Category Archives: government

Congressional Candidates At The Crusade

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Pictures of 3rd District Congressional Candidates at the Crusade for Voters meeting earlier tonight- in no particular order:

John Kelly


Bobby Scott


James Quigley


Chuck Smith

I did not get my question in for the candidates, but if you will forgive some editorial license, I will go ahead and pose it here:

Will you take the following pledge?
The Supreme Court’s flawed decision allowing corporations to spend unlimited amounts to influence election outcomes endangers our democracy and threatens to drown out the voices of individual citizens. I pledge to protect America from unlimited corporate spending in our elections by supporting a Constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court’s decision giving corporations the same First Amendment rights as people.

Candidate Forums This Week

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Tomorrow night, meet 3rd District Congressional candidates, including incumbent Congressman Bobby Scott, at the Crusade for Voters meeting.

From NorthRichmondNews.com :

There will be a Candidates Forum at the Richmond Crusade for Voters Meeting on Tuesday, October 19, from 6:30-8:30PM at the Military Retirees Club (2220 Chamberlayne Avenue). There are 4 candidates for the 3rd Congressional District seat: incumbent Democrat Bobby Scott, Republican Chuck Smith, Libertarian James Quigley, and Independent Green John Kelly

On Thursday night, there is a 5th District School Board candidates forum.
West of the Boulevard News (wotbn.net) has the details:

The Richmond City Democratic Committee (RCDC) will hold a forum for the two candidates in this year’s special election for School Board Member in the 5th District, Maurice Henderson and Cherrelle Hurt, on Thursday, October 21, 7PM at the SunTrust Building (919 East Main Street) 4th Floor.

Tuesday Night- OHNA, 5th District, 4th District MPACC meetings

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This Tuesday night the Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association is scheduled to meet.

Also, 5th District Councilperson Marty Jewell is holding a meeting in Randolph.

And, finally, received this nice note from Emily Griffey-

I hope that you will consider posting this event to the Oregon Hill News website. Unfortunately the event does conflict with the Oregon Hill Association meeting but it would be great if some community members could attend this event as well. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
~Emily

Dear North Richmond Community :

As you are aware, the Mayor is dedicated to collaboration, communication and cooperation between Richmond’s citizens and his administration. Mayor Jones knows that citizens expect and deserve a responsive government.

Many of you may know about the old “neighborhood teams” process. In an effort to improve upon service delivery and include residents and business owners in the decisions that affect them, Mayor Jones has created the Mayor’s Participation and Communication Corps (MPACC). MPACC is an integral enhancement to the sharing of information and increased community involvement.

MPACC has two major components:

1) Proactive, service driven initiatives including but not limited to matters relating to land use, public safety, parks and recreation, all of which will strive to improve services and conditions; and

2) Rapid, courteous responses to your requests for services such as fixing potholes, removing abandoned cars, addressing blighted properties, and cleaning up illegal dump sites.

To make sure services are close to you, MPACC has been organized around the four Richmond Police Department Precinct structure. Each sector within a precinct will have a MPACC Sector Team. Mayor Jones is selecting co-chairs from each sector to lead these MPACC Sector teams.

The MPACC groups will allow for more accountability not only from the City but also the residents. The Mayor will be holding the MPACC Sector Team launch in the 4th precinct on Tuesday, September 28, 2010.

This meeting will be held at Holton Elementary School ● 1600 West Laburnum Ave. ● Richmond, VA 23227 from 6:30 PM to 8PM. At this meeting Mayor Jones will introduce his co-chairs for the 4th Precinct and outline his vision for the MPACC Program. We hope you will attend and we urge you to invite your civic association’s active members to this meeting.

If you have any questions about this initiative or the meeting on Tuesday, please feel free to contact me as I serve as the Coordinator for the 4th Precinct.

We look forward to your participation and dedication to your community and the City of Richmond!

Sincerely,
Emily

Emily E. Griffey
MPACC Coordinator
City of Richmond
phone- (804) 646-7527
cell- (804) 229-0393
emily.griffey@richmondgov.com

Oregon Hill electric grid to be updated

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There have been previous posts on some of the electric grid issues that have plagued the neighborhood. Unfortunately, some portions of the neighborhood saw more brownouts this summer, including the new Pescados restaurant on China Street. Thankfully there have been some temporary solutions, but after more inquiries by the Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association to the State Corporation Commission, Dominion Power is now actively working on a more permanent update to the grid structure.

From a letter to the neighborhood association:

In response to the inadequate service provided by Dominion Virginia Power (“Company”) due to load growth within the Oregon Hill neighborhood, the Company has designed a project that will split the neighborhood’s load in half. The project will consist of installing set of step-down transformers, a new terminal pole, and a 1/0 underground primary conductor as indicated in the pictures below. The voltage will then be stepped down to 2.4 kV. This will essentially take half of the neighborhood off of the current stepdown.

