Podcasts about governmental operations

Conventions over, the politicians are hammering away at one another. With the election looking close, questions arise over the next fiscal year budget and the timing for getting it actually enacted. We check in now with W-T-O-P Capitol Hill Correspondent Mitchell Miller. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Good morning, RVA! It's 59 °F, and today we've got more of the same—which is not so bad. Expect highs right around 70 °F and more of those cloudy skies. Temperatures will start to creep up tomorrow, and the sun has tentative plans to return this weekend. As of right now, next week looks stunning. Water cooler Yesterday, I got my mail-in ballot for this coming November's election, which is, of course, very exciting. I really enjoy voting by mail: Filling out the piece of paper, carefully following all the instructions—you don't get to join your fellow citizens in the corporate moment of Election Day, but, to me, it still feels like an important ceremony. It's nice, and if you'd like to join me in voting by mail (separately, from our own homes), you have until October 27th to request your ballot from the Virginia Department of Elections. But voting is just one part of participating in democracy! We need good, progressive candidates to vote for, too (preferably ones that constantly think about zoning and rezoning and love nothing more than a good public work survey). That candidate could be you! Yes, literally you! Every great candidate was, at some point, a person standing in their kitchen shouting about some issue and wondering aloud, “Fine, maybe I should just run!” A couple weeks ago I got this really lovely email from Traci Fanssen, candidate for the Chesterfield School Board, Matoaca District: “Heads up that Chesterfield has School Board elections THIS year—and I answered your question ‘should I run for school board' with a YES, because there is a Moms For Liberty candidate in my district that I did NOT want to let run unopposed. I tried to talk a few other people into it, but they had other obligations, and so, here I am! Long-time public education advocate putting my name on the line to defend the freedoms to learn, teach, and parent—without letting only the loudest voices in the room dictate what all children have access to in their public schools. School board candidates don't get the ad-spending headlines, but we are on the front lines of standing against the censorship of vulnerable communities. And if anyone is considering running next year in Richmond, I have some tips for them to get started.” How awesome is this?? Follow Traci's example! If you, a regular person, can't stop shouting to your friends and family about an issue—transportation, parks, education, child care, whatever—maybe it's time to get serious about it. Considering running for something in Richmond's 2024 elections, and take Traci up on her offer—but probably wait until after the election so she has a minute to breathe. A new north-south bus rapid transit survey just dropped, and this one asks you some questions about the specific route a north-south BRT should run. I'm fascinated that they've included Lombardy Street in a couple of the options. Lombardy is pretty narrow, and I'm not sure where they'd cram some of the infrastructure needed to support true bus rapid transit. Like...would it just run in mixed traffic the length of Lombardy? That does not seem very BRT-like. I'd like to learn more! City Council's Governmental Operations committee meets today and has two interesting items on their agenda. First, RES. 2023-R011, which would take some steps toward the City acquiring Evergreen and East End cemeteries from the now defunct EnRichmond Foundation. Second, they'll hear a presentation recapping the recommended changes to the City's charter. If you zoned out during that entire process, this helpful summary document will do a good job of catching you up. The Richmond Times-Dispatch's Em Holter reports on yesterday's Casino 2.0 job hubbub: “The developers of the Richmond Grand Resort and Casino have added another promise to its growing list: the prospect of hundreds of union construction jobs.” Union jobs are good, casinos are bad. Both can be true! This morning's longread The End of Privacy is a Taylor Swift Fan TikTok Account Armed with Facial Recognition Tech Ten-years-ago me would have absolutely zero hope of understanding the collection of words that make up this article's title. Today-me sort of understands that this seems really bad and kind of wants to just stay inside forever. The 90,000 follower-strong account typically picks targets who appeared in other viral videos, or people suggested to the account in the comments. Many of the account's videos show the process: screenshotting the video of the target, cropping images of the face, running those photos through facial recognition software, and then revealing the person's full name, social media profile, and sometimes employer to millions of people who have liked the videos. There's an entire branch of content on TikTok in which creators show off their OSINT doxing skills—OSINT being open source intelligence, or information that is openly available online. But the vast majority of them do it with the explicit consent of the target. This account is doing the same, without the consent of the people they choose to dox. As a bizarre aside, the account appears to be run by a Taylor Swift fan, with many of the doxing videos including Swift's music, and including videos of people at the Eras Tour. If you'd like to suggest a longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol' Patreon. Picture of the Day I saw this amazing machine on the road the other day, and then learned about the “Smash My Trash” business model of compacting trash in other companies' haul-away dumpsters. Fascinating! Also, how much do I want to operate a trash smasher??

The information for the Thomasville Police Department released by Chief Mitchell Stuckey for the week of March 14 - 20, 2022, is listed below. Arrests 3-14-22 – Chapman, Natalie Lashonda – Possession of Marijuana 3-15-22 – Stubbs, Jarvis Darrell – Possession of Marijuana 3-15-22 – Phillips, William Douglas – Failure to Appear (Grove Hill) 3-16-22 – King, Terrance – Possession of Marijuana 3-17-22 – Tyus, Andrew Cornelius – Unlawful Possession of a Concealed Weapon, Attempting to Elude a Police Officer and Obstruction of Governmental Operations 3-17-22 – Leach, Charlotte Nichol – Bail Jumping (Clarke County) 3-18-22 – Coley, Jerry Wayne...Article Link

The information for the Thomasville Police Department released by Chief Mitchell Stuckey for the week of Dec. 20-26, 2021 is listed below. Arrests 12-20-21 – Smith, Justin Oneal – Obstruction of Governmental Operations 12-20-21 – Boykins, Derruarze Rockkel – Failure to Appear (Washington County) 12-23-21 – Bush, Terrie – Alias Writ of Arrest x2 (Clarke County) 12-23-21 – Brown, Jacory – Possession of Marijuana 12-23-21 – Covas, Joseph Sylvester – Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and Possession of a Controlled Substance 12-26-21 – Joseph, Katie Rose – Possession of a Concealed Weapon without a Permit, Possession of Marijuana Second Degree, Possession...Article Link

