A new video has appeared on YouTube that puts light on Venture Richmond, Salomonsky, and the City’s latest economic development plan.
“Loving and Looting in RVA”
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Category Archives: editorial
A Cemetery for Both Reverence and Recreation
Henrico Citizen newspaper Managing Editor Patty Kruszewski has a nice opinion piece in the latest issue about a small controversy regarding the use of cemeteries. (Click here to see it as PDF)
In it, she mentions her own’s daughter’s burial place in Hollywood Cemetery.
Quote: “I would never have thought to bring my own children to Hollywood (Cemetery) or to use it as a playground or public spot, but it makes perfect sense. It’s beautiful, it’s public, it’s historic”.
Actually Hollywood Cemetery is still a private business that opens to the public. Kruszewski also rightly brings up the role of the cemetery as a valuable green space. We are very fortunate to live next to it.
…And They March!
Keeping to their word, Open High School students, some of Richmond’s best and brightest, walked out of the former Grace Arents school today to march on City Hall. Their message? Something that many of my neighbors and I have been saying for years- PUBLIC priorities, such as schools, should come before private special interests like the Redskins. Hopefully the Mayor and City Council will listen to these young citizens.
Dominion’s Bogus Plans
There was a small article in yesterday’s Times Dispatch regarding the move of Dominion’s operations center from Innsbrook to I 295.
When Dominion applied for the special use permit for its Tredegar St. headquarters back in 2001, approval was given because they promised to move their operations center with “hundreds of jobs” from the county to Tredegar Street. A neighbor showed photos of flooding at the Tredegar site, and neighbors pointed out that it was absurd to think that they were moving their operations center with a fleet of vehicles and fueling infrastructure to this site beside the river with limited access. But the City’s Planning Commission rubber stamped the bogus plan anyway. When neighbors met with Dominion as recently as two years ago regarding the 2nd Street connector, the Dominion representative still maintained that they have the right to build in the future the huge tower that was supposed to be the new operations center!
Hopefully, Church Hill will fare better than Oregon Hill has in fending off rapacious, private development that goes against existing planning and steals from the public river view sheds. It should come as no surprise that many of those forces supporting the high rise project against Church Hill are the same as who are supporting the flawed Shockoe stadium proposal. City government should recognize the difference between good, popular development projects that enhance residents’ quality of life vs. bad, dishonorable development projects that are based on greed.
‘Tredegar Green’ Yesterday Afternoon
While City Council was busy figuring out how to give away Richmond’s oldest PUBLIC park, I was doing some walking down at the riverfront. I was disgusted by what I saw:
Cars are parked right next to the historic Kanawha Canal. Trash everywhere. Venture Richmond, the property holder, has allowed this very important historical site to become a trashy parking lot! Will there be any repercussions this time?
It is outrageous that the City government wants to give them tax exemptions on the land and let them build an unneeded amphitheater.
This is what happens when you have a corporate government that is not accountable to the public.
Skipping April Fools Day This Year
While we have had some fun for past years’ April Fools Days, I am skipping this year. Its not the first time I have skipped, but this year in particular my heart is just not in it. For one thing, I am not sure if I could come up with anything as outrageous as what is really happening right now-
Venture Richmond is getting ready to alter and diminish one of Richmond’s most historic features, the James River and Kanawah Canal, designed and presided over by George Washington, for an unneeded amphitheater. Besides putting future restoration at risk, ‘Vulture Richmond’ is doing this by breaking promises to go through the Section 106 review process. This is after a historic wall was illegally demolished on property leased to Venture Richmond.
Board members of Venture Richmond are also behind the Monroe Park Conservancy, a mysterious and dastardly plan to privatize Monroe Park (for VCU). The City government is backing this plot, saying it does not have enough money to renovate and maintain the City’s oldest public park as a public park, despite dedicating millions of dollars to establishing a training field for a professional football team, that is owned by a millionaire. The local anarchists are doing a better job of defending the public interest than City government.
‘Vulture Richmond” is also behind an even bigger plot to force the construction of a minor league baseball stadium in historic Shockoe Bottom neighborhood, despite passionate, now international, public protest. This is the third or fourth time that this scheme has been tried, and one of the principles behind it is a developer who was convicted and went to jail for his part in a City Council bribery scheme. Again, it looks like promised historic preservation oversight is being finessed despite public promises.
