OHNA Meeting Tomorrow Night

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From email announcement:

AGENDA:
Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association
Monthly Meeting Agenda
Tuesday 19 November 2024 – 7:00PM
This meeting will be held by Zoom, at the link below.
(Editor- Meeting information redacted from this post. Please contact ohnarva@gmail.com if you need it.)

Welcome:
Community Updates:
1. Lt. Bill Brereton, City of Richmond Police Section Lt, 4th Precinct
2. VCU Police: Chief John Venuti, Major Nicole Dailey
3. Ms. Verenda Cobbs, VCU
4. Ms. Stephanie Lynch, 5th District Councilperson
5. Ms. Colette McEachin, Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney

Discussion:
Student code of conduct violation processes (Dr Aaron Hart, VP of Student Affairs at VCU)

Announcements:
Bulletin Board in Pleasants Park
Pedestrian Beacon finally installed on Belvidere
Street Paving: make plans
Caring for the Community Day at St Andrews School
Street Art Festival
“Annual Town Meeting,” December 17–planning for in person

Updates and Continued Business

Committee Reports:
Treasurer Report
Zoning Committee
Friends of Oregon Hill Parks (FOOHP)
Bylaws Committee
Richmond Public Budgeting Liaison Committee

New Business
OHNA elections.
Current leadership roles under OHNA bylaws (President, Treasurer, Secretary, “one or more Vice Presidents.”)
Terms are for one year, to begin Jan 2025
Please nominate yourself or another to stand for an OHNA leadership role!

See you all on Tuesday!

Valerie L’Herrou

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Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association
Valerie L’Herrou, President
Bryan Clark Green, Co-Vice President
Jennifer Hancock, Co-Vice-President
Harrison Moenich, Co-Vice-President
Mike Mathews, Secretary
John Bolecek, Treasurer
JOIN OHNA: https://forms.gle/joCpHqcPrShu8qf86

Minimum Wage Studio Relocating

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Style magazine has published a rousing tribute to Lance Koehler’s Minimum Wage Recording Studio, which is relocating to Staunton, Virginia, after 20 years of making music right here in Oregon Hill.

The piece also promotes a fundraising concert scheduled for this coming Sunday at The Broadberry concert venue.

Microphones, cables and rows of knobs and dials — every recording studio has ‘em. A stated goal, on the other hand? Not all studios have one of those, but Minimum Wage Recording did: “To make it affordable enough that bands could take more time in the studio and really dig into doing some art.”

That’s how owner Lance Koehler describes the mission he sought to fulfill during Minimum Wage’s two-decade run operating in Oregon Hill. Now the gifted engineer, founding member of No BS! Brass Band and overall pillar of Richmond’s music community is packing up his studio and moving to Staunton, and some his former clients are stepping up to honor his contributions — and pay forward his generosity.

On Sunday, Nov. 17, the Broadberry will host A Celebration of Minimum Wage Recording Studios. The concert — part send-off, part benefit event — was the brainchild of fellow drummer Scott Clark, who was among the first to record at the studio when it was founded shortly after Koehler moved from New Orleans to Richmond in 2001. Upon learning Koehler was planning to move again, Clark was immediately inspired to put a bill together.

Needless to say, many neighbors will greatly miss Koehler and the great creativity emanating from Albemarle Street.

Event description as it appears in Style:
A Celebration of Minimum Wage Recording Studios will take place on Sunday, Nov. 17 at the Broadberry. Bio Ritmo, No BS! Brass Band and Justin Golden will perform. Doors open at 7 p.m. and music starts at 8 p.m. Proceeds will benefit Minimum Wage Recording Studio. Tickets are $15 in advance ($20 at the door) and can be purchased at thebroadberry.com.

Trash/Recycling Pickup Tomorrow Morning

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Tomorrow is a “Red Wednesday”, which means trash and recycling pickup.

Please go over what can be recycled.

NOTE: CVWMA (Central Virginia Waste Management Authority) has announced that all curbside recycling must now be INSIDE the CVWMA containers with lid closed. Items beside the container or on top of it will not be collected. In fact, incorrect setouts may not be collected at all. This is new as of July 1 for all our curbside recyclers, with the exception of townhomes/condos still using small bins. (And yes, this also applies to flattened cardboard boxes.)

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 it seems like pickup did not happen, use this online form:
https://cvwma.com/programs/residential-recycling/recycling-service-request-form/

In order to take your recycling to the next level, read this: 10 ways to improve your recycling.

In recycling news, for American Recycles Day on Nov. 15, the Central Virginia Waste Management Authority is launching its “Bucks for Boxes” cardboard box recycling contest.

As reported on WRIC:

The authority said its staff will peruse neighborhoods and local recycling drop-off centers to find people who are recycling cardboard boxes correctly. This means that the boxes are clean, dry and empty, flattened/broken down and inside the curbside or drop-off container.

Each week, one person will be chosen at random to win $100 cash. The contest begins Nov. 15 and ends Jan. 10.