Good morning, RVA! It's 60 °F, and today's weather forecast looks wonderful. Expect highs in the upper 70s and low humidity. It's a great Wednesday to get outside!Water coolerAs of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports the seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths as: 137, 22, and 5.6, respectively. VDH reports a seven-day average of 18.9 new cases in and around Richmond (Richmond: 2.7; Henrico: 9.6, and Chesterfield: 6.6). Since this pandemic began, 1,353 people have died in the Richmond region. 45.9%, 57.3%, and 53.8% of the population in Richmond, Henrico, and Chesterfield have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.OK, the VDH dashboard caught up with the Governor, and, as of yesterday morning, now reports that 70.0% of Virginians 18 and older have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Unfortunately, America as a whole has not caught up, and yesterday the president's team announced that the U.S. will not hit his 70% goal by July 4th. Like I've said many times over the last couple of weeks, this particular goal is fairly arbitrary anyway, and, even now, we're pretty dang close (65.4% of Americans have received at least one dose). We'll get there—and we'll get even further—but it'll take more time and a lot of hard work.The Governor announced that he wants to replace the 134-year-old time capsule embedded in the plinth of the Robert E. Lee statue with something less racist. Check out this article from October 26, 1887 in the Richmond Dispatch which describes some of the things included in the Very Lost Cause Time Capsule currently embedded in the monument: some Virginia Confederate buttons, a battle-flag and square and compass made from the tree over Stonewall Jackson's grave, and a $100,000 Confederate bond. The coolest part of this whole thing, is that you can submit an artifact for consideration for the new, less-racist time capsule by filling out a form on the aforelinked website. Your item should, of course, represent Virginia, and I personally think it would be more interesting if it represented this present moment, as well. Maybe a vaccine card? Something Marcus-David Peters related? A tear gas canister that the RPD used against protestors around the Lee Monument itself? And, in case you were wondering like I was, “On March 22, 2021, Historic Jamestown, an entity of Preservation Virginia, conducted a scan of the pedestal and identified a void in the base where the time capsule is likely housed. The Department of General Services analyzed the results of the scan and concluded that the time capsule can be removed and replaced without damaging the fidelity of the structure.” So just because the Governor wants to replace the time capsule does NOT mean that he'll (necessarily) be taking down the plinth to do so.Pulitzer Prize Winning Columnist Michael Paul Williams ties together two issues from the last couple of days—the Gilpin Court pool and the Chesterfield School Board's Critical Race Theory statement—as examples of regional failures. I don't think those things are quite the same magnitude. The former is systemic and needs about a billion dollars to really address while the latter was an individual choice made by a handful of elected officials. But, as Williams says, the message sent by both of these failures to our communities is pretty clear.Noah Daboul at Richmond BizSense has this wild story about a 3D-printed house over on the city's Southside. Instead of plastic filament, this giant 3D printer uses concrete and “almost looks like if you're squeezing a tube of toothpaste.” Amazing. Double amazing is that this home will hit the market at a generally affordable $200,000. Science!This might be boring, but City Council's Governmental Operations committee meets today and will consider ORD. 2021–180, which would extend the deadline the Civilian Review Board Taskforce has to submit their recommendations to Council until August 30th. It also asks that the task force present a status report to the Gov Ops committee on July 28th. Both of those dates are right around the corner, which makes me think Council is ready to move on to the next step of the CRB process.Cool civic opportunity alert! Richmond City Council is looking for seven members (and four non-voting alternate members) to serve on the Participatory Budgeting Steering Commission. Participatory Budgeting is when you, the public, participate in spending a portion of the City's budget on whatever you see fit. This commission would shepherd that process from start to finish, which seems like rewarding work. You can fill out an application here and read through the PB ordinance here (ORD. 2020–256) to learn more about the process (I recommend skipping to the very-readable Background section at the bottom). You've got until July 1st to fill out your application!This morning's longreadHype House and the Los Angeles TikTok Mansion Gold RushThis was published pre-pandemic, and now I simply must know what all these TikTok houses did when things began to shut down.In 2014 members of an early collab channel called Our Second Life lived and worked together in what they called the 02L Mansion. The next year, nearly all the top talent on Vine moved into a large apartment complex at 1600 Vine Street. Soon after, YouTuber mansions were popping up all over the city. The Vlog Squad shacked up in Studio City, while Team 10, Jake Paul's infamous YouTuber collective, rented a giant house in West Hollywood before eventually decamping to a mansion in Calabasas. Another group of YouTubers rented a $12 million mansion in the Hollywood Hills and deemed it the Clout House. Now, the TikTokers have arrived — and everything about TikTok happens faster than it does anywhere else.If you'd like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol' Patreon.Picture of the Day

Good morning, RVA! It’s 68 °F, and today you can expect too-hot highs in the 90s for much of the day. Later this evening we could see some severe thunderstorms roll through, but it won’t do much to cool things off. Temperatures return to springlike this weekend, so, until then, accept the sweat and stay hydrated!Water coolerAs of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports the seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths as: 418, 39, and 13.6, respectively. VDH reports a seven-day average of 44.6 new cases in and around Richmond (Richmond: 6.6; Henrico: 18.0, and Chesterfield: 20.0). Since this pandemic began, 1,322 people have died in the Richmond region. 42.5%, 52.9%, and 49.4% of the population in Richmond, Henrico, and Chesterfield have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. I rewrote the top of this email! What do you think? I may keep tweaking it over the next couple of weeks—thrilling stuff!Yesterday, Moderna announced that it plans to submit some new data to the FDA and will seek Emergency Use Authorization for its COVID-19 vaccine for kids ages 12 through 17 in early June. The Washington Post has more details. This would be big news, even though we have loads of Pfizer laying around for this age group; the Pfizer vaccine is just so challenging to work with. Expanded authorization of Moderna would make things easier for folks on the ground who are still out there planning vaccination events and jabbing arms.I didn’t expect this! The Roanoke Times reports that “students, faculty and staff at Virginia’s community colleges will not be required to be vaccinated to be on campus this fall.” Hmmm, I wonder that that means.Whoa, Ali Rockett and Chris Suarez in the Richmond Times-Dispatch have an entire piece today, titled “Mayor Levar Stoney wrote an opinion piece for The New York Times reflecting on last summer. Here’s what he left out:,” point-by-pointing fives specifics the Mayor included in his recent column. I think I agree with most of these fives things and, if it had been me after this past summer in Richmond, I definitely would not have written a national opinion piece with the same tone. That said, it was just that: an opinion piece. The Mayor doesn’t have to mention his current tussles with the Civilian Review Board or the ongoing investigation about the cost of tearing down the monuments. He can tell his story how he wants, which most certainly casts himself as this summer’s hero. You can disagree with his telling of events, but I do think the NYT piece probably accomplished the Mayor’s political goals and raised his profile—especially among Virginians outside of Richmond. I do appreciate the local journalists who put this together to provide a more complete picture for readers of what happened a year ago.Richmond Together has put out a thoughtful candidate questionnaire for the Commonwealth’s Attorney race, and you can read the responses from incumbent Colette McEachin and challenger Tom Barbour. Have I ever read a candidate questionnaire for Commonwealth’s Attorney before? I’m not sure. If you haven’t either, take the opportunity to do so today—especially if you’re not even sure what the Commonwealth’s Attorney does. This questionnaire and the responses will give you a good idea for some of the roles and responsibilities one of these two candidates will have once elected.VPM’s Roberto Roldan reports on the Valentine Museum’s struggle to come to terms with the racist history of its namesake, sculptor Edward Valentine. I like local scholar Ana Edwards’s quote in this piece, "They all started off as institutions born into, if not the Confederacy per se, certainly the white supremacist South…That’s where they come from, that’s where their money comes from, that’s where their sensibility comes from.”Jonathan Spiers at Richmond BizSense reports on “the start of construction of a 36-home section at Armstrong Renaissance, the massive redevelopment of the 22-acre site along North 31st Street in Richmond’s East End.” Armstrong Renaissance is by far my favorite new development in the entire city—it’s beautiful, mixed-income, and has a lovely blend of density all set just a few feet from a decent bus line. I mean, check out these totals for the entire development: “130 income-based rental units, 90 apartments for seniors, and the 36 for-sale homes for both lower-income and market-rate buyers.” Sounds great, now do this everywhere.Today the City’s Governmental Operations committee will meet and take up a deeply nerdy ordinance that will officially change the logo of the City from the brassy skyline, James River, and bridge situation, to the more contemporary silhouette of the bateau boatman (ORD. 2021–128). This doesn’t really impact anything or any one, as the new logo is already in use, I just think it’s neat reading the in-ordinance text descriptions of the old and new logos.This morning’s longreadThe Dark Side of Congo’s Cobalt RushCobalt is in probably two or three things you’re touching right now or can see from where you’re sitting.The man stopped digging in his yard. Instead, he cut through the floor of his house, which he was renting, and dug to about thirty feet, carting out ore at night. Zanga Muteba, a baker who then lived in Kasulo, told me, “All of us, at that time, we knew nothing.” But one evening he and some neighbors heard telltale clanging noises coming from the man’s house. Rushing inside, they discovered that the man had carved out a series of underground galleries, following the vein of cobalt as it meandered under his neighbors’ houses. When the man’s landlord got wind of these modifications, they had an argument, and the man fled. “He had already made a lot of money,” Muteba told me. Judging from the amount of ore the man had dug out, he had probably made more than ten thousand dollars—in Congo, a small fortune. According to the World Bank, in 2018 three-quarters of the country’s population lived on less than two dollars a day.If you’d like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol’ Patreon.Picture of the DayAn adventure is afoot!