The mainstream media has sometimes joined the fun of reporting April Fools Day stories. Maybe this year they can try reporting on the reality of these truly outrageous happenings.
Before Its Too Late…Today
From richmondarchaeology.webs.com:
The current proposal to construct a baseball stadium in Richmond’s Shockoe Bottom has given rise to public concern over the cultural and historical resources in Richmond’s Shockoe Bottom district. In response to this public debate, history enthusiasts and preservationists, planners, students, scholars, educators, and members of the general public are invited to a one-day educational symposium on March 29th, 10:15 am to 4:00 pm at the Richmond Public Library in support of an archaeology of Shockoe Bottom… “Before It’s Too Late”.
The symposium brings together experts and scholars on Richmond’s archaeology, history, and historic preservation. The symposium will also discuss how the public can become better stewards of Richmond’s vast cultural and historical resources. Presentations will explore the archaeological review process with an emphasis upon Federal Section 106.
In regard to the 106, I hope discussion will include the Kanawha Canal. Last I heard, seats were filling up up quick.
Bidding For The Public Interest
Kudos to Mo for putting in the bid! I could not make it to Council that night and, honestly, I was a bit nervous about what bidding would look like, but I think everyone in Richmond who cares about parks should appreciate what she has done.
Looked over the two bids for the Monroe Park lease that were received from the City Clerk. (The conservancy bid confirms that the Mayor is still on the conservancy board.)
I must say that Mo’s bid looks head and shoulders better than the Conservancy’s. All that they can say is that they are hiring a fundraiser!
If Venture Richmond and the Mayor are going to insist on this type of stupidity (with Monroe Park, with ‘Tredegar Green’, with the flawed Shockoe stadium), then one of the things that citizens can do in response is to root for ol’ fashioned competition and more alternatives.
The Memorandum of Understanding between the City and Venture Richmond allows for $1,190,000 in (no-bid) grants for Venture Richmond. We have all seen the billboards, the double page advertisements and read about the petition drive for the Mayor’s Shockoe Bottom stadium undertaken by Venture Richmond.
The City pays Venture Richmond to administer the canal concession and then Venture Richmond charges $6/trip. (Venture Richmond doesn’t even bother to put boats in the upper Haxall beside Brown’s Island, where there is a vacant boat rental house.)
The City pays Venture Richmond to administer Friday Cheers and then Venture Richmond charges from $5 to $10/admission (depending on show).
The City rents Brown’s Island to Venture Richmond (for what I assume is a nominal fee) and then Venture Richmond rents out the venue for $4,500 per day.
It is noteworthy that Venture Richmond does not have to compete or bid for city grants for the Clean and Safe program, canal boat concession, Friday Cheers or Folk Festival. Venture Richmond pays its Director $242,000 annually as a result of this sweetheart arrangement.
Is there anything that City Council can do to put a stop to giving Venture Richmond these no-bid grants and to put these items, including the canal boat concession, Clean and Safe program, Friday Cheers and Folk Festival promotions, up for bid?
RIP David Brockie
“Imminent Destruction of George Washington’s Historic Canal”
From ‘City watchdog’ C.Wayne Taylor:
To: News Media
1. “Tredegar Green” is the The City of Richmond Riverfront Plan designation for the land just west of Tredegar Iron Works.
2. George Washington’s historic canal runs across the center of Tredegar Green.
3. Venture Richmond is preparing to destroy George Washington’s historic canal.
4. Venture Richmond has a grading plan pending before the city Planning Commission.
5. Venture Richmond revised its plan to dodge Department of Historic Resources review.
6. The revised plan was submitted to the city of Richmond Friday.
7. The revised plan was forwarded to the planning commission after 5pm Friday.
8. The planning commission meets on Monday at 1pm to consider the plan.
9. The public has not been officially notified of the revised plan.
While Venture Richmond may have the legal right to destroy George Washington’s historic canal, such action is contrary to the purposes of Venture Richmond. Venture Richmond is a nonprofit corporation established for the good of downtown Richmond.
Venture Richmond receives substantial financial support from the city of Richmond. Mayor Jones is the President of Venture Richmond. His administration submitted the application to the planning commission to destroy the canal.
