Thankfully, the Richmond Voice newspaper is still on the case. You can click here for the pdf of their recent issue, which includes a story about the recent destruction of the historic Kanawha canal wall.
Supposedly, the Police Dept and the Dept of Public Works are investigating the matter, but Oregon Hill residents remain concerned that it will not be fully prosecuted. Perhaps more outside pressure will come to bear.
From Richmond Police Department:
4th Precinct
MOPED THEFT
11/3/12 3:00 p.m. – 4:10 p.m.
100 block of South Laurel Street
An unknown person(s) stole a secured moped from the above location.
Following the destruction of the historic canal wall, the Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association (OHNA) put forth the following press release. Keep in mind for legal purposes, only the original issuers of press releases are responsible for verifying the accuracy of their content. Oregonhill.net, and its principals, officers and employees disclaim any liability whatsoever for inaccuracies found in the content of the press releases posted on or through the oregonhill.net website.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Venture Richmond damages a portion of the historic James River and Kanawha Canal.
RICHMOND, VA: On Tuesday, Venture Richmond proceeded to damage a portion of the historic James River and Kanawha canal bank and to destroy a century-old brick structural component of the canal.
The Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association (OHNA) has called for the preservation of the 200 year old canal, built largely with slave labor when George Washington was the President of the canal society. The Oregon Hill neighborhood has many connections to the canal, including 601 Spring St, the former home of Samuel P. Parsons, the Canal Superintendent in 1840.
Jennifer Hancock, OHNA President, said, “We are seeing Richmond history disappear before our eyes.”
OHNA finds it disturbing that it is a public/private partnership that is responsible for the destruction. According to the Times Dispatch, Venture Richmond gets a large amount of public funding: $1.68 million from a special city tax on downtown property owners, in addition to $700,000 in public money for the Clean and Safe program.
Venture Richmond’s proposed amphitheater has ample sight lines without damaging the canal.
The Oregon Hill neighborhood has long sought the restoration of the canal to allow boats to travel west to Maymont. But the canal would not hold adequate water to float a boat to Maymont if the banks of the canal are lowered. According to archaeologist Lyle Browning, if the height of the canal bank is lowered below 82 feet above sea level, its current level, the canal will not hold enough water to allow boats to make the trip to Maymont in the future. “Lowering the height of the canal towpath without adequate archaeological investigation of the towpath will irreparably damage a nationally important resource.”
After the media started to pick the story up, Venture Richmond declared they had nothing to do with the tearing down of the canal wall. The Times Dispatch reported that Venture Richmond Executive Director Jack Berry called (the press release)”bogus” and “libelous.”
In response, OHNA released this correction this morning:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OHNA calls for investigation into the destruction of canal property
Richmond, VA: The Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association (OHNA) acknowledges to Venture Richmond that OHNA made an incorrect assumption that Venture Richmond would be aware of bulldozers and construction crews operating on their own property, and therefore made the erroneous statement that Venture Richmond was responsible for the recent damage to the historic wall and canal.
According to an article that appeared in the October 20, 2012 edition of the Richmond Times Dispatch, “William Roberts, a project manager for J.A. Liesfeld, a Rockville-based contractor, acknowledged the firm was hired by NewMarket Corp. to tear down the wall but would not discuss the project.”
The Richmond Times Dispatch, in October 2011, reported that NewMarket destroyed another large section of the pre-Civil War Tredegar wall, only obtaining the required permit after the fact. http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/2011/oct/07/tdmet01-richmond-officials-say-newmarket-work-was–ar-1365435/
Last Tuesday, 150 feet of brick wall constructed before the Civil War was demolished by a construction crew operating on Venture Richmond property.
“We request an investigation of whatever entity was responsible for the destruction of this historic property,” said Jennifer Hancock, OHNA President. “Whoever demolished this wall should be required to rebuild the wall.”
The James River and Kanawha Canal was built over 200 years ago largely with slave labor when George Washington was president of the canal society. The Oregon Hill neighborhood has many connections with the rich history of the canal.
Some facts worth noting: NewMarket is listed as a major contributor to Venture Richmond. Two NewMarket executives sit on the Venture Richmond Board, including NewMarket’s CEO Gottwald. NewMarket a few weeks ago gave Venture Richmond the property for the amphitheater where much of the damage took place.
At the same time, according to sources, NewMarket is now contradicting the Times Dispatch to say that NewMarket had absolutely no role in the demolition of the wall located on the City’s property.
Another fact to keep in mind- the City Council 5th District’s boundary was slightly altered earlier this year to include the 2nd Street area.
The City’s new Riverfront Plan should be coming up at City Council very soon. It’s worth remembering that citizens spoke at planning meetings in favor of renovating the Kanawha Canal as a priority of this Riverfront Plan.