The Company is currently in the process of obtaining the permits and underground easements required for this project. The Company will provide a more specific timeframe for completion once all the permits and easements have been acquired.

Now that the electricity service is being addressed, maybe we can take another look at the internet service…stay tuned!

City Collection Schedule Changes For Labor Day Holiday -Plus Code On Refuse and Recycling

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From City press release:

Labor Day Schedule for
Refuse Collection

In observance of the Labor Day holiday, city offices will be closed Monday, September 6. Solid Waste Management Division also will be closed. Refuse collection will be delayed by one day and will resume on Tuesday, September 7 through Saturday, September 11.

East Richmond Road Convenience Center and the Hopkins Road Transfer Station also will be closed on Monday.

For more information on city services and schedules, please visit us on line at www.RichmondGov.com.

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Garbage for Oregon Hill is usually on Wednesdays, so I guess garbage pickup will happen on Thursday this coming week due to holiday.

Recycling usually happens for Oregon Hill every other Wednesday. This coming week’s curbside recycling will happen on Thursday, the 9th, according to CVWMA schedule.

And, since we are at it, it seems like as good of time as any to remind residents of City code concerning refuse and recycling; here is a sample:

Sec. 86-44. Times and places of collection; bulk items; brush collection; collection of loose leaves.

(a) Refuse receptacles and recycling bins must be placed out for collection by 6:00 a.m. of the scheduled collection day but not earlier than 4:00 p.m. of the day preceding, except for any special times as deemed necessary by the director of public works. The refuse receptacles and recycling bins must be removed by 7:00 a.m. on the day following collection from city property and right-of-ways to include, but not be limited to, sidewalks, alleys and median strips between sidewalks and roadways. Refuse receptacles and recycling bins shall be placed for collection at a location designated by the director of public works. The public utility account holder of any property to which a refuse receptacle has been assigned shall be responsible for removing the refuse receptacle from city property by 7:00 a.m. on the day following collection. Any account holder who allows a refuse receptacle or recycling bin to remain on city property after 7:00 a.m. on the day following collection shall receive a notice from the Department of Public Works advising of the violation and allowing the account holder an opportunity to remove the refuse receptacle or recycling bin. If the refuse receptacle or recycling bin is not timely removed from city property, the Department of Public Works shall cause the account holder to be assessed a civil penalty in the amount of $50.00 for each and every calendar day that each and every refuse receptacle or recycling bin remains on city property beginning with the date of the most recent past scheduled pick up time from the Department of Public Works. Such civil penalty shall be included on the account holder’s monthly utility statement and shall be subject to collection in the same manner as other utility charges including delinquent charges for utilities.

Earth Aid and Richmond

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First the info:

The City of Richmond has partnered with Earth Aid as part of its Green Richmond Initiative to help promote energy conservation and efficiency in our community, and to enable Richmond residents, our partners, and the community as a whole to track their energy and water usage online!

EarthAid.net/richmond is a free service that enables your household to track all of your actual electric, gas, and water utility usage in one place online, compare your usage to friends and neighbors, and find easy ways to save money. In addition, you earn Earth Aid Rewards Points based on how much energy and water you save at home—points you can redeem for discounts and offers at over 200 local, regional, and national participating businesses, including dozens right here in Richmond!

Second, the ask:

If you are an Oregon Hill resident, I invite you to join the Richmond Oregon Hill group by clicking here. Hopefully, more on this aspect later…

Third, the follow-up:

The local Sierra Club group is starting off its fall season on with meeting program entitled: Richmond Sustainability and Reducing your Utilities Usage! The meeting is on Wednesday, Sept. 8 at 7 pm at the Science Museum of Virginia. As with all of its general meetings, attendance is free and the public is invited to attend.

It will feature at least two speakers:

Alicia Zatcoff is the first Sustainability Manager for the City of Richmond. In this role, she provides strategic direction, development and daily oversight of a complex, city-wide Sustainability and Energy Management Program. Zatcoff has over twelve years of local government experience in areas including municipal law, governmental process, complex real estate transactions, community development, public safety and sustainability.

Tabitha Daniel is a Marketing and Public Relations Specialist for the City of Richmond Department of Public Utilities, and is excited to promote the city’s partnership with Earth Aid, a union she describes as a “win-win for everyone, especially the environment.”

