Category Archives: editorial

Monroe Park ‘Modifications’

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Cherry Street neighbor Todd Woodson continues to monitor Monroe Park situation:

In 2015, City Council wisely passed an ordinance (ord.2015-102) stating that they would receive monthly updates on modifications to existing contracts so they can monitor these additional expenses. July’s report contains this modification of the Monroe Park Renovations Project contract in the amount of $198,765. Ive asked for details other than those given but it is important to note that this contract value has increased by 41% since it was executed in 2008.

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With a high profile robbery and a stabbing, it’s been a rough summer for this historic public park. Neighbors are wondering if the neglect preceeding planned ‘modifications’ is purposeful in preparation for a VCU takeover. Will Monroe Park figure more prominently in upcoming debates between City Council candidates?

Click here to scroll through previous posts on Monroe Park.

New Petition Asks For Political Debate On Water Utility Reform

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Building on previous efforts, a new online petition asks local candidates to address water utility reform issues.

Of course, this issue has been brought up before here, and more recently in the Washington Post.

From the new petition language:

We need our local elections to be more than just popularity contests. To that end, citizens need to demand more substantive discussion of issues and platforms. In the last six years or so, issues have been consistently raised by grassroots citizens in regard to reforming the City of Richmond’s water utility.
We point to the previous Change.org petition, “Reform Richmond’s Water Rates”, with over 1700 signatures. We reference the Sierra Club Falls of the James’ statement on how there are also significant conservation concerns with the City utility’s relatively high base rate for residents. We call your attention to the recent Washington Post editorial, with the headline, Richmond Is Ripping Off It’s Residents”. It is outrageous that small volume residential citizens can pay as much as 78% of their water/sewer bill for service charges, while some above average volume users can pay as little as 11%. Furthermore, we note that the City administration has broken its promise to list all charges on their billing.

We the undersigned feel that the Richmond water rates are a vital but neglected issue that should be addressed in this election in November. The undersigned request that all candidates address this issue and request that all debates include these 3 questions:

Will the candidate support removing the federal income tax surcharge on the water rates?
Will the candidate support lowering the base service charge that all customers must pay before receiving the first drop of water?
Will the candidates support discontinuing the use of the water utility as a cash cow for the city’s general fund?

Fireworks’ Future

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Oregon Hill residents have had a real love/hate relationship with the annual fireworks displays surrounding the Fourth of July. And if asked, I am sure it would mostly be ‘love’.

That said, this year the RVA Fireworks on The James (usually on July 3rd) is not happening. Before everyone complains and accuses certain Oregon Hill residents of being NIMBY party poopers, it should be recognized that the reason that they are not happening is that major sponsors decided not to support the event this year.

So, fireworks fans can certainly attend other fireworks displays throughout the area, including the free one sponsored by the City at the Dogwood Dell on the 4th. What happens in future years is anyone’s guess, but one way to adjust is to change the nature of the fireworks displays themselves by making them more respectful of nature.

The New York Times has a wonderful recent article on the increasing popularity of ‘quiet fireworks’:

In parts of Europe, quiet fireworks displays have grown increasingly common. In Britain, venues close to residents, wildlife or livestock often permit only quiet fireworks. One town in Italy, Collecchio, passed a law in 2015 that all fireworks displays must be quiet.

By relying on rich color effects and tight visual choreography, designers of quiet fireworks programs can forgo the big explosions and still deliver a stunning show. The hope is that softer celebrations mean less stress for noise-sensitive children, veterans, older people, pets and wildlife.

“We’ve seen more competitors in the last decade or so,” said Rino Sampieri, a senior display manager at Fantastic Fireworks, a company based in England that started selling a quiet fireworks package 30 years ago. “Today, quiet fireworks are part of everybody’s inventory.”

Quiet fireworks are not a new invention. In fact, they are used routinely in classic firework shows as visual effects to accompany the loud bangs. Think of the “comet tail,” which shoots into the sky with a trail of sparkles before quietly fizzling out. Or the “flying fish,” which features tiny tadpole embers scattering away from a silent burst.

What is new is the emergence of a genre of low-key, quiet fireworks displays for audiences that want the fanfare of fireworks without the auditory disturbance.

In addition, there is more development being done on ‘green fireworks’ that do not dump as much heavy metal residue as regular ones. Still, there are a lot of compelling reasons to just not do fireworks altogether. Perhaps the City leaders can take more responsibility and promote better alternatives. Laser light shows, for example, are becoming increasingly sophisticated and crowd pleasing.

Another Editorial From Goldman On Utility Reform

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Paul Goldman has yet another Washington Post editorial that follows up on the long-running water utility reform campaign by neighborhood residents. In this one, he gets down to numbers and compares to food tax.

