Crosland Presentation on Dove Court Redevelopment - A Blueprint for Privatizing Public Land & Housing

Crosland Presentation on Dove Court Redevelopment from Silver Persinger.

During Council Vice President Ellen Robertson's monthly 6th District meeting for August, there was a presentation from Crosland, the master developer for the Dove Court Redevelopment in North Richmond. Two individuals from Crosland gave the presentation, Dionne Nelson and Darryl Hemminger.

Council member Robertson was not present at the meeting because she was in Seattle, Washington.

The plan is to construct about 300 apartments, single family houses, row houses, duplexes and office space with about 1/3 dedicated to "affordable housing." Interesting to note, after the construction phase, Crosland will stay on long-term as the site's property manager, perform repairs, and enforce condo association-style rules in the neighborhood.

Section 3 Informational Forum

Informational Forum on Section 3 Contracting - City of Richmond, Virginia - August 12, 2010 from Silver Persinger.

City of Richmond and Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority [RRHA] with the Department of Economic and Community Development organized this "informational forum" to discuss and share information about "Section 3", a program to benefit public housing residents as well as low and moderate income folks who earn less than 80% of area median income.

During Peter Chapman's presentation he said that 27% of the city's residents live in poverty and the current unemployment rate is 9.9%.

Richmond City to Celebrate Celebrity Alleged Pedophile Michael Jackson

Official Press Release from City of Richmond follows:

City of Richmond
Department of Parks, Recreation & Community Facilities

Media Contacts:
Tesha Davis (804) 646-3998
Christy Everson (804) 646-5944

For Immediate Release
Aug. 5, 2010


City to show Michael Jackson movie, hold dance contests

Richmond, VA - The city’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities will show Michael Jackson’s “This Is It” Friday, Aug. 6, at its Broad Rock Sports Complex as part of its free Friday Pictures in the Park series of outdoor family entertainment. Broad Rock Sports Complex is located at 4801 Old Warwick Rd.

The movie, which will begin at 8:30 p.m., will be preceded by a Michael Jackson dance contests for children and teens at 7 p.m. and for adults at 8 p.m. Prizes will be awarded for first, second and third place in each contest.

Both the contests and movie are free, and free popcorn will be provided for the movie as well.

The public is encouraged to dress the part and participate in the dance contests, and to bring blankets, chairs and water or soft drinks to enjoy the movie.

Mayor Dwight Jones announces New City Jail will Remain in Shockoe Valley

Mayor Dwight Jones, Sheriff Woody, Michael Herring discuss Richmond City Jail from Silver Persinger.

At a Press Conference on Monday at 12:10 PM, Mayor Dwight C. Jones announced that the Richmond City Jail will remain in Shockoe Valley rather than being located at a new site. Four contractors have submitted conceptual proposals to his administration. They are City Central LLC of Richmond, which submitted the first proposal under the Virginia Public-Private Education and Infrastructure Facilities Act (they also hired Vice President Ellen Robertson's former Council Liason John Westbrook as a consultant for their project; their initial proposal for Commerce Rd. is in Mrs. Robertson's district); Tompkins Builders/S.B. Ballard Construction Co. of Washington, DC/Virginia Beach; Mojave Corrections Co. LLC of Nashville, Tenn.; and English/Balfour Beatty Joint Venture of Lynchburg, VA/London, UK.

Sheriff C.T. Woody also spoke about what efforts were being made to lower the temperatures in the City Jail from 120 degree Fahrenheit. Commonwealth's Attorney Michael Herring said that his office would be working to facilitate the release of between 350-400 non-violent inmates who would be diverted into alternative programs such as drug and mental health treatment.

BP Oil Spill Sucks

Here is a T-shirt I designed on April 30, 2010, just 10 days after the oil spill began.

Spill Baby Spill T-shirt by freesilver
More Oil T-Shirts

RRHA Monthly Board Meeting - RePHRAME speaks to Board

Part 1/3 - RRHA Board Meeting - April 20, 2010 - Public Information Period from Silver Persinger.



Above, Claudia Hill addressed the RRHA Board to complain about inaction by RRHA, difficulty in certification, unauthorized disclosure of her personal information, and a dangerous gas leak that took too long to repair. This is an excerpt from Part 1, from the Public Information Period.



Above, RRHA Board member and President of the the Richmond Tenants' Organization [RTO], Marilyn Olds tells it like she sees it regarding RePHRAME and the RTO.

Part 2/3 - RRHA Board Meeting - April 20, 2010 - Reports and Resolutions from Silver Persinger.