Good morning, RVA! It’s 52 °F, and it’s raining. You should expect it to continue raining throughout the morning and maybe even into the late afternoon. Tomorrow, though! Tomorrow’s weather looks amazing.Water coolerAs of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 1,267 new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealthand 10 new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 128 new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 56, Henrico: 57, and Richmond: 15). Since this pandemic began, 1,191 people have died in the Richmond region. Are Virginia’s case counts on the rise again, or are we riding it out on a bumpy plateau? The seven-day average of new reported cases bottomed out ten days ago at 1,291 (still real, real high), and, over the last week or so, it has crept back up to 1,442. We’re seeing similar trends locally, too, with a low of 129 new reported cases (that’s a seven-day average) back on March 10th. Today’s seven-day average sits at 146. The amount of virus out there is still a lot! Don’t go frolicking around without taking proper safety precautions!Speaking of frolicking around, yesterday at his press conference, the Governor announced that he’d “ease certain mitigation measures.” You can read the full updated Executive Order 72 here (PDF), but here’s the gist: 50 people can now gather indoors and 100 people out of doors, outdoor entertainment venues can operate at 30% of their capacity with no cap on the number of attendees, and more spectators are allowed at recreational sporting events. Also, trumpet and trombone enthusiasts rejoice, because “entertainment and amusement business” employees “who must remove their masks to play a wind instrument during a performance or rehearsal” are exempt from mask requirements as long as they maintain 10 feet of distance from others. These updates take effect on April 1st.Hey now, this is interesting: Jessica Nocera at the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that Henrico County officials are publicly asking the state to allocate more vaccine doses to the ongoing Richmond Raceway vaccination events. This feels like a very un-Henrico Way to go about things, but I’m really interested to see if it works. There’s definitely no denying that the County, which runs the vaccination site, has the capacity to efficiently vaccinate thousands and thousands of people. Nocera says that the Raceway received “just” 11,994 doses this past week, and we know from Supervisors Nelson that the County can jab out that number of doses in just a couple of days. I hope Henrico can make this happen and secure more doses for our region.I’ve got a lot of boring news this morning—which, for me, is exciting! First, I uploaded City Council’s budget work session to The Boring Show. This first session is only an hour long, and at 2x speed I was able to get through a good chunk of it while getting ready for bed. Totally normal-person stuff to listen to while brushing your teeth! You can stay up to date on this year’s budget season directly—hearing it straight from the nine horses' mouths—by subscribing to The Boring Show podcast. Also budget-related, Chris Suarez at the RTD says Councilmembers Lynch and Jones have “said they would support increasing the proposed $2.9 million allocation for the city’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund to $10 million.” Council has final say on the budget, so we’ll see if either of these councilmembers introduces amendments to increase this year’s allocation to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund—and bonus points if they take the time to figure out how to pay for those amendments, too.Second, the Governmental Operations committee meets today and will discuss RES. 2021-R019, a pretty boring paper that would request the CAO to create a digital connectivity map for the City. Council hopes to use this map to plan out the best way to provide universal broadband access for, specifically (like, mentioned in the resolution text (PDF)), Black and Brown families. That’s not boring at all, and you’ll remember Henrico was working on a similar thing a couple months back.Third, the Mayor introduced ORD. 2021–078, which will officially accept about $2 million from the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transit to paint the Pulse lanes red from Hamilton to Foushee Street—the center-running section of the Pulse. Red lanes, which is a Bus Rapid Transit best practice, will help keep drivers (and pedestrians) out of the bus lanes and keep the buses moving quickly and safely. I’m stoked on this, and the Mayor’s press release says we should see the project completed by next spring! Because I can’t not, I’m interested in what this sentence in the Background portion of the ordinance means: “The project consists of a Design and Construction phase that will determine if solid red-pavement travel lanes will be active 24 hours a day or a combination of hatched red-pavement lanes will be active 7–9:30 AM and 4–6:30 PM.” Are portions of the bus-only lanes peak-only? I don’t think that’s the case, but I’ve been trapped in this house for a long time and maybe have forgotten some details about how the world works! I’ve written about red bus lanes before, if you want to get into it.This morning’s longreadThe Holy Grail of Transportation Is Right in Front of UsIn Richmond, we need the CVTA to fund more regional bus service, and then we need Richmond and Henrico to restore the money they cut from GRTC’s operating budget a couple years back. Then we’d really be at the start of a grail quest.People have said for years that the bus could be the next big thing in transportation. Now we can make that a reality. With the proper investment, city buses might be transformed into the sort of next-generation transportation service that technology companies and car companies have spent billions over the last decade trying to build — a cheap, accessible, comfortable, sustainable, reliable way to get around town. How might we come upon this transportation nirvana? Not through some great technological innovation or a grand infrastructure project. The holy grail is right there in front of us; it’s been right there for decades. All we’ve got to do is buy more buses, hire more bus drivers and, in some places, give buses special privileges on the road. All we’ve got to do is care enough to build bus systems that work.If you’d like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol’ Patreon.Picture of the DayRelated.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 39 °F, and you can expect some fog or rain this morning followed by mid-day temperatures around 50 °F. We might could see a little snow overnight and into tomorrow, but don’t get your hopes up for anything major. However, NBC12’s Andrew Freiden says we could be in for more snow on Sunday.Water coolerAs of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 4,707 new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealthand 93 new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 583 new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 230, Henrico: 249, and Richmond: 104). Since this pandemic began, 655 people have died in the Richmond region. Setting aside the typically brutal Tuesday death report and the worrisome level of new reported cases locally, today is all about the vaccine. The Washington Post reports that President Biden has ordered an additional 200 million doses of vaccine, giving the United States enough supply to fully vaccinate 300 million people “by this summer.” Those doses won’t show up until the end of June, so, unfortunately, they won’t do anything to alleviate our current national (which means local, too) vaccine shortage. However, on a call with governors this week, the Biden administration said the existing allocation to states would go up by about five percent for the next three weeks. If Virginia requested 300,000 a couple weeks back, received 105,000, then a 5% increase means we can expect about 5,000 more doses for the entire Commonwealth. I mean, it’s not nothing, but it’s also not even a single Siegel Center full of people. I expect we’ll hear more about this from Governor Northam today at his 2:00 PM press briefing to “provide an update on the Commonwealth’s response to COVID-19 and vaccination program,” which you can watch live on VPM’s YouTube channel. I’m hoping we’ll learn how the Governor intends to address the vaccine shortage, and what he’ll do after massively expanding Phase 1b only to immediately learn that there’s not nearly enough vaccine for the original, un-expanded Phase 1b let alone a group of people that includes almost half of Virginia. Locally, the Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors sent this letter to the Governor about their county’s struggle with distributing the vaccine. To be frank and fully-disclosed, I’m not sure how to talk about this particular thing given my actual job at the Richmond and Henrico Health Districts. So, until I mentally untie that ethical knot, I will just say that everyone is working incredibly hard. You can find additional context to what’s going on in the rest of the region in this press release from January 5th and this Richmond Times-Dispatch story from January 15th.The RTD’s Michael Paul Williams writes about DGS’s new fence around Marcus-David Peters circle, saying: “With no removal date in sight, the state’s action Monday represents less the impending removal of Lee from his pedestal than the clearance of a popular circle informally renamed after Marcus-David Peters, who was killed by Richmond police in 2018. As quickly as that fence went up, it’s clear that the state could have waited until it had the court’s OK to remove the statue.” I guess I’m on a rollercoaster of emotions here. First I thought the large trucks and construction crews had rolled up to remove the statue, then I thought the fence went up because removal work was set to begin immediately, but now we’ve ended up in a worst-of-both-worlds place with both a racist statue and a huge, ugly fence designed just to keep people out?Related, Beth Almore, who you may recognize as the Black cellist frequently seen at MDP Circle, has written an open letter about what she’d like to see the space become moving forward. I especially love this part: “…we would like a community-approved Black curator appointed to ensure that the story of over-policing and disproportionate extrajudicial executions remains at the center of the narrative this space tells…Any efforts to remove signs and symbols which interrogate and speak out against extrajudicial executions from the center of the narrative are not acceptable. We feel—strongly—that the space has already been reimagined, by thousands of community members.”We’ll I’m surprised! Jonathan Spiers at Richmond BizSense reports that several councilmembers actually ended up submitting amendments to Richmond 300. At the time, I think I predicted Council would quietly move on from their complaints about the City’s new master plan after it passed. Shows what I know! If we’re going to take planning seriously, though, we should run serious engagement and outreach efforts for each of these amendments—just like we did for the Master Plan as a whole.Today, City Council’s Governmental Operations committee will meet and discuss RES. 2020-R056, which asks for a study on the cost savings from having a bunch of City employees work remotely. I really like the intent behind this resolution, although the Mayor’s administration opposes it because they don’t love how the resolution is written and don’t track (or have the staff to track) some of the things requested. I’m not smart enough to know how to better write this resolution, but a thoughtful look at how continued work-from-home policies might make the City more efficient seems like a good idea?This morning’s longreadThe Big Thaw: How Russia Could Dominate a Warming WorldI thought this long piece in ProPublica was fascinating. I never think about how things like “food production” turn out to be national security issues.A great transformation is underway in the eastern half of Russia. For centuries the vast majority of the land has been impossible to farm; only the southernmost stretches along the Chinese and Mongolian borders, including around Dimitrovo, have been temperate enough to offer workable soil. But as the climate has begun to warm, the land — and the prospect for cultivating it — has begun to improve. Twenty years ago, Dima says, the spring thaw came in May, but now the ground is bare by April; rainstorms now come stronger and wetter. Across Eastern Russia, wild forests, swamps and grasslands are slowly being transformed into orderly grids of soybeans, corn and wheat. It’s a process that is likely to accelerate: Russia hopes to seize on the warming temperatures and longer growing seasons brought by climate change to refashion itself as one of the planet’s largest producers of food.If you’d like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol’ Patreon.