The authority said the contest is open to residential recyclers only, which means no businesses or workplaces are eligible to win.

Virginia War Memorial Veterans Day 2024

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Today at 11 am, the Virginia War Memorial hosts the 68th annual Commonwealth’s Veterans Day Ceremony at the Virginia War Memorial, honoring Virginia’s men and women who have served and who are currently serving in the United States Armed Forces.

There will be guest speakers, patriotic music, and the winners of the annual Virginia War Memorial’s Student Essay Contest will be formerly announced. The event is rain or shine and ceremony will be held in the Virginia War Memorial’s E. Bruce Heilman Amphitheater.

It’s important to remember that the historic Oregon Hill neighborhood used to extend to this area, and that Belvidere Street used to be a one lane, residential street similar to what Laurel and Pine streets are.

Oregon Hill residents are respectful and thankful to our veterans for their service and sacrifice.

Yet… I also took the above photo this morning, partly because it shows the yet-to-be-unveiled new traffic light for the pedestrian crossing, but also because the shrouded figure reminded me of the infamous and damning Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse.

Many Oregon Hill residents are concerned about the longterm and increasing militarism and war promoted by BOTH sides of the corporate duopoly (Democrats AND Republicans), despite public opinion against it.

When will the politicians read and listen?

Let’s hope Veteran’s Day ceremonies remain nonpartisan and nonpolitical in a solemn spirit, but let’s also remember the recent Halloween Parade’s theme, “A Funeral March for Silence”.

VCU Police Investigating Halloween Fight

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From WRIC story:

Investigators learned that, around 11:30 p.m., an altercation took place among a large group of people at the intersection of the 700 block of West Cary Street and South Laurel Street. The group was gathered outside of a restaurant, which its owner later confirmed was Tito’s Taqueria and Bar.
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“Our victim had asked a question of another patron in the line for that establishment — [asking] if tickets were needed to enter — and some derogatory words were shared … [then] they started arguing,” said David Kelly, detective sergeant of investigations for VCU Police. “[It] turned into a fight, where two females were fighting.”

Kelly said that one of the females then attacked the victim, followed by a man who jumped in and also attacked her.

According to police, the victim is affiliated with VCU and had significant injuries to her face. Though she was later discharged from the hospital, she continues to go through ongoing medical treatment due to injuries impacting her eye.
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Anyone with information on this incident is asked to contact the VCU Police Department. Tips can also be submitted to Metro Richmond Crime Stoppers at 804-780-1000. You may do so anonymously.

Robert Pleasants Park Cleanup This Saturday

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The Friends of Oregon Hill Parks are holding a park clean up event at Robert Pleasants Park (401 S. Laurel Street) this coming Saturday from 10 am to 2 pm.

From the FaceBook event page:
Join the Friends of Oregon Hill Parks and Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association as we clean up/make updates to our beloved Pleasant’s Park. Refreshments will be provided. Thank you in advance!

https://www.meetup.com/rva-clean-city-sweep/events/303790887/

Note: help may also be needed loading flower bed bricks on Friday.

Parakeet Rescue

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Photos courtesy of RACC

Oregon Hill is, sadly, somewhat used to abandoned/lost pets. It’s heartbreaking. This week, neighbors found two small birds that were on the ground and seemed very scared.
Thankfully, this story ends on a positive note. The birds were retrieved and brought to Richmond Animal Control. Adoptions are pending.

Trash/Recycling Pickup Tomorrow Morning

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Tomorrow is a “Red Wednesday”, which means trash and recycling pickup.

Please go over what can be recycled.

NOTE: CVWMA (Central Virginia Waste Management Authority) has announced that all curbside recycling must now be INSIDE the CVWMA containers with lid closed. Items beside the container or on top of it will not be collected. In fact, incorrect setouts may not be collected at all. This is new as of July 1 for all our curbside recyclers, with the exception of townhomes/condos still using small bins. (And yes, this also applies to flattened cardboard boxes.)

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 it seems like pickup did not happen, use this online form:
https://cvwma.com/programs/residential-recycling/recycling-service-request-form/

In order to take your recycling to the next level, read this: 10 ways to improve your recycling.

In recycling news, West Virginia University researchers are exploring whether microwave technology can recover high yields of propylene from polypropylene plastic scrap.

From the Recycling Today article:

“We need to diversify our strategies for dealing with America’s abundant plastic waste,” says Wang, an assistant professor at WVU. “Currently, polypropylene has a notably low recovery rate of only 1 percent, meaning 99 percent of polypropylene products become garbage. We want to change that by using microwave irradiation to recover propylene from polypropylene.”

“The world produces more polypropylene than any other plastic resin except polyethylene,” WVU adds. “It’s found in kitchenware, sports equipment, bleach bottles, pipes, battery casings, medical devices, textiles and more.”

According to the research team, most PP products are single-use plastics, including to-go beverage cups. “Almost all of them eventually end up as trash, filling landfills or polluting the environment,” WVU says.