Green Views From Libby Hill; Locked Bikes; Community Mediator Street Cred; Righteous Refunding; Dystopian Future & A Real Community Response.

RVA 5x5 - July 15, 2023

No algorithms. No content filters. Honest and insightful analysis from Richmond, VA.

This week check out our five stories on a theme of “better late than never” that somehow reaches across all five stories:

• The city finally getting going on restoring funding to those small organizations that were affected by the collapse of EnRichmond;

• Whether or not the RVA Bikeshare program will ever be restarted and if so, when? And why have other cities restarted their bikeshare programs and Richmond won’t even comment?

• The long-awaited official (and awesome) creation of Dock Street Park (aka Echo Harbor) and the View That Named Richmond;

• The long-awaited “violence interruptors” have a new name/brand and are on the street trying to help stem the tide of violence; and,

• A wake-up call for schools and a real response team on the streets making a difference.

STORY #1 — Righteous Refunding
Better late than never is saying that expresses gratitude with a smile while simultaneously smirking about wondering “why did it take so long?” This edition is ironically filled with such a theme and such is the case with the news from Richmond BizSense that the newly created Richmond Outdoor and Prosperity Fund is using $250,000 from the City of Richmond (and a smaller amount donated by the private sector) to help refund the small organizations that saw their funding and their fiduciary disappear last year when the EnRichmond Foundation collapsed.

According to the article, the fund will begin accepting applications for grants next month and all of the affected groups will be contacted to provide details of the process. Many of the groups are small, volunteer organizations and efforts to beautify and green the city. The fund will be under the banner of the Community Foundation for a Greater Richmond, which will serve as a fiduciary and provide administrative support (and whose record and reputation are impeccable).