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 32 °F, and it’ll get a little warmer today, but not much. Expect highs in the low 40, and probably no rain for the foreseeable future—that’s something! However, early this morning, keep an eye out for icey, slippery sidewalks if you’re out and about.Water coolerThe Richmond Police Department are reporting a double murder on the 4300 block of Chamberlayne Avenue yesterday afternoon. Officers found Sandra Powell-Wyche and Curtis Wyche in a residence shot to death. Police have made two arrests related to this murder.As of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 3,931↗️ new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealth and 38↗️ new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 292↘️ new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 135, Henrico: 91, and Richmond: 66). Since this pandemic began, 508 people have died in the Richmond region. Hmm…so those statewide new case numbers jumped right back up to around 4,000. I don’t know what that means, and it’s so hard to see trends when you’re sitting smack in the middle of one. However, looking across the Commonwealth, the seven-day average of percent positivity has crept all the way up to 11.3%, and we’re seeing that reflected locally, as well (Richmond: 6.01%; Henrico: 8.46%; and Chesterfield: 10.20%). I’ve been keeping an eye on the color-coded map of the 14-day case incidence rate—which is new cases per 100,000 people—and the entire state is deep red except for two localities (Cumberland and Sussex). Similarly, watching the color-coded map for percent positivity has been like watching a terrifying red tide wash across the state from west to east. Anyway, depressing numbers today. Not depressing: Audrey Roberson received VCU Health’s first dose of the Pfizer vaccine yesterday. Her reaction in that photo is perfect and emotional.City Council’s Finance and Economic Development committee meets today and you can find their full agenda here (PDF). They will consider a bunch of housing-related papers that remind me I still have a ton to learn about “housing,” even after several years of trying to do exactly. For example, I probably need to learn more about the plans behind RES. 2020-R069and RES. 2020-R070, which approve RRHA to issue a total of $24.5 million in bonds for projects on the Southside. Also, are dedicated revenue streams a good idea or a bad idea? ORD. 2020–214 would implement the Mayor’s plan to take all new real estate tax generated by properties rolling out of tax exemption and put those revenues into the Affordable Housing Trust Fund. Staff estimates that this would create an annual $2 million revenue stream for the fund. I did get a good laugh at RES. 2020-R068, which plainly reminds us that resolutions are, ultimately, non-binding: “To reiterate the request made in Res. No. 2020-R053, adopted Sept. 28, 2020, that the Mayor propose, for the Fiscal Year 2021–2022 and for every fiscal year thereafter, a budget that includes funding in the amount of at least $10,000,000.00 for the Affordable Housing Trust Fund.” This makes you laugh, too, right? A resolution to reiterate a previous resolution?? Classic. Anyway, I joke, but you should read the staff notes on this one as they point out some issues with the aforelinked ORD. 2020–214.Roberto Roldan at VPM reports that City Council’s Governmental Operations committee approved a new, police-free slate of candidates for the task force working to put together a Civilian Review Board. This new list, which you can find at the bottom of the story, will still need to get full Council’s approval. Also, make sure you read Roberto’s final line: “One task force position set aside for a resident of Richmond’s public housing communities did not receive any applicants and has not been filled.” I wonder, to paraphrase Del. Price from yesterday, has the City done the necessary outreach to fill this position? Or nah?Mayor Stoney sent this open letter about legalizing marijuana to the Governor yesterday. The Mayor says any resulting tax revenues should be used for, first, “complete and total expungements for those currently incarcerated for or living with the consequences of a possession conviction,” and, second, to take “intentional steps to avoid regulatory biases that could perpetuate the very injustice that legalization advocates seek to end.” The Governor responded with “I am committed to putting equity first as we work to legalize marijuana. Today, I announced $25 million for expungement reforms, and made clear that half of revenues should go towards Pre-K for all at risk three- and four-year-olds.” I’m still having a little bit of a hard time believing how fast all of this is moving!Critical snow day update from Richmond Public Schools Superintendent Jason Kamras: “Finally, with a major storm hitting the Northeast tonight, I’ve received a lot of questions about snow days – namely, will we have them? Well, we might. Here’s the rule we’ll follow this year: as a matter of equity, if it snows so much that our buses can’t deliver meals in the morning, I’ll call a snow day. No child should be required to hop onscreen for several hours of virtual classes with an empty stomach.” Empathetic as always, and good news for RPS students wishing for snow.COVID-19 testing events hosted by the Richmond and Henrico Health Districts continue as we head into the winter holidays. Today, you can head over to Second Baptist Church (3300 Broad Rock Boulevard) from 2:00–4:00 PM for a free community testing event.This morning’s longreadHidden in Plain Sight: The Ghosts of SegregationWow, these contemporary photos of reclaimed and forgotten “Colored” entrances and white-only space are amazing. How many doorways have I walked past in Richmond, not knowing the role they played in our segregated past? More photos over on the photographer’s website.The photographs are also a testament to the endurance of the racial inequalities that have plagued American society, projected backward and forward in time. The deaths this year of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, among many other Black Americans, prompted a long-overdue national reckoning, spurring one of the largest movements in U.S. history. And these pictures prove that if you look carefully enough, you’ll find that the evidence of the structures of segregation — and the marks of white supremacy — still surrounds us, embedded in the landscape of our day-to-day lives.If you’d like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol’ Patreon.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 64 °F, and today looks a lot like yesterday which looks a lot like tomorrow and the next couple of days. I can handle the heat and humidity and am just happy for clear skies.Water coolerAs of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 432↘️ new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealth and 14↗️ new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 80↘️ new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 25, Henrico: 37, and Richmond: 18). Since this pandemic began, 219 people have died in the Richmond region. For the past two weeks, the number of new reported cases in Virginia has remained relatively stable, as testing (however you choose to define that) has continued to increase. I haven’t had the time, but I’d love to break down the number of new reported cases by region. I wonder if some regions are seeing cases increase at a similar rate to regions seeing a drop in cases? Kind of like what was happening across the country for several weeks, as the Northeast cooled off while the South and West heated up? Maybe over the weekend! One last bit of virus news, Kate Masters at the Virginia Mercury says the Governor will “discontinue his twice-weekly briefings, citing a rise in testing and a decreasing percentage of results that come back positive.” OK. I don’t get it. More communication is always better than less, and I just can’t understand why our elected officials—and this applies locally, too—have decided to dip out during a time of crisis.I think, for the most part, for the first time in 27? 28? days, there were no major protests in Richmond last night. The word “major” is doing a lot of work in that sentence, because the Richmond Times-Dispatch says 50 folks were at the Lee Circle until 12:00 AM, and WTVR says 15 folks were arrested for conducting a sit-in out front of the Commonwealth Attorney’s home. Both of those things would be ultra headline news at any other moment in time but not this morning!There’s a lot of eviction related news lately, and I’m having a hard time understanding exactly what’s going on. The Virginia Supreme Court’s statewide moratorium on evictions lifts on Monday, and, while Governor Northam did not ask the Court to extend the moratorium, he is “asking chief circuit court judges around the state to bar evictions until July 20,” says Justin Mattingly in the Richmond Times-Dispatch. The Governor will also make available $50 million of federal CARES Act money to fund a new program to help people pay their rents and mortgages beginning on…Monday. The same day the ban on evictions lifts. That’s not a whole lot of time to get a statewide eviction program up and running! Also, a couple days ago, Mayor Stoney announced that he’ll dedicate $6 million, or 30% of the City’s entire CARES Act money, to “support both households currently facing evictions pending in the courts as well as those at risk of eviction due to economic challenges arising form COVID-19.” The City says 1,900 households currently face a pending eviction. I’m honestly unsure how to reconcile the Governor’s choice not to extend the eviction moratorium with his quotes like this: “We don’t want anybody getting evicted at any time, but especially not at this difficult time.”I listened to the absolutely fascinating Governmental Operations committee meeting yesterday so you didn’t have to (but you still totally can). The meeting, run by Chair Andreas Addison, focused on the process for removing our Confederate monuments and if there was any possible way to take them down before jumping through the State’s required and paternalistic hoops. The