Earlier today, the Richmond Police Department‘s SWAT Team conducted a video shoot at 311 S. Laurel Street. It happened around 3:00 pm. It was a staged operation, however they did use actual tactics and controlled explosions.
Anyone have pictures or video?
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.
From City press release:
Richmond, VA – Richmond Public Library’s Main Library, 101 E. Franklin Street, will be closed Saturday, July 16 to allow for the first phase of installation of new electrical equipment.
The building has had new heating and cooling equipment installed, which has required changes to the building’s electrical systems. This electrical system upgrade will be made in two phases. A date for the second phase of work will be announced shortly.
The Main library will resume normal operating hours on Monday, July 18 at 10 a.m. For more information, contact the Main Library at (804) 646-4867.
This coming Saturday morning, there is an Oregon Hill Energy Efficiency/Home Cooling workshop at the Jacob House, the City’s The Clean City Commission is partnering with the 2nd Precinct MPACT Co-Chairs to host the 4th Annual Civic Association Community Workshop, the Better Housing Coalition’s Center for Neighborhood Revitalization has a FREE Renovation Lending Workshop, and the Chesapeake Climate Action Network is having a workshop on lobbying for offshore wind.
That last item might sound a little out of place, but since the redistricting, Oregon Hill is likely to change representatives from the pro-renewables McEachin to Chesterfield developer and recent French nuclear tourist, Watkins.
From Counciperson Jewell’s liaison:
5th District meeting will be Thursday, July 7, 2011 6:30 p m – 8:30 p. m. It will be held at the Randolph Community Center, 1415 Grayland Avenue.
If we are not all blown up by Tuesday, don’t forget the City will be performing some street cleaning on Tuesday, Wednesday after the Fourth. The good thing is this will hopefully clean up some of the fireworks debris.
From Richmond police:
Richmond Police want to advise drivers to the closure of the Lee Bridge on Sunday night to accommodate the RVA Fireworks.
The Lee Bridge will be closed from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Sunday, July 3.
From the south – access to the bridge will be closed at Semmes and Cowardin avenues.
From the north – access to the bridge will be closed at East Byrd and Belvidere streets.
Also, while I am seeing stories about the 76 ramp, I am not seeing details on roadwork regarding the 195 ramp coming from Cumberland. I thought I heard something about it being closed for adding a new lane to the toll plaza. Anyone have the skinny?
Announcement:
Hello everyone
Just a reminder that OHNA will be holding its monthly meeting tonight, Tuesday, June 28th, at 7 PM at WBCH.
Hope to see everyone there
Jennifer
Reminder: Tomorrow morning is the scheduled date for the City’s trash and recycling pickup.
Its been a little over two months since the “Mayor’s Walkthrough”. During that event, I handed each member of City staff and the Mayor a sheet of paper with a list of what I considered the top ten issues for Oregon Hill, in order of priority and importance. I should emphasize that this list represents my personal opinion, though I did present and discuss it at last month’s Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association meeting.
3. Keep R7 zoning except where urban business (old storefronts) makes sense.
4. Where is the new canal bridge? Note: OHNA raised almost half a million in grant money for greenway.
7. Brick sidewalk repairs (Notice how this area, which is in Oregon Hill, is marked as VCU!)
8. Empty tree wells need filling
9. public trash/recycling cans needed on corners- the Fan has them, why not Oregon Hill?
10. Look at 4 way stop signs for some intersections to slow down commuters speeding on Laurel, trying to beat Belvidere lights.
Again, this list is not exhaustive. There are other issues that compete for the top slots. You will notice that I did not mention some of the more controversial ideas of parking permits/tags or going for City Historic District status (Oregon Hill already has federal/state recognition).
You will also note that none of my priorities target any particular residence or deal with property code violations. Although I understand the fear that my lobbying here brings in the CIty inspectors, I refute any insinuation that it is my intention, and I share the concern that officious action may be in retribution for publicizing issues). Please feel free to list some of your ideas in the comments below.
In the next few weeks I will be focusing on each of these issues more and hopefully have news of progress. THE top issue, a permanent land use written accord with VCU, may get an update as soon as this next week since VCU President Michael Rao has asked for neighborhood leaders to come to a “Monroe Park Campus Advisory Council” (not to be confused with MPAC, Monroe Park Advisory Council) meeting this Tuesday. I know OHNA leaders plan to attend.
Lamar, a Louisiana-based outdoor advertising company, filed suit against Richmond to stop the city from trying to force the removal of the billboard it operates downtown on Mayo Island.
The case argues that removal of the sign cannot be enforced regardless of whether or not it conforms to zoning regulations, thanks to a law passed in 2008.
That law prevents localities from forcing the removal of a structure or building if the property owner has paid taxes on it for more than 15 years.
The billboard is visible from Oregon Hill. I remember publicly speaking on this issue over ten years ago at City Council as an eyesore for the James River. Here is an excerpt from an earlier article on the controversy:
In addition to the Mayo’s Island billboard, which was built out of compliance with city zoning regulations in 1977 and has been ruled illegal a number of times, the company also plans to continue negotiations related to eight other billboards that for various legal reasons remain items of dispute with the city.
Any debate over the Mayo’s Island sign is moot to Leighton Powell, executive director of Scenic Virginia. He says Lamar’s use of it as a bargaining chip in its negotiations over the other signs is a sign of bad faith.
“Here’s an update: The billboard — it’s still up, and it’s still illegal,” says Powell, who has a not-so-subtle suggestion: “The city should consider going after all of the illegal profits of that [Mayo’s Island] billboard dating back to 1977.”
Question for readers: If you put up an illegal commercial billboard on your own property, how long do you think the City would take before forcing you to remove it?