parking signs/restrictions along the routes and runners on Saturday!

Sincerely,

Ida Jones
5th District Council Liaison

192191

Reminder – – VOTE

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Reminder – – VOTE on TUESDAY, November 4th
Polling location: Clarke Springs Elementary School
1101 DANCE STREET
RICHMOND, VA 23220-6112
6:00am – 7:00pm
MUST bring photo identification

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Candidate Details:

Office Jurisdiction Ballot Name Party Web Site
United States Senate Statewide Ed W. Gillespie Republican http://www.edforsenate.com
United States Senate Statewide Mark R. Warner Democrat http://www.markwarnerva.com
United States Senate Statewide Robert C. Sarvis Libertarian http://www.robertsarvis.com
Member House of Representatives – 03 03 Robert C. “Bobby” Scott Democrat http://www.bobbyscottforcongress.com
Clerk of Court RICHMOND CITY Edward F. Jewett Democrat http://www.jewettforclerk.com
Clerk of Court RICHMOND CITY Emmett J. Jafari Independent Facebook: Emmett Jay For Clerk

Constitutional Amendment:

Explanation of Proposed Constitutional Amendment
The proposed amendment would authorize the General Assembly to exempt from taxation the real property of any surviving spouse of a member of the U.S. Armed Forces who was killed in action, as determined by the US Department of Defense. The exemption would apply to the spouse’s principal place of residence even if the surviving spouse moves to a new principal address within the Commonwealth. The amendment does not require the surviving spouse to have been residing in the Commonwealth at the time the veteran was killed in action. The exemption would end if the spouse remarries.

A “yes” vote will make effective legislation exempting from real property taxation (real estate tax) the principal residence of the surviving spouse of any member of the US armed forces who was killed in action.

A “no” vote will leave the Constitution unchanged.

Yes – For the Measure Proponents say: 1. The exemption assists families of armed forces members who gave their lives for their country. 2. As a constitutional amendment this exemption is permanent.

No – Against the Measure Opponents say: 1. As an open-ended, unfunded mandate on localities, the governmental unit that regulates, imposes and collects the real property tax, it will reduce localities’ revenue with no compensating revenues to locally fund services. 2. A constitutional amendment does not allow any flexibilities if the Commonwealth’s financial circumstances change in the future.

Theater Foundation Asks For Bailout

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From Times Dispatch article:

The organization that oversees Richmond CenterStage and the Altria Theater is asking the city of Richmond for $1.75 million to a pay a tax bill it never expected.
Richmond Performing Arts Center, the public-private partnership behind both renovation projects, created a for-profit company called RPAC Inc. in order to take advantage of historic tax credits for the renovation work.
But the organization and the city apparently overlooked or misinterpreted a law that requires for-profit companies to pay real estate taxes on leasehold interests in publicly owned properties that would otherwise be exempt from taxation.

…

“What I can’t understand is how one might think that they wouldn’t be required to pay real estate taxes from a private, for-profit entity,” said Agelasto, 5th District. “It seems to me that somebody got advice that didn’t quite mirror to what the federal law was.”

See earlier posts on this subject here, here, and here.

“Save Linear Park!!!!”

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Not surprisingly, this property and building permit are creating more consternation…

From email (posted with permission):

Did you know that there may be a house built in Linear Park immediately next to the Guardian Sculpture as one enters Oregon Hill from Belvedere onto Holly? The lot is a tiny lot the city did not acquire and is in private hands. There is a contract on the property and a pending building permit application. Please see the attached photo see the site where a house could exist in a few months!

If you believe in protecting the greenspace and open, linear flow of the park I urge you to e-mail councilman Agelasto (Parker.Agelasto at richmondgov.com) and Planning director Mark A. Olinger (Mark.Olinger at richmondgov.com) expressing your opposition and desire to have this property acquired by the city and incorporated into Linear Park.
A suggested e-mail follows:

Councilman Agelasto and Director Olinger,

I am writing to you today to express my oppostion to the issuance of a building permit on the parcel at 612 Holly St in Oregon Hill (parcel id: W0000139032) and ask that the city consider acquiring this parcel from the private owner to incorporate into Linear Park. A structure on this parcel would disrupt the natural flow and inviting nature of the park, close off the park space and foster a hidden and unsafe environment discouraging pedestrian traffic and use of the park by local residents and visitors. Additionally the City will incur additional expense landscaping and path relocate path relocation as a result of construction, it is not in keeping with the City’s master plan or the riverfront plan.
The lot is a Non-conforming lot and would require site work detrimental to the Park and possible unusual building design to fit a structure on the property. Such a structure would not be in keeping with the character and architectural style of the neighborhood. Other parcels exist in the city that are more appropriate to build on. Finally such a structure eliminates valuable green space and presents an eyesore to visitors of the War Memorial.

sincerely –

612_Holly_St

RTD: Federal court throws out boundaries of Virginia’s 3rd District

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From the Times Dispatch article:

A federal court in Richmond has thrown out the boundaries of Virginia’s only majority-black congressional seat, saying that it wrongly packs African-Americans in a single district that spans from Norfolk to Richmond.
The court ordered the Republican-dominated General Assembly to redraw the 3rd U.S. House district by April 1, 2015, saying that the election currently underway in the district should proceed as scheduled.