City Attorney, again, says no despite the various states of emergency and clear public safety hazard posed by the multi-ton statues. Well, to be clear, the Attorney said that there’s no way to remove the statues without opening up either the City, the City Council, the Mayor, or even the contractors paid to take the monuments down to risk of lawsuit. The Attorney also said that both the City’s Planning Commission and the Commission of Architectural Review will have to sign off on bringing the statues down. For those following at home, according to the City Attorney, here’s what needs to happen before anyone can head out to Monument Avenue with a crane: Council must introduce legislation on July 1st saying they want to take the monuments down, they’ve got to then schedule a public hearing 30 days from the date notice of the hearing is published in the paper, Planning Commission has to approve of removal, the Commission of Architectural Review has to approval of removal, if necessary City Council may need to override either of those decisions, the public hearing needs to happen, Council then can vote on removing the monuments, then the monuments need to sit there for 30 days so the City can entertain offers from museums and battlefields and such. That’s a boring list of things, but I hope it makes clear that without new legal guidance from the City Attorney (or some other lawyer, including the Commonwealth’s Attorney and the Attorney General), absolutely nothing is happening any time soon. Honestly, I’m frustrated by how this entire conversation was framed—starting from no—and would have much preferred something along the lines of “Please, Attorney, tell me how to do what I want to do and the risks associated with it.” Councilmember Jones eventually asked what was the worst possible thing that could happen if we took the monuments down immediately, and the Attorney said a judge may order them to go back up. O…K? I mean, they’re up now? Like, the worst possible consequence is the one we are living with today? While Council will look for additional legal advice, they’re also going to ask the state to consider shortening their required process, which, sure.According to the Virginia Employment Commission’s weekly press release, around 400,000 folks filed for unemployment insurance the week ending June 20th. That’s just under two entire City of Richmonds of people without jobs.VPM’s Alan Rodriguez has this great profile of the student journalists at the Commonwealth Times who’ve provided absolutely essential coverage of Richmond’s nightly protests. You will recognize the names in this piece—Andrew Ringle, Hannah Eason, Eduardo Acevedo—because I’m constantly linking to their work. I’m impressed and thankful for their commitment, especially since they haven’t been paid since March!This morning’s patron longreadTake Back the Streets From the AutomobileSubmitted by Patron Lisa. Richmond, too, has seen its share of biking massively increase since the pandemic sent everyone home to shelter in place—just try to get an appointment at a local bike shop for small repairs! I do worry, though, that we missed our moment, and, with Phase Three on the horizon, we’re about to head back to our car-centric lives having made absolutely zero changes to the way we prioritize our public spaces.All over the world, forward-looking cities large and small have already jumped into action. In Medellin, the innovative Colombian city nestled in the Andes, workers are seizing traffic lanes and slapping down yellow paint to signify a change: Cars have been evicted and the lanes are now reserved for bicyclists. In Kampala, the capital of Uganda, the authorities have closed streets, encouraged cycling, and sped the construction of new bike lanes and walkways. In European cities, “corona cycleways” have become the new norm.If you’d like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol’ Patreon.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 68 °F, and highs today look like they’ll stay in the 80s—but beware the humidity! Also keep an eye out for a possible thunderstorm this afternoon. Typical Richmond summer-type stuff.Water coolerAs of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 520↗️ new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealth and 16↗️ new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 114↗️ new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 59, Henrico: 15, and Richmond: 40). Since this pandemic began, 218 people have died in the Richmond region. Yesterday, the COVID Tracking Project announced that the U.S. set a record for new cases reported in a day at 38,672, topping the previous record set way back on April 25th. This chart of the seven-day average of positive cases per million population by region does a great job at illustrating how the Northeast is coming out of a pandemic while the South and West are rushing headlong into one. Looks like things in the South turned a bad, bad corner around Memorial Day, which is probably around the time when people got tired of staying inside and let their desires for cheap beer and grilled meats overwhelm their better judgement. Meanwhile, New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut will impose a 14-day quarantine on travelers from states that meet a certain threshold of infections per 100,000 residents—that’s currently Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Utah, and Texas. North Carolina and South Carolina! They’re right next to us. I wonder if we’ll see something similar from our Governor at his next coronavirus briefing. Stay tuned, stay inside, stay masked up, and stay remembering that there is a deadly pandemic sweeping through the South.That’s two nights in a row neither the Virginia State Police or the Richmond Police Department used chemical weapons on protestors. I feel like I need to get an OSHA safety sign. Last night, folks again gathered at the Lee Circle until nightfall, spent time grillin' and chillin', and cops in riot gear again showed up to eventually force folks from the circle. You can scroll through Zach Joachim from the Richmond Times-Dispatch’s feed or read this thread from the Commonwealth Tiimes’s Eduardo Acevedo. I saw a couple of report of rubber bulletsfired at the crowd, but other than that (and the fact that a phalanx of cops in riot gear is super freaking intimidating), it looks like interactions between the protestors and the police were minimal—at least considering the last several weeks. Then, after vacating the Circle, protestors formed an ad-hoc march and spent the next several hours loudly marching all over the Fan and the Museum District. I wonder two things: 1) Would the march have even happened without the police involvement earlier in the night? 2) What kind of coordination happens between VSP and RPD? Are the local police prepared for whatever happens as a result of state police action? This is a really complicated situation, and I don’t think it’s just going to suddenly resolve itself without thoughtful action from elected and community leaders.So! What does that action look like? First, I think regularly talking and listening to protestors would go a long way. I dunno, maybe hold office hours at Lee Circle each evening and share a meal with folks? The food out there lately has looked incredible. Second, taking down the remaining Confederate Monuments would help—but, obviously, would not address the systemic and racist problems with the structure of our public safety system. On the monuments tip, at today’s Governmental Operations committee meeting, the Interim City Attorney will give a presentation on the City’s monument removal options. I hope he’s learned more since Monday and has found some legal ground for the City to stand on while levering the statues into the bin. That meeting takes place at 12:00 PM, and you can tune in over on Legistar. To address the systemic and racist problems with the structure of our public safety system, the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus has a big list of priorities for an upcoming special session of the General Assembly. I love the intro sentence: “The Commonwealth is past the point for studies on policing and law enforcement—immediate action must be taken to eliminate law enforcement abuse, prevent and punish racist behaviors, weed out institutional discrimination, and increase accountability at all levels of law enforcement.” There’s a lot in their platform, but some highlights include: creating a civilian review board with subpoena power, implementing a Marcus Alert, restricting the use of “tear gas and militarization tactics and weapons against civilians,” ending no-knock warrants, and legalizing marijuana. I don’t know if some of these laws would only apply to state-level law enforcement or if they’d trickle down, Dillon Rule-style, to local police departments. Either way, I’m stoked to learn more and to see our governments begin addressing issues rather than just Party Patroling folks in the Lee Circle night after night.The deadline for collecting signatures and filing paperwork to get on the ballot for School Board, City Council, and Mayor has officially passed! That means we, theoretically, know who’s running for what, and I’ve started to put together this public Trello board of candidates for each race in each district. It’s not complete yet—especially the School Board races—but it’s a good starting point. I hope to add contact info in the immediate future and then start listing out and linking to positions folks end up taking. The goal is to create something really useful by the time we get to November. If you’d like to help out and are a GMRVA patron, give me a holler and I’ll add you to the board.Speaking of elections, this piece in Style Weekly by Rich Griset gives you a pretty good look at the tenor of the mayoral race at this exact moment in time. I don’t think you can possibly predict what the political landscape will look like next week let alone in November, so we may look back on pieces like this and laugh. I mean, remember when Navy Hill was the single issue that would dominate the 2020 elections? Ha!This is it! The final Richmond 300 virtual summit, focused on High-Quality Places, takes place tonight at 6:00 PM. Register over on the Eventbrite and read the related section of the draft plan ahead of time.This morning’s longreadMapping Our Social Change Roles in Times of CrisisI don’t know how this piece ended up in my queue, but I really like the idea that folks have specific skills and roles to play during a crisis. What you’re good at might not be the same was what other folks are good at—and that’s OK!But lately, I’ve been stuck in a fog, cycling through periods of motivation and stillness, outrage and exhaustion, determination and grief. Even though I’m connected to various networks, mentors, and organizations, I couldn’t figure out where I fit in, what my lane was, or how to begin. What is slowly awakening and centering me is my broader ecosystem. As I listen to and understand what others are doing and how they are (re)imagining what is possible in this moment, I have been reflecting and asking myself: what are my values, how can I be aligned and in right relationship with them, what are the needs of the communities who anchor me, and what can I offer with my full energy? Identifying the right actions in times of crisis requires reflection, and it’s in that spirit that I’m offering a new version of a mapping exercise that helps us identify our roles in a social change ecosystemIf you’d like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol’ Patreon.

