Senator Mark Warner is scheduled to appear at the VCU Student Commons (907 Floyd Avenue) on Wednesday, September 3, from 10:45 am to 12:30 pm. The topic of discussion will be finding solutions to student debt.
From VCU press release:
RICHMOND, Va. (Aug. 13, 2014) – Virginia Commonwealth University’s incoming freshman class will begin to arrive on campus this weekend and move into student residence halls as the university launches its annual Welcome Week schedule of activities.
Reuban Rodriguez, Ed.D., associate vice provost and dean of student affairs at VCU, will be available for media interviews about move-in days and the opening of the academic year from 10 a.m. until 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 16, in front of Brandt Hall, at the corner of Laurel and Franklin streets.
VCU will enroll an estimated 31,000 students this fall. This year’s freshman class is expected to be approximately 3,600 students.
About 88 percent of VCU’s freshman class is from Virginia, including 23 percent from Northern Virginia, 20 percent from the Richmond Metro area, 20 percent from north central Virginia and 20 percent from the Tidewater area.
Minority students represent 47 percent of the freshman class, with another 2 percent of the class being international students.
VCU will enroll about 2,200 transfer students, which includes about 1,400 students from the Virginia Community College System.
Freshmen will move in on Saturday and Sunday, beginning at 8:30 a.m. each day. Traffic congestion is expected in the areas near VCU’s student residence halls on both Saturday and Sunday and nearby street parking will be blocked.
In order to ensure safety and order as students move into residence halls, the following streets will have travel restrictions or will be closed:
· Franklin Street: Traffic will be reduced to one travel lane between Harrison and Belvidere streets
· Main Street: Traffic will be reduced to one travel lane between Belvidere and Laurel streets
· Laurel Street: The street will be closed to through traffic between W. Franklin and W. Grace streets
· Pine Street: The street will be closed to through traffic between W. Cary and W. Main streetsTraffic restrictions and closures will be in effect on Friday, Aug. 15 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 16 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday, Aug. 17 from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.
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From VCU press release:
RICHMOND, Virginia (Aug.13, 2014) – The Virginia Commonwealth University Police Department is unveiling a new tool to help control noise levels from parties and other events hosted by students living near VCU’s Monroe Park Campus.
This afternoon, VCU Police Chief John Venuti will give local media the first look at the department’s new noise suppression unit. Throughout the academic year, the unit will be used in the neighborhoods surrounding VCU as both a noise deterrent and noise monitor.
The new unit is the department’s way of adding another step in the routine process of handling noise complaints. During the most recent academic year, VCU Police visited 186 residences after receiving complaints about loud parties. VCU Police has a dedicated external relations officer who verifies complaints, educates students on their responsibilities as renters, notifies landlords of ongoing issues and, in some cases, assists landlords with evictions.
“The quality of life for our neighbors has been a high priority for VCU administrators,” Venuti said. “The noise suppression unit shows the community that we are taking every possible step to ensure our students are following laws and the university’s code of conduct.”
An unveiling is scheduled for 2 p.m. today, Aug. 13, at the Compass Plaza on VCU’s Monroe Park Campus. The plaza is located between Shafer Court Dining Center (801 Cathedral Place) and James Branch Cabell Library (901 Park Ave).
Additional details about this initiative will not be released until the media event this afternoon. Reporters interested in attending should email byersc@vcu.edu.
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From VCU officials:
To: Neighborhood Association Presidents, VCU Liaisons
Greetings,
Please find attached a flier to VCU’s neighbors from the VCU’s Student Commons and Activities. I appreciate your sharing this information with residents.
As you will see, the Monday event at the Cary Street Field (Student Playfair) is from 8-10:30. I inquired about specifics and was told that the event is a huge icebreaker for incoming freshmen to meet other students. It will likely be over closer to 9:30. There will be someone on a microphone and music will be played intermittently. I have been told that any sound associated with all three events will be directed away from residential areas.
If you have any questions leading up to the events, there is an email address and contact number on the flier. VCU Police will be on hand. As a reminder, their non-emergency number is 828-1196.
Finally, we look forward to the community joining VCU on Saturday, August 23 for First Ram Saturday: Food Truck A Palooza!
Thank you.
From email:
lots of furniture is getting tossed into our alleys, so………….
THIS SAT. 8AM-NOON: OREGON HILL CLEAN-UP (part II)All volunteers will meet at 8am Saturday Aug. 2nd at Pleasants Park, the little park at the corner of S. Laurel St & Albemarle St. There will be enough free on-street parking spots for those who drive there. The clean-up is listed as lasting until 11am or 12 noon. But for whoever wants to keep working even later than that, there will be more clean-up tasks available.
We’ll be going thru the alleys of Oregon Hill with a City dump truck tossing in abandoned furniture & the like. Also, down the sidewalks to toss in recently pruned tree limbs. Sweeping off the bridges over 195. Brick sidewalk upkeep: pulling out the weeds.
If you can help out Saturday, please send me a msg. via Facebook letting me know.
Volunteers can put in a partial shift. Even if you cannot stay the whole time, please come & work with us for as long as you can – even 30 minutes!! If you simply cannot be there at 8am, we still need you. Late arrivals can call me at 804-335-5808 to find our location.
Volunteers should wear work clothes that can get dirty. Hats are useful. I’ll bring bottled water, trash bags, & litter grabbers.
Saturday’s forecast: Humid w/ a high of 87 with possible showers.
Also on on Aug 1 & 2, there will be a Goodwill truck at Morris & Floyd in The Fan collecting household donations-clothes, electronics, computers & whatever.
Affiliated with VCU’s Clean & Green Move.