From editorial:

The food tax bill is now about $80 dollars a year for the average low-income family – and it’s still considered too high by such groups as the NAACP and Democratic liberals. We agree.

But in Richmond, the average poor family is paying $150 to $200 a year for regressive, non-existent taxes embedded within their utility bills.

City leaders, aware of these facts, refuse to take action.

…
Based on Richmond’s new budget, DPU will likely collect between about $30 million of such revenue. Of that, roughly $7 million will be fleeced from the poor.

And again, the real question is how will Council and Mayoral candidates acknowledge and confront this and other financial issues?

Small Richmond is the city’s best local independent news all in one place

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OregonHill.net and seven other sites are today launching Small Richmond, a new site featuring local independent news in the city.

The eight participating sites cover core Richmond geography and
areas of interest. We are stoked to partner with Church Hill People’s News, Brookland Park Post, Dogtown Dish, Randolph RVA, Richmond Outside, Springhill RVA, and VCU Ram Nation to connect Richmond readers and publishers.

Contact John Murden at murden@gmail.com or (804)564-1360 to suggest a site for inclusion, if you would like to set up a community blog for your area, or for more information.

Click here to check out Small Richmond

Washington Post: Richmond is ripping off its residents

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Thankfully, Norman Leahy and Paul Goldman pick up on Oregon Hill residents’ long-running campaign for utility reform.

Will we see responses from Mayoral candidates?

From their Washington Post column:

The government in Virginia’s capital, Richmond, has a dirty little secret: It uses a little-known city charter provision to rip off poor residents by adding a phony, non-existent “tax” — including a bogus federal “tax” charge — to their water and certain other utility bills.

Over the years, this unconscionable rip-off has totaled many hundreds of millions of dollars. It stems from a Jim Crow-era state law added to Richmond’s charter at the request of city leaders.

Monroe Park This Weekend

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While the Richmond Police Department prepares security for Presidential candidate Trump’s appearance at the Richmond Coliseum on Friday, protesters are planning an-anti-Trump rally in Monroe Park for that evening and the weekend.

If that was not enough, the Richmond Recreational Dispute Group (RRDG) will be hosting their second annual meeting in Monroe Park this Saturday. From announcement:

Hi! It’s time again for RRDP to host our second event. After our success on Mayo Island we figured we’d hold our second event earlier in the year to fit in a third. We promote engaging in disputes of different varieties including civil, uncivil (shouting matches), and untraditional (Bare knuckle and gloved). WE WILL NOT BE ACCEPTING “TRAIN PEOPLE” AFTER FEBUARIES INCIDENT. At least in the untraditional activities. Large groups are encouraged for group activities. Pizza will be provided but come early. Things kick off at 10PM, possible alternate location is the old Pleasant’s downtown parking lot.

Now, regardless of whether or not any of this is real, Monroe Park supporters are still concerned about the park itself- from Cherry Street neighbor Todd Woodson:

Friends- as of April 14, 2016, its been two years since City Council approved the lease for Monroe Park without, in my opinion, fully vetting the leadership of the Monroe Park Conservancy. The city announced last winter that the park would close in May. I requested updates from both Charles Samuels and the Conservancy months ago on the timeline for renovations and they have failed to even respond. Samuels is not running for reelection to the second district council seat this year.
Perhaps if more people emailed and asked what’s going on, we could get an answer. Please email both Councilman Charles Samuels and Alice Massie with the Conservancy and ask why there has been no progress and in fact, more deterioration over the last two years plus. Thanks- Here are the email addresses:
charles.samuels@richmondgov.com
amassie@monroepark.com

One final note: Despite my best hopes, it does not look like anyone seriously took up my challenge and it does not look like I will be crawling.

TrumpHillary

Times Dispatch Reports Folk Festival Line Up

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From Times Dispatch article:

“Our local programming committee has outdone themselves, once again,” said festival director Lisa Sims in a statement. “Dancers from Sri Lanka, zydeco players from Louisiana, virtuosic musicians from Afghanistan, gospel singers from Tennessee and dozens of others will all offer free performances within a half-mile of each other. There’s really nothing else like it in the Virginia.”

Last year, a record-breaking 200,000-plus people attended the festival, up 50,000 from a rainy 2014.

Quick editorial: Hopefully Venture Richmond can become a better neighbor and we can all enjoy it this year as in years past. Still waiting for more agreement to neighborhood’s reasonable requests.

https://www.oregonhill.net/2015/06/24/oregon-hill-proposed-conditions-for-tredegar-green-amphitheater/

There are also still outstanding questions about how this important, historic area of the riverfront will be recognized and preserved in the future.

https://www.oregonhill.net/2015/10/12/folk-festival-and-a-deliberately-missed-opportunity/