Are you ready to master an entirely new way of life?  Master teacher Jim Self shares powerful insights from his new step-by-step book A Course in Mastering Alchemy: Tools to Shift, Transform and Ascend. An international speaker and author who has experienced lifelong expanding conscious awareness, Jim reveals how to: • Become conscious of the rules and limitations of your present reality. • Recognize that much of who you believe you are has very little to do with who you really are. • Step out of the unnecessary concept of “suffering” into a state of complete wellbeing. • Recreate yourself so you are no longer at the mercy of conditioned thoughts and emotionally charged reactions. • Begin to access your highest consciousness. • Create a new, strong and capable platform for experiencing the world. At the age of 26, Jim Self was elected to his first of two terms to the San Jose, CA City Council and later became Vice Mayor. Before completing his second term, he was asked by President Jimmy Carter to be an advisor and the Director of Governmental Operations for the Dept. of Energy.  Since then, Jim has successfully built and sold two corporations, and is the founder and current Board Chairman of a third. Jim is the author of multiple books. Jim's web site:  www.masteringalchemy.com Program music copyrighted by Grammy award winner Larry Seyer (LarrySeyer.com), included in this podcast with his permission. Visit FrontierBeyondFear.com to learn about the inspirational outreach of this program, now in its 8th year.          

What is ascension? What will our world look like as we move into the 4th and 5th dimensions? Jim Self has been teaching healing and energy management techniques for decades. He knows that as we learn to remove old thoughts and beliefs from our upbringing, we can become more confident, capable and full of grace. Join us for an inspiring conversation on our spiritual and planetary evolution with Jim Self.About the Guest
The co-founder of A Course in Mastering Alchemy, and an international speaker and author, Jim Self has been leading seminars and teaching healing, clairvoyance and personal energy management courses since 1980.
 