NEXT CLEAN-UP; SAT. AUG 23rd
Yours,
Jimmy Blackford
Yesterday afternoon the Virginia Nuclear Energy Consortium Authority Board met at VCU’s Engineering School, just across the street from Oregon Hill.
Click here for a link to video from that meeting.
The next neighborhood “Project Clean Move’ cleanup is scheduled for Saturday, June 28. In order for Oregon Hill to be included as one of the neighborhoods, it needs to recruit at least four community volunteers, at least one of whom would be the project manager. The project manager provides direction on the starting point, route and directs other volunteers. Resident volunteers know where the “stuff” is.
The City’s Department of Public Works needs to know by Thursday, June 26 at 9 AM whether its truck will be there or not. The truck is scheduled from 8-12 but Oregon Hill’s truck’s arrival time depends on whether Randolph is participating.
Clean City Commission and VCU are the principle organizers for ‘Project Clean Move’ and they would like it to become an annual occurrence–one that the communities will find beneficial and worthy of owning as a community effort. If there are not volunteers for this Saturday, Oregon Hill can hopefully join other neighborhoods surrounding VCU on August 2 for what may be the biggest one yet with respect to the amount of trash in the alleys.
If you can volunteer, please get in touch before Wednesday evening. You can also sign up at the Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association meeting this Tuesday evening at 7 pm at the William Byrd Community House.
Wednesday night, the Sierra Club Falls James group did a walking tour of green projects on the Monroe Park campus of Virginia Commonwealth University. It was lead by longtime SCFOJ member and VCU Sustainability Program Coordinator Steven Heintz.
Thermal Solar on top of the Shafer Court Dining Hall:
Vegetated Roof on top of Pollak Building:
Solar PV Dual Axis Tracker behind Institute for Engineering and Medicine:
It was great to see some of the steps that VCU has taken over the years to improve their environmental rankings. Its good to see progress with promises of more to come. It is notable that VCU plans to build its new Institute For Contemporary Art as ‘LEED Platinum’.
VCU’s new Director of Sustainability, Erin Stanforth, also took part in the tour. She is new to Richmond and she is excited to be here. She is particularly interested in doing more with recycling and composting.
There are two events on Wednesday evening that may be of interest.
From City Council press release:
The Honorable Parker C. Agelasto, Councilman, Richmond City Council, Richmond Central 5th Voter District will hold a district-wide meeting in the Richmond Central 5th Voter District. This is part of regular meetings Councilman Agelasto holds, which include information on his Richmond Central 5th Voter District goals and accomplishments; a thematic agenda of current interest; and, special guests. This meeting is free and open to the public and all Richmond Central 5th Voter District residents are invited and encouraged to attend. The planned agenda/discussion topics for the upcoming meeting include:
· “Richmond Grows Gardens Program” Presentation
Ms. Victoria Campbell, Community Garden Coordinator
Richmond Department of Parks Recreation and Community Facilities· Richmond Government Procurement Presentation
Ms. Tillie Jackson, Deputy Director
Richmond Department of Procurement Services· “Richmond Alley Blitz Program” Presentation
Mr. Bobby Vincent, Deputy Director of Operations
Richmond Department of Public Works· New Richmond Public Utilities Bill Design and Water
Drainage/Standing Water Presentation
Mr. Robert Steidel, Director
Richmond Department of Public Utilities· Updates from The Honorable Parker C. Agelasto, Councilman,
Richmond City Council Richmond Central 5th Voter DistrictWHEN Wednesday, June 11, 2014
6:30-8:00 p.m.WHERE Maymont Park – Maymont Stone Barn
1700 Hampton Street; Richmond, VirginiaWHO The Honorable Parker C. Agelasto, Councilman
Richmond City Council, Richmond Central 5th Voter DistrictCONTACT For more information, please contact The Honorable Parker C. Agelasto, Councilman, Richmond City Council, Richmond Central 5th Voter District, at 804.646.6050 (tel), or parker.agelasto@richmondgov.com (email)
Councilman Agelasto’s Upcoming Richmond Central 5th Voter District Meetings ___
Wednesday, August 13, 2014; 6:30-8:00 p.m.
Randolph Community Center; 1425 Grayland Avenue; Richmond, VAWednesday, October 8, 2014; 6:30-8:00 p.m.
Richmond Public Schools – Swansboro Elementary School
3160 Midlothian Turnpike; Richmond, VirginiaWednesday, December 10, 2014; 6:30-8:00 p.m.
Virginia War Memorial; 621 South Belvidere Street; Richmond, Virginia
And then from the Sierra Club Falls of the James:
Walking Tour of VCU’s Green Initiatives (click here for link)
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
7:00 PM
Shafer Court Dining Hall (VCU)
810 Cathedral Place, Richmond, VA
Steve Heinitz, with VCU’s Office of Sustainability, will lead us on a tour of several of VCU’s greening initiatives on campus: a green roof, a roof-mounted wind turbine, solar collectors integrated into the design of a parking deck, and more! Wear comfortable shoes and bring your water bottle. Parking on street or the Laurel St. parking deck at the corner of Laurel and W. Grace Streets.
This past Saturday, Project Clean Move went into action, cleaning up several piles of student trash. Again, what is significant about this VCU-lead effort is that it proactively makes a point of contacting landlords and tenants and tries to get them involved in solutions.
This past Saturday, several volunteers helped sort through tenant leftovers and identify furniture and other objects for pickup by charities, as well as work with City trash crew to pick up garbage. The process could have benefited from more volunteers and there were still some problem areas leftover from the weekend. They were noted for enforcement. In some cases, furniture marked for charities was taken and new trashed furniture was left.
But overall Project Clean Move had a good start. It will need to improve with the next iteration next month. The hope is that this will lead to a change in culture.