Podcasts about mayor stoney

Remember that time Mayor Stoney tried to get the RPD to be his goons when destroying the city and they said "kick rocks dude"... yeah seems like a good time for a lil reminder from your friendly Uncle Jeff.

In a historic and heartfelt conversation, Mayor Levar Stoney sat down with Randy Wilson as part of his Farewell Tour, marking the end of his remarkable 8-year tenure as the Mayor of Richmond, VA.

In our 7:30 half hour, former State Senator Joe Morrissey joins the conversation about the Democrat Convention in Chicago -- and addresses the possible incentive for Mayor Stoney to make a nominal sale of valuable city property to Planned Parenthood.

What is going on with Mayor Stoney & Richmond? Well we know A LOT, but Mike Dickinson joins Jeff to give a few more details. 

So Mayor Stoney admitted he just decided to skip the law and tear down the statues and Jeff opines about it! 

Balancing free speech rights with public safety and order requires a deft touch. On our latest episode of "How to Really Run a City," Mayors Nutter and Reed are joined by one of their protégés: Richmond, Virginia Mayor Levar Stoney. From protests to economic growth to Mayor Stoney's history-making removal of Confederate monuments, we dig into the successes and challenges Richmond has recently faced.  True leadership is a lonely venture, Nutter says. But Mayor Stoney is leading with joy, Reed reminds us, and that may be the secret sauce to really running a city.

Balancing free speech rights with public safety and order requires a deft touch. On our latest episode of "How to Really Run a City," Mayors Nutter and Reed are joined by one of their protégés: Richmond, Virginia Mayor Levar Stoney. From protests to economic growth to Mayor Stoney's history-making removal of Confederate monuments, we dig into the successes and challenges Richmond has recently faced.  True leadership is a lonely venture, Nutter says. But Mayor Stoney is leading with joy, Reed reminds us, and that may be the secret sauce to really running a city.

Next up this AM is longtime Richmond Times-Dispatch reporter Jeff Schapiro.  John and Jeff discuss Mayor Stoney's campaign pivot (from the race for Governor to the race for Lieutenant Governor), as well as state budget negotiations between Governor Youngkin and the Democrats.

Richmond, VA Mayor, Levar Stony caught up with the Randy Wilson Podcast following his recent State of the City address at the Richmond, VA Science Museum. Mayor Stoney outlined a city transformed and reflected on all of Richmond's accomplishments over the past seven years, while also emphasizing Richmond's bright future. Stoney stated “Through grit, hard work, and intentionality, we came together to change Richmond's story – to change Richmond's future – to give Richmonders the opportunity to dream again. In this podcast Mayor Stoney gives some thoughts on the future of Richmond including who could end up as his successor, and his run for Governor of Virginia. This interview will help you get a much closer look into Mayor Stoney as he opens up on a host of things with the Randy Wilson Podcast.

Next up this Wednesday is former State Senator Joe Morrissey, who joins John for a reflection on Levar Stoney's eight years as Richmond's Mayor.  (Spoiler alert: Senator Morrissey and John don't give Mayor Stoney high marks!)

Well -- a light day for interviews (numbers-wise) on Richmond's Morning News!  (We'll make up for that the next couple of days -- trust me.)  To start with this morning, John welcomes back to the show former Richmond GOP Chairman and candidate for State Senate Hayden Fisher -- who calls in to offer a response to Mayor Stoney's final "State of the City" address from last night.

Former Richmond City Councilwoman and Former Mayoral Candidate Kim Grays shares her thoughts on Mayor Stoney's budget and the current political state of Richmond.

Former Governor of Virginia and Former Mayor of Richmond Doug Wilder shares his thoughts on Mayor Stoney and his budget.

Chairman of the Republican Party of Richmond Hayden Fisher reacts to Mayor Stoney's budget and the proposal of the renaming of streets that reference the Confederacy.

Chairman of the Republican Party of Richmond Hayden Fisher discusses Mayor Stoney's trip to Athens and reacts to the Family Foundation being refused service at Metzger's.  

Local Activist Mike Dickinson shares his thoughts on the resignation of Richmond Police Chief Gerald Smith and his FOIA's on Mayor Stoney.

