Category Archives: News

Hurricane Sandy Cancels This Week’s Byrd House Market

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From email announcement:

Good afternoon everyone,

It seems prudent to go ahead and cancel the market for tomorrow. The weather will at best be miserable and we don’t yet know what the specific results of the storm might be in terms of power outages and what our farmers may need to do to harvest and processing crops for market. Better to let Hurricane Sandy play out, assess and get ready for better conditions.

We look forward to seeing all of you next week, in better weather, and with the spirit of community that is strengthened by shared experiences – which in this case we hope are merely inconveniences!

See you then.

Ana
Market Manager
byrdhousemarket.blogspot.com

Flying Brick Library Celebrates 10 Years

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From the Flying Brick Library’s website:

On Halloween Night, 2002, 4 Richmond anarchists and organizers moved into a house at 506 S. Pine St in Oregon Hill. The 4 aimed to expand the lending library they had been a part of in a previous home, but little did they know their little project would still be alive 10 years later!

They are planning their 10-year celebration (sober/no alcohol!) for Friday, Nov. 2. Bring food, and memorabilia if you have it! Go to the site for more details.

RVAnews.com On EAT Oregon Hill

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RVAnews.com writer Nathan Cushing has a feature on EAT Oregon Hill.

Excerpt:

The restaurant has also diversified by adding a mixture of small plates (chicken pot pie, char grilled baguette crostini), medium plates (Canadian style poutine, BBQ lettuce wraps), and large plates (seared duck breast, quinoa and black bean cakes). “People who don’t eat seafood have a plethora” of options now, ranging from $8 – $30. The restaurant will also brew its own beer.

Each beer will be named after a street running through Oregon Hill. The first one slated for debut will be the Idlewood IPA, scheduled to premiere in the coming weeks. It’s precisely this local focus that Manley feels was missing during the restaurant’s first incarnation.

The changes in the restaurant’s menu and approach culminated with a new name, EAT Oregon Hill. It’s derived from three large red letters mounted to the wall of Pescados China Street: E-A-T. It was a simple, playful command that Manley thought encapsulated the new restaurant, one he believes “feels more city-like, more Richmond-like…more Oregon Hill-like.”

Somebody Should Be Going To Jail

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The local corporate media is playing all coy about the recent demolishing of the historic canal wall. They keep referring to it as if it was an accident and was bound to happen. (It was not. There were witnesses.)

Not me (and yeah, this is marked as editorial).

I believe somebody, despite knowing the many concerns of our neighborhood and larger Richmond community, thought they could sneakily order and get away with, under the lingering goodwill glow of the folk festival, and before the Riverfront Plan comes up at City Council, the destruction of an important part of Richmond’s history (built with slave labor, designed with the help of no one less than George Washington). And, I guess they figured this sort of thing has been done before in Richmond, so they did think they could get away with it.

As others have pointed out, the work crew did not even bother to put up erosion controls as required by the Chesapeake Bay Act, before beginning this work that included a deep bulldozer rut down the side of the canal.

Imagine if a regular citizen tried something so arrogant, so pernicious. This was not like a kid spray painting a monument, this was someone destroying a large swathe of historic artifact. I don’t care how big or small of a figure the guilty party or guilty parties are, or which corporations they are leaders of, somebody should be going to jail.

Corporate accountability should mean something and not just political buzzwords. Speaking of which, where’s our Councilperson on this? After all, he was very recently quoted- “We need a council to do the people’s business of being watchdogs over the public purse, to be watchdogs over waste, fraud and abuse, to be watchdogs over massive mismanagement,” Jewell says. Really, Marty, then why aren’t you publicly calling for a criminal investigation?

RichmondBizSense on BunnyHop Bike Shop

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RichmondBizSense has an article on BunnyHop’s move to Laurel Street.

Excerpt from the article:

Bunnyhop Bike Shop is set to open its second location this winter in Oregon Hill.

