More stuff for your calendar….

Byrd House Market tomorrow from 3:30 pm to 7 pm.

Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association meets tonight at 7 pm at the William Byrd Community House.

Recycling and trash pickup this Wednesday morning.

In addition to the Byrd House Bash, the 4th Precinct MPACT meeting is on Thursday. From announcement:

The 4th Precinct MPACT meeting will be this Thursday, May 26th at 6:30PM at the 4th Police Precinct Headquarters (2219 Chamberlayne Avenue). We hope that you will attend to learn more about neighborhood issues and connect with city administration regarding your concerns. Roslyn Johnson, Deputy Director of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities, will present an overview of the summer recreation activities planned in the 4th Precinct and across the city.

This will be the last meeting of the MPACT team on the 4th Thursdays. Starting on Thursday, June 16th the MPACT team will combine meeting days and locations with the 4th Precinct CAPS team at Linwood Holton Elementary in the media center. In June, the CAPS meeting will be 6-7PM and the MPACT meeting will be 7-8PM. Citizens and residents are welcome to attend both meetings. CAPS focuses on cross-departmental issues to enforce property maintenance and public safety, while MPACT focuses on the high priority areas for MPACT (potholes, illegal dumping, street lights and more), sharing information between residents and city agencies and general concerns.

For more information about CAPS, please visit: http://www.richmondgov.com/CommunityAssistedPublicSafety/index.aspx

For more information about MPACT, please visit: www.richmondgov.com/mpac

Also,

Just in time for the start of Hurricane Season, Virginia’s Hurricane and Emergency Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday runs May 25-31st, 2011. During this time, purchases of items designated by the Department of Taxation as hurricane preparedness equipment, including batteries, flashlights, bottled water of all types and sizes, cell phone batteries, coolers, portable generators and many other useful items can be purchased with no sales tax added during the week. Portable generators must be priced at $1,000 or less, and other eligible items must be priced at $60 or less for each item. Many retailers will post signs listing all the allowable items so that Virginians can get ready for hurricane season.
For details, including guidelines, frequently asked questions, and a list of eligible purchases, click here.

Remember, Hurricane Seasons starts June 1st, so be prepared! While we do not live on the coast, flooding often hits Central Virginia during this time. To learn more about getting ready for hurricanes and floods, visit www.ReadyVirginia.gov.

Important Transportation Meetings Tonight and Tomorrow Night

There are a few important meetings happening tonight and tomorrow evening that could use some citizen representation.

One is tonight:

Strategic Multimodal Transportation Plan for Richmond

http://byrdpark.net/2011/05/16/a-strategic-multi-modal-transportation-plan/

Tomorrow night a is state transportation hearing, also downtown.
This is important because it helps establish the six year fiscal plan for the Virginia Department of Transportation.

http://www.virginiadot.org/projects/resources/SYIP.2012-17.03.11.PH.ad.pdf

(Also, don’t forget the James River TDML meeting tomorrow night)

CAPS Meeting Thursday

From City announcement:

The Fourth Precinct Community Assisted Public Safety (CAPS) meeting will be held:

Date: May 19, 2011

Time: 6:00 p.m.

Place: Linwood Holton Elementary School

1600 W Laburnum Ave

You may send your concerns to us via email at CAPS@Richmondgov.com, fax at 646-5355 or phone us at 646-2277 (CAPS).

Final Public Meeting for James River TDML Study

From DEQ announcement:

DEQ would like to invite you to the final public meeting for the draft Implementation Plan (IP) developed for the James River – City of Richmond Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) study. This meeting will be held on Wednesday May 18, 2010 at 6 p.m. at the DEQ Central Office located at 629 East Main Street in Richmond VA 23218. Click here for directions to DEQ Central Office.

The draft plan will be made available on the DEQ website. When the document has been posted, you will receive an email with a link to the draft.

Over the last 6 months DEQ and MapTech (project contractor) have met with the residential, agriculture, and urban workgroups as well as the steering committee to develop the draft document. Many of you have participated in one (or more) of the three working groups and on the steering committee – a very big thank you for all of your help – we truly appreciate all of your great ideas and the information you have shared with us!

Continue reading

S. Belvidere Closed Saturday For Race

From the Richmond Police Department:

The Richmond Police Department would like for drivers and citizens to be alert and prepared for the following disruptions in normal traffic flow during this Saturday’s Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 5K.

East Byrd Street will be closed between South 5th and South 7th streets to accommodate the Start and Finish lines. It will be closed on Saturday from 12:01 a.m. to 12 p.m.

The following streets and bridges will lose a single travel lane to accommodate the event from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.:
*Manchester Bridge southbound to Semmes Avenue exit
*Semmes Avenue westbound to Cowardin Avenue
*Cowardin Avenue north across the Lee Bridge northbound
*South Belvidere Street northbound to East Byrd Street

Click here for a link to the race itself.

Oregon Hill REDISTRICTED!

From the Fan community news site:

Redistricting of the State Senate and House of Delegates districts based on the 2010 Census numbers was made official recently, with some impact on the neighborhood.

A piece of the Fan close to Monroe Park, all of Oregon Hill and Byrd Park, and much of the Forest Hill area that have been part of State Senate District 9, currently held by Donald McEachin (D), will now be in State Senate District 10, held by John Watkins (R). Interestingly, with these and other changes, both of these Senate districts are now less partisan than before the redistricting: District 9 has been redistricted to be 6.3% more Republican (up to a whopping 36.5%), while District 10 is now 7.5% more Democratic (40.7%).

Upcoming…

Really Really Free Market Saturday
School choice group meets Saturday
Disney’s Beauty and The Beast continues at the Landmark Theater
Pine Street yard/garage sale on Saturday-

May Day Paradeer…Celebration on Sunday
Pescados brunch service starts on Sunday
Monday is City Council budget meetingperhaps we will see if Patrick Henry School gets more funding.
And don’t forget that Tuesday is the first official Byrd Market of the year!
Also Tuesday, there’s a meeting about Richmond’s transportation policyI might have a few thoughts on that.

May Day Parade Controversy

Despite the American Civil Liberties Union’s assistance, the memorandum opinion 4-28-11 came out today against the plaintiff.

From the Times Dispatch article:

A federal judge on Thurday morning turned down an ACLU bid that would allow an activist group to hold a May Day parade in Richmond without paying for off-duty police escorts.

“Obviously we’re very disappointed with the ruling, and our clients will have to make a decision on how to proceed,” said Rebecca Glenberg, legal director of the ACLU of Virginia.

In a ruling, U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson wrote, among other things, that the group failed to show the Richmond police decision to deny the parade permit “was based on anything other than reasonable public policy considerations.”

The ACLU asked Hudson to allow the Richmond May Day Coalition/Organizing Committee to hold a May Day parade Sunday without paying $294 for off-duty police officers to serve as escorts.

The “May Day International Workers Day” was expected to draw 200 or more participants and involve marching bands, banners, flags, a bull horn and a small public address system, said city officials.

The parade would start at Monroe Park, proceed west on Main Street, north on Lombardy Street, east on Broad Street, south on Laurel Street and end back at Monroe Park.