Part 3/3 - RRHA Board Meeting - April 20, 2010 - Workshop on Mixed Finance Development of Public Housing from Silver Persinger.

Mayor Presents Budget to Council

Richmond, VA City Council - Prayer, Pledge, & Appointments - March 22, 2010 - Part 1/12 from Silver Persinger.

Richmond City Council - Information about Census 2010 - Awards Period - March 22, 2010 - Part 2/12 from Silver Persinger.

Mayor Dwight Jones Presenting FY 2010 Budget to City Council - March 22, 2010 from Silver Persinger.

Richmond City Council - Budget Details with Byron Marshal & Marcus Jones - March 22, 2010 - Part 4/12 from Silver Persinger.

Conflicts of Interest?

This was one of the longest meetings in quite a while. 3 1/2+ hours! I left at 9:45 PM and the introduction of papers had just started, and it was a thick packet, thick with budget related papers from the Mayor.

Maybe I don't know what I'm talking about? But what if I'm saying is true? Is something wrong here?




Ellen Robertson's 2004 campaign contribution from Kelvin Hanson

I have written a letter to members of Council about this situation. I think it stinks, I don't understand how this is OK, good, or desirable and not self-serving, cronyism and corruption. And yet, with the exception of Councilwoman Reva Trammell, all the rest of them are acting like this is completely fine, it's not in the newspaper, and if I didn't mention it, it wouldn't be public information -- even though it is "PUBLIC INFORMATION."

If something wrong is going on here, I hope to help to bring it to the attention of the public and the proper authorities.

If I am wrong, I will be greatly embarrassed, and will crawl back under my rock. And learn from my mistakes. I am motivated to speak out because NO ONE IS AT CITY HALL, there are no citizens. I don't believe Council members even know as much as they should about what the government is doing, Cronyism is real. And if all this business is done in the open and they are never called out on it -- they are free to continue to play their little insider game of appointing friends and campaign contributors.

I'll be posting the entire meeting over the next few days. There were several big stories at tonight's meeting. Mayor Dwight Jones presented his budget to Council, Citizens spoke during the Citizen Comment Period in Opposition to the Stormwater Fee recently enacted by the City, and the Rezoning of Manchester was a surprisingly popular topic.

Legislative Assistant John Westbrook Announces Retirement

Today, Councilwoman Ellen Robertson's liaison [6th District], John Westbrook, sent an email announcing his retirement from the City effective March 1, 2010. Mr. Westbrook has served as Councilwoman Robertson's liaison since 2004.

Best wishes to Mr. Westbrook and his wonderful wife Winnie.

A Glimpse of how the Local News Media Interact with Our Government

Behind the Scenes: After the Meeting with the Mayor, Council Members Speak with Local Television News - Jan. 11, 2010 from Silver Persinger.

Airport Commission desires Leasing Authority / RRHA's Voucher Program/ Lehigh Cement Environmental Assessment Good @ Land Use - Jan. 19, 2010

Part 1/2 - Citizen Comment & Papers for Consideration @ Land Use - Jan. 19, 2010 from Silver Persinger.

At this meeting the Capital Region Airport Commission wanted to amend the language of their agreement with the city, giving the Commission sole authority in determining leases at the property.

Part 2/2 - Presentations on RRHA's Voucher Program & Lehigh Cement Environmental Assessment @ Land Use - Jan. 19, 2010 from Silver Persinger.

Noise Ordinance / Scooter Laws / Prohibiting Ex-Felons from Fire Dept. @ Public Safety - January 19, 2010

Part 1/4 - Citizens Comment in Support of Noise Law @ Public Safety Jan. 19, 2010 from Silver Persinger.

Finally catching up on a backlog of meetings. Above, during the Citizen Comment Period three of five speakers addressed the Noise ordinance, Ordinance 2009-236, asked questions of the committee to see if it could address their particular issues. One woman spoke of her next door neighbors, obnoxious college students who drink, party and cuss constantly and are ruining her quality of life. Another woman spoke about her neighbor's HVAC machine that made a lot of sound and impacted the quality of her life.

Part 2/4 - Scooter Traffic Laws @ Public Safety Jan. 19, 2010 from Silver Persinger.

Part 3/4 - Noise Law - Ord.2009-236 @ Public Safety Jan. 19, 2010 from Silver Persinger.

Part 4/4 - Prohibiting Ex-Felons from Serving as Fire Fighters @ Public Safety Jan. 19, 2010 from Silver Persinger.