Since childhood, he has retained a conscious awareness and ability to recall his experiences within the sleep state. Over the last twelve years, this awareness has expanded into relationships with the Archangels, Ascended Masters and Teachers of Light. The tools and information presented in the Mastering Alchemy programs is a co-creation of these relationships.Jim also walks well through the third dimension. At the age of twenty-six, he was elected to his first of two terms to the San Jose, CA City Council and later became Vice Mayor. Before completing his second term, he was asked by President Jimmy Carter to be an advisor and the Director of Governmental Operations for the Dept. of Energy.  Since then, Jim has successfully built and sold two corporations, and is the founder and current Board Chairman of a third Biomedical Company.

Have you ever wondered how alchemy works? Well today our guest Jim Self will be sharing with us what it is all about and how it relates to our ascension.  As you can see below Jim walks with a foot in both-worlds. Get a glimpse on how Jim mastered Alchemy … it’s called being thrown into the river, then you learn how to swim. From the age of 26, Jim was elected to the first of two terms as Vice Mayor of San Jose, CA City Council and before completing his second term, he was asked by President Jimmy Carter to be an Advisor and Director of Governmental Operations for the US Dept. of Energy, then on to a successful entrepreneur who built and sold two corporations … all while simultaneously leading seminars, teaching healing, clairvoyance, personal energy management courses, and developing relationships with ascended masters and teachers of light with whom he has created mastering alchemy programs.

Have you ever wondered how alchemy works? Well today our guest Jim Self will be sharing with us what it is all about and how it relates to our ascension.  As you can see below Jim walks with a foot in both-worlds. Get a glimpse on how Jim mastered Alchemy … it’s called being thrown into the river, then you learn how to swim. From the age of 26, Jim was elected to the first of two terms as Vice Mayor of San Jose, CA City Council and before completing his second term, he was asked by President Jimmy Carter to be an Advisor and Director of Governmental Operations for the US Dept. of Energy, then on to a successful entrepreneur who built and sold two corporations … all while simultaneously leading seminars, teaching healing, clairvoyance, personal energy management courses, and developing relationships with ascended masters and teachers of light with whom he has created mastering alchemy programs. Website:http://www.masteringalchemy.com    

Have you ever wondered how alchemy works? Well today our guest Jim Self will be sharing with us what it is all about and how it relates to our ascension.  As you can see below Jim walks with a foot in both-worlds. Get a glimpse on how Jim mastered Alchemy … it’s called being thrown into the river, then you learn how to swim. From the age of 26, Jim was elected to the first of two terms as Vice Mayor of San Jose, CA City Council and before completing his second term, he was asked by President Jimmy Carter to be an Advisor and Director of Governmental Operations for the US Dept. of Energy, then on to a successful entrepreneur who built and sold two corporations … all while simultaneously leading seminars, teaching healing, clairvoyance, personal energy management courses, and developing relationships with ascended masters and teachers of light with whom he has created mastering alchemy programs. Website:http://www.masteringalchemy.com

Have you ever wondered how alchemy works? Will today our guest Jim Self will be sharing with us what it is all about and how it relates to our acsension. As you can see below Jim walks with a foot in both-worlds. Get a glimpse on how Jim mastered Alchemy … it’s called being thrown into the river, then you learn how to swim. From the age of 26, Jim was elected to the first of two terms as Vice Mayor of San Jose, CA City Council and before completing his second term, he was asked by President Jimmy Carter to be an Advisor and Director of Governmental Operations for the US Dept. of Energy, then on to a successful entrepreneur who built and sold two corporations … all while simultaneously leading seminars, teaching healing, clairvoyance, personal energy management courses, and developing relationships with ascended masters and teachers of light with whom he has created mastering alchemy programs. Website:http://www.masteringalchemy.com

Are you ready to release who you are not and remember who you are?  Experience a time of life-changing exploration with international spiritual wayshower Jim Self, as he shares insights from his recently released book What Do You Mean the Third Dimension is Going Away? A leader in the field of spiritual development and the creator of the Mastering Alchemy program, Jim has been conducting seminars on personal energy management and spiritual growth for over 30 years.  At the age of 26, Jim was elected to 2 terms in the San Jose City Council, later becoming Vice Mayor.  He was asked by President Jimmy Carter to be an advisor and the Director of Governmental Operations for the Dept. of Energy.  As an entrepreneur, Jim has successfully built and sold two corporations and is the founder & current Board Chairman of a third. Jim's work is at the leading edge, and he successfully walks a path with a foot in both worlds, a profoundly powerful voice on an awakening planet. Also the author of Spirit Matters: Down-to-Earth Tools for a Spirited Life and The Shift, Jim offers a wealth of free materials on his web site MasteringAlchemy.com to assist with personal transformation.    Frontier Beyond Fear music copyrighted by Grammy award winner Larry Seyer, www.larryseyer.com, included in this podcast with his permission.