Former Richmond City Councilwoman Kim Gray shares her reaction to the resignation of Police Chief Gerald Smith and Mayor Stoney.

Former Republican Candidate for the 57th District Philip Andrew Hamilton discusses his FOIA on Mayor Stoney and the Monument Fund case hearing about the Charlottesville General Lee statue.

Mayor Stoney joins the Huddle to talk about the recent news surrounding the proposed Diamond District. Stoney elaborates on all the good that the new district will do for the city.

Mayor Stoney joins the Huddle to talk about the recent news surrounding the proposed Diamond District. Stoney elaborates on all the good that the new district will do for the city.

Governor Glenn Youngkin's office has rejected VPM News' public record request to see his calendar; The Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority has a new CEO; Mayor Stoney withdrew legislation to create a civilian review board, but plans to introduce a new version this month; and other local news stories.

Chairman of the Republican Party of Richmond Hayden Fisher shares his reaction to the low SOL scores in Richmond and Mayor Stoney.

Governor Doug Wilder, Former Governor of Virginia, joined Gary Hess to discuss Mayor Stoney's decision to partner with a  marketing firm to announce a new identity of Richmond and why is makes no sense.

State Senator Amanda Chase joined Jeff to talk about a peculiar bit of information she noticed in the new state budget regarding Mayor Stoney and his everlasting attempts at "improving" the City of Richmond. 

In Episode 7, Dr. Omega interviews Mayor Levar Stoney, the Mayor of the City of Richmond in Richmond, Virginia.Mayor Stoney shares an abundance of information about the importance of leading by example.  He also provides tips regarding what he learned during the pandemic, regarding leadership,  and ways he was able to lead during a crisis.    Mayor Levar Stoney highlights the necessary tools that are needed to be a successful leader and he also provides steps for building leadership capacity.This episode is a must.  Listen and share!

YouTube blocks The Lee Brothers…again! It's Richard's fault! Spending bill is outrageous! The Great Rest? Michael Rectenwald Explains! Florida is showing the country how to govern! Hey, Mayor Stoney..ever heard of Federalism? What is the “Gay Pride Pledge?” Local Virginia Mayor wants an “Abortion Provider Appreciation Day!” Back fires! Virginia protects dogs! No news on dog abortions. United Airlines invites back all those “non-vaccinated” people! United Nations bans the terms “war” and “invasion.”

For the first time in 2022, Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney joins the podcast. A long-time friend of the podcast, Cheats and Mayor Stoney broach several topics. The interview is short and informative. In about 30-minutes, they touch on housing, poverty, RRHA, COVID, policing, development, schools, and stadiums. If you have any follow-up questions for Mayor Stoney, please subscribe to thefamilypn.com and contact Cheats via the website or Instagram (@thefamilypn). A special thank you to the VPM/ICA Community Media Center. Social to follow: @thefamilypn (IG) @Cheats_RVA (IG) @CheatsMovement (Twitter) @LevarStoney (Twitter)

Mayor Levar Stoney makes time to talk with the Randy Wilson podcast on an array of topics. We discussed the future of Richmond, VA's opportunities with a City Center, Casino, Diamond District and more. Mayor Stoney commented on his efforts to work with Virginia Governor Younkin, while also standing firm in advocating and protecting Richmonders when discussing the use of wearing a mask, and students being educated on appropriate history. Mayor Stoney will be completing his 6th State of the city address in the coming days which you will be able to see virtually streamed on Facebook. SHOW LESS