Oregon Hill residents have contacted the City’s Commonwealth Attorney to see how the criminal investigation is going. Stay tuned…
From RPD:
4th Precinct
THEFT FROM MOTOR VEHICLE
10/11/12 – 10/13/12 11:00 p.m. – 9:15 a.m.
200 block of South Laurel Street
An unknown person(s) broke into the vehicle and stole the car stereo.
4th Precinct
THEFT FROM MOTOR VEHICLE
10/15/12 8:50 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.
900 block of Idlewood Avenue
An unknown person(s) entered the vehicle and stole a GPS unit.
From VCU alert page:
VCU Police were contacted at approximately 9:35 PM regarding a home invasion robbery that took place at approximately 9 PM in the 100 block of S. Laurel Street .
Police were not notified immediately after the incident. Richmond Police are investigating the incident. This does not appear to be a random incident.
Suspects: Five to six black male subjects with thin builds armed with handguns wearing ski masks or having their faces covered with towels.
# 1 5’9” wearing a white tee shirt
# 2 6’0”- 6’2” wearing grey jacket, jeans and having dreadlocks
# 3 6’0”- 6’2” wearing baggy blue jeans and having silver Lebron James sneakers
# 4 6’0”- 6’2” wearing camouflage pants wearing black and blue Kobe Bryant sneakers
#5 6’0”- 6’2” Dressed in black clothing
# 6 6’0”- 6’2” Dressed in black clothing
Armed subjects entered the residence through an unlocked door and took property from the victims.
The Times Dispatch is also reporting on this and an earlier home invasion:
Richmond Police Lt. Darrell Goins said the first robbery took place around 7:30 p.m. in the 3400 block of Decatur Street in South Richmond….
Nobody was injured in the home invasions, from which assailants took electronics and other items.
Fan of the Fan community news site reports that:
The VCU text alert system reported an armed robbery on the 900 block of Franklin tonight at 7:47PM. Less than an hour later (8:39PM), the same system reported another armed robbery near Laurel and Cary Street.
Times Dispatch also reported on the crimes and had some additional information:
In addition, three attempted robberies were reported – one at 8 p.m. at Grace and Foushee streets; the second at 8:30 p.m. at Laurel and Cary streets, and the third also at about 8:30 at Cary and Belvidere streets, VCU police said.
During the same time frame, a report of a man brandishing a firearm was reported at 8 p.m. at First and Grace streets.
Police said the victims were approached by an armed black male who demanded money.
The suspect was described as black, about 5 feet 8 inches tall and wearing a gray hoodie and baseball cap with his face covered. He was also wearing pajama pants with chili peppers on them, police said.
VCU police said the same suspect may have been involved in all of the incidents.
Also from the article:
(VCU President)
Rao said he was scheduled to meet later today with Richmond Police Chief Bryan Norwood and Wednesday with Richmond Mayor Dwight Jones to discuss the string of crimes that occurred Monday night on or adjacent to the Monroe Park campus.
“I will emphasize my concern for the continued need for a strong partnership between VCU and the city to prevent crime and protect the more than 50,000 students, faculty and staff who live and work on and near our campuses,” Rao said.
Also, an earlier Richmond police crime report listed the following from last week:
4th Precinct
THEFT FROM MOTOR VEHICLE
10/5/12 10:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
South Cherry and West Cary streets
An unknown person(s) entered the vehicle and stole several items.
WTVR is reporting that the U.S. flag was stolen from the Virginia War Memorial
Excerpt:
The memorial, located at 621 S. Belvidere Street, is guarded by private overnight security, in addition to the State Capital Police who patrol the area.
Yet thieves managed to cut the rope system holding the flag and make off with it, around 3:30 in the morning.
The pole is pretty high, and it would likely take more than one person to steal the flag, Jeb Hockman, Director of Marketing of the Virginia War Memorial, said.
“I’m not sure why they would take an American flag, but I will say this, it’s kinda sad that they would take an American flag from here,” Hockman said.
“The Va. War Memorial, is the monument, the place where people honor those service men and women who have given the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our flag.”
There is no previous history of these flags being stolen, said Hockman.
From Richmond Police:
4th Precinct
THEFT FROM MOTOR VEHICLE
9/15/12 – 9/16/12 7:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
715 Holly St.
An iPod, a jacket and boots were stolen from a vehicle.
From Richmond Police:
4th Precinct
THEFT FROM MOTOR VEHICLE
9/16/12 1:00 a.m. – 5:30 a.m.
700 block of South Pine Street
An unknown person(s) entered the unlocked vehicle and stole three backpacks and a firearm.
From Richmond Police report:
4th Precinct
THEFT FROM MOTOR VEHICLE
9/10/121 2:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
100 block of South Cherry Street
An unknown(s) person broke in to a vehicle and stole an IPod Touch, cash and the vehicle’s stereo.