Robbery/Assault Incident This Past Friday

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From the Richmond Police Department:

4th Precinct
ROBBERY
1/7/11 10:00 p.m.
200 block of South Laurel Street
A male reported he was robbed by three unknown males.

From unofficial reports from neighbors:

Yesterday I drove , a homeless man to the VA hospital. He had been severely beaten with purple bruises on the whole side of his face. He said it was a group of young kids on bicycles and the engaged him in conversation and one of them blind sided him and he fell to the ground. He was kicked a few times and then the rode off toward Broad Street. He did not recognize them from the neighborhood. I am concerned about this sort of thing.

Friday night about 10 pm, Richmond Police were @ St. Andrews, 800 block of Idlewood, between Cherry and Laurel, where 5-6 street men and women were camped out in the small alcove on Idlewood. One (man) was lying outside on the sidewalk covered in snow – an ambulance took him away on a stretcher. The rest were evicted and moved on with large amounts of baggage, sleeping bags – etc. … Some of these folks (men and women) are our own local squatters and panhandlers. Yesterday, what looked like the same man and others were discovered in the alcove and evicted again – the man could hardly stand up – let alone walk, he tried hanging on to the iron fence, but he soon fell in the street – the Fire Department showed up and once again he was taken away by ambulance on the stretcher.

Bicycle Found Near Canal

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From Craigslist:

I was sledding over by 2nd Street before Christmas. Went into some brush along old canal bed and there it was. Not quite as exciting as the stolen car that I saw there once, but the bicycle is in relatively good shape.

Its red, Specialized frame, and has a sticker on its seat. I think Hard Rock is a model of Specialized.
It’s a Schwinn rack on the rear.

Sound familiar to anyone?

Posted on oregon hill email list and reported to police already.

Next Saturday: “Party In The Park” – Monroe Park That Is

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From Monroe Campaign press release:

Richmond, VA—On Saturday, January 15, starting at 12 p.m. in Monroe Park, the All the Saints Theater Company will host Party in the Park in support of the Monroe Park Campaign. It will be open to all ages and completely free of charge. Families are encouraged to attend.

Party in the Park is an afternoon-long festival. The Campaign has received its 1000th petition signature in its quest to keep the park open during renovations. All the Saints plans on celebrating by throwing a party the likes of which the old park hasn’t seen in years. Like all good parties, there will be plenty of food and music but most importantly, there will be a very tangible sense of solidarity. Groups and businesses from all across Richmond have come together to support the Campaign as well as to celebrate spending a nice afternoon in the park. All the Saints will set the scene by parading around with their iconic larger-than-life puppets, boats and dragons, while a diverse mash-up of local artists perform a series of powerful unplugged sets. A face painting station and a market offering tons of free clothing, toys and books will also be available. While old man winter may not be so accommodating, attendees can expect a delicious spread of warm food and drinks to keep them going during the course of the day.

The Monroe Park Campaign is a coalition of churches, feeding groups, radical organizations, as well as concerned citizens that have come together upon hearing about the Monroe Park Advisory Council’s plans to shut down Monroe Park during renovations. For a period of 9-18 months, the council plans on fencing off all 8 acres of the park making it inaccessible for students, homeless people currently living and socializing there, weekly feeding programs as well as anyone else who may use the park. The Campaign is working to keep at least 25-50% of the park open during the entire duration of construction and to prevent the hiring of any private security task force to police the park after renovations, especially since the master plan calls for reducing the “apparently homeless population” as one of its goals. Ultimately, the Campaign hopes to influence the type of renovations that are being planned for the park, in the hopes of making it a friendlier place for everyone.

The All the Saints Theater Company is an experimental art and theater group, responsible for puppet parades, spaghetti dinners, circuses and endless subversive street theater in Richmond.

DATE & TIME: Saturday, January 15 • 12 – 4 p.m. − Suggest coverage between 1:00 and 3 p.m.