Cities are on the frontlines of responding to the short and long-term impacts of hunger in their communities and mayors have witnessed firsthand the hardship their constituents face. On this episode of Add Passion and Stir, we speak with two mayors leading the fight against child hunger. Mayor Levar Stoney of Richmond, Virginia and Mayor John Giles of Mesa, Arizona are the inaugural Chair and Vice Chair of the new Mayors Alliance to End Childhood Hunger. The Alliance is a nonpartisan coalition of more than 50 mayors working in partnership with Share Our Strength's No Kid Hungry campaign to end childhood hunger.Members of the Alliance will engage in collective advocacy to address child hunger at state and federal levels. Mayors Stoney and Giles have a lot of hope about what this group can do to transcend partisan politics. “I think sometimes people try to define an issue like childhood hunger as a political issue between Democrats and Republicans. When you're in this role as mayor, you find out that this is about humanity and how we treat our children and our families with dignity,” says Mayor Stoney. “The biggest tool that I have in my toolbox is the ability to convene… mayors are in a uniquely powerful position to connect the needs of the community with the resources of the community,” Mayor Giles remarks. Join us to learn more about their current efforts and ideas for the future.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

While the CDC is recommending quarantines for unvaccinated teachers who come in close contact with COVID-positive students in the classroom, there's an exception for children who are fully masked. These guidelines have formed the basis for Virginia's school reopening plans; As the delta variant leads to a surge of COVID-19 cases in Virginia, health officials also report a higher number of infections among children; Mayor Stoney announced the launch of a “community rooted” crime prevention program; and other local news stories.

