City Council Approves Victory Rug SUP

From Times Dispatch article:

After a brief, final flaring of tension between a neighborhood group and a developer, the City Council also unanimously approved a special-use permit that will allow the transformation of the former Victory Carpet Cleaning building at 407 S. Cherry St. into a dozen apartments.
The overhaul of the 123-year-old, three-story brick building by developer Guy Blundon was the subject of a “long, arduous set of negotiations” with neighbors, Blundon told the council Monday night.
“We have made a lot of concessions, and I think we will have a wonderful project,” Blundon said, adding that he was “dumbfounded” by last-minute criticism from Todd Woodson, executive director of the Oregon Hill Home Improvement Council and treasurer of the Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association.
Residents were successful in getting Blundon to reduce the number of proposed units by half and agree to not rent to Virginia Commonwealth University students, except married couples or military veterans.
However, Woodson said he only got the final wording of the agreement Sunday, which will allow VCU students who are older than 25 to be tenants. He considered that a breach of the “gentlemen’s agreement” between Blundon and the neighborhood. Blundon said he arrived at the final language after talks with his lawyer about discrimination concerns.
Woodson said the neighborhood association was supporting the special-use permit request with “extreme reservation.”
“Like the James River hawk that graces our environs, we will be watching every move,” Woodson said.

William “Bill” Berry

For many years Berry was the Director of the Oregon Hill Baptist Center.

A neighbor wrote of Mr. Berry: “He was loved by so many on OH .
He was a cultivator of flowers and friends – he tended to us all . A good apple pie maker. A gentle man that loved the Lord ”

Excerpt from his obituary:

BERRY, Willie “Bill” A. Jr., died peacefully Monday, January 21, 2013 at the age of 94 in his home at Westminster Canterbury. He is survived by his loving wife of 59 years, Evelyn Phillips Berry; children, Bill Berry III (Kathy) of Richmond, Va., and Ellen Looper (Marshall) of Aiken, S.C.; grandchildren, Micah (Mary-Catherine) and Amber Berry, Sarah and Matthew Looper; sisters, Lucille Whitt and Gertrude Stanfield; and many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. Bill was born on September 28, 1918 in Person County, N.C., where he grew up with his nine brothers and sisiters, and his parents, Willie A. Berry Sr. and Fannie Hall Berry. He was a WWII veteran and attended Wake Forest University and Southwestern Seminary. His ministry career in Richmond included serving the staffs of Tabernacle and Pine Street Baptist Churches, and as Director of the Oregon Hill Baptist Center.

Virginia War Memorial hosts 3rd Artifacts Roadshow

Boosted from the the mothership, RVAnews.com:

The Virginia War Memorial will host its third Artifacts Roadshow this Saturday, giving members of the public a chance to have military-related memorabilia from any era reviewed by experts.

There is no charge for artifact reviews, and no monetary values for items will be given. Reviews will done by Virginia War Memorial curator Jesse Smith and military collectable expert Robert House.

Weapons and firearms are permitted and will be checked for safety by representatives of Colonial Shooting Academy.

Artifacts Roadshow takes places from 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM on Saturday, January 26th at the Virginia War Memorial, located at 621 S. Belvidere Street.