Owner Luke Stevens said the store outgrew its current space at 918 W. Grace St., near the VCU bookstore.

“We ran out of room about two years ago, and we were waiting to find a space that was a good fit,” Stevens said. “I think we found it.”

Stevens said a good portion of his customer base lives in Oregon Hill, so leasing the first floor and basement of 349 S. Laurel St. seemed like a natural next step for the business.

The new shop is about 3,000 square feet, double the size of Bunnyhop’s Grace Street location. Stevens said that he’s had as many as 60 bikes in the shop for repair at one time and that space can get a little tight.

“This new location has much higher ceilings. It’s going to give us some more room to display merchandise,” Stevens said. “It’s a big transition for us. We’re growing up.”

When Stevens opened the first location in 2006, he said Bunnyhop was one of just a few stores in the city that catered to Richmond’s bike-riding population. Now there are at least half a dozen in the downtown area alone.

“The stakes are a lot higher this time around,” Stevens said. “There’s a lot more competition, and I’ve got four employees to consider. It’s a little more to worry about.”

He said Bunnyhop would try to stand out by offering quick turnaround times on repair work and affordable prices on parts.

Click here and here for some earlier posts on this.

OHNA Press Release and Corrected Press Release Over Demolished History

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Following the destruction of the historic canal wall, the Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association (OHNA) put forth the following press release. Keep in mind for legal purposes, only the original issuers of press releases are responsible for verifying the accuracy of their content. Oregonhill.net, and its principals, officers and employees disclaim any liability whatsoever for inaccuracies found in the content of the press releases posted on or through the oregonhill.net website.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Venture Richmond damages a portion of the historic James River and Kanawha Canal.

RICHMOND, VA: On Tuesday, Venture Richmond proceeded to damage a portion of the historic James River and Kanawha canal bank and to destroy a century-old brick structural component of the canal.

The Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association (OHNA) has called for the preservation of the 200 year old canal, built largely with slave labor when George Washington was the President of the canal society. The Oregon Hill neighborhood has many connections to the canal, including 601 Spring St, the former home of Samuel P. Parsons, the Canal Superintendent in 1840.

Jennifer Hancock, OHNA President, said, “We are seeing Richmond history disappear before our eyes.”

OHNA finds it disturbing that it is a public/private partnership that is responsible for the destruction. According to the Times Dispatch, Venture Richmond gets a large amount of public funding: $1.68 million from a special city tax on downtown property owners, in addition to $700,000 in public money for the Clean and Safe program.

Venture Richmond’s proposed amphitheater has ample sight lines without damaging the canal.

The Oregon Hill neighborhood has long sought the restoration of the canal to allow boats to travel west to Maymont. But the canal would not hold adequate water to float a boat to Maymont if the banks of the canal are lowered. According to archaeologist Lyle Browning, if the height of the canal bank is lowered below 82 feet above sea level, its current level, the canal will not hold enough water to allow boats to make the trip to Maymont in the future. “Lowering the height of the canal towpath without adequate archaeological investigation of the towpath will irreparably damage a nationally important resource.”

After the media started to pick the story up, Venture Richmond declared they had nothing to do with the tearing down of the canal wall. The Times Dispatch reported that Venture Richmond Executive Director Jack Berry called (the press release)”bogus” and “libelous.”

In response, OHNA released this correction this morning:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

OHNA calls for investigation into the destruction of canal property

Richmond, VA: The Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association (OHNA) acknowledges to Venture Richmond that OHNA made an incorrect assumption that Venture Richmond would be aware of bulldozers and construction crews operating on their own property, and therefore made the erroneous statement that Venture Richmond was responsible for the recent damage to the historic wall and canal.

According to an article that appeared in the October 20, 2012 edition of the Richmond Times Dispatch, “William Roberts, a project manager for J.A. Liesfeld, a Rockville-based contractor, acknowledged the firm was hired by NewMarket Corp. to tear down the wall but would not discuss the project.”