Good morning, RVA! It's 58 °F, and today looks beautiful. Expect highs in the 80s, plenty of sunshine, and all the reason in the world to hold hands in the park. Temperatures increase over the long weekend, so get out there and enjoy it today.Water coolerAs of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports the seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths as: 145, 27, and 10, respectively. VDH reports a seven-day average of 17.9 new cases in and around Richmond (Richmond: -0.3; Henrico: 9.9, and Chesterfield: 8.3). Since this pandemic began, 1,345 people have died in the Richmond region. 45.4%, 56.7%, and 53.2% of the population in Richmond, Henrico, and Chesterfield have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Welp, we'll have to wait until next week to see if Richmond's miraculously negative cases sort themselves out.OK! Virginia continues to creep closer and closer to President Biden's vaccination goal—like, really, really closer. As of this morning, 69.4% of adult Virginians have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. I think, fingers crossed, by Wednesday we should have this thing in the bag. Then, I wonder, what the next fairly arbitrary goal will be? 70% of adults fully vaccinated? 70% of kids? 70% of everyone before the end of the year? Maybe something with booster shots? Like I keep saying, this next phase of vaccination work will be slower and more methodical, and, as much as they're kind of made up, these point-in-time goals do create a way to regularly measure progress (and create a thing to write about in this section of the email multiple times each week).Chris Suarez and Kenya Hunter at the Richmond Times-Dispatch have a surprising update to ongoing George Wythe…story? saga? drama? Yesterday, Mayor Stoney announced that he will “request design proposals for a new George Wythe High School this week against the wishes of the Richmond School Board, which recently voted to wrest control of school construction projects from the city administration.” Stoney said, “This is me exhausting my legal ability to do everything I can to ensure that a new school is built as quickly as possible.” What happens next is anyone's guess, but School Board has a meeting on June 28th at which, I imagine, they'll at least discuss this whole situation. To me, and you may disagree, the tenor of the public narrative about building a replacement for George Wythe High School is decidedly against the School Board. The way the stories I read are framed, the Board comes off like they're unwilling to compromise, unwilling to even have a dialogue with the City, and dug in over their heads. We'll see if and for how much longer the five board members driving this process can keep their alliance intact while, at least in my eyes, public pressure against them grows.Local coverage of Pulitzer Prize Winner Michael Paul Williams continues, and VPM's Ian Stewart has an interview with Williams about what's next (you know, now that he's won the Pulitzer Prize).Today at 12:00 PM, RVA Rapid Transit will host another Transit Talk, this one featuring Sean O'Brien, Director of Community Health with Bon Secours, and Julie Timm, CEO of GRTC. They'll talk about Bon Secours's recent work to get 14 fancy, new bus stop shelters installed in the East End and RVA Rapid Transit's new Better Bus Stops program.Today is the last day of school for RPS and Chesterfield Public Schools students! Congratulations! You made it through the most bizarre school year of your entire lives, and things are looking up as we head into the summer. I hope each of you finds the time to rest, relax, play Fortnite, swim in the river, ride bikes, eat pizza, and do all of the things that I wish I were doing for the next couple of months. You've earned it!Related, and if you can handle thinking about school for just a minute more, RPS families and students can attend the Southside reopening conversation tonight at 6:00 PM. Zoom-in info here.Because it feels very summery, single-game tickets go on sale today for the Richmond Flying Squirrels. Baseball, nachos, beers as big as your head: A classic part of a Richmond summer.Logistical note! I will be taking tomorrow off from this email as it's a state holiday—Juneteenth (observed)—and it sounds like, as of yesterday, it will soon be a federal holiday, too. The New York Times has a nice Juneteenth explainer if you've not heard the history of the holiday before. And, finally, I've seen a handful of Juneteenth events floating around, if you're looking to celebrate locally: Juneteenth Jubilee in the Park and a Juneteenth Celebration at Dorey Park to name two. Meredith Moran at Richmond Magazine has a longer list if you want to stack your calendar.This morning's longreadThe Back to the Office MaximumAnne Helen Peterson! She really hits on a lot of the things I've been thinking about when it comes to returning to offices and workplaces. Y'all should really subscribe to her newsletter.The “good” news is that the pre-COVID, the in-office playing field was unlevel as shit. It favored and advanced a certain type of worker, with a certain type of working style, and a certain availability and eagerness to work in person in an office. It favored extroverts, it favored dudes, it favored neurotypical workers with no physical or psychological conditions that would prevent them from sitting in a chair for nine hours a day, five days a week. It privileged people with the desire and ability to live in proximity to their industry hubs. It implicitly or explicitly promoted those without care responsibilities and/or those most effective at masking or ignoring care responsibilities. We should stop buying the farcical argument that in-office work was some ideal opportunity scenario. It was deeply, deeply exclusionary for many — it's just that those people aren't the ones asked to write the thinkpieces about the benefits of returning to the office.If you'd like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol' Patreon.Picture of the DayWithin this bear hides a trash can.