March 13, 2008

HPLA speaks

1) Booty call night at the library? (Mar 13)
2) Time for the historic districts to unite (Mar 12)

Posted by brenda p at 10:09PM under Architecture & renovation, Crime (& Prevention), Poplar Lawn, community | Tags: Historic Poplar Lawn Association

23 Responses to “HPLA speaks”

posted by commonsensedude at March 13, 2008 10:46 pm :

Whoo HOoo… something to do on wed nights!!!

We should all go to the library and watch the “show”!!

;)
posted by James Wesley Medlin at March 14, 2008 12:07 pm :

I recommend the historic districts maintain their identities but create a common council to address issues and create advocacies to advance the interests of the historic districts and of Petersburg.

I strongly recommend filing a WRIT of MANDEMUS to force the city of Petersburg to enforce its laws. This legal instrument has been effectively used many times to force indifferent, incompetent or corrupt officials to enforce laws, maintain public order and ensure the quality of life of its law-abiding citizenry.
posted by James Wesley Medlin at March 14, 2008 12:14 pm :

Here is a quote from the HPLA that is a must-read for all citizens of Petersburg who care about the old town:
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Tulip Alley Worse Than Ever

“Despite the two apparent arrests mentioned earlier, the residents of Tulip Alley have re-emerged with a vengeance. Like cockroaches, two go away one day, and ten show up the next. The houses on Tulip Alley are overcrowded firetraps with successful, ongoing, entrenched drug businesses thriving within and without, all hours of the night and day. Sometimes, vagrants wander down there and walk away cursing loudly because, for the moment, the store is closed. When they return a few hours later, the store is open for business again. There are either 20 people living in the easternmost shack, or there is simply an ongoing, nonstop trade. Last I heard, the Alley was not zoned for commercial use, but then again, the laws here only exist for those who follow them. I am quite certain now that nothing will ever be done about this nuisance. We, who have invested heavily in the neighborhood, will continue to see our taxes raised and be subjected to nonstop traffic up and down the alley. The slumlord who owns these shacks should at least get a business license. Oh, i forgot, he is a preacher, and so doesn’t pay taxes.
Despite all the newspaper hype about downtown Petersburg, which is merely hype and little more, Poplar Lawn is getting worse. Drug traffic has increased, loud, wandering gangs of kids have appeared, and with all this has come the noise pollution of loud mouthed-transients whose three-word vocabulary centers on using the F-word as often and as loudly as possible. The Public Defender’s Office, which has no business in a residential neighborhood, invites true or would-be criminals to our nicest street daily��simply because of the landlord’s greed.
So where are all the neighborhood activists? Where are the building inspectors? Where are the police who still fail to show up after being called at 2 AM? And, perhaps most important, where is HPLA? Is the association on hiatus or has it just died altogether? Together, perhaps we can fight these things. So the real question is: Has the malaise and indifference that has long been a Petersburg tradition now infected our neighborhood association as well?”
posted by brenda p at March 14, 2008 2:10 pm :

Hijole — I thought by the title of that article it was an older one… thanks for adding that one to the list JWM.
posted by Mady (Poplar Lawn Resident) at March 17, 2008 12:16 pm :

Thanks for keeping our (brutally honest, sometimes tongue-in-cheek and sarcastic, and always a trip) little blog on your radar. We appreciate it.

Please keep in mind that the blog does not reflect the entire neighborhood’s opinions, but it is a great way for us to vent and keep each other abreast of stuff that is going on. It’s a crazy neighborhood, and we have a good time.
posted by tg4360 at March 17, 2008 1:15 pm :

Ok, so I took a little tour down Tulip recently and it was as quiet as can be and relatively clean.

When are the “bad times” hour wise?
posted by Roquentin at March 17, 2008 3:42 pm :

It goes in spurts. Usually there is traffic from midnight to 4 or 5 AM. I know because I have a crazy dog who keeps me up all night. Sometimes there is midday activity. Then, there will be days of dead silence. But weekends are probably the most active times.
posted by Gary at March 17, 2008 4:43 pm :

I hope this is not the dog that is next to the townhouse/dump I looked at Yesterday on Marshall because if I can get the owner and Realtor to realize that they are asking about twice what it’s worth, I’m buying it….LOL

DISCLAIMER: I’m not fond of Realtors and I used to be one in Northern VA. Especially the ones that cannot even pronounce what they are. “Real-tor” is two syllables and does not need the extra “a” such as “real-a-tor.” Just sayin”.
posted by tg4360 at March 17, 2008 5:06 pm :

I might be in betwixt on pronunciation…

When I don’t think about it I think it comes out “Real-TER”…. perhaps that’s just as bad.
posted by Gary at March 17, 2008 5:38 pm :

Hahahaha. I was born in the “stix” of NC so I make allowances for, and oft-times prefer, the Southern enunciation of most words. That’s “dif-rent.” :-)
posted by zoneiv at March 17, 2008 5:38 pm :