The Richmond Times Dispatch, in October 2011, reported that NewMarket destroyed another large section of the pre-Civil War Tredegar wall, only obtaining the required permit after the fact. http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/2011/oct/07/tdmet01-richmond-officials-say-newmarket-work-was–ar-1365435/

Last Tuesday, 150 feet of brick wall constructed before the Civil War was demolished by a construction crew operating on Venture Richmond property.

“We request an investigation of whatever entity was responsible for the destruction of this historic property,” said Jennifer Hancock, OHNA President. “Whoever demolished this wall should be required to rebuild the wall.”

The James River and Kanawha Canal was built over 200 years ago largely with slave labor when George Washington was president of the canal society. The Oregon Hill neighborhood has many connections with the rich history of the canal.

Some facts worth noting: NewMarket is listed as a major contributor to Venture Richmond. Two NewMarket executives sit on the Venture Richmond Board, including NewMarket’s CEO Gottwald. NewMarket a few weeks ago gave Venture Richmond the property for the amphitheater where much of the damage took place.

At the same time, according to sources, NewMarket is now contradicting the Times Dispatch to say that NewMarket had absolutely no role in the demolition of the wall located on the City’s property.

Another fact to keep in mind- the City Council 5th District’s boundary was slightly altered earlier this year to include the 2nd Street area.

The City’s new Riverfront Plan should be coming up at City Council very soon. It’s worth remembering that citizens spoke at planning meetings in favor of renovating the Kanawha Canal as a priority of this Riverfront Plan.

Oregon Hill residents have contacted the City’s Commonwealth Attorney to see how the criminal investigation is going. Stay tuned…

Despite Opposition, 2nd Street Connector Construction Starts

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Despite opposition from the Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association, the Sierra Club Falls of the James, citizens, as well as open government concerns, the City is pushing ahead with construction of the 2nd Street Connector.

Yesterday, despite promises for full exploration of the historic significance of the site, over 150 feet of century old structural canal brick wall was destroyed.

From City press release:

Construction on Richmond’s new street that will connect Second Street to Tredegar Street on the north side of the James River downtown will have a minimal effect on visitors to the James River Park’s Belle Isle who park in the Tredegar Street lot.

The first or eastern entrance to the lot on Tredegar Street will be closed effective Tuesday, October 16, due to construction on the new connector street; however, the second or western entrance to the lot, as well as the entire lot itself, will remain open throughout the entire construction period.

Trash/Recycling Pickup Tomorrow

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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, Disney just passed a new paper policy, which pleases Rainforest Action Network greatly- from Waste & Recycling News:

Mickey now prefers recycled paper. And Donald, too.

A new policy from The Walt Disney Co. is putting a new policy in place that aims to maximize use of paper and packaging that contains recycled content and fiber sourced from Forest Stewardship Council-certified forestry operations.

The new paper sourcing and use policy sets guidelines for paper used in daily business as well as consumer products and packaging, Disney said.

Other components of the policy include minimizing the consumption of paper and eliminating paper products containing irresponsibly harvested fiber.

“The paper policy is an example of how Disney conducts business in an environmentally and socially responsible way, and demonstrates the company’s commitment to creating a lasting, positive impact on ecosystems and communities worldwide,” said Beth Stevens, senior vice president of Disney Corporate Citizenship, Environment and Conservation.

Thefts from Vehicles

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From RPD:

4th Precinct
THEFT FROM MOTOR VEHICLE
10/11/12 – 10/13/12 11:00 p.m. – 9:15 a.m.
200 block of South Laurel Street
An unknown person(s) broke into the vehicle and stole the car stereo.

4th Precinct
THEFT FROM MOTOR VEHICLE
10/15/12 8:50 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.
900 block of Idlewood Avenue
An unknown person(s) entered the vehicle and stole a GPS unit.