Pay attention to ingoing/outgoing mail ... theft alert

from a Marshall Street Correspondent ...

May 30, 2006

TO: THE PETERSBURG POLICE DEPARTMENT

SUBJECT: Theft of DVD from my mailbox

I am writing to report the theft of a DVD from my mailbox.

This morning at approximately 0630 I placed a Netflix DVD (movie title, “Carrington”) in the mailbox on my porch for pick up by the mail carrier later this morning. When I glanced out my front door at about 0830, I noticed that the DVD was gone and presumably was stolen. I did not see or hear anything out of the ordinary during that period.

Linas

CC: U.S. Postal Service (Petersburg)
Netflix
Historic Poplar Lawn Association

Please pay attention to your mail folks. This may be a trend.

~Mady

Traffic on Marshall Street

Do you have an idea to solve the problem of the speeding on Marshall Street? Do you live on Marshall Street and want to know what people are considering as solutions to the traffic problems?

Linas invites anyone interested in making changes to Marshall Street’s traffic to the back deck of his home at 116 Marshall Street at 7 p.m. on Monday, June 5.

Light refreshments will be served.

People should come with their ideas on how to solve the problems of speeding and traffic on Marshall Street. *

*Other issues should be tabled until the June 8th HPLA meeting. Please e-mail the board if you have an issue that you'd like addressed, and we will put it on the June 8th meeting's agenda.

~Mady

Trashcans, the saga continues

Oh, park trashcans.

You are both our greatest desire and our mocking nemesis.

Sometimes I fear the possibility of success, that your acquisition will only disappoint. It would be the attaining of the Holy Grail.

If we succeed and obtain you, what will we have to live for?

Oh, that's right. Park benches.

The story of the Central Park Trashcans is a tale of valiant board members and civic-minded neighbors, of epic proportions, of villainous city officials and enchanted negotiations.

It all started aeons ago, as the long-timers tell us. The HPLA board has inherited this task for multiple generations, each as discouraged as the last. We even had some of the coveted wrought iron ones given to us for a short time, two years ago, only to be taken from us because they were promised elsewhere.

We've involved the City Manager, our City Councilman, Public Works, you name it. We've called, written letters, and most recently even sent a map complete with indications of where the new trashcans are required and where the old, pitiful stumps of ugly can remains need to be removed. It was color coded and everything. We are still holding out hope.

The only time we ever get trash recepticles is if there is an event in the park. They give us those rolling contraptions for a short time. Then they are taken away again. That is where our story leaves us.

Today, those rolling plastic bins, left over from the Petersburg "Literacy" happening of last weekend, were going to be carted off.

Your board president (my husband) took to that Publics Work flatbed like knight to dragon. We still have the trashcans, for now.

This is getting silly, its true, but it is so important to have the park maintained. If the park looks like dung, honestly, we cannot fight off the drug dealers and prostitutes who are doing business in our neighborhood. Apathy promotes neighborhood deconstruction.

So, with that preachy little blog entry update, I beg of all of our neighbors to please contact David Canada, our City Manager. His contact info is listed below. Let him know you think it is unacceptable for our historic and beautiful park to be disregarded in the manner it has. Not just the trashcans, but please also mention the fallen bandstand that fell two and a half years ago, its remnants being used as a brothel and home for squatters.

It is not enough to complain about the situation, as we all do. Please act on your own, as we try to unite the neighborhood to act as a whole.

B. David Canada
Petersburg City Manager
135 N. Union Street
Petersburg, Virginia 23803

(804) 733-2301
ctymgr@earthlink.net

Thanks,
Mady

National Historic Preservation Month

To find Out More About Preservation Month check out the National Trust homepage www.nationaltrust.org.

From the National Trust:

“CELEBRATE PRESERVATION! Since the National Trust created Preservation Week in
1971 to spotlight grassroots preservation efforts around the country, it has
grown into an annual month-long celebration observed by small towns and big
cities, with events ranging from tours, reenactments and rallies to black-tie
balls and state and local competitions. This week's theme, Diversity of
Preservation, recognizes the efforts made to ensure that future generations will
have an opportunity to learn from the diverse people and places that have shaped
our country.

“Historic preservation is much more than stone walls and period furniture. The
true meaning of historic preservation is attaining a sense of place; an
understanding of the history, economy, social structure, and culture of the
places that help define where we are today. Some of that insight can come from
visiting the parts of the world that our ancestors - and our neighbors - have
come from. We recently talked to National Trust member Mary Francis Koerner
about her travel experiences with National Trust Tours.

“Click here to read our online discussion with Ms. Koerner


“National Trust Tours Program”

Petersburg’s School System Budget

From our Marshall Street Correspondent, Linas:
~Mady

Petersburg’s School System Budget to be presented tonight, 7:00 PM at Sycamore Rouge in Petersburg

Like a loud echo through a canyon, the word “education” continues to reverberate throughout our city -- “If only our schools improved, then the whole city would revive.” Our schools are challenged – not one is accredited. New school board members were elected this month; how will they address this challenge?

It’s time to look at some of the fundamental elements of our educational system, and this month the Community Forum will focus on school funding. Petersburg spends more money per student than neighboring localities, but that’s not reflected in the resulting product.

Public budgets can be very complex, so we’ll try to boil it down to the basics – “Petersburg School Funding – Back to the Basics.” What are the A-B-C’s and 1-2-3’s of our city’s education dollar?

Come to Sycamore Rouge tonight, Thursday, May 25, 2006 at 7:00 p.m. and let’s all explore this important issue together.

Schedule for remainder of 2006

Thursday, June 8: HPLA Meeting with Elections
Dues for 2006-2007 year due

Thursday, August 10: HPLA Board Meeting

Thursday, September 21: HPLA Meeting

Thursday, October 19: HPLA Board Meeting

Sunday, December 10: HPLA Holiday Party
Time and location TBA

~Mady and the HPLA Board

Kitchen Renovation - Need Cabinets?

Hello, Poplar Lawn residents!

If you've walked by our house recently, you've no doubt seen an outpouring of trim, dry wall, and plaster dust exploding out of the house. Good times! We're knee deep in kitchen renovation and are pulling out our old cabinets. They're solid wood, painted white and of sturdy construction, and if anyone would like them, we'll sell 'em cheap. Come quick, because we want to get rid of them quickly.

Amy Rizzo

First Post

Welcome to the first blog entry of the Historic Poplar Lawn Association of Petersburg, Virginia.

We hope this will be a useful tool to keep everyone abreast of happenings about the neighborhood. The board members will all have blog site access, and neighbors can leave comments for entries. A truly interactive resource!

This site is a great resource to tell others of neighborhood news, recommend some great contractors in our area or relay interesting stories. It can also be a facet of our neighborhood watch.

Please let us know what we can do to make communication even better among our neighbors, and please pass on the word of our new blog!

~Mady and the HPLA board