LOCATION: Monroe Park
620 W. Main Street
Richmond, VA 23220

Bands/Artists that will perform at the event include:
No BS Brass, Dave Watkins, Pedals On Our Pirate Ships, Diamond Center, Gull, Julie Karr, Lobo Marino, Better Not Makeouts, Alison Self, Canary O’ Canary, Cmilk and Reeverb Collective, Just Plain Sounds Hip Hop Collective and more

Companies that have donated food/supplies to the event include:
Lamplighter’s Roasting Company, Crossroad’s Coffee and Ice Cream and Café Gutenberg

Also got an update:

just wanted to update you on the band list, if you do plan on posting all the bands that will be performing at PITP. Canary O’ Canary will not be performing but Gandhi’s Gunmen will be. If you could make those changes, it would be very much appreciated.

Oh, we also put together a little teaser video for PITP if you’d like to include it or use it in any way: http://vimeo.com/18520547

Richmond City Council to begin 2011 Richmond Decennial Voter District Redistricting

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With all of the, um, renewed interest in City Council, I thought I would post this reminder from the City:

Numerous opportunities for Richmond Citizens to learn more, provide input and participate: New Plan to be adopted by December 31, 2011

(Richmond, Virginia U.S.A) — In 2011, Richmond City Council will redraw (redistrict) the existing nine Richmond Voter District boundaries that we use to elect our local Richmond Elected Government Officials in response to results of the 2010 U.S. Census. Adjustments to voting precincts and locations may also be made at this time. New Richmond Voter Districts are to be adopted by December 31, 2011.

The 2011 Richmond Decennial Voter District Redistricting will be a year-long open public process that will include a comprehensive array of public information communications and numerous opportunities for Richmond Citizens to learn more, provide input and participate, which will include many Public Information Meetings, Public Council Meetings, and Public Hearings. All Richmond citizens are invited and encouraged to learn more about the process and to participate during each step of the way. Some of the many ways to engage in this process include:

1. Contacting the Richmond City Council Councilmember that represents you via phone, email, meeting or letter (contact information below)

2. Sending a letter to Richmond City Council
2011 Richmond Decennial Voter District Redistricting
Richmond City Hall; 900 E. Broad St., Suite 305
Richmond, Virginia 23219

3. Attending Public Information Meetings, Council Public Meetings and Public Hearings to learn more, ask questions and make suggestions (dates, times and locations listed below)

4. Visiting the 2011 Richmond Decennial Voter District Redistricting website to learn more (to be established soon)

5. Asking questions, learning more, and sending suggestions or information by email to steven.skinner@richmondgov.com

6. Sending suggestions or asking questions by sending a fax to 804.646.5468

7. Learning more, asking questions and providing suggestions by calling 804.646.6052

8. Signing up for information and Public Information Meetings, Public Council Meeting and Public Hearings email updates/alerts, at: steven.skinner@richmondgov.com

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“a political faceoff between Council President Kathy Graziano and City Councilman Marty Jewell”

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An excerpt from Richmond Magazine article (click here for full article):

Richmond City Council’s first meeting of the new year typically is one filled with little more than a vote to select its president and vice president for the next two years. Instead, tonight’s meeting was a political faceoff between Council President Kathy Graziano and City Councilman Marty Jewell, who promised on Jan. 2 to ask for an investigation into e-mails that outlined alleged inappropriate behavior by Graziano’s Council liaison and close political advisor, David Hathcock, at the meeting. He accused Graziano of mishandling the situation.

Jewell followed through on his promise, making a motion to defer voting on a new president until an investigation could be conducted by the city’s office of the inspector general, referring to an alleged incident in which Councilman Bruce Tyler’s liaison, Jennifer Walle, was allegedly inappropriately touched on April 21 by Hathcock. The alleged incident was detailed and acknowledged in an e-mail exchange between Walle and Hathcock on May 6.

“When I asked Graziano, she said that issue was done with — over,” Jewell said, referencing conversations that he had with her in December.

Despite Jewell’s motion calling for an investigation, which failed, and despite his nomination of Tyler for the presidency, Graziano carried the vote five to three (Trammell, Tyler and Jewell voted against her, and Councilman Doug Conner was absent).

But Jewell, Trammell and Tyler each said that the matter of Hathcock’s alleged behavior was far from over. They all said that the unofficial inquiry that was conducted, overseen by Graziano herself, was flawed.