Oregon Hill electric grid to be updated

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There have been previous posts on some of the electric grid issues that have plagued the neighborhood. Unfortunately, some portions of the neighborhood saw more brownouts this summer, including the new Pescados restaurant on China Street. Thankfully there have been some temporary solutions, but after more inquiries by the Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association to the State Corporation Commission, Dominion Power is now actively working on a more permanent update to the grid structure.

From a letter to the neighborhood association:

In response to the inadequate service provided by Dominion Virginia Power (“Company”) due to load growth within the Oregon Hill neighborhood, the Company has designed a project that will split the neighborhood’s load in half. The project will consist of installing set of step-down transformers, a new terminal pole, and a 1/0 underground primary conductor as indicated in the pictures below. The voltage will then be stepped down to 2.4 kV. This will essentially take half of the neighborhood off of the current stepdown.

The Company is currently in the process of obtaining the permits and underground easements required for this project. The Company will provide a more specific timeframe for completion once all the permits and easements have been acquired.

Now that the electricity service is being addressed, maybe we can take another look at the internet service…stay tuned!

Signs for 5th District Community Day (?) Tomorrow

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A sign appeared near Open High, with a duplicate at Holly Street playground:

It says there is a ‘5th District Community Day’ tomorrow, but I do not recall seeing any prior notice or mention of this event. I looked around on other community blogs and did not see mention of this event either (though I did see this interesting post on Byrd Park’s. I am guessing the signs are primarily directed towards school students and parents, given their locations. I am not sure if this is related to the Councilperson’s office or the School Board, though I also saw a campaign sign for our current School Board representative this morning:

Clean Ups Scheduled

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With the Fall season coming soon, neighborhood groups are thankfully recognizing the need to clean up the neighborhood.

SynerGeo will be hosting a work day on Saturday, Sept. 11th at 10am. They will be having about 18 adults. They will split into two teams and one will pick up trash in Oregon Hill, and the other in Holly Street playground. Please get in touch with Bonnie Hofmeyer for more information, at bonniehofmeyer at synergeo.org or 804 648 2287.

The Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association‘s Holly Street playground committee has a volunteer workday scheduled for the Holly Street Playground on Saturday, September 18th from 10am to 1pm. They are looking for volunteers to help clear brush, pick up trash and just make the playground look better.

    If you are available to help please email Sara Sitkiewicz at sara.sitkiewicz at gmail.com your name and phone number!

Along with the need of volunteers they need equipment. If you have shovels, rakes, brooms, garden shears, or anything you feel could be helpful to their efforts and that you wouldn’t mind loaning for the day it would be greatly appreciated. All equipment will be marked and returned to the owner.

VCU Will Test Sirens This Wednesday

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VCU communique:

A full test of the VCU emergency communications system will be conducted Wednesday, Sept. 8 at noon. Full tests of the VCU emergency communications system are conducted twice a year, near the beginning of each semester. These are different from the monthly checks of the siren system that are conducted at noon on the first Wednesday of each month.

The full test of the system will include 10 sirens on both the Monroe Park and MCV campuses along with text messages, digital signs, Alertus devices in classrooms and residence halls, Web site information and social media that are part of a multi-channel system for communicating emergency information to VCU students, employees, parents and neighbors.

The sirens will sound a fast, up-and-down wail for three minutes, and after a one-minute pause, sound a steady wail for one minute to signal “all clear” to end the test.

In a real emergency, sirens will be used when it is imperative to get the attention of everyone outside of VCU buildings because an immediate, life-threatening emergency has occurred or is imminent. People outside but on campus should go to the nearest university building and seek additional information about what is happening. People off-campus should not come to campus but should seek additional information.

Text messaging is a primary communications and information channel because it is fast and reliable. Text messages will be used for notifications about emergencies and closings and delays for inclement weather. There is no cost for enrolling, and you can sign up for text messaging now at www.vcu.edu/notify. Emergency information also is available on the VCU Alert Web site at www.vcu.edu/alert.

We hope you will find that our emergency communications are beneficial to you, and we will continue to work together to provide as safe an environment as possible. As always, we will communicate with our community neighbors when there is any enhancement or change about which you would want to know. And please, do not hesitate to forward this email to your neighbors, to help spread the word about the siren test.

Sincerely,

John M. Bennett
Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration
Virginia Commonwealth University

The Flying Brick Library Intro

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The Flying Brick put up a nice introduction on Craigslist for those who have not heard of it:

For those of you who don’t know, The Flying Brick Library is a radical lending library in Oregon Hill. We run out of the front room of a house at 506 S Pine Street, and have been around for almost 10 years. We just opened back up after almost 2 years this past November and have been seeing a steady amount of interest. We’d like to see more of you coming! If you are interested in radical and progressive politics, or just want to chat about things, please come see us! Our open hours are Mondays 9-4 and Thursdays 4-9, but with more interest in volunteering we’d really like to expand. We also hold potlucks, film showings, discussions, workshops, and provide a space for organizations to hold meetings. Come and check out a book and say hi!

– The Flying Brick Library

find us on Facebook and Myspace!

Speaking of library stuff, I understand Patty Parks (aka Laptop Librarian) has left the William Byrd Community House to take a position at the Main Library.