Win $10,000 in Richmond’s First Home Energy Makeover Contest

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Regular readers know that I have brought up energy conservation measures again and again. Now you can enter a contest to win $ towards such measures-

Everyone has a To-Do List for their house. Where does energy efficiency fall on your list? Unfortunately for many of us it’s not at the top. The Richmond Region Energy Alliance wants to help you bump energy efficiency up the list with a chance to win a $10,000 Home Energy Makeover.

With record breaking heat here in Richmond, energy efficiency can save you money. Enter the contest here.

If you:

Pay too much on your energy bills
Struggle to stay comfortable in your home
Avoid certain rooms in the summer or the winter
…then take the 4 minute online energy assessment by August 26 and enter to win Richmond’s first Home Energy Makeover.

One lucky Richmond area homeowner will win a Home Energy Makeover valued at up to $10,000. Home energy improvements range from small to large solutions and often include air and duct sealing, HVAC upgrades, insulation, sealing and/or replacing windows and doors, and lighting. With these upgrades, homeowners can enjoy lower energy bills, increased comfort and higher home values.

Take control of your home energy costs. Enter the contest today.

Early Reviews for “Oregon Hill”

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From The Permanent Press blog:

LibraryThing Early Reviewers have favorably praised Howard Owen’s newest novel Oregon Hill

“This is pure classic noir in the best possible way…The plot moves along quickly with some interesting twists…to make every character three dimensional and to create a feel for the streets of Richmond.”

“Owen creates a story that is both suspenseful and rich in character development and the feeling of small town life…I am left with the desire to read the past works of Howard Owen.”

“Oregon Hill by Howard Owen is a character-driven mystery enhanced by the first-person observations of the very self-aware narrator, Willie Mays Black…It all makes for an entertaining and colorful mix of character, plot and setting.”

Hopefully, there will be more news on this novel soon. I hope there will be an interview soon on WRIR’s Wordy Birds.

Letter of Resignation To Venture Richmond

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Jamie, Stephen,

After giving the situation some thought, I am resigning from my lead volunteer position of the Richmond Folk Festival‘s Green Team in protest of Venture Richmond’s role in pushing the 2nd Street Connector proposal, which evidently comes before City Council on Monday night.

My neighborhood association as well as the local Sierra Club have serious concerns about the 2nd Street Connector proposal, and to my knowledge, those concerns have not been addressed in a proper public manner. I am disappointed by how the 2nd Street Connector proposal is being pushed through the public process, while the rest of the Richmond Riverfront Plan has been delayed.

https://www.oregonhill.net/2012/07/13/city-council-and-2nd-street-connector/

https://www.oregonhill.net/2012/02/04/sierra-club-speaks-against-proposed-2nd-street-connector/

https://www.oregonhill.net/2011/10/08/ohna-sends-letter-in-support-of-city-to-protect-canal/

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/commentary/2012/apr/29/tdcomm03-save-richmonds-canals-again-ar-1875078/

Although I do not want you to take this resignation and protest lightly, I also want you to know that I do plan to continue to support and volunteer with the Richmond Folk Festival without holding the Green Team leadership position. I repeat, I plan to volunteer for Green Team shifts even though I am resigning my leadership position.

As someone who has always supported the Folk Festival (including when it was previously the National Folk Festival), and having won the 2010 Folk Festival Volunteer of the Year award, I believe the Folk Festival has become a vital and important part of Richmond’s cultural landscape. I also want the Richmond Folk Festival to become more ‘green’ and become an environmental role model for other festivals in the area.

I just wish Venture Richmond would take a step back and recognize it’s duty and responsibility as a neighbor and part of the community and how the 2nd Street Connector and amphitheater proposals impact those roles.

Sincerely,
Scott Burger

On May 14, 2012, at 6:05 PM, J Thomas wrote:

The Volunteer page for the Richmond Folk Festival goes live tomorrow!
In order to make sure that the links are all working, please take a moment to click on http://richmondfolkfestival.org/docs/volunteer.html

Underwater Choir Recording Scheduled for August

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As the new group RVA League of Leisure and Public Pool Appreciation takes shape, some events are starting to be scheduled. This one is for August 11 at 1 pm in the bottom of the Randolph Public Pool. Practice, practice, practice.

From the Facebook event page:

This event’s platform is continuing to re-envision our public space while providing a recognizable pastime in performance. The direction of this recording situates the group in a circle formation dialoging to one another. Submerging together the group screamingly sing which will be received through the condenser microphones in the center of the ring.

Advancing towards this event I realized that this pastime of underwater vocal projection is enjoyed through basic achievement in absurdity. The enlarged statement making of the group dilutes any talent, content, or exacted consciousness. This fundamental encourages participation whether cloaked or not and now being said i hope to see you, my friends, at Randolph Public Pool 1pm sharp for a musical collapsing of classical reservations. hahaha ♥

Ground Broken For Byrd House Farmlet Greenhouse

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From the WBCH site:

Ground has been broken for a new greenhouse out by the Byrd House Farmlet. Josh McVeigh, one of our Associate Board members is leading the effort. Josh has been laying the groundwork (no pun intended) for this project for several months. He arranged for Richmond Window Corp. to donate old windows that otherwise would have been destroyed. He also drew up the plans and is coordinating with Home Depot who is generously supporting this effort. The greenhouse will allow us to start seedlings as early as January each year for transplanting to our Farmlet. The Byrd House Farmlet is a 1/4 urban production farm located behind William Byrd Community House. All the produce harvested from the Farmlet goes directly to our on-site Food Pantry for distribution to individuals and families seeking food assistance.