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 71 °F already, and temperatures today should heat up just a little more. At some point, a cold(er) front will move through and maybe even bring some rain with it!Water coolerAs of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 236 new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealth and 9 new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 29 new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 7, Henrico: 16, and Richmond: 6). Since this pandemic began, 1,320 people have died in the Richmond region. The seven-day average of new reported cases across the state sits at 406. The NYT reports that, countrywide, new COVID-19 cases have dropped to levels not seen since last summer.Over in vaccine world, first, check out the graph of new people in Virginia with at least one dose and see how a change in VDH’s reporting has made this graph…less satisfying to look at. A couple days back, VDH started including doses administered by the federal government into this dataset (specifically the Bureau of Prisons, Department of Defense, Indian Health Service, and Veterans Administration). This resulted in a massive, one-time spike and an unknown daily increase in folks with at least one dose. I’m bummed because now I can’t tell if the increase in folks getting their first dose is a result of this new reporting change or because a bunch of kids 12–15 decided to get vaccinated. Maybe that latter thing is better represented in this graph of total doses administered locally, in Richmond, Henrico, and Chesterfield. We’ve seen a pretty sizable increase in total jabs, and, while I have no way of knowing, doesn’t seem like it’s 100% explainable by adding in federal doses. Finally, I updated this graph to reflect progress towards 70% of local folks vaccinated instead of 75% (I also made it a bit easier on the eyes).Mayor Stoney has a reflective column in the New York Times as part of their series on George Floyd and America. I think a lot of local folks are going to take issue with the Mayor’s retelling of events in this piece. There are a handful of pro-police hedges and qualification that will rub some people—myself included—the wrong way. The Virginia Mercury’s Graham Moomaw points out the worst of these on Twitter: framing the RPD’s use of tear gas as unintentional in the New York Times when, over the summer, we were all told something entirely different.Kind of related, Ali Rockett at the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that the task force setting up the Civilian Review Board, touted by Stoney in that NYT piece, is frustrated with the Richmond Police Department’s lack of input and involvement: “Only after applying public pressure in the form of a tweet has the task force heard any response from [Police Chief] Smith.” Apparently the taskforce has asked the chief to get involved for at least a month with no luck. This quote from a task force member is particularly damning: "At some point, the unwillingness to engage with this body does start to feel like arrogance. I don’t think we can overlook it…If you’re watching a task force creating a civilian review board that could potentially just co-opt your authority, and there’s nothing. It makes me feel like they don’t believe it or they’re just not going to deal with it. They think they can get out of it.” The task force meets again on Wednesday, so we’ll see if Chief Smith shows up.City Council will tackle a handful of interesting items today at both their informal and formal meetings. First, the Mayor’s team will give a presentation on the revised Equity Agenda. The presentation includes five general examples of the changes they’ll make, but I haven’t found an actual updated document yet. When it exists I’ll let you know. Then, at their formal meeting and as part of the more intense Regular Agenda, Council will consider RES. 2021-R026 (the embarrassing Richmond 300 “amendments”), RES. 2021-R027(getting rid of parking minimums), and RES. 2021-R028 (saying out loud that they’d like to put $7.1 million from the American Rescue Plan money into the Affordable Housing Trust Fund). I bet we will not see all three of these pass tonight—in fact, it looks like the Richmond 300 amendments have already been continued to the June 28th meeting.If you’re into beer, Paste Magazine has a review of (all?) 37 breweries in the greater Richmond area. I like how this piece opens, remembering that before the General Assembly relaxed the laws regulating breweries we had a grand total of one single brewery for the longest time. For what seems like forever, we all just drank a ton of Legend Brown—as if having a brown ale as your city’s flagship local beer is a normal thing.Via /r/rva this lovely golden-hour drone photo of the river, the skyline, some bridges, and something going on at Brown’s Island. It’s about to be summer, y’all!This morning’s longreadWhy Confederate Lies Live OnClint Smith writes about the persistent Lost Cause narrative and begins his story at Blandford Cemetery down in Petersburg.We left the church, and a breeze slid across my face. Many people go to places like Blandford to see a piece of history, but history is not what is reflected in that glass. A few years ago, I decided to travel around America visiting sites that are grappling—or refusing to grapple—with America’s history of slavery. I went to plantations, prisons, cemeteries, museums, memorials, houses, and historical landmarks. As I traveled, I was moved by the people who have committed their lives to telling the story of slavery in all its fullness and humanity. And I was struck by the many people I met who believe a version of history that rests on well-documented falsehoods.