Unacceptable

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From neighbor:

Rowdy night last night on the Hill. Big student party broke up a bit after mignight. About a hundred partyers. No masks. They left trinkets in the new trees on the walk back to VCU.

This is unacceptable. VCU President Rao and administration have to take some responsibility also. But Oregon Hill residents also need to make sure they alert the VCU and Richmond police to the problems.
This is happening during a dangerous pandemic. There’s historical precedent for taking far greater measures in the interest of public health.

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. (See news item below)
In order to take your recycling to the next level, read this: 10 ways to improve your recycling.

In recycling news, snarls in container shipping have slowed global commerce on all fronts, according to RecyclingToday.com.

If the idea that “misery loves company” is any solace, recyclers can take comfort that the container availability, freight costs and shipping date delays plaguing them are being shared across seemingly all business sectors.

A January 25 online article by the Washington Post refers to “disrupted global supply chains” with symptoms that include “fresh shipping headaches” that are delaying United States exports, “crimping domestic manufacturing and threatening higher prices for American consumers.”

“The cost of shipping a container of goods has risen by 80 percent since early November and has nearly tripled over the past year, according to the Freightos Baltic Index,” writes David J. Lynch, the article’s author.

Residents Look Forward to ‘Mocha Gourmet Market’

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From RichmondBizSense.com article:

After 25 years, a neighborhood market in Oregon Hill is under new management and set to get a half-million-dollar rebirth.

Fine Food Market at 700 Idlewood Ave. is now owned and operated by Ezaddin Alshami, who’s planning to renovate the store and rebrand it as Mocha Gourmet Market.

It’s the second local market for Alshami, who in December opened the Northside Gourmet Market in Barton Heights.

Fine Food Market had operated in Oregon Hill for over two decades, and during that time it was a client of Alshami’s ATM business TriTec ATM. That relationship led to a recent conversation about a sale.

“I talked to the owners and they were about done with it. We made an offer that they accepted right away,” Alshami said. “I’ve known the area for a long time and know the store’s potential.”

Alshami purchased the business and signed a new lease for the store. Alshami said the 46-year-old building has been neglected over the years, and that he’s preparing to renovate it and update the concept.

VCU Board Graded

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A report released Wednesday by the nonprofit Partners for College Affordability and Public Trust analyzed 15 public universities in Virginia for the accessibility of information such as board meeting minutes, policies and bylaws, and contact information for board members.

According to this report, Virginia Commonwealth earned an overall ‘C’ grade in the study of how transparent its governing board is to the public.

However it earned a failing grade in regard to its board member accessibility.

From the report-

The board currently provides the public options to observe meetings by video streaming or in-person, while allowing for physical distancing and health pre-cautions. In-person attendance is limited to 10 people who register in advance, with preference given on a first-come, first-serve basis. A phone dial-in option is not provided. Video recordings of in-person or virtual meetings are posted to the board website for public record (https://president.vcu.edu/board/minutes/).

Generic contact information for the board listed on the board website (https://president.vcu.edu/board/), including a mailing address and email address (bov@vcu.edu). The board website also lists contact information for a point-of-contact for the board (Chelsea Gray, Assistant Secretary and Board Liaison), including a mailing address, phone number, and an email address (cgray8@vcu.edu). Contact information to communicate with individual board members is not available.

According to board policy, a period of public comment will be accepted at the board’s annual Budget Workshop, which is routinely attended by the full board. Board policy does not specify that written comments be distributed to all board members.

The Partners for College Affordability and Public Trust announced the report Wednesday to coincide with the introduction of a bill in the Virginia General Assembly that addresses concerns about transparency among college governing boards. The proposed bill, H.R. 2120, would require boards to make meetings accessible to the public remotely and to post contact information such as email addresses for board members, among other policies.

“Service on a Board of Visitors for a Virginia public university is a highly coveted political appointment, but it is also a position of serious responsibility,” Del. Mark Keam, D-Fairfax, and the bill’s patron, said in a news release from the nonprofit. “Their decisions impact the lives of countless students, faculty, staff, and the broader university communities. At a time when the public’s trust in our institutions is frail and taxpayers demand more from government, I believe our colleges and universities must reassure their stakeholders that they are committed to the highest standards of public service.”

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. (See news item below)
In order to take your recycling to the next level, read this: 10 ways to improve your recycling.

The Chesapeake, Virginia-based recycling rewards program, Recycling Perks, has rebranded to EnviroPerks. The company says the new name better reflects its new, extended benefits program. With the addition of its Loyalty+ platform, EnviroPerks says its program has increased its savings potential for customers of waste haulers across the country.

EnviroPerks is a customer loyalty program that rewards its members for being loyal waste hauler customers. By providing added value in the form of discounts and rewards, customers of participating haulers can save more than they spend on their monthly hauling service, according to the company. Using an online interface, members use earned loyalty points to choose from hundreds of EnviroPerks rewards and thousands of no-points-needed Loyalty+ discounts.

EnviroPerks says rewards encourage good behavior and create customer loyalty. By applying this strategy to the waste industry, the company’s loyalty program gives users the benefits of savings on household expenses to encourage customer loyalty.