Category Archives: government

School Board to Vote On Open/Binford Proposal Dec. 15

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From Richmond Public Schools press release:

The Richmond City School Board is slated to take action on recommendations proposed for Binford Middle School during a special meeting scheduled Monday, December 15. The deferred action is based on feedback received from the public requesting additional information and discussion on the options presented.

At its December 8 meeting, the Board will receive a report and discuss findings from the district’s three community engagement sessions and
corresponding survey.

The news leaves many neighbors and Open High students, parents,and faculty concerned about the future of their program.

Open High Threatened By Binford Middle School Proposal

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The Richmond School Board is considering Binford Middle School’s future. One of the four proposals that have been presented to the public is to move Open High School into the Binford building in the Fan and add three middle school grades to the program.

The district will host three community engagement meetings to allow the public to share their views regarding the proposed options for the future of Binford Middle School.

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Car Break In Report

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Editor’s note: I have been having difficulty receiving crime reports for the last week or so. I did reach out to Lt. Davenport from the Richmond Police Department and he did give me an update on car-break-ins:

From Lt. Davenport:

In regards to the car break-ins, there have been four reported in the last 30 days to RPD occurring in Oregon Hill. Three of those four involved unlocked motor vehicles and no property damage. The fourth was reported as locked and there was no property damage in that one either. These crimes have been curtailed for most of the year; however, I’ve seen an increase over the last month. I have 26 total vehicle break-ins occurring in Sector 413 last month with 65% of those involving vehicles that were unlocked.

Also, I will mention that Councilperson Parker Agelasto’s assistant Ida Jones posted this on his FaceBook:

5th District Residents we hear your concerns regarding leaf collection and we’re trying to get answers as fast as we can. Once we have a written statement from DPW (Department of Public Works) we will share. Thanks for your patience and understanding. ~ Ida Jones

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

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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.