From announcement:
Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association agenda for next week (3-26-19/Tuesday/7pm/St. Andrew’s Church)
“-7PM Meeting brought to order
-Updates from VCU Liaison, RPD, VCU police
-Update on our Open High Bee initiative.
-Guy Blundon of Victory Rug Apartments will discuss SUP proposal to change some things as the apartments are eligible to become privately owned dwellings.
-Discussion of crime reduction measures such as neighborhood watch, etc.”
Hope to see you all there!
In welcome news, the City of Richmond announced today that is adding some electric assist or pedelec bicycles into its bicycle sharing program. This is something that this community news site has been looking forward to for a long time.
The tagline is to “Look For The Lightning Bolt”-
Some scenes from the James River Park Master Plan meeting last night at the Virginia War Memorial:
Much of the meeting was spent conversing and viewing and writing on maps… nothing was officially proposed…
For more information on the James River Park Master Plan, click here (and if you have not already, fill out a survey).
Thanks to a neighbor’s persistence, the City is planning to clean the west side of S. Pine Street this coming Monday after missing in their regular schedule.
Neighbors should make sure to remove their cars from the west side of S. Pine Street (even street numbers) before MONDAY at 8:00am so the street can be cleaned!
From meeting announcement:
The Honorable Parker C. Agelasto, Councilman, Richmond City Council, Richmond Central 5th Voter District, has scheduled the following meeting for the Richmond Central 5th Voter District.
Thursday, February 28, 2019; 6:30-8:00 p.m.
Richmond Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities
William Byrd Park – Round House
600 Swan Lake Drive/621 Westover Road; Richmond, Virginia
(Located within William Byrd Park near the intersection of Lakeview Avenue and Westover Road, south of Fountain Lake)Agenda for Thursday night:
Richmond Real Estate Tax Exemptions for Seniors and People with Disabilities Asia Spratley, Revenue Manager
Richmond Department of Finance
RVA311 Department Overview Peter Breil, Director
Richmond Department of Citizen Service and Response
Richmond Government Budget: Open Discussion
District Updates and Announcements
Questions & Answers
From announcement:
Hey everyone! Please don’t forget that our next Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association meeting will be Tuesday, February 26th at 7pm inside St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church. Below is the agenda sent by OHNA President Todd Woodson. Hope to see you all there!!!
“First, for those of you that have cats or small dogs that go outside, there is a grave danger to them existing within and adjacent to the neighborhood. 16 months ago, I was “adopted” by two mated feral cats. The male I could eventually pet while the female always ran at the sight of humans. They were not coming inside so I built an insulated house on my porch with an outdoor heating pad and fed and watered them. They went under the house during bitter cold. The female went missing 1 1/2 weeks ago, then yesterday at 5am, my indoor cat woke me up screaming but not wanting to go out. I checked the porch and my other outdoor cat was gone. A night watchman at Hollywood Cemetery confirmed last night that there are at least 7 coyotes in the cemetery that they have seen and are aware of. Right now is mating/gestation season so there will be even more coyotes coming. There was a confirmed sighting some months ago a couple alleys east of me of a coyote with a cat in its mouth. Coyotes will establish a “prey profile” of the easiest, most available food source available which they will seek with keen senses of sight, sound and smell. After research on the internet, I determined loss of cats to coyotes as well as attacks on small dogs is at an epidemic rate in the city and being near the river and an open space like Hollywood compounds the problem. Coyotes are classified as nuisance animals by the Va Department of Game and Inland Fisheries and can be killed at any time (with the exception being with a weapon on Sundays). They are not native to Virginia but populations have exploded since they have moved here. PLEASE take all measures available to safeguard your pets! I am shocked and saddened by my horrible loss and don’t want to see it spread.
Our meeting will start at 7pm with the usual updates from Police and VCU. I will then introduce Dr. Ghazala Hamshi who will speak regarding her candidacy for Virginia Senate in our district, a position currently held by Senator Glen Sturtevant. Dr. Hamshi is a lifelong democrat and she has worked as a college professor and administrator as her career calling.
I would then like to discuss the 2000 Riverfront apartment building’s Special Use Permit Application for an illuminated “2000” sign on their building. This is the apartments next to the river directly across the Lee Bridge from us. Concerns have been noted in the past on light pollution, especially near the river, and the need for such illuminated signage.
We will also have updates from Councilperson Agelasto’s office.
Take care and I look forward to seeing you Tuesday.”
