archive for June, 2009
June 1, 2009
James River Park FOREVER
In February, City Council considered preserving the James River Park System with a conservation easement. The conservation easement was signed into law on Friday, May 29, 2009. It is now guaranteed that about 280 acres of James River Park System, Belle Isle, and Great Shiplock Park can never be sold or developed. The easement also cannot be undone by future state and city leaders.
Shared Air suggests that this might be the first major urban park system in the country preserved in perpetuity under a conservation easement. [via]
June 1, 2009
check out Anthem Stride Through Time
The folks at RVA News have come through with a great video of Anthem Stride Through Time event from this past weekend. The event, which showcased Richmond’s historic sites, brought a lot of activity to the River District including people, music, and a pretty cool motorcade.
June 1, 2009
health care reform town hall meeting
The Virginia Interfaith Center along with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) will be hosting a Health Care Reform Town Hall Meeting on June 4 at 6:30PM at the Sacred Heart Chapel. The goal of this meeting is to help inform the community about the current health care debate, build support for quality affordable health care for all, as well as provide a public forum for people to express their own views on the situation. There will be an expert policy analyst from the Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis as well as local faith leader speaking.
Health Care Reform Town Hall Meeting
June 3, 2009
Commonwealth Architects sponsors cleanup of Great Shiplock Park
Commonwealth Architects will sponsor a cleanup of Great Shiplock Park as part of its 10th anniversary celebration on Saturday, June 13. The public is encouraged to join the Richmond architecture firm in the cleanup of one of the city’s historic parks.
“Commonwealth Architects is focused on the rebuilding of communities throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. The Great Shiplock Park is located within blocks of our office. For our 10th anniversary, we wanted to give back to our own neighborhood. We want to help maintain this valuable natural resource within our city. It’s a way of contributing to the city and of contributing to a greener, more sustainable environment,” said principal Robert Mills.
Read more >
June 4, 2009
High Speed Rail inching closer to reality?
Possibly, if Governor Kaine made any progress at the White House yesterday. A press release from yesterday states that Vice President Biden and Transportation Secretary LaHood have reached out to governors, including Kaine, to strategize bold ways to move forward with high speed rail.
Based on news reports, the proposed VA high speed rail will definitely go through Main Street Station. It has also been announced that the Federal Railway Administration is no longer considering putting high speed rail on an Eastern route. The Eastern route would bypass the Ashland and Staples Mill Rd location.
In the meantime, an additional train will run between Richmond and DC during commuter hours beginning in December. [via]
June 4, 2009
hearing set for Sam Moore
From Rachel DePompa’s twitter page:
NEWS UPDATE: ABC Agency sets hearing date for Shockoe Strip club owner Sam Moore. If found guilty Club Velvet could lose liquor license.
June 5, 2009
friday cheers cancelled tonight
Due to the rain, Friday Cheers has been cancelled. No word yet on whether the concert featuring Jerry Douglas will be rescheduled.
June 8, 2009
Savor Beer Dinner Friday
As mentioned before, Savor has started having very cool all inclusive wine dinners. This Friday Savor will host a Pan Asian beer dinner. Today is the last day to RSVP.
June 8, 2009
Back Porch Tonight
Today, June 8th, Back Porch Initiatives will be discussing the ground they’ve covered during Green Mondays over the past year and brainstorming where to go next.
Since we began our weekly discussions at globehopper over a year ago, we’ve covered topics from local foods to smart growth to voting rights to the river. Please join us this evening to discuss the topics, discussions, documentaries, and speakers you’ve found to be most engaging, and decide which direction to go next. Which social topics are you most interested in learning more about? Do you want more workshops? More documentaries? More speakers? More politics? More d.i.y. cleaning supplies? Feel free to respond via email as well to join in on the conversation!
Read more >
June 8, 2009
more development along the river?
The RTD has a somewhat complicated, hard to follow story on a potential plan for a restaurant at the Intermediate Terminal. The Ripp family has been in talks with the city for at least 5 years now in regards to buying the property from the city. The family’s restaurant group Restauranteur Inc., which owns Can Can, is exercising its purchase option for the property along the River. However, it appears that they are only moving forward with their option to negotiate a longer extension deadline, so don’t expect to be making reservations soon.
The Ripps and city officials have been talking about extending the deadline to allow time to work out an agreement for development of the riverfront area east of downtown, perhaps including the site of the Echo Harbour condominium, hotel and office project.
“We’ll continue to look at other ways to work with the city . . . on the development of the river together,” Ripp said. [via]
June 9, 2009
VOTE TODAY
The Democratic primary is today! Vote at your regular polling place for a candidate for Richmond City Sheriff, Lieutenant Governor, and Governor. Find out more about who is running and the like over at RVA News…
June 9, 2009
charge dropped for woman who filmed police
Commonwealth’s Attorney Michael Herring announced today that his office is withdrawing a charge against Joanne Jefferson for impeding traffic. Jefferson was arrested last year after filming police officers, who were trying to control a rowdy crowd as the bars let out in Shockoe Bottom early morning. Jefferson accused the police officers of using excessive force, a claim Herring says has no merit. [via]
June 10, 2009
They yell a lot at Millie’s
Food Around Richmond has a take on Millie’s:
June 11, 2009
unhappy hour and a murder mystery
On June 25, 2009 the Poe Museum will host its third “Unhappy Hour” of the season. This month’s theme is Ratiocination to coincide with the opening of a new exhibit by the same name. The exhibit and unhappy hour will deal with Poe’s detective fiction. Poe is the father of the detective story and at the June unhappy hour you will find yourself solving a mystery of your own as a murder will have taken place! And it is up to you to solve it.
Admission to the event is FREE. Live music, performances, food, and a cash bar will be available. The event is from 6pm – 9pm and you may come and go as you please. So come on down and have some fun . . . WITH POE! Read more >
June 11, 2009
SBNA meeting Monday
The June meeting of the Shockoe Bottom Neighborhood Association will take place this Monday, June 15th at 5:30 p.m. at Café Gutenberg, located on the corner of 17th and East Main Streets. Included in this month’s meeting will be: a brief presentation by the Department of Public Utilities on Project Green Alley, a recap of our first two Red White and Brew festivals, a volunteer sign-up to I.D., and pour beer at future festivals, committee reports, and your ideas, comments, and concerns.