June 2 Newsletter: Oregon Hill parking permits debated as amphitheater opens

Weather: Best day of the week. 74 and sunny.

On this date in 1788, the Virginia Ratifying Convention meets in Court End. The gathering lasts until June 27, and the group agrees to ratify the US Constitution.

New amphitheater renews long-running debate over parking permits for Oregon Hill residents

Allianz Amphitheater will open its doors Wednesday for an inaugural event featuring local bands, before Kansas performs the first ticketed event on Friday night.

Oregon Hill residents are worried that their street parking will be used by concertgoers, but have also been reluctant to switch to parking permits in the neighborhood, which would solve the problem.

• Some want open parking for businesses, guests and family members.
• Others just don't want the city meddling in their business.

Read more on the debate, and how the amphitheater created a "sound barrier" to keep excessive noise out of the neighborhood.

Water repairs should be wrapped up by the time you read this

A water main break downtown required turning off the feed to Henrico to make the replacement.

As of early Monday morning crews had left the scene, but an immediate update on the success of the work was not available.

History and Culture Commission not currently taking on Monument Avenue work

Five years after widespread protests led to the removal of Confederate monuments, the status quo is likely to prevail, at least for a while, on Monument Avenue.

• The History and Culture Commission, which at one point was tasked with reimagining the street, is not actively meeting.
• The commission, which currently doesn’t have a chair, is mainly focused on aligning itself with the cultural and historical goals of current Mayor Danny Avula, which may be different from Levar Stoney’s, a member of the group said. 

Read more here.

Three buildings top list of city-owned facilities with maintenance backlogs

City Hall, the John Marshall Courts Building and the Main Library are responsible for $115.4 million of an overall $295 million the city estimates it’s facing in deferred maintenance on its buildings. 

• That tally doesn't include DPU facilities, like the water plant, or RPS buildings, which need $43.7 million in immediate repairs.

Read more on the impact of delayed maintenance here.

Also today in The Richmonder

Richmond and surrounding counties included on federal list of ‘sanctuary’ jurisdictions

The city of Richmond, as well as Henrico, Chesterfield and — curiously — Hanover counties are included on a list of local jurisdictions refusing to enforce immigration laws.

The RichmonderSarah Vogelsong

Henrico officials renew calls for regional water authority at Friday press conference

“It is a complex repair, and as we have seen, there are often unknown factors that we discover as we fix these.”

The RichmonderMichael Phillips

In other news

• DMV doesn't rule out move, but looks to renovate in Richmond (Times-Dispatch)
• Hanover school board appointments signal shift in educational leadership (VPM)
• Sub Rosa Bakery will reopen with an electric oven, not wood (Sub Rosa, also featured in the Church Hill Lookout)

The editor's desk

Sub Rosa is the biggest "going electric" news since Bob Dylan. It's crazy that of the two fires there, neither was caused by the oven. Best of luck as they work towards a Thanksgiving 2025 reopening.

Michael Phillips, founding editor
mphillips@richmonder.org

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