The NY Times lays out 36 Hours in Richmond and sends folks to both Jackson Ward and Carver for food and fun…

Read more >

VCU’s Commonwealth Times has a piece on a neighborhood cleanup in Carver last weekend:

An organized trash pickup brought students to the Carver community alongside the Carver Area Civic Improvement League Saturday.

Despite Saturday’s cloudy weather, the Carver clean up brought 30 volunteers, including students and Carver residents.

“We try to do a trash pickup about two or three times a year,” said Jason Snook, a CACIL member-at-large. “It’s really cool to collaborate and do something positive in the neighborhood.”

VCU has launched a new online collection featuring Jackson Ward. Dig into over 500 photographs from the 1970s of of Jackson Ward buildings, text, and a Google Maps interface. The photos were taken by John Zehmer as part of a City of Richmond project, and published in 1978 in the book The Jackson Ward Historic District, with text by Robert P. Winthrop, Virginia architect and specialist in the architectural history of Richmond.

Much has been made of the shooting of VCU student in Carver last week. How nice of VCU students to wander into Richmond’s violence and get people to pay attention, as otherwise folks not right up on it tend not notice. Perhaps now the VCU police can find more police-like things to do than speed trap on Leigh Street or to give tickets for expired inspection stickers.

Owning off-campus in todays RTD looks at the economics of selling condos to the parents of college students. Both of the examples in the article, Eagle Mill Towers and Iron House Place condo developments, are recent developments within walking distance to 2 universities and the grocery store.

Read more >

VCU’s Commonwealth Times profiles the Carver Promise. The Carver Promise is still looking for students to volunteer as mentors for this year. If you can commit for a minimum of one school year and volunteer at least one hour a week, contact Casey Rogers at crogers@carverpromise.org.

VCU offers any resident of Newtowne West who is a paid member of the Newtowne West Civic League free membership to all VCU/MCV Gym facilities. Annual membership in the Newtowne West Civic League costs just $10 for individuals, and $15 for families. [via]

Read more >

VCU’s Commonwealth Times has confirmed earlier reportsthat starting in January parking decals will be required to park in Carver for more than an hour. In an attempt to cut down on VCU-related parking congestion in the neighborhood, only vehicles with one of the $25 resident decals will be able to park on the street for more than an hour between 7AM and 10PM.

The Carver-VCU Partnership is seeking helpful and friendly volunteers for the Carver-VCU Partnership After School Program. They especially need volunteers with skills in foreign languages, math, and science for the homework assistance and tutoring lab. They are also collecting classroom supplies for Carver Elementary School. Contact Ron Brown @ 827-1904 or rbrown34@vcu for more information.

Tomorrow VCU will conduct a test of emergency sirens on both the Monroe Park and MCV Campuses. The sirens will begin at 12:00 noon and will sound for one minute and then sound a 30 second “all clear” even tone as part of a full test of VCU’s multi-level emergency communications system. [via]

Read more >

VCU Division of Community Engagement has updated their pages for the Carver-VCU Partnership (which includes info about CACIL, the Carver Master Plan (PDF) and a History of the Carver-Newtowne Neighborhoods (PDF)).