VCU School Start Brings COVID

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From the Times Dispatch:

Virginia Commonwealth University has 25 confirmed student COVID-19 cases and 11 confirmed employee cases, a university spokesman said Thursday afternoon.
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VCU’s fall semester began on Monday. The school is offering in-person and online classes and the university’s dorms are home to more than 4,000 students in space designed for more than more than 6,200.

The university administration has created a ‘dashboard’ website to monitor cases of infection, but information is limited.

Neighbors are concerned about possible spread given the close proximity of the university and the number of students who live and visit Oregon Hill. There have been recent parties at residences in the neighborhood where masks were not used.

Some VCU students have publicly protested the re-opening of the university during the pandemic. They have also noted that the university has not refunded tuition despite many demands from students.

Terminate The Monroe Park Conservancy’s Lease!

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This coming Tuesday, Mayoral candidates will be participating in a forum hosted by The Metropolitan Business League. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that the state of Monroe Park will come up as a topic, but it should, for both incumbent Mayor Stoney and City Councilperson Kim Gray (who sits on the Monroe Park Conservancy board!) are responsible due to their inaction. Both of them have failed the public on this important issue. Perhaps they care more what the VCU administration wants.

Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association President Todd Woodson once again asked that elected leaders be accountable and do the right thing by terminating “the Conservancy”‘s lease on the park.

Dear Friends

A year and a half after a complete 7 million dollar plus renovation, Monroe Park’s pathways are unusable. The Monroe Park Conservancy, who has a lease on the park for $1 a year, CHOSE to not follow the master plan which the City paid over $700,000 for, and along with design firm 3North and City Capital Projects Supervisor Donald Summers, proceeded to remove all public restroom facilities, destroyed the historic tree canopy, installed faulty bollards (many are now gone), defaced the WWII Memorial and installed superfluous signage which detracts from the parks natural beauty.
In spite of leaving the park an unusable wreck, the “conservancy” still holds the lease which as their website states- “can be terminated at any time”.
The most recent form 990 for the Monroe Park Conservancy lists liabilities of over $200,000.00.
Once again, I respectfully request that this lease be terminated and the park- our City’s oldest and most historic, be returned to the management of our wonderful Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities. A plan must be crafted to reinstall the restrooms, fix the pathways, replace the bollards, fix the WWII Memorial and restore the historic tree canopy. The taxpayers are out over 4 million dollars here and are on the hook for at least another 2 or 3 due to mismanagement by the “conservancy”.
Please consider this reasonable request.

Sincerely,

Charles T Woodson

Let this be a lesson- When neoliberal privatization schemes go bad, the public is left with the mess. It’s very telling how certain local commentators and media outlets are still silent on this debacle while some of us in the community have put our necks out by speaking out about it from the beginning.

Mojo’s Announces Rules For Dining In

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Mojo’s, at the corner of S. Laurel and W.Cary, is attempting to open again for dining inside with new rules in place:

– we only have 6 tables available for the moment
– two of those tables allow for a MAXIMUM of 6 people
– we will have to split up parties of 7 or more and seat you at separate tables
– we take reservations! We suggest you give us a call and let us know you’re coming in ESPECIALLY if you have more than 4 people in your party (tables are super limited)
– you just wear a mask ALWAYS unless seated at a table (this includes trips to the bathroom, getting up to pay, and any other reason you are not seated at a table)
– use the hand sanitizer at the front of the restaurant upon entering
– Eatstreet is still in the process of updating our new menu. To place an order for pickup or delivery tonight, give us a call at 804-644-6676
This is a new experience for us, so please be patient with us as we navigate through new guidelines. We want to provide the safest possible visit for you, so please be mindful of the rules we have posted. Excited to see ya’ll again (for more than a couple minutes😘)!

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.

But here’s a question? Can cities go zero waste?

“By requiring new plastic products to contain recycled plastic and making producers fund the collection and recycling of plastic products, producers would be incentivized to design longer lasting products that can actually be reused and recycled.We can achieve that. The first steps include banning some of the worst and most polluting single-use plastics, placing a pause on the development of new plastics facilities, and protecting state and local governments’ ability to enact more stringent regulations.”

St. Andrew’s School Starts Monday

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St. Andrew’s School is an independent elementary school in Oregon Hill, specifically for families with low incomes.
Students are returning to school, in some capacity, this coming Monday.

Neighbors are trying to be supportive. From Laurel Street neighbor Jenny Beth-

Hi neighbors, weather permitting we will be “chalking the walk” again this year for the Saint Andrew’s School back to school (Monday, August 10th). We’ll go out this Sunday (August 9) late afternoon/early evening and have plenty of chalk, or BYO. We will be wearing masks! We’d love your help sharing encouraging messages and cheering on these brave elementary schoolers returning for the first time since March!

From OHNA president Todd Woodson:

Dear Friends

Please remember that St Andrews School will open on Monday, August 10. Please DO NOT park in the areas fronting the school on South Cherry as well as Idlewood Ave. This is especially important as some grades will enter through the front and some grades will enter on the Cherry St side due to precautions associated with Covid preparedness.

Also, please remember to drive slowly in the vicinity of the school. Let’s keep our kids safe!

Todd.