Pescados fundraiser for Connor’s Heroes

Posted on by
Reply

from the event’s FaceBook page:

Lunch from 11:30 – 2:00
Dinner from 5:00 – closing

Pescados China Street will be donating fifteen per cent (15%) of the day’s take on June 27th to “Team Pain Cave” (John Hauserman, Danny Royce and Travis Deckert) to help fundraising efforts for Connor’s Heroes Foundation (www.connorsheroes.com). Come out for lunch or dinner (or both!!) and support the cause. The more that come out to eat and drink throughout the day, the more we can raise!

Connor’s Heroes Foundation is a group of volunteers, parents of children with cancer, and other caring individuals and companies who want to conquer childhood cancer through direct assistance, awareness, and research. They strive to help others be heroes in the lives of children with cancer and their families. Currently, they provide assistance to children and their families who are being treated for cancer in Richmond, Virginia at the Children’s Medical Center of VCU Health System, including the ASK Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Clinic and the VCU Massey Cancer Center Bone Marrow Transplant Unit.

With your support on June 27th, you can join us in the “pain cave” as we train for Ironman Louisville and log mega-miles of swimming, biking and running for this great cause. Your support for this wonderful organization will make training all the more meaningful for us and most importantly, will make a difference in the lives of many families dealing with childhood cancer.

We still have a long way to go with fundraising efforts…please forward this to all your friends and family! We look forward to seeing you on June 27th!

Belle Island Shooting

Posted on by
Reply

From Richmond Times DIspatch:

Police were notified of the shooting at 9:28 p.m. and found that a man in his 40s had been shot once in the lower torso and once in the leg, said police Capt. Paul Kiniry. The man was taken to VCU Medical Center for injuries that were not believed to be life-threatening.
The victim told police he did not know what had happened, Kiniry said. A witness reported seeing three possible suspects crossing a footbridge over the James River from Belle Isle to Tredegar Street.
The witness described the witnesses as three white males in swimsuits who were carrying towels. Two of the males were said to be from 5 feet 7 inches to 5-9, and the other was described as about 6 feet tall.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (804) 780-1000.

Laurel Street Construction

Posted on by
2

Tuesday @ Byrd House Market

Posted on by
1

From announcement:

No Chocolate and no Greenhouse Bus this week, but we have the 3rd Tuesday Acoustic Jam with Sunny Gardener and maybe Thea or Nadine…and besides the fruit and vegetable and garden plant offerings are getting lusher every week. TOMATOES are beginning to crop up, the tipping point approaches. The KIDS last day of school is TODAY! What will they do? Come to the market with you! Make dinner once a week with good stuff from Byrd House Market, eh?

Last Saturday’s Cooking as a 2nd Language class was fantastic! Raidah conducted her students like an orchestra leader and we were seated and eating in record time. Oh, it smelled so good in the WBCH lobby – you had to be there. Recipes and photos will be posted this week. Next class is July 16 (3rd Saturday) – Traditional Holiday Jewish Dishes with Rabbi Andrew Goodman.

Here’s a fun site: Useful Weeds

See you at the market!

byrdhousemarket.blogspot.com

Top Ten Issues For The Neighborhood

Posted on by
6

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.

1. Signed, binding agreement that VCU will not encroach into Oregon Hill any further. Note: OHNA has voted for this.

2. Extend urban business district zoning on W.Cary to Belvidere. Note: OHNA has voted for this. Community Development has worked on this.

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.

5. Traffic circle/roundabout on Idlewood off of 195 exit that allows commuters coming off 195 to go west in addition to east on Idlewood, also adding an egress from Oregon Hill to the west on Idlewood (making the street two way again). Note: OHNA has voted for this. VCU said they would support, with financial help. Randolph and other groups attended planning meetings.

6. Noise ordinance needed.

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.

Pescados China Street with SCAN on Monday

Posted on by
Reply

From the event’s FaceBook page:

Stop by Pescados China Street after 5pm on June 20, 2011 and help us celebrate SCAN’s work to protect area children! 15% of all dinner and drink purchases will be donated to SCAN to help continue our vital child abuse prevention and treatment services in Richmond. Pescados China Street is located at 626 China Street, Richmond, VA.

Billboard Battle Continues

Posted on by
Reply

RichmondBizSense.com has an article on the decade-long struggle with Lamar Advertising, the national billboard corporation. Excerpt:

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?

Lost Camera at Squirrels Game

Posted on by
1

Yeah, I am not sure what exactly this has to with neighborhood either, but I did get a request to post this:

LOST: NIKON D40 Camera with 35mm lens attached. Camera has an orange and black woven “hippie” style neck strap. Camera was taken from section 103 of the Squirrels game at the Diamond on the night of 6/15, at the very end of the game. Please contact info at Craigslist link: http://richmond.craigslist.org/laf/2443344165.html
THANKS!!!