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 51 °F, and you can expect highs in the mid 80s today. Looks like a pretty great start to a warm—or maybe just plain hot—weekend.Water coolerAs of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 591 new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealth and 20 new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 73 new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 40, Henrico: 22, and Richmond: 11). Since this pandemic began, 1,316 people have died in the Richmond region. The seven-day average of new reported cases across the state sits at 456. Here’s this week’s stacked graph of new cases, hospitalizations, and deaths across the state. I’m not really sure what’s going on with the deaths graph, which has stalled out on a plateau, but hospitalizations show a definite decrease over the past two weeks. As we all know, and this is just one of the weird things we all just know now, but deaths due to COVID-19 generally lag behind hospitalizations by a couple weeks. We’re seeing the same drop in cases reflected locally, too. In fact, Richmond had a single-digit case count seven times over the last three weeks. I don’t know when it’ll happen, but there will be a time when, combined, our entire region reports daily single-digit case counts with zero deaths in a week (this week, Richmond, Henrico, and Chesterfield reported 12 deaths).I think we all expected this and it definitely sounds like a sign of things to come for college students across the commonwealth, but UVA announced that “all students who live, learn, or work in person at the University during the next academic year must be fully vaccinated before returning to [campus], starting July 1.” I haven’t seen similar statements from VCU or UR, but I certainly expect them soon.The Mayor’s office sent out a press release yesterday announcing that the Resort Casino Evaluation Panel recommended the ONE Casino + Resort, aka the 8th District site, as their preferred operator. Here’s the Mayor’s quote: “ONE Casino + Resort presents a tremendous opportunity to develop a resort casino project in Richmond…The project will create over 1,000 good paying jobs, generate a significant amount of new revenue for the city, and establish an additional economic engine in South Richmond.” Here’s 9th District Councilmember Jones’s statement, which reads in part: “[The ONE Casino project] represents a half a billion dollar investment on Richmond’s Southside. I believe that the selection committee and the Mayor made the right choice. This $565 million economic development project has the ability to change the trajectory of the Southside. With this type of private investment I am now calling on the Mayor and his administration to commit to seriously investing City resource to the infrastructure, communities, and lives of Southside residents.” Roberto Roldan at VPM, reports that 8th District Councilmember Trammell said the announcement made her “the happiest person in the world.” I’ve yet to read quotes—supportive or otherwise—from anyone who lives in the area, but would love some links if you have them. If you’ve enjoyed this whole up-and-down casino process and are feeling a little sad that it’s over, take heart! Mayor Stoney will introduce some sort of paper on Monday that Council will have to vote on, and then, on November 2nd, you’ll get to weigh in via the ballot box / vote-by-mail envelope. My prediction is that Council approves the operator and location nearly unanimously and that the vast, vast majority of people in Richmond will vote in favor of the casino in November. Now I’ve got the same questions as Councilmember Jones about how will the City use the benefits from this Casino to build actual infrastructure in the 6th, 8th, and 9th Districts.Thank you to Jonathan Spiers for reminding me about Planning Commission’s presentation on the rezoning of the Pulse Corridor around the Science Museum, Alison Street, and VCU & VUU Pulse stations! You’ll for sure want to download the presentation, flip to slides 10 and 11, and compare the existing zoning, proposed zoning, and check out the future land use map floating beneath both. Spiers says the big change between this proposal and the previous proposal is a switch from B-4 to TOD-1—the former allows for taller buildings, which peeved some of the nearby neighbors. TOD-1 is still plenty dense, though, and will let developers build 12-story buildings, by-right, fronting most of Broad Street. You can expect more on this, including public commenting opportunities, in the coming weeks.Now that we’re just 41 days from marijuana legalization, Whittney Evans at VPM has this handy explainer about what you can, cannot, and should not do with your weed this summer. I think some of the best advice here is to keep it in the trunk of your car if you’re driving around, and to “use your brain. Be smart about protecting yourself because even though we’re saying these things are legal, it doesn’t mean that [police] officers won’t still use that for people who don’t know their rights.”Via /r/rva, this physical distancing sign from Diversity Thrift is great.This morning’s longreadHow Cities Should Analyze Crashes that Kill PedsI…guess we should do this?But even without a dedicated engineer to measure the distance between curbs and the calculate average vehicle throughput, cities could be doing more to understand the real cause of their walking deaths. The team that analyzed the Portland crashes was made up primarily of lay volunteers, not engineers or demographers, and project manager Brandon Summers of the Forum law group says the bulk of the project time was devoted to analyzing trends in the data and assembling reports. Each individual crash took just eight to 12 hours to research and tabulate — a relatively small amount of time to devote to understanding a tragedy that claimed a human life.