The following has been submitted to us by a group of homeowners, business owners, and church members along Broad Rock Blvd. in the annexed area of Richmond. The opinions expressed here do not necessarily represent the opinions or views of the owners, writers, or supporters of www.SouthsideRichmond.org, but as this is community news it is being published for the benefit of the community:

Citizens of Richmond,

We are addressing the Storm Water Utility tax passed on to Richmonders by city council and our mayor in May, 2009, an unfunded mandate from the EPA, DEQ, etc.
All stakeholders, meaning everyone affected by the tax, are invited to attend a meeting on March 15, at 6:30 at the Second Baptist Church, on 3300 Broad Rock Blvd. (The old Winn-Dixie)

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Style Weekly published an article identifying several candidates, especially Betsy Carr, for the 69th District Delegate seat, which Frank Hall has left for an appointment by Gov. Kaine to the Alcohol Beverage Commission. According to the article:

“A wide array of other potential candidates says they’re still considering their options for the November election. The Democratic Party of Virginia’s executive director, Levar Stoney, confirms he’s considering getting in the race, as does former Richmond Mayor Rudy McCollum. The Richmond Crusade for Voters president, Antione Green, has also expressed interest.”

The Richmond Times-Dispatch published an article, especially focused on Carlos Brown, (though this article was preceded by one article focused on Mr. Green and one on Ms. Carr) stating:

“Carlos Brown, a corporate finance lawyer, is joining the hopefuls vying to succeed Hall in the 69th House of Delegates district.”

Having recently met with Ms. Carr at the last Richmond City Council meeting, and with Mr. Green at a Southside civic association meeting, I can’t help but wonder: What do these candidates (including the others mentioned in Style and RTD) have to offer that sets them apart? What accomplishments do they have to support their campaign?

During the next few weeks, Southside Richmond wants to hear your questions for the candidates. A select group of your questions will be presented to the candidates and their answers will be published here.

Southside Richmond will also seek to highlight at least five accomplishments by each candidate.

So pull out your thinking caps and start commenting!

The following information is provided by the Richmond Times-Dispatch:

Five Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles offices in the region will be closed on certain days during the next two weeks to prepare for the state’s new process for issuing driver’s licenses and identification cards.

• The Richmond Central service center, 2300 W. Broad St., will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday. Customers can use the East Henrico or North Henrico offices during the closure.

• The Chester service center, 12100 Branders Creek Road, will be closed Wednesday and Thursday. Customers can use the Hopewell office in Prince George County or the Chesterfield office, 610 Johnston Willis Drive off Midlothian Turnpike.

• The East Henrico service center, 5517 S. Laburnum Ave. in Henrico County, will be closed for renovations May 11. Customers who need to complete transactions in person May 11 should go to the Richmond Central office.

• The North Henrico service center, 9015 Brook Road in Glen Allen, will be closed May 12 and May 13. Customers who must visit the DMV on May 12 or May 13 may visit the West Henrico office at 9237 Quioccasin Road or the Richmond Central office.

• The Hopewell office, 4401 Crossings Blvd. in Prince George, will be closed May 13 and May 14. Hopewell-area customers who need to go to the DMV on May 13 or May 14 can use the Chester office or the Petersburg office at 120 Wagner Road.

All 74 DMV offices will be converted to the new secure-issuance method by July.

Customers also can conduct DMV business through http://www.dmvNOW.com, DMV’s automated phone service at (888) 337-4782, through the mail or at other DMV offices.

Congratulations to our Southside incumbents who continue to prove their strength in community development.

Here is the article from the Times-Dispatch:

This Wednesday, September 17, 2008, at 7:00 PM the Southside neighborhood associations (Forest Hill, Southampton, Westover Hills and Woodland Heights) will host a forum at the Forest Hill Presbyterian Church located at 4401 Forest Hill Ave.

The rest of this article shows all of the other forums as listed by www.RichmondGoodLife.com

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It was a warm reception at St. Luke Lutheran Church on Chippenham last Wednesday, and an even warmer room for the 4th district school board forum, but about sixty or so residents turned out at the meeting and were very pleased to listen to the candidates discuss their perspectives on four questions written by parents of students living in the district and currently attending Richmond Public Schools.

Here is some transcription of what was said:

After welcoming everyone to the forum, council woman Kathy Graziano very wisely said, “The heart of the community is schools.” Following in suit Bill Pantele, who is endorsed by Mrs. Graziano, stated, “No city can be greater than the quality of its public schools.”

He also pointed out that “the last two chairs of the school board came from this district.” Adding, “We each have a stake in public schools whether or not you have a child or are working or retired.”

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In a press release today, the Richmond Education Association (REA) made their endorsement of the mayor and several Southside candidates.

Drum roll please!

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Election season is buzzing! Everyone seems very excited about this year’s election of the president, the mayor, city council, and the school board. Having attended several forums for school board, city council, and mayoral candidates, it has become very clear that many of the public’s questions go unanswered by these forums.

Let this post be an open invitation to post your questions to the candidates. Many news agencies and political groups send extensive question lists and subsequently interview candidates in order to decide who they will support. Here we will simply collect questions from anonymous individuals and should they be responded to here, that’s wonderful, should they not be responded to here, the questions will be passed on to the candidates at a later date and their responses will be posted here.

So go ahead and ask whatever you have been dieing to have answered!

A press release from the mayor states,

“To further advance our ongoing successes, I am announcing this week that the City’s Code Enforcement personnel will transition into a new department.
Code Enforcement will be part of a new Bureau of Permits and Inspections (BPI) that will provide the “one-stop shopping” services long requested by our local builders and contractors. BPI staff will also finally have a new location providing the space needed to operate more efficiently.

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August 7th, 2008 at 6:30 p.m. in the Southside Social Services building The Greater Jefferson Davis civic association hosted a forum for candidates running for the 8th District Council seat. Incumbent Reva Trammell is running against Eric Hunter, the former liaison for Jackie Jackson who once held Ms. Trammell’s position, and newcomer Dr. C. Allen Barrett.

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Some items are simply too large to fit in a Supercan or to physically be collected using our standard equipment. These typically include furniture and large amounts of yard waste, which should be placed beside your Supercan out of the roadway. Such items are collected by the City on a four-week, rotating schedule based on zip code. Bulk refuse collection for zip codes 23224 and 23234 is scheduled for March 16, April 13, May 11, June 8, July 6, Aug. 3, Aug. 31, Sept. 28, Oct. 26, Nov. 23, and Dec. 21. Citizens should call 3-1-1 to schedule a pick up.

A recent article on richmond.com included this great map of the 9 city council districts. Click here to view it larger.