As a result of this thread, I took a little time and read through the Popular Lawn Association Blog. I must ask. Is there not anything positive to blog about? I just read a lot of negative entries full of sarcasm.
posted by Akin S at March 18, 2008 2:30 pm :

Post #6 the best time to take a stroll down the alley, if you really want to see the “bad times”, I would suggest on any hour of the day or night around the 1st and the 16th, any city or state payday. social security and welfare paydays. Whenever the money is released to the hands of the affected, infected, addicted and afflicted population of well known but otherwise secret drug users who live among us. But please, be careful, the drug dealers are serious about their flow of drugs out of their hands and dollars in to their hands, while the understaffed, underpaid, underequipped Petersburg Police wait on sensible leadership to allocate the kind of funding that would put a monkey wrench in the devastating machinery that is heir apparent on Tulip Alley, Harding St. Halifax St.,St. Matthew St., Rome St., Wythe St. and many more. I haven’t taken the ride lately, but I am sure the saga will continue until we get help from calvary, both the mount and the mounted. Don’t expect the police to come if they don’t have a car to come in. Don’t ask them to go chasing a well armed thug with a toothpick.
posted by James Wesley Medlin at March 18, 2008 2:36 pm :

I hope that some fine day Akin will take some of his dedication to/love of Peterburg and devote it to running for a seat on the city council.
posted by Roquentin at March 18, 2008 8:43 pm :

Indeed, well spoken as always Akin. And as for post No 11, by zonelv, i would only suggest that if you are indeed a resident of Poplar Lawn, join the HPLA Board, which is always in need of new blood. Then you may blog happy thoughts to your heart’s content to balance the content a little more.
posted by zoneiv at March 18, 2008 9:14 pm :

Roquentin,

I do not think I implied in any way that I was a resident of Popular Lawn. I didn’t write anything derogatory about the area nor did I dispute anything written on the blog.

I simply asked a question which was not rhetorical…

“Is there not anything positive to blog about?”
posted by Akin S at March 18, 2008 10:05 pm :

Yes zoneiv. Of course there are positive things to blog about. Just go back and scroll through the topics and you will see tons of them. Though ironically, we only seem to develop long threads about those things that are not so happy, or at least they have to be controversial to get a good conversation going most times.

We should take a good look at ourselves. Should we talk more about the blossomed rose, or should we spend more time on the manuer it took to grow it? I think there is a balance somewhere.
posted by zoneiv at March 18, 2008 11:09 pm :

Hi Arkin,

I actually did go back through the months and read the posts before making my comments. Perhaps I am missing something on how to go back and read the archives because I certainly did not see the tons of topics you speak of. I will make an effort to try again.

Thanks
posted by Akin S at March 19, 2008 9:10 am :

You are right zoneiv, studying the archives takes a bit of time. I will help. Just a cursory look revealed:

Ft. Lee Culinary Competition draws attention of High Schools, Army Community Heritage Partnership has an upcoming forum, Southside Virginia Heritage Days sounds positive, The movement at Battersea is impressive, Middle College opportunities at PHS are developing, Goodwill Annual Spring Career Fair and Pre-employment Workshops should help people, Auditions are announced at Sycamore Rouge where hearts truly are stimulated, Petersburg Regional Art Center has great storylines, Petersburg Symphony Orchestra is alive and well.

Everybody will not like everything, but that does not stop the reality that a lot of positive things are going on in Petersburg and the surrounding communities.

Finalyy, you can always submit and encourage others to submit positive topics… and if people find that they have none, then it may appear to them that there are none.

I humbly suggest to those people to give it a chance, keep eyes and ears open and the manifestations of both good and not so good will appear. It is at that time that the choice will be available to choose upon which waters to wet ones beak.

Peace
posted by zoneiv at March 19, 2008 9:50 am :

Akin,

Are we talking about the same blog???? My comments were about the HPLA blog of which this thread was originally derived from.

Your comments seem to be about the Petersburg Peoples News Blog. I have no problem with the Petersburg People’s News blog at all.

Unless I am mistaken, we are on the same sheet of music.
posted by Akin S at March 19, 2008 9:54 am :

Zoneiv!!!

My humblest apologies. How did I miss that you were not talking about this site. It has been brought to my attention that you were referencing another site.

Oops! Anyhow, I will seek to remain a productive member of whatever blog that I find myself on and hope that I have not caused you any discontent for I truly misread your post.

Thank you to the voice of reason that set me on right course.
posted by zoneiv at March 19, 2008 10:33 am :

Akin,

Not a problem at all and I certainly had no discontent nor loss any sleep over it.
posted by Chuck at March 19, 2008 11:07 am :

Okay, don’t make me pull this car over and come back there you two!

Humor…it’s my defense mechanism.
posted by Akin S at March 19, 2008 11:35 pm :

Chuck, you better stop driving and blogging at the same time. :)

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