Rumput and All the Saints Theater Company, Sept. 13th

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Though All the Saints Theater Company may be best known for founding the annual Halloween Parade that goes through Oregon Hill, they are Richmond’s one and only premiere subversive puppet theater.

On Monday, September 13th, they will performing with Rumput, a local group, at the Firehouse Theater, on Broad Street.

The Rumput performance will include traditional and experimental stringband music by Indonesian composers, newly commissioned scrolling artwork by Javanese artists, and original cinematic shadow theater.

Using their larger than life puppets blessed by the paper mache gods, All the Saints will perform their “Moon Shadow Cabaret,” an exploration of the darkness that seeks the light of the sun. This performance is for all ages, made with adults in mind.

All proceeds go to supporting artists in Indonesia, now the epicenter of the COVID pandemic.

Grace Arents Marker Gone Missing

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Oregon Hill residents noticed last night that the Grace Arents historical marker that was next to the St. Andrew’s School on Idelwood has gone missing. A report has been made to the police. Considering the cost of this marker, if this is indeed theft/vandalism, it should qualify for grand larceny.

This is happening at a time of year when the neighborhood sees an uptick of vandalism with the arrival of VCU students. This is also happening at a sensitive time for Grace Arent’s legacy, with her historic affordable housing at Cumberland Linden having recently sold.

Trash/Recycling Pickup Tomorrow

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This Wednesday is a “Red Wednesday”, which means trash and recycling pickup. Please go over what can be recycled. Ideally, rolling recycling containers are stored and deployed in the back alleys along with trash cans. Please make sure you pick up containers after pickup tomorrow night.

If you have not done so already, don’t forget to sign up for your Recycling Perks.
In order to take your recycling to the next level, read this: 10 ways to improve your recycling.

In recycling news, a Roanoke-area recycling center is developing a plan for its big pile of glass.
Article excerpt:

But glass, which historically has a low recycling rate in the United States, creates a bottleneck at RDS. Unable to find a buyer, and unwilling to haul it to the landfill, Benedetto let it accumulate at the Roanoke facility. The pile of cullet, or crushed glass, is estimated to weigh more than 1,800 tons.

The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality cited RDS earlier this year for exceeding a storage limit of 150 tons for recyclable waste.

In an agreement with DEQ, Benedetto accelerated his plans to grind the crushed glass into a finer, sand-like material and remove contaminants such as small pieces of bottle caps, paper and plastic waste.

The process, which involved spending close to $100,000 on a trammel and other equipment, will make the glass more marketable as fill material for roads and other construction projects and as an ingredient in the making of concrete and asphalt.

(quick editorial: Why not use this piece as a starting point for examining the role recycling in the current climate crisis? Reduce and Reuse are prior to Recycle, and the life-cycle of these processes has an enormous carbon footprint. Not all green solutions are equal, and some aren’t even green, much less solutions.)

OHNA Meeting Tomorrow Night

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From email announcement:

(Editor’s note: Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association can be contacted through this email: ohnarva@gmail.com)

Good morning OHNA members,

I look forward to seeing everyone Tuesday at 7pm for our monthly OHNA meeting.

This will be our second first in-person meeting of the year. Since St. Andrew’s is still not quite ready to host meetings (the Delta variant has forced them to re-think hosting any outside groups) and we couldn’t locate a suitable indoor location in the neighborhood, we will be meeting in our Holly Street Park. Please bring a chair, and if you can’t, a couple of picnic tables will be available. We are optimistic that soon, perhaps in September (?), we can return to St. Andrew’s.

We are also providing a Zoom link provided for those who wish to join remotely. This should allow for remote participation, including the ability to ask questions remotely — those in person won’t be able to see remote participants, but we should be able to hear them. We worked out most of the hiccups in the park, but please be patient with us if the remote option gives us any trouble on Tuesday evening.

I have attached to this email
1. the agenda for the 24 August meeting (also pasted in below),
2. the minutes for the 27 July meeting,

We look forward to seeing everyone tomorrow evening.

