Punk'd at pre-K?

The Maymont Elementary School playground has been removed. During a weekend when another playground was found burned, this has to be considered suspicious. Two substantial leads and several more pictures after the jump.

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not good for sandwiches

A neighbor has water lettuce that multiplied like bunnies and now some of it needs to go and colonize your pond too.

Foreground: Reset stump. Background: damaged cemetary wall.

The fallen tulip poplar tree near the Roundhouse is gone and so are the bees that lived within it. Previously, we posted our own pictures and video from CBS6 as a warning about the danger of aggitated bees. However, the ongoing story of the tree mess has concluded with a new home for the bees. A hole in the cemetery wall remains, as evidenced by the pictures posted here (the rest are after the jump). Here’s more from WTVR, CBS6:

It fell down in the park and stayed there for weeks because City crews discovered that it was loaded with thousands of bees. They wanted to protect the hive, so Friday crews disassembled the log piece by piece and were careful to protect the workers and the bees.

Luke McCall, an arborist for the City of Richmond said if they thought there was going to be any danger to the workers – they would have gone with another plan. Luckily, that didn’t happen. “Always there’s going to be something simpler. But in this case we really didn’t want to go there. We didn’t want to have to exterminate the bees knowing how important they are, we definitely want to try to save them.”

The bee log is now in Bryan Park near the azaleas. The arborists hope the hive will help pollinate the flowers. They also think it will be a safer situation for park visitors.

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Air conditioning bills got you down? You’re not the only one.  Commiserate and collaborate with David from Rosewood Ave.   He added this comment to a great discussion thread about the need for a local solar panel initiative.

I just spent last weekend blowing insulation in my attic! Trying to do anything and everything I can to not waste my energy that I currently pay for. Which according to one website is way more than the average home in my zip code. What I don’t understand is, in my 1923 row-house, I have replaced all the windows, blown insulation in the attic and overall checked for any exposure points. My a/c unit still blows constantly and my bills don’t go down. I don’t know what else to do. It’s a brick home and the plaster is right on the brick, so no insulation there. But, it’s still 3 bricks thick on my first floor. You’d think that would stop most temperature change. Very frustrating.
On another note, I am looking for a spray foam insulation contractor for another project. Does anyone know of any contacts? (dvbii@nadami.com)

Tonight, the Byrd Park Civic League is convening a meet up of neighbors. From a BPCL email:

Dear Neighbors,
Everyone had such a fun time meeting new neighbors at National Night Out the social committee (Rick and Terry Hill) have planned another evening for neighbors to relax and enjoy good conversations.

A fun evening of enjoying food and beverages at Bogarts is taking place Thursday night, August 26th, at 6:30. Bogarts is located at 1903 West Cary Street. It’s so close to the neighborhood make plans now to stop by and say Hello. Although we would love to foot the bill, each person will be responsible for paying his or her own expenses.

Contact Rick or Terry if you have any questions. ClayJar4 (at)verizon(dot)net or jamesrichardhilljr(at)gmail(dot)com.

According to a local coffee expert’s coffee blog, Lamplighter Roasting Company has the best latte in Richmond:

My choice for winner of the best latte on my trip solidly goes to Lamplighter Roasting Company on Addison Street. Owner, Noel, was my barista for this latte experience and she crafted one of the better lattes I’ve ever had in my entire coffee career, no kidding.

For some very descriptive espresso analysis, check out Stephen’s coffee blog, and then check out Lamplighter.

Here’s an update on the bee tree story recently featured here:

The Byrd Park Civic League is looking for a logo. The contest is under way and they need more entries ASAP. If you can design one, they’re giving $50 in prize money to the winner. The deadline is 8/31. Email submissions or questions to BPCLRVA@gmail.com

Another delicious sounding restaurant is going in just across the footbridge (foodbridge?) at Cary and Addision.  Here’s an excerpt from the Richmond Magazine blog:

If things go according to plan, by mid-October, the space will house Fresca on Cary, a 1,000-square-foot restaurant with the tagline, “We’re not vegetarian, we just don’t serve meat,” Jimmy Sneed says.

The father-daughter team has worked together before at Carena’s Jamaican Grill, where Jimmy was a partner and Jenna was manager, and briefly at Southern Grill in the former Sixth Street Marketplace in late 2001 and early 2002.

“I sold my interest in Carena’s so we could do this restaurant together,” he says.

Fresca will have a custom-built pizza oven “like everybody else in the world,” Sneed says, and its menu will include rice salads, cous cous dishes, grilled vegetable sandwiches, Brie-and-grilled-pear sandwiches, and soups and stews.

Yes, that’s Jimmy Sneed of Frog and the Redneck fame.

Maymont Elementary School, the new home to several school’s pre-K programs, is going to feature a new playground.  Installation is is going to be handled by the same firm that created the playground at Mary Mumford Elementary (a very creative and modern environment for sure).  Construction is expected to be finished mid-September. The equipment will be geared toward children up to 6 years old.

This is great news for the neighborhood.  It’s too bad it’s taken this long to bring new recreational equipment to the neighborhood.  Maybe one day, we’ll be a higher priority.