WBCH Receives $50,000 from the Pauley Family Foundation

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From the Times Dispatch article:

The Community Foundation, in collaboration with funding partners The Pauley Family Foundation and Richmond Eye & Ear Foundation Fund, awarded nearly $1.3 million in grants to 33 local organizations.

The Community Foundation supports programs through the endowments of local donors that focus on the health of central Virginia. The community grant-making program addresses needs and opportunities as they emerge and engages philanthropic partners in the advancement of regional solutions. The grants include:
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William Byrd Community House: $50,000 to partially support staff salaries for the early childhood education and after-school programs.

Speaking of WBCH…a new greenhouse is being built…see upcoming post…

The Bohemian Brigade Art Program at Tredegar

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From The American Civil War Center at Historic Tredegar’s Facebook page:

Want an artistic way to spend the day?

Don’t miss The Bohemian Brigade art program Wednesday July 18 (Middle School) and July 25 (Homeschoolers).
Cost is $8 per participant. Materials are included. Read on for details. Contact skane at tredegar.org to register.

During the Civil War the art of photography was still new. The long exposures times meant cameras couldn’t capture movement and photos couldn’t be reproduced in the newspaper.
The job of providing the public with images of battle as well as scenes of camp life fell to brave men known as Special Artists. These Special Artists called themselves the “Bohemian Brigade” and with pencil, crayon, and brush they provided the world with firsthand depictions of the American Iliad.

In this program students will learn of the adventurous lives of such Special Artists as Alfred Waud and Frank Vizetelly. Then they will take up the tools of the Special Artist themselves to improve their skills under the guidance of an experienced art teacher.

Letter on “Richmond’s Monroe Park: The Unfolding Tragedy”

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Open letter from Oregon Hill resident and Monroe Park Advisory Council member Charles Woodson:

Dear Friends,

Two years or so ago when the Monroe Park Advisory Council stopped meeting and an exciting Monroe Park Master Plan was delivered to our City Government, I figured the Park was at its most downtrodden. It was impossible to fathom Monroe Park – our first City Park and one that just oozes with fascinating history and promise of a great rebirth, falling even further into a rotting, even more trash filled and untended and dangerous corpse of a place. On Sunday, July 15, 2012 at around 3PM, that realization slapped me in the face. Three RPD cruisers were parked by the overgrown fountain with blue lights flashing, responding to reports of a “crazy man screaming and brandishing a gun” in the Park (their words). I felt afraid for my life.

Historic Monroe Park is situated equidistant from the James River, the soon to be refurbished $50,000,000.00 Altria Theatre (nee Mosque) project and VCU’s beautifully planned $32,000,000.00 Institute of Contemporary Art but there is no word on poor Monroe Park with its terrific $6,000,000 plan of redemption. No website for either the Park itself or the phantom Monroe Park Foundation exists on the web. Nothing… Nada … just Yelp.com’s disturbing descriptions of drunks and hobos and a few other meaningless entries.

The many feedings continue to pour trash into the Park. Trashcans full after one or two feedings, the patrons sit on the benches beside the fountain and just throw refuse on the ground where it gets blown with the trash can overflow into VCU and the neighborhoods surrounding the historic Park.
The trees need maintenance, some need removal and a hundred or so need planting.
The barren brown grounds, devoid of grass in many areas need work to revive.
The decrepit sidewalks and pathways crumble beneath your feet.
Substance abuse is rampant. I wouldn’t want my kids playing here.

Im ashamed mostly at myself for not being a more consistent voice for this great Park. But im also ashamed of you, Charles Samuels, since this is your district and you were a champion for the Park at one time. And there is shame for the Mayor who I know to be aware of the dire situation. Im also upset with VCU for not putting a boot in our rear ends for not making ANY progress – this is weak leadership on their end as well. This is, after all, their face for the newbies that come crashing into Gladding, Johnson and Rhodes Halls, etc, each August and have to live with this mess.

It’s time to get rid of the running mouths and roll up our sleeves and crack open the city wallet to address these issues.

Sincerely,

Charles Todd Woodson.

His letter included the following photos:

All Music Players are Invited to Acoustic Jam This Tuesday

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From email announcement:

All Music Players are invited to a 3rd Tuesday Acoustic Jam
at the Byrd House Market, 5:00 – 7 p.m.
That’s this Tuesday, July 18th.

Please meet at the Epic Gardens tent. We’ll play in the middle of the market where vendors and shoppers can hear us. (instead of over under the tree where we won’t be heard. After all, we’re part of the ambiance. Of course if it’s hot as hades and the only shade is under the mulberry tree, we can reconsider).

The genre is determined by the players, so don’t be shy about choosing a song to sing, a rock to roll or a groove to play. It’s all wide open! Folk, Oldtime, Country, Bluegrass, Blues, Gospel, Jazz, Rock, Celtic, Children’s Songs, anything you can play on an acoustic instrument!

Reminder: farmers’ markets are smoke free outdoor places. If you like to smoke, kindly leave the area (across the alley would probably work) … and hurry back so we can get back to pickin’!

Come early and bring your totebags to shop at the Byrd House Market.

Come anytime to play, even (especially!) after work.

Where it’s happening: Oregon Hill, behind William Byrd Community House on the corner of South Lindenand Idlewood. It’s on the left when you hop off the Downtown Expressway at the Belvidere Exit. You can’t miss it. For more directions and a market update, visit http://byrdhousemarket.blogspot.com or call me.

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Ana Edwards, Manager
Byrd House Market & Library Programs
Grace Arents Library & Education Center
William Byrd Community House
www.wbch.org / 804.643.2717 ext.306