Another editorial venture to national politics…
Virginians who are weary of their own state leadership scandals may want to take a moment to read up on the latest political news from neighboring state North Carolina.
Recently uncovered fraud has lead to calls for a new Congressional election there. But the truth is that there is a much bigger picture to consider…
Readers of this community news site may recall previous editorials that have supported vote recounts and more investigation.
It’s worth revisiting some of the past questions and revelations, including leaked National Security Agency documents that the mainstream, corporate media only gave cursory examination. They were so busy looking for proof of Russian interference that they glossed over so much historic domestic fraud.
Virginia citizens should be thankful that state officials made the decision to go back to paper ballots in 2017. But in other states, the recounts and democracy activists have made all the difference. They should be celebrated. Sadly, the corporate duopoly’s response is to punish them instead.
Election integrity is so important right now and must remain a priority going forward. Americans should be free to vote for the candidates they believe best represent their values and know their votes will count.
There is a meeting this Thursday to discuss a future master plan for the James River Park, sponsored by Friends of The James River and City Council representatives Parker Agelasto (Oregon Hill’s Council rep) and Kristen Larson. It’s being held at 6 pm at the Patrick Henry School of Science and Arts (3411 Semmes Avenue, across the river).
From the meeting notice:
We want to hear from you! Attend this community meeting to share your input on the future of the James River Park. Registration is not required.
The James River Park is a crown jewel of the region, providing a unique natural wilderness for park users. As the number of visitors to the park increases each year, a Master Plan is needed to preserve, protect, and properly maintain the park for years to come. The plan will influence the future of the park within the overall framework of the park’s conservation easement.
Your input is valuable. If you can’t attend a community meeting, please take the online survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/JamesRiverParkMasterPlan
As Oregon Hill pretty much borders the James River Park and is a popular conduit to it, neighbors will hopefully have a lot of input that will be taken seriously.
As a bit of editorial, citizens should take a broad view of things, including protection of wildlife (and corridors for it), threats of light pollution (such as proposed signage at the high-rise at 2000 Riverside Drive across the river), and commercialization of this heavily-used park system. Nothing against the new superintendent of James River Park, Bryce Wilk, but it seems like more citizens should have been involved earlier in the hiring process. Having these master plan sessions after the hiring allows the suspicion that an agenda is already in place with a new Superintendent. That’s not necessarily the case, but…. What happened with Monroe Park should be a warning to all Richmonders.
It looks like the City is doing street cleaning in the neighborhood this week. According to the signs, they will be starting with the west side of S. Laurel Street tomorrow. Don’t forget to move cars the night before.
Cherry Street neighbor Jimmy Blackford is organizing some sidewalk cleaning to go along with the street cleaning.
Oregon Hill Street Cleaning/Leaf Collection Finally Happens Next Week. (Mon. 1/28-Thurs 1/31). Who can join me on Mon. and/or Tues. Morning to get our pretty brick sidewalks extra free of leaves? I’ll start the raking at 10am on Monday morning. (Maybe earlier depending on how much sleep I get the night before). I’ll concentrate on the intersections and heavily leaf-strewn areas of the sidewalks. Pushbrooms, especially extra wide ones, are a huge help. I only have 2 rakes, so…
From OHNA President Todd Woodson:
Dear Neighbors and Friends
Will will resume our monthly neighborhood association meeting this coming Tuesday at 7pm in St Andrews church, Laurel and Idlewood. Here are the agenda items:
Updates from RPD, VCUPD and VCU and Councilman Agelasto’s office
I am very sad to report that our friend and representative from VCU Police, Officer Greg Felton will be leaving VCU in February. He has made an incredible impact on our quality of life in Oregon Hill. Greg- come back anytime because you are family! Come wish him well!
VCU Student Government Association representative will make a presentation on their Big Event.
We should have updated visual proposed plans for the Dog Run in Parsons Linear Park. This would be located in 400 block of the park.
Michael Brown, a neighbor from Randolph has asked to address the meeting on Councilman Agelasto’s residency issue. Mr. Brown was campaign manager for Parker but has now filed a lawsuit with others including Chuck Richardson to address the residency issue.
I have a meeting scheduled tomorrow with City Officials to discuss remedial efforts to stabilize our Holly Street playground. Built on a ravine later turned landfill, our park is showing clear signs of erosion and needs attention. This will be the fourth meeting on the subject. I will update you accordingly.
See you Tuesday at 7pm!
Todd.