CBS6′s Mark Holmberg took a look at the ideas and interests swirling around the bus barn yesterday.  The local news piece was inspired, at least in part, by the discussion that we hosted here on this site, as a WTVR producer contacted us to do follow-ups with some of our commenters (that’s you! Good job.). Dennis Danvers fielded Holmberg’s request for someone from the Byrd Park Civic League (BPCL) to come forward.  The rest is mostly a man-on-the-street run down of ideas. Breaking ground on anything is still a couple years away. The city is still pretty tight lipped.  However, there is still time for communities to weigh in.  BPCL hopes to have someone from RRHA at one of their upcoming meetings to discuss the matter. Until then, keep making your voice heard here and elsewhere.

The next Byrd Park Civic League (BPCL) meeting will feature a guest speaker from the Richmond Clean City Commission and and the meeting will be followed by a plant swap. Both are open to the public.  The previously announced RRHA speaker who was slated to visit to discuss the future of the bus barn has postponed his visit until more news on that topic is available.  More info on the April 10th BPCL meeting:

BPCL Meeting April 10th 10:00 a.m. at the Roundhouse Guest Speaker: Darlene C. Mallory from Richmond Clean City Commission (CCC) 1st annual Plant Swap to follow at 11:00. Bring any garden item to swap. Plants, seeds, pots, etc. If you think someone might want it then bring it.

Richmond Clean City Commission (CCC) speaker Darlene C. Mallory will be our guest speaker at the April 10th meeting. Today the CCC sponsors programs that encourage citizens to clean, maintain and beautify their environment. The Commission is composed of City Council appointees and concerned volunteers who help clean and beautify Richmond. Their current program, “Pride in Richmond is Picking Up,” includes Neighborhood Volunteer Clean-Ups, Loan-A-Truck, Graffiti Abatement, and Adopt-A-Spot.

This afternoon, the police discovered a woman shot multiple times in a car parked on the 1200 block of Lakeview Ave near Harrison Street in the Randolph neighborhood.  She was taken to the hospital and was pronounced dead shortly afterwards

E-mail Advisory 4/2/10

Richmond Police Department

Lakeview Ave. Homicide

The Richmond Police Department is investigating a homicide that occurred shortly before 11 a.m. in the city’s Randolph Neighborhood.

The victim, Tarchelle Nicole Daniel, 36, of 1212 Lakeview Ave. was shot as she sat in a car parked behind her residence. She was transported to VCUMC where she was pronounced dead at 11:35 a.m.

Police have developed a strong suspect and do not believe this was a random shooting.

Anyone with any information about this crime is asked to call the Richmond Police Tips Line at 514-TIPS (8477) or Crime Stoppers at 780-1000.

Update: The Times-Dispatch is reporting that the suspect they were pursuing in the murder has killed himself after fatally shooting another victim in Church Hill. Tarchelle Nicole Daniel’s 16 year old daughter was attending school at Thomas Jefferson High School and her 13 year old son was inside their apartment at the time of the shooting.

Monthly crime stats for Sector 313. The district includes all of Byrd Park, Randolph, the Fan, and most of the Maymont neighborhood (see map here). Contact info for Lt. Edward Capriglione is included at the end of the post.

Community Noteworthy Report

March 2010

Sector 313:

March 2010:

Violent Crime: 20% decrease

03/2010 vs. 03/2009 – four (4) crimes vs. five (5) crimes.

Property Crime: 6% increase

03/2010 vs. 03/2009 – fifty-one (51) crimes vs. forty-eight (48) crimes

Major Crime: 4% increase

03/2010 vs. 03/2009 – fifty-five (55) crimes vs. fifty-three (53) crimes

Read more >

Eventually to become: Okra, bib lettuce, and striped heirloom tomatoes.

There are signs all around the neighborhood advertising the “plant swap.”  Accordingly, we started some seeds and they’re coming up right on time. On Saturday, April 10th, at 11 a.m., The Byrd Park Civic League will sponsor a plant swap that is open to the public at the Byrd Park Round House. Gardeners and citizens are welcome to bring cuttings, seedlings, bulbs, garden books or any other garden-related items to give away or swap. (if anyone out there has more details to share, please speak up)

An August 1969 issue of the Afro-American identifies the 1800 block of Parkwood Avenue as a prime example of “rat infested” in Richmond:

Read more >

The popular Arts in the Park in Byrd Park is less than a month away!

The Carillon Civic Association Announces its 38th annual “Arts in the Park” show and sale at the Carillon in Byrd Park on May 1st, 11-6 p.m. and May 2nd, 11-5 p.m., 2010. More than 450 artists from around the U.S. will gather in Byrd Park to display everything from fine art paintings to jewelry and weavings. Arts in the Park is recognized as one of the top art shows in the country and is an event people around the entire state of Virginia look forward to each year.