What is soon to be our new reality? Explore the new 5D world and see what it will look like.  About Jim Self  The founder of Mastering Alchemy, and an international speaker and author, Jim Self has been leading seminars and teaching healing, clairvoyance and personal energy management courses since 1980. Jim is often described as a teacher's teacher and a healer's healer who walks with a foot in both worlds.  Since childhood, he has retained a conscious awareness and ability to recall his experiences within the sleep state. Over the last ten years, this awareness has expanded into relationships with the Archangels, Ascended Masters and Teachers of Light. The tools and information presented in the Mastering Alchemy programs is a co-creation of these relationships. Jim also walks well through the third dimension. At the age of twenty-six, he was elected to his first of two terms to the San Jose, CA City Council and later became the Vice Mayor. Before completing his second term, he was asked by President Jimmy Carter to be an advisor and the Director of Governmental Operations for the Dept. of Energy.  Since then, Jim has successfully built and sold two corporations, and is the founder and current Board Chairman of a third. A recognized leader in the field of spiritual development, Jim is a mentor to many, a gifted healer and sought-after speaker. He presents the Mastering Alchemy Program with Roxane.

What is the Adam Kadman Body and how does this relate to the creation of our light bodies? About Jim Self The founder of Mastering Alchemy, and an international speaker and author, Jim Self has been leading seminars and teaching healing, clairvoyance and personal energy management courses since 1980. Jim is often described as a teacher's teacher and a healer's healer who walks with a foot in both worlds. Since childhood, he has retained a conscious awareness and ability to recall his experiences within the sleep state. Over the last ten years, this awareness has expanded into relationships with the Archangels, Ascended Masters and Teachers of Light. The tools and information presented in the Mastering Alchemy programs is a co-creation of these relationships. Jim also walks well through the third dimension. At the age of twenty-six, he was elected to his first of two terms to the San Jose, CA City Council and later became the Vice Mayor. Before completing his second term, he was asked by President Jimmy Carter to be an advisor and the Director of Governmental Operations for the Dept. of Energy. Since then, Jim has successfully built and sold two corporations, and is the founder and current Board Chairman of a third. A recognized leader in the field of spiritual development, Jim is a mentor to many, a gifted healer and sought-after speaker. He presents the Mastering Alchemy Program with Roxane.  

  Understanding the tools which will help you raise your frequency is more important now than ever before. Learning about these tools will help you navigate the fast moving waters of ascension energy. The Ascension is will under way.  About Jim Self  The founder of Mastering Alchemy, and an international speaker and author, Jim Self has been leading seminars and teaching healing, clairvoyance and personal energy management courses since 1980. Jim is often described as a teacher's teacher and a healer's healer who walks with a foot in both worlds.  Since childhood, he has retained a conscious awareness and ability to recall his experiences within the sleep state. Over the last ten years, this awareness has expanded into relationships with the Archangels, Ascended Masters and Teachers of Light. The tools and information presented in the Mastering Alchemy programs is a co-creation of these relationships. Jim also walks well through the third dimension. At the age of twenty-six, he was elected to his first of two terms to the San Jose, CA City Council and later became the Vice Mayor. Before completing his second term, he was asked by President Jimmy Carter to be an advisor and the Director of Governmental Operations for the Dept. of Energy.  Since then, Jim has successfully built and sold two corporations, and is the founder and current Board Chairman of a third. A recognized leader in the field of spiritual development, Jim is a mentor to many, a gifted healer and sought-after speaker. He presents the Mastering Alchemy Program with Roxane.

Hold On to Your Seatbelt Part 2: A look ahead to the new technologies finding their way to planet earth during the shift. Very exciting indeed!     ABOUT JIM SELF     The founder of Mastering Alchemy, and an international speaker and author, Jim Self has been leading seminars and teaching healing, clairvoyance and personal energy management courses since 1980.     Jim is often described as a teacher's teacher and a healer's healer who walks with a foot in both worlds. Since childhood, he has retained a conscious awareness and ability to recall his experiences within the sleep state. Over the last ten years, this awareness has expanded into relationships with the Archangels, Ascended Masters and Teachers of Light. The tools and information presented in the Mastering Alchemy programs is a co-creation of these relationships.     Jim also walks well through the third dimension. At the age of twenty-six, he was elected to his first of two terms to the San Jose, CA City Council and later became the Vice Mayor. Before completing his second term, he was asked by President Jimmy Carter to be an advisor and the Director of Governmental Operations for the Dept. of Energy. Since then, Jim has successfully built and sold two corporations, and is the founder and current Board Chairman of a third.     A recognized leader in the field of spiritual development, Jim is a mentor to many, a gifted healer and sought-after speaker. He presents the Mastering Alchemy Program with Roxane.

Yes! What you think is happening really is happening! Join Giselle and Jim Self as they talk about the extraordinary phenomenon of these rapidly changing times. ABOUT JIM SELF The founder of Mastering Alchemy, and an international speaker and author, Jim Self has been leading seminars and teaching healing, clairvoyance and personal energy management courses since 1980. Jim is often described as a teacher's teacher and a healer's healer who walks with a foot in both worlds. Since childhood, he has retained a conscious awareness and ability to recall his experiences within the sleep state. Over the last ten years, this awareness has expanded into relationships with the Archangels, Ascended Masters and Teachers of Light. The tools and information presented in the Mastering Alchemy programs is a co-creation of these relationships. Jim also walks well through the third dimension. At the age of twenty-six, he was elected to his first of two terms to the San Jose, CA City Council and later became the Vice Mayor. Before completing his second term, he was asked by President Jimmy Carter to be an advisor and the Director of Governmental Operations for the Dept. of Energy. Since then, Jim has successfully built and sold two corporations, and is the founder and current Board Chairman of a third. A recognized leader in the field of spiritual development, Jim is a mentor to many, a gifted healer and sought-after speaker. He presents the Mastering Alchemy Program with Roxane.

You asked to bring it back. Here it is, the re-broadcast of Jim Self from Monday. Learn about your energy? Tools on being with the energy that is you. What is shifting now? And coming home. Go to www.masteringalchemy.com BIO: An international speaker and author, Jim is often introduced as a teacher’s teacher and a healer’s healer. He has been leading seminars and teaching healing, clairvoyance and personal energy management courses since 1980 and is the founder of Mastering Alchemy. Since childhood, Jim has retained a conscious awareness and ability to recall his experiences within the sleep state. Over the last ten years, this awareness has expanded into relationships with the Archangels, Ascended Masters and Teachers of Light. The tools and information presented in the Mastering Alchemy programs is a co-creation of these relationships. Jim walks with a foot in both worlds. At the age of twenty-six, he was elected to his first of two terms to the San Jose, CA City Council and later became the Vice Mayor. Before completing his second term, he was asked by President Jimmy Carter to be an advisor and the Director of Governmental Operations for the Dept. of Energy. Join my newsletter for FREE, send me an email: dmatbrown@gmail.com