5 CAT Meeting Friday

According to FaceBook page:

(‎5th District Community Action Team) 5 CAT will hold it’s regular monthly meeting on Friday 3/8/13, 7:00p.m. at the Randolph Community Center.

One of the agenda items will be holding a Jane’s Walk to allow residents to get to know other parts of the district, and invite residents to increase their awareness of their physical surroundings.
More information on Jane’s Walk can be found by clicking here.

Trash/Recycling Pickup Tomorrow

This Wednesday is a red Wednesday, which means trash and recycling pickup. Please make sure you pick up containers after pickup tomorrow night. They do not belong on the sidewalk after tomorrow night.

In recycling news, financial incentives have been proposed to encourage oyster recycling. From Chesapeake Bay Foundation:

To encourage more businesses and people to recycle oyster shells, Maryland Delegate Stephen Lafferty of Baltimore County and colleagues recently proposed legislation that would give income tax credits worth a dollar per bushel for contributing old shells to oyster restoration projects.

“We have been seeing over past decades a real loss in the amount of shell that is available for oyster restoration projects,” said Lafferty (below). “And oyster shell really is the best surface upon which new oysters can grow in the Bay.”

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation and other partners in a coalition called the Oyster Recovery Partnership for the last four years have been encouraging recycling through the “S.O.S.” or “Save Oyster Shell” campaign.

The following restaurants in Virginia partner with CBF in oyster shell recycling:

Berrets, Williamsburg
Harpoon Larry’s Oyster Bar, Hampton
Le Yaca, Williamsburg
O’Sullivan’s, Norfolk
Red Lobster, Newport News
River’s Inn, Gloucester Point
Riverwalk, Yorktown
Rosemary & Wine, Gloucester
Tanner’s Creek Restaurant, Norfolk
Yorktown Pub, Yorktown.

And the Devil’s Backbone Brewing Company.

Renegade Market Tomorrow

From email announcement:

Menu by Renegade …
Billy bread (toasted and not toasted, gone in one day) with slabs of Amish butter (melted and not melted). (Byrd Farm and Faith Farm)
Burgers seared in butter and olive oil dashed with sea salt and black pepper and a squirt of teriyaki sauce. (Byrd Farm and Faith Farm)
Hunks of dried gizzard and salmon for Shadow and Blackie, dog and cat (Mugsy’s DogTown Lounge)
A yearning for Old Church Creamery’s cheddar, yogurt, greek-style yogurt and Kefir… (we look forward to seeing them again soon!)
This week I plan to get out early so I don’t miss those greens and roasting birds…

How to Budget with No Money!

WBCH Grace Arents Library Presents the first of our 2013 Enrichment Classes. Dana Wiggins, a specialist in predatory lending with the Virginia Poverty Law Center, will host a small group discussion on what to do when you have no money and feel trapped. Fear makes even the smartest people make bad decisions, especially about money. Learn what resources there are and strategies can be used to help you deal with financial crisis. Since this is a discussion group the number of participants is limited to between 5 and 10. Two sessions will be held: Mar. 14 and Apr. 11. Call 643-2717 ext. 306, stop by, or email byrdhousemarket at gmail.com to reserve a seat at the table for either session.

Farmers Income Tax Tips

Received from VDACS this morning: “We thought you might be interested in a new tip sheet we’ve developed concerning income-tax issues farmers, particularly beginning farmers, ought to be aware of. The tip sheet “Tips About Farmer Income Tax” is part of a series we’ve developed in conjunction with USDA NIFA’s Outreach and Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers (OASDFR) program. This tip sheet and others are available at the ATTRA website www.attra.ncat.org.”
key words:

byrd , house & bash …

at wbch.org

Ana Edwards, Library Programs Manager
_____________________

Ana Edwards, Manager
Byrd House Market & Library Programs
Grace Arents Library & Education Center
William Byrd Community House
www.wbch.org / 804.643.2717 ext.306

Brown’s Island Explosion Anniversary

It was mentioned here 2 years ago, but this Saturday is the 150th anniversary of the worst wartime disaster in Richmond. The Times Dispatch has a nice article on this as the American Civil War Center at Historic Tredegar prepares for it. You can learn more Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Center, by taking a tour or trying one of the jobs related to making the material of war.

What’s That Number, Part 2

Well, the number did not come forward this month, but thankfully, reporter Robert Zullo is following the issue. From the Times Dispatch:

Advocates for lower Richmond water and sewer charges have thus far been stonewalled by the city administration in attempts to obtain a consultant’s study that will be central to the utility rates the mayor will propose this month as part of the city budget.
The city’s Public Utilities Department has denied a Freedom of Information Act request from Charles Pool, an Oregon Hill resident who is among a chorus of city utility customers calling for lower base charges for water and wastewater, for the report by Raftelis Financial Consultants.
….
Before drinking a single drop of water or flushing a toilet, Richmond’s water and wastewater customers pay $49.40 a month, the highest base charge in the area and, some argue, higher than most municipalities in the country. The water, wastewater and gas utilities, after covering their own operating expenses, will contribute an estimated $21.5 million this year to the city’s general fund in the form of a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes, a provision of the city charter that critics say subsidizes city government on the backs of utility customers.
….
The study’s recommendations will be included in the budget the mayor is scheduled to present to the council March 12. And though the council won’t vote on the final budget until May, Bedell argued that once the rates make it into the mayor’s budget, they’ll be more difficult for council members to alter. The rate discussion, he said, should be conducted with the council and public.
“It’s like all the proposals the city tries to push through,” Bedell said, citing the new city jail and Washington Redskins training camp now under construction. “I think their whole philosophy is … hold back as much as you can and spring it on them on the last minute.”

Oregon Hill resident Charles Pool has been bringing this issue for over five years now. Will 2013 mark a turning point?