When we first reported, Lamplighter had just opened their coffee shop and our neighborhoods seemed like a good target for their weekly house-roasted coffee bean deliveries (by bike).  Four months later, Lamplighter is swarming with customers, many singing their praises over sandwiches as well as espresso drinks, and ByrdParkers are beating a path across the footbridge to the neighborhood’s new pet restaurant. Yes, it’s the closest place to get a meal or a cup of coffee (from Maplewood and Shields, it’s only1/4 mile to Lamplighter’s front door).

photo from Lamplighter's Facebook page

Other notable items are putting Lamplighter on the map:

• Country Style doughnuts, delivered daily.
• Muffins baked every morning (blueberry and banana nut are both to die for).
• They open at 6am (!) and close at 8pm (7am opening on weekends).
• An art gallery/bathroom.
• Outdoor sitting area.
• An enormous chalkboard wall (and chalk) in a space that can contain even the rowdiest of kids
• A bike rack (the place has kinda been adopted/founded by the bike scene)
• Relative quiet. Generally slow moving traffic.
• An empty bus-barn nearby to contemplate.
• Whoopie-Pies.
• Hangover cure herbal tea.
• A seriously esoteric magazine rack.
• Board games and such.
• A balance of meat and veggie options.
• Low-tech. No Twitter acct. No slick social media marketing. Just a community coffee shop. For instance, they have events, but you have to look on the bulletin board to figure that out. Another reason to visit.
• Free – WIFI
• Enthusiastic and friendly owners: Noelle, Zach, and Jen.

On April 8th, 2009, laid off Richmond Times-Dispatch reporter and Byrd Park resident, Tim V., posted four blog entries. One covered crime stats, another linked to the Civic League news letter, a third eulogized the Pepsi shed at Fountain Lake, and then there was this one:

We got a little ahead of ourselves and started posting before we were properly introduced. So here goes: Welcome to Byrd Park, the neighborhood site about … Byrd Park.  We’re also keeping an eye on goings-on in Randolph and Maymont and anything else in the city that has an impact on our community. If you’re interested in getting involved, have news to share or want to contribute in other ways, please let us know.

The “us” that Tim spoke of was really just himself (with some tutelage from community blogger/teacher John Murden.  But, thank goodness for his initiative.  In an information age, communities need messengers spreading the word and bulletin boards on which to post relevant updates.  It’s been a year that we’ve been able to gather ’round this water cooler and discuss neighborhood issues.* Tim had to move on to other endeavors, but the site lives on.  We’ve set off some powder kegs, tended to some pesky problems, and there have been some dry spells too . Hopefully, in the next year this space will be grow into an even stronger fountain of information (more on that tomorrow).  Thanks for tuning in and speaking up.

*We’re celebrating the birthday all week with a handful of hopefully invigorating posts.  Also, a couple days early cuz the blog’s stats show that more people tune in on Tuesdays than Thursdays.

Mark Holmberg ties together Tarchelle Daniel’s murder in Randolph with the same-day murder/suicide in Church Hill and ponders the prospect of a violent and homicidal spring/summer in Richmond.

This community blog is a year old and it’s beginning to get some attention.  However, the site needs more content more often to continue growing. As much as I enjoy speaking up about what I see, I never wanted that privilege all to my self. Besides, I have another blog and a blog aggregator to tend to (not to mention a 2 year old and a baby on the way).  If this site is going to be useful to (and representative of) a wide array of neighbors, we need to spread the authorship around.

We need two things:

1. Send me your stories. Any pictures, community concerns, untold stories, etc. We get make a difference in almost any situation by sharing necessary information and shining a light on the issues that affect our daily life. (just email info(at)byrdpark(dot).net.)
2. Become an editor.  If you’d willing to write up a blurb about community issues as they arise, please let me know. There won’t be any required number of posts per week or month. You’ll just be given the privilege of posting and editing pieces for the site. the more of us there are, the less trouble it will be.

Who are we looking for in an editor?

• Anyone enthusiastic enough to step up.
• A willingness to tell your stories AND other people’s too as fairly as you can.  This blog is about the community and EVERYONE in it.
• Representatives from the civic leagues and associations that represent Byrd Park, Randolph, and Maymont.
• PTA members or community liaisons from local schools.

This community blog can host news and opinions from a pretty big section of the city, but only if we have authors who can speak to all three regions that aren’t spoken for by other community blogs. The homeowners/neighborhood groups typically have a lot of insights to offer, so I hope people will come forward without my having to show up to meetings and beg.  Ideally, in the long run, this site will host a diversity of perspectives.  If you are interested, or even if you just have questions, email  me at info(at)byrdpark(dot).net.

The Pepsi shed has been gone for a year now and in its place we now have this newly constructed building called, “The Landing.”  Since it appears to be completed, plenty of people are wondering when it will begin operating and what it might have to offer.  I emailed a few questions to Larry Miller with Richmond City Parks and Recreation and here’s how it went:

Larry Miller: Thank you for the email.  We’re excited about the new concessions stand and comfort station and are really looking forward to opening it!!

Byrd Park: When will “The Landing” be open?

LM: We hope to open in mid May for concessions.