Thanks,
Bryan

Monthly Meeting Agenda
Tuesday 24 July 2021
7:00PM

Location: Holly Street Playground
Optional Zoom link: (Editor’s note: please contact OHNA for link)

We ask that invited guests limit their presentations to no more than 5 minutes.

We ask that questions, comments, and suggestions be kept to no more than 3 minutes.

This meeting will be recorded.

Welcome

· This meeting will be in person, in the Holly Street Playground, with a Zoom link provided for those who wish to join remotely.

· Treasurer’s Report

Community Updates:

1. Lt. Brian Robinson, City of Richmond Police Section Lt, 4th Precinct
2. Officer Luke Schrader, Police Liaison, VCU
3. Mr. Tito Luna, VCU Liaison
4. Ms. Stephanie Lynch, 5th District Councilperson
5. Ms. Colette McEachin, Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney

Updates

1. Proposed all-way stops on South Pine Street at its intersection with China Street (at Open High School) and South Pine Street at its intersection with Albemarle Street

· A survey has been posted and a link sent. If you would like to participate, the link is: (Editor’s note: please contact OHNA for link).

· Flyers were recently placed around the two intersections to alert neighbors to the proposed change. .

2. Proposed Amendments to the Richmond 300 Land Use Plan / Neighborhood Coalition Update

· Move Oregon Hill from Neighborhood Mixed Use to Residential land use category (Randolph is in this category).

· If Planning will not move Oregon Hill to Residential, then change the maximum height in the Neighborhood Mixed Use category from four stories to two stories.

· Remove the clause that allows taller buildings along major streets.

o Idlewood and South Laurel between VCU and Idlewood are designated major streets

o The amendments were continued by Land Use Committee. City Planning staff have recommended that no amendments be adopted.

o The next hearing is scheduled for noon on Tuesday 21 September 2021

Continued Business

1. We are putting together a committee to plan a neighborhood fall festival.

· Tentatively scheduled for the afternoon of Saturday 23 October (one week before Halloween) in Pleasant’s Park.

· Will include events for neighbors of all ages – pumpkin carving, kid’s costume contest, house decorating contest,

· Will also have a fundraising component for neighborhood projects, including an auction of donated items from local businesses and individuals

· May conclude with a movie in the park

· Any new volunteers?

2. Park improvement committee – will look at both Pleasant’s Park and the Holly Street Playground

· Potential cleanup on Saturday 11 September (pending results of grant application)

· Another cleanup being planned for the week before the Fall Festival event, Saturday 16 October

· Any new volunteers?

3. St. Andrew’s Association has listed 200-202 S. Linden St. and 912-924 Cumberland Street for sale

· All 18 units (19,625 ft. sq.) and 13 parking spaces are for sale. The lot is zoned R-7.

· The asking price is $2,750,000

· It appears that the property has been sold; the purchaser appears to be the same developer who came before us with the SUP for 116 South Laurel Street.

4. The City has announced round two of the CARES Act program. This program offers relief on your City of Richmond utility bill for those impacted by COVID. A flyer, as well as an application for the program, are attached to the email that went out with the agenda. If you did not receive it, just let me know and I will be happy to send you a copy.

New Business

1. None.

The Next OHNA meeting is scheduled for 7:00pm Tuesday 28 September 2021. That meeting will be held in person with Zoom option; the location will be announced later, and a link will be sent separately.

Bryan Clark Green, President
David Cary, Co-Vice-President
Jennifer Hancock, Co-Vice-President
Chris Hughes, Co-Vice-President
Harrison Moenich, Secretary
John Bolecek, Treasurer

After The Storm

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Downtown Richmond saw a powerful thunderstorm cell come through last night around 7 pm. Thankfully, no serious damage or injuries reported. And Laurel Street neighbor Teresa Birchett took a photo of what many downtown residents saw – a rainbow after the storm. Note: There is the possibility we may see more storms this afternoon after a lot of humid heat.