(takes place Tuesdays from September 7 through November 16 from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. and Saturday November 6 from 9 a.m. – noon)

PRESS RELEASE

Department of Public Works

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 16, 2010

Contact:  Sharon North
Phone:  (804) 646-5607
Richmond Tree Stewards 2010

Are you interested in learning more about proper tree care?  The City of Richmond boasts one of the top urban forests in the country, and now you have the opportunity to learn more about the thriving trees in our community.

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Loads of high-end bike stuff available from a Craigslister in the Carillon neighborhood:

Cleaning out my shed. Email with any questions. Be specific with what parts your talking about I have a lot of things posted in other sections. All prices are negotiable. If you want to combine some items the price could be reduced.

Trek Atelope 16.5” everything works flawlessly. Don’t waste your cash on a new bike from Target that wont last a semester. This bike is 10 years old and still as solid today as when it was new. $125

Gary Fisher Rig 21” Frame only w/ Cane Creak S6 headset, eccentric bottom bracket, 29er, single speed only, Fisher Platinum Series ZR9000 aluminum builds up to a very light bike , the frame has a fare amount of scratches, and has been repainted but is still a solid bike. $125

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Say what you will about climbing real estate assessments, gentrification, and white flight to and fro, the homicide and crime numbers may tell the most significant story about the neighborhoods that sit just south of the Fan. In an impressive overview of 1994, the most violent and deadly year Richmond has seen since the Civil War, Church Hill People’s News had the following to say about the transformation of our part of town:

Looking at the map or list of incidents from 1994 in comparison to recent years and one thing really jumps out: Byrd Park/Randolph was apparently a very different place back in the bad ol’ days. There were 9 killings in the Byrd Park/Randolph/Maymount area in 1994, including an early evening double homicide in a store parking lot. The level of violence and the number of drug-related street killings really do not line up with that area in 2010, hands-down the most changed in Richmond over the past 16 years.

If anyone would care to share some experiences from the early 1990s in Byrd Park, Randolph, or Maymont, please leave a comment. Not all of us witnessed the entire transformation.

The Virginia Department of Education has released their annual school performance data:

Sixty percent, or 1,104, of the 1,836 public schools earning accountability ratings during 2009-2010 made “adequate yearly progress” (AYP) by surpassing objectives in reading and mathematics and meeting other indicators of academic progress, compared with 71 percent last year.

The schools that serve Byrd Park, Maymont, and Randolph neighborhoods all achieved passing AYP marks: Clark Springs, Maymont, and John B. Cary, Binford and Jefferson.

Church Hill People’s News has a great breakdown of the data for the Greater Richmond region, including PDF copies of the Richmond specific aspects of the DOE report.

Fences, powerlines, and multiple yards affected.

Do you have a dead tree in your yard? Are there sizable dead limbs on one of your trees? The following series of pictures depicts some recent damage done by a dead tree that was allowed to linger too long and wreaked havoc when thunderstorms recently passed through. It’s just one incident depicted in the pictures, and neighbors and utility services are surely taking action to remedy this situation and resolve the issues that arose. However, the alarming consequences of dead trees left untended should serve as a cautionary tale.*

Below are some suggestions, some questions, some curious pictures, and hopefully some comments from people who know what they’re talking about (paging tree doctor, Janine).

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From a neighbor in the Carillon neighborhood:

I just wanted to give a neighborly heads up about a recent robbery in the Carillon. We live on Rueger St. beside John B. Cary Elementary School. Our detached garage that was locked with a pad lock was broken into either today during the day or last night. The lock was cut off with bolt cutters and several things were taken from our garage. They were items that are large enough that they were likely loaded into a vehicle (leaf blower, weed wacker, tools, etc.) If you see anyone suspicious parked in your alley, even if only for a few minutes, please be observant, write down license plate numbers, or call the police. Thanks!

Changes indicated in red.

These overgrown lots on the west side of Meadow Street look to have sold. Recently, we’ve speculated about who owns them and who’s letting poison ivy grow out onto the sidewalk from the lots. Now, the question is: What’s going to become of them and when will they begin to see some basic upkeep?

(if someone would call the phone number on the auction sign and ask for comment, that would be a big help)

Unlike previous years, this NNO was held at the Round House.

The National Night Out festivities put on by the Byrd Park Civic League were a big success. There was a fish fry, sweets from Lamplighter coffee shop, BBQ portobellas from Alamo BBQ, a moon bounce, an appearance by Fifth District Councilman Marty Jewell, the Richmond Kickers, a fire truck, and several dozen people from the neighborhood.

What was your favorite part of the party? Please chime in with a comment.

… but we should probably be thanking them!  The Byrd House Market is the closest farmers’ market to the Randolph, Maymont and Byrd Park neighborhoods.  If you’ve ever been to their Tuesday food and craft festival of fun, they’ve got some gratitude to share:

Perhaps it’s about time that all of us at Byrd House Market give you a great big hug of thanks!  ou, who come every week, shop our vendors, savor the sites, tastes and potential of what a neighborhood market has to offer… You, who come when it occurs to you that some farm fresh produce or handcrafted baked or canned goods will just do the trick… You, who stumble our way by accident, word of mouth, twitter, Facebook or random blog spot searches… We Welcome and Salute you all! Without you we’d be a patch of grass … Thanks for being the other part of why Byrd House Market feels like the community market that’s been there forever, when we’re just FOUR years old. Sweet.

Also, Hills and Heights says it’s National Farmers’ Market week.