Mayor’s Youth Academy Show At Landmark This Friday

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From City announcement:

Richmond, VA – Teens from the Mayor’s Youth Academy will present the Lifestages Showcase at 7 p.m. on Friday, August 20, 2010, at the Landmark Theatre, 6 North Laurel Street. The showcase will feature Mayor’s Youth Academy participants ages 14 through 15 in a variety of artistic performances to include song, dance, theatre, fashion and more. The public is strongly encouraged to attend this free event.

“It has been an exciting summer and I am pleased with all that the young people involved with the Mayor’s Youth Academy have accomplished over the past few months. I have a real vision for our youth in Richmond and I pledge the city’s continued investment in their future,” said Mayor Dwight C. Jones. “I would like to thank the public, private and non-profit entities who have partnered with us in providing this tremendous service to our city’s youth.”

During recent months, more than 442 city youth participated in the Mayor’s Youth Academy program. Approximately 172 youth between the ages of 14 and 15 participated in the Life Stages program which consisted of leadership training and life skills enrichment opportunities, while 67 youth within the same age range participated in the Youth Urban Conservation Corps. This summer, 203 city youth between the ages of 16 through 19 were employed in public, private and non-profit organizations.

Mayor Jones launched the Mayor’s Youth Academy earlier this year to reduce teen crime, social deviant behavior and create a future emerging workforce. The program is constructed to provide development opportunities designed to promote leadership, career awareness, workforce skill development, community engagement, improve school attendance, heighten understanding of career and educational pathways, and increase the number of high school students graduating with post-secondary aspirations. The Mayor’s Youth Academy program has had a 98 percent retention rate with several youth being offered both full and part-time employment.

Richmond’s Young Trees Need Help Getting Through the Summer

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From the Urban Forestry Commission:

Richmond’s Young Trees Need Help Getting Through the Summer
RICHMOND, Virginia – July 29, 2010 Urban Forestry Commission
With this summer’s heat and drought taking hold, all Richmonders could use some relief, but none so much as our newly planted street trees. Richmond’s newly-formed Urban Forestry Commission is concerned about the condition of thousands of street and park trees planted in recent years to replace trees lost during and after Hurricane Isabel. Those trees are in jeopardy because Richmond has had long periods of no significant rainfall compounded by extreme heat.
Newly planted trees are particularly vulnerable to drought stress because their root systems have not had a chance to become fully established in the landscape. “They come from a comfortable nursery environment with good soil and irrigation. Most of their roots are chopped off in preparation for transplant and the trees must re-grow those roots in the new location.” says Karen Townsend, an Urban Forestry Commission member and City resident. Many of the City’s newly planted trees may die if left alone to contend with a continuing drought.
“Regular watering will make a tremendous difference to these young trees and we are asking City residents to take on this task where ever possible,” says Townsend. “Stretch a hose or carry a couple bucketfuls of water from your house to any nearby trees.” Trees should be watered once or twice a week if there is no rainfall. Water the entire rootball with about 5-10 gallons, pouring slowly enough so as to ensure that the water soaks into the soil rather than running off.
Treegator® slow-release watering bags are zipped around the trunks of some trees. These green bags release 20 gallons of water over a 5 to 9 hour period and should be refilled at least once a week. Use either a hose or watering can to pour water in the opening under the colored tag at the top of the bag. With the bag 1⁄4 full, lift up gently on the top handles to properly position the bottom of the bag over the rootball, and then fill to capacity.
Planting and caring for young trees is an investment that pays great dividends in the future. Richmond’s street trees make the City not only beautiful, but also more livable. As Townsend points out, “Given the option of two park benches on a 90-degree summer day…one in the open sun and one under the canopy of a mature tree…there no question where I’d be.”

Contacts:
Tarisa Moran, Secretary to the Urban Forestry Commission 804-646-6308 tarisa.moran at richmondgov.com
Karen Townsend, Urban Forestry Commission Member Telephone: 804-357-4292 ktownsend at enrichmond.org

Canal Bridge Plans

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A summary of the current status for a new canal bridge from City of Richmond’s Parks & Recreation Department:

The plans for the Northbank Trail Bridge have been approved by the Planning Commission and CAR. Work, after final approval by VDOT to proceed (which is a requirement) is hoped to commence later this summer.

However, before we can begin we will have to solve an issue with ADA accessibility. The bridge itself is accessible. However, most of the trails leading to and from it are not.

We have met with VDOT and DPW and are working to correct this. Once we get final approval on this from VDOT, we will bid the work out and begin construction.

Regarding questions that have posed about the funding, we are not in any danger of losing it. We have been assured by VDOT of this. In fact, we have been encouraged to seek additional funding for the downside portion of the trail to Tredegar Street by VDOT. This yet to be determined, but informally they are supportive of this work.