Open The Canal – From “Access Week” On James River News Hub

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Last week, fairly new community news site James River News Hub hosted “Access Week”, where it looked at various ways to make the James River more accessible and usable by the public. Here is what it said about the Kanawha Canal:

Secondly, open up the canal behind Dominion at Oregon Hill to form a circuit for paddlers from Tredegar to Pump House Park. I’ve done field research by scouting some of the land one might see along the canal. That one might be a tougher sell to CSX and would require a lot more effort for the paddlers to get about two miles up river.

Although we have not seen it yet, Oregon Hill residents have asked that the new canal bridge be high enough to accommodate boats eventually.

The Latest On Richmond Public Schools and ADA

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Dovi delivers on the Richmond Magazine site:

The Richmond Public School administration hasn’t renewed its contract with the construction management firm overseeing the school district’s efforts to bring its buildings into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act by 2013. The district plans to ask the city administration to provide ADA-compliance oversight, and other consolidation of city and school services may be on the way.

P. Andy Hawkins, the district’s chief operating officer, says the district has informed McDonough Boylard and Peck that it will no longer provide oversight on ADA construction compliance, which was started after a 2006 out-of-court settlement agreement between the Richmond School Board and a group of parents and students.

Continue reading →

Open High School – One of the Metro’s Best

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At China and S. Pine, from Richmond Magazine article:

This year, Richmond’s Open High was once again included in U.S. News & World Report’s list of best high schools. A magnet school of less than 200 students, it takes about 20 percent to 25 percent of those who apply. Open High was awarded the magazine’s Bronze Medal, notable because the publication considered more than 27,000 schools before compiling its top schools list.

Principal Candace Veney-Chaplin says Open High uses relationships and relevance to help students perform well. “Sometimes students achieve for a teacher because they know they’re valued as people,” she says. Teachers focus on putting course content in a “real-world context” so that students understand the point of learning it, she says. For example, a statistics teacher uses the numbers from real political polls. She says that a history instructor teaches from the 20th century backward, so students can more easily relate the contemporary world to the past. The philosophy has been the cornerstone of the school since it was formed in 1972 through the impetus of parents who petitioned the Richmond School Board.

Open High also uses experience in the community to teach. A student who wants to be a veterinarian might work for the SPCA, while a student who wants to be a dentist might work as an assistant in a nearby practice. Students are motivated because they’re learning about what they dream of doing, Chaplin says. Virtually all students go on to some form of higher education after they graduate — 80 percent to 85 percent attend four-year universities and most of the rest attend community colleges.

Regarding recent robberies…

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From press release:

STATEMENT BY
The Honorable Charles R. Samuels, Councilman, Richmond City Council, North Central 2nd District

Regarding recent robberies in the Fan District

(Richmond, Virginia U.S.A) – “I am very concerned about the recent robberies which are occurring in the Fan District. The Richmond Police Department will be increasing police foot, bicycle and motor vehicle patrols from Stuart Circle to the upper Fan and are working in tandem with the VCU Police Department in covering Stuart Circle going east to the lower Fan, Carver and Oregon Hill Neighborhoods. I join with Police in asking, inviting and encouraging all citizens to report any activity that is out of the ordinary.”

CONTACT
For more information, please contact Councilman Charles R. Samuels, Councilman, Richmond City Council, North Central 2nd District, at 804.646.6532 or 690.0898, or charles.samuels@richmondgov.com.

WHAT IF THERE WERE A NOBEL PEACE PRIZE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE?

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From announcement (sorry about the caps):

WHAT MIGHT YOU DO TO WIN THAT AWARD?
YOUR IDEAS ABOUT PEACEMAKING COULD WIN $100. THERE ARE OTHER CASH PRIZES, TOO.

YOUNG PEOPLE FROM KINDERGARTEN THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL CAN ENTER THIS YEAR’S RICHMOND PEACE EDUCATION CENTER ESSAY CONTEST. PRIZES ARE AWARDED IN FOUR DIFFERENT AGE GROUPS. THE DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES IS APRIL 18.

FOR INFORMATION, VISIT WWW.RPEC.ORG OR CALL THE PEACE CENTER AT 232-1002

Also, don’t forget-

Please join the Richmond Youth Peace Project this Friday, Feb. 4, 7 p.m., at the main branch of the Richmond Public Library, 101 E. Franklin St. for an Educoncert honoring the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Inspirational music, dance, spoken word poetry by young Richmond area performers. Don’t miss it!

Main branch is Oregon Hill’s City library.

Gun Volleys In Hollywood This Sunday

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From David Gilliam of Hollywood Cemetery:

Scott,
I hope this message finds you well.
I am writing to inform you that a memorial ceremony is scheduled for Sunday, February 6th at 3 p.m. at the J.E.B. Stuart’s grave site. There will be volleys fired as a part of the service.
Thank you for getting this message out to the surrounding neighbors.
Take care,
David

For more on General J.E.B. Stuart, click here.

I will also note that this Friday, University of Richmond President Edward Ayers, will be giving a talk called “Why Should You Care About the Civil War?”

Local Community Mental Health Group To Hold Benefit at the Flying Brick Library

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From press release:

Richmond, VA—On Saturday, February 19, starting at 6 p.m., Mind(ful) Liberation Project will hold a speak out event and benefit dinner about mental health at the Flying Brick Library. There is a suggested donation of $8 for dinner. Raffle tickets are $1 each.

Since it’s inception five months ago, the Mind(ful) Liberation Project (MLP) has garnered interest from all walks of life, including local social workers, current and former psychology students, mental health professionals, and mental health consumers alike. Like all independently-run initiatives, the Project is raising its own funds. To help raise funds to support future events and self-publish a mental health speak out independent magazine, they’ve decided to hold a benefit dinner and speak out at the Flying Brick Library.

Everyone knows at least one person that experiences what society deems a “mental illness.” MLP seeks to break the stigma that comes with viewing and experiencing life differently from the supposed norm. The speak out event will include readings, artwork, and acoustic musical performances to celebrate psychological diversity. The theme of the night is speaking out about experiences existing in an institutionalized society of psychiatry and psychology. “In a world gone mad, no one is alone.”

Dinner will include vegan, vegetarian, and meat dishes labeled with ingredients used. Along with readers, artists, and other performers, Alison Self, Erin Kemmerer, Herschel Stratego, Jean-Baptiste Stowell, and Black Liquid will be gracing us with some acoustic songs. There will be a raffle for mental health and psychology-related books donated from Chop Suey Tuey Books. Raffle tickets will be $1 each.

Mind(ful) Liberation Project is Richmond’s Icarus Project chapter. The Icarus Project is an international network of people living with and/or affected by experiences that are commonly diagnosed and labeled as psychiatric conditions. By joining together as individuals and as a community, collaboration can inspire hope and transformation in an oppressive and damaged world. Participation in the Icarus Project helps members overcome societal alienation and build a community mental health support system. The Icarus vision is brought to reality through an Icarus national staff collective and a grassroots network of autonomous local support groups and Campus Icarus groups across the US and beyond.

The Flying Brick Library is a radical lending library, community space, and venue located in the historic neighborhood of Oregon Hill.

DATE & TIME: Saturday, February 19 · 6 – 9 p.m.
LOCATION: The Flying Brick Library
506 S. Pine Street Richmond, VA 23220