BP: Who is going to operate the concession stand? The city? A private business?

LM: The concessions procurement bid process is underway and provided we find a suitable private business to operate the stand, we will contract with them for the operation.

BP: What will they sell? Hotdogs and sodas? Something a little more unique?

Read more >

The Boulevardizen brings us a meteorological blast from the past with this story on the 1951 tornado that crossed the river, ran through the park, the neighborhoods of Byrd Park and the Fan, before petering out in the Northside.  In addition to this great diagram, The Boulevardizen also includes the account of a Rosewood Ave resident who say houses severely damaged up and down her street.

From the Byrd Park Civic League:

Byrd Park Civic Association Meeting (10:00 – 11:00) Saturday – April 10, 2010

Richmond Clean City Commission (CCC) speaker Darlene C. Mallory will be our guest speaker at the April 10th meeting. Today the CCC sponsors programs that encourage citizens to clean, maintain and beautify their environment. The Commission is composed of City Council appointees and concerned volunteers who help clean and beautify Richmond. Their current program, “Pride in Richmond is Picking Up,” includes Neighborhood Volunteer Clean-Ups, Loan-A-Truck, Graffiti Abatement, and Adopt-A-Spot.

Where: The Round House Followed by the 1st annual Plant Swap

What is a plant swap? Swap plants, seedlings, seeds, or cuttings and other garden-related items with other fellow gardeners. No money is exchanged for anything. All garden-related items are swapped with other gardeners!

What should I bring? Rooted Plants, Bulbs, Seeds – bring anything that you think someone would want.  It would be helpful if you can include information about the plant or seeds. You can use old coffee cans, milk cartons, plastic pots, styrofoam cups, or even plastic bags with soil to put your plants in.   Anything garden related: Whatever you have to trade as long as it’s garden related ~ sculptures, crafts, books, etc. ~ TRADE or GIVE AWAY. Everything is free, even the fun you’ll have.

Craigslist has word on a dog that went missing on Thursday:

Dog’s name is Cooper and he is an older male Cairn Terrier, but he likely will not answer to the name. Dog was last seen running past Barker Field into the woods between Barker Field and Pump House Park.

Read more >

The little house/apartment on the block of Shields Ave between Rosewood and Idlewood has been on the market since January, 2010.  The property has seen a series of renters in recent years, but old signage on the alley side of the building indicates that it was once a laudromat (before my time, sorry).  The one floor, two bedroom, 1 bath, 972 square foot space has a garage and has come down in price to $164,500. It was built in 1910 and has central air. Although the houses on other side of the street are in the Maymont Elementary School district, this property is zoned for John B. Cary.  Impressions?

Once a year, the purple blooms of this majestic wisteria vine stop passers by in their tracks. The dangling flowers look like grape clusters in a Matisse painting. But, it only lasts a week or so. If they’re gone when you pull up to the Addison Ave alley between Maplewood and Rosewood, I hope this camera-phone picture will suffice. Also, Google maps streetview was actually recorded during the blooming of the tree/vine blooming.

For many, the warm weather months are the season for home improvement. And, because most of us can’t do it all by ourselves, it’s also time to research the reliability of home repair businesses. Although there are resources like the Better Business Bureau or Angie’s List, but we can also rely on the experience of our fellow neighbors. This post can help compile our local recommendations.  Please share your responses to any of the questions that apply (but keep it positive. see below).

• Have you had any particularly good experiences with contractors recently?
• Do you need work done and you’re looking for a referral?
• Are there skilled neighbors in the area who might like to barter or charge a neighborly rate?
• Who did the work on the facade of the West End Market?
  

-Keep it positive. This comments list will serve as a list of credible resources. Comments that only serve to warn people against contractors will be deleted.

From the Hills and Heights blog: Press Release Regarding Councilman Marty Jewell

(Richmond , Virginia ) – Yesterday evening, Richmond City Councilman E. Martin “Marty” Jewell, Central 5th District was admitted to St. Mary’s Hospital.

Upon experiencing some chest discomfort and with his physician’s office being closed, Councilman Jewell decided to go to the hospital where he was admitted and is currently being evaluated.

Councilman Jewell anticipates being discharged in a couple of days and thanks the Richmond Community for their thoughts and prayers. Mr. Jewell’s family requests no phone calls, flowers or visitation at this time.

CONTACT For more information please contact Francine Young, Richmond City Council Central 5th District Liaison, at 804.646.5724.

the walled backyard and garage extend from the rear

2222 Lakeview Ave., Richmond, VA 23220
-Original loan: $490,500 on March 31, 2006
-Public auction date: April 29, 2010 at 1:00 pm
-John Marshall Courts Building, 400 9th Street Richmond, VA 23219

The owner of the home was ex-Sheriff of Richmond City, Michelle Mitchell.  The balance of the loan exceeds the current assessed value of $482,000. The last time the property changed hands was in 1995 for $200,000. The house has been on the market under a few different realtors over the past two years. Currently it is listed with Remax (can anyone find that online?).