Bend Your Ear; Planning Commission meeting on June 2008 Draft Downtown Master Plan; Tuesday Verses; Gilpin Jackson Center Yard Sale; MORE…

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The Barrack Obama campaign is opening 20 offices across Virginia this Saturday, July 19th, from 10AM-2PM, including the Richmond office at 1208 West Marshall Street. Stop by and say howdy!

The gate is finished at the Carver Garden and the veggies are really coming in!

The City of Richmond Planning Commission will discuss further revisions to and consider adoption of the June 2008 Draft Downtown Master Plan on Monday, July 21. The meeting is open to the public, but there will not be a public hearing. The discussion on the Downtown Master Plan will be held at the end of the regular meeting agenda and will begin no earlier than 6PM. The meeting will be held in the fifth floor conference room of City Hall.

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The Center for Neighborhood Empowerment and Enterprise Development (C-NEED) is sponsoring a “Yes, We Can” Town Hall Meeting on Tuesday, July 22, to develop strategies to create jobs, build affordable housing and create more vibrant neighborhoods. [via]

The “Yes We Can” Town Hall Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday July 22, at Ebenezer Baptist Church , 216 W. Leigh Street. The meeting which starts at 6 P.M seeks to gain input from citizens in the creation of what is being called the “Peoples Platform”. The “Peoples Platform’ will include innovative strategies to end poverty, create jobs, build truly affordable housing, develop alternatives to crime and build vibrant neighborhoods. The “Yes We Can” meeting is non partisan and not connected to the Obama Campaign. It however fully endorses the concept of “Change” and is a response to concerns that many important issues are not being addressed in the platforms of candidates. According to Lillie A. Estes, a planning committee member, “Change begins at home”. Through the People’s Platform, for the first time citizens will have a chance to direct what the “Changes” for Richmond should be. Candidates for mayor, school board and city council will be invited to attend however, unlike “meet the candidates’ forums” they will not be allowed to use the meeting to make campaign speeches. It is the hope of the planning team that the “Peoples Platform” will be a document that will guide political candidates and serve as a tool to hold them accountable after they are elected. For more information call 648-4800 or email grchh1@gmail.com.

The Richmond Voice, going out into the neighborhood, has found black business owners in the Jackson Ward area are generally supportive of the Downtown Plan so far. The article quotes one anonymous business owner saying that he did not find anything controversial in the plan and that is the reason for him not attending the meetings, another says “it will be great”, and a third says “it’s well deserved and I hope that all taxpayers in the city will be able to take advantage of it”.

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Tuesday Verses; An Aquatic Branch of the Underground Railroad: The James River and the Keziah Affair of 1858; Bend Your Ear; MORE…

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The new Urban Views Weekly has a profile of TeaCo on Broad Street:

In a fast-paced age where the coffee shop rules, TeaCo has carved out its own niche centered around health and community. The trio from D.C. strives to foster a “home away from home” atmosphere, and to invest in the community that patronizes them. The same family-like character found in barbershops and hair salons can be found at Tea-Co. “I love walking into the room and everyone speaking to you. It’s like stepping into your living room,” says Maya Corneille, a regular patron.

Mayor Wilder appeared at the Obama campaign’s new Virginia headquarters at 1208 West Marshall Street to announce a voter registration drive:

Richmond Mayor L. Douglas Wilder announced yesterday that the Obama campaign has a goal of registering 151,000 prospective new voters over the next three months. That would be 1,000 more than Obama himself helped register as a community organizer in Chicago before he ran for office.

Renovation officially began today with a kick-off ceremony on the historic buildings at 21 East Leigh Street. City’s Community Development Director Rachel Flynn, local developer Kelvin Hanson and Historic Jackson Ward Association President Charles Finley, Mayor Wilder, architect Walter Parks, and Neverette Eggleston all spoke on the past and future of the building and then tours were given of the building.

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Writing for Richmond.com, Ginger Warder visited Carver’s little superstar and calls it “quaint and tasty”. The RTD’s Dana Craig recently visited The Black Sheep and comes away raving:

… The Black Sheep successfully caters to the varied needs of its eclectic neighborhood. Students sick of fast food can stop in for takeout cooked with care. Locals (or those from all over the city) can indulge in a leisurely meal of soul-warming favorites dressed up with innovative accents. [...] Roberts and Hess have created an eatery that combines quantity and quality, down-home and dynamic and, based on its funky knickknack décor, eclectic with inviting. I’ve never loved leftovers so much.

A birthday celebration is set at the Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site’s visitor center for tomorrow, and tours will be given for the rest of the evening. A commemorative program will begin at 1:30PM at Sharon Baptist Church. The program will feature presentations on the St. Luke Hall and on Mrs. Walker’s life and works as Right Worthy Grand Secretary of the Independent Order of St. Luke. In related news, historians have announced findings that Maggie L. Walker National was born in 1864, not 1867 as had been thought.

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