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 47 °F, and today looks lovely. Expect highs around 80 and some sunshine. NBC12’s Andrew Freiden says we need rain, which some of my plants would agree with, but, dang, it’s just so pleasant out.Water coolerAs of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 272 new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealth and 11 new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 39 new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 15, Henrico: 12, and Richmond: 11). Since this pandemic began, 1,309 people have died in the Richmond region. The seven-day average of new reported cases across the state sits at 496. OK, OK, grain of salt with these numbers. While, the VDH dashboard is officially back online, I am skeptical of any and all numbers reported by said dashboard for the next couple of days. I imagine it’s hard for staff to enter in new data during extended periods of server maintenance.Now that the coronanumbers are flowing agin, I’ve got this week’s vaccine graphs for you to flip through. First, the number of new people each day in Virginia with at least one dose continues to decrease. I don’t think this graph yet reflects the change in eligibility that allowed kids 12–15 to get their first Pfizer doses, so stay tuned for at least a tiny bump. I feel like, at some point, this graph should start to flatten out in a long-tail way, right? Second, here’s the graph showing the number of doses administered in our region by week, and you can see that it’s a pretty decent reflection of the previous graph. Finally, here’s our region’s progress towards my own fairly arbitrary goal of 75% of total people with at least one dose. I think sometime this week I’ll update this graph to reflect President Biden’s goal of having 70% of adults with at least one dose by July 4th.City Council’s Land Use, Housing and Transportation committee will meet today and consider at least two interesting papers. First, RES. 2021-R027, patroned by Councilmember Addison, would initiate a change to the City’s zoning ordinance that would eliminate parking minimums. Whoa! Parking minimums are just what they sound like, a minimum, required number or parking spaces specified by the zoning ordinance that changes depending on the type of thing. It gets real specific. For example a church or other place of worship needs one off-street parking space per eight seats in the main auditorium; or an art gallery, library or museum must have 10 plus one per 300 square feet of floor area in excess of 2,000 square feet; or a bowling alley must have five per lane. You get the idea. You can easily imagine how these parking requirements make it really hard to start a new business when you’ve got to invest money into paying for parking spaces that you—or your customers—may not even want. Of course, nothing in this zoning change would prohibit business owners from buying and building parking for their customers, it just wouldn’t require it.The other interesting paper in front of LUHT is less exciting. RES. 2021-R026 would direct the City’s Planning Commission to prepare an amendment to the newly-adopted Master Plan that addresses each of the issues raised in an eight-page document put together by Council. Planning Commission would then be required to hold a single public hearing on this chonky franken-amendment. I’m embarrassed by this. We just went through a yearslong process to craft a community vision for Richmond 300. There were dozens and dozens of meetings, feedbacks, and revisions. To request a single amendment with a single public hearing reflecting the messy set of changes laid out in this eight-page wish list is lazy, opaque, and definitely not in the best interest of our City. I think Planning Commission could spend an entire year working their way through this document and still not make significant, cohesive progress. Good luck, Planning Commission, you’re going to need it.Mike Platania at Richmond BizSense says Planning Commission voted to recommend the rezoning of the Southern States silos, which seems good. One thing I’d like to learn more about is how the proposed development plans on preserving (or improving!) access to the river down that way. I know a lot of folks fish, bike, and walk through there currently.Good news: The RPS School Board adopted a budget last night! Superintendent Kamras also answered my open question about where the money would come from to pay for the new staff to manage procurement and construction of school facilities. Check out page two of his presentation from last night: “State funding allocation increase by about $5 million more than was originally anticipated when the Board approved its FY22 budget in February. The Administration proposes using this additional funding to…fund the three Board-approved New School Construction positions.” Mystery solved! However, bad news: Five members of the Board—the same five who voted to take control of construction and procurement—voted against amending last night’s agenda to discuss the letter Mayor Stoney and City Council sent them about sharing those construction and procurement duties. From the Richmond Times-Dispatch’s Kenya Hunter, here’s 1st District rep Liz Doerr on that decision: “I think it’s extremely unfortunate that my colleagues do not want to discuss the construction of George Wythe…I want the public to be aware, this means we are transparently not discussing George Wythe and a major decision that needs to be made by June 1st.” It’s not a good look for the School Board to refuse to even discuss a potential compromise with City Council and the Mayor. Not great.This morning’s patron longreadBlack homeowner had a white friend stand in for third appraisal. Her home value doubled.Submitted by Patron Brian. This piece is from Indianapolis, but surely representative of cities across the country. Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Virginia, based right here in Richmond, tackles this sort of housing discrimination in our part of the world.During the early months of the coronavirus pandemic last year, the first two appraisers who visited her home in the historic Flanner House Homes neighborhood, just west of downtown, valued it at $125,000 and $110,000, respectively. But that third appraisal went differently. To get that one, Duffy, who is African American, communicated with the appraiser strictly via email, stripped her home of all signs of her racial and cultural identity and had the white husband of a friend stand in for her during the appraiser’s visit. The home’s new value: $259,000.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 48 °F, and cloudy. You can expect pleasant temperatures in the mid 70s for most of the day, despite the lack of extreme sunshine.Water coolerAs of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports…something. VDH had some server maintenance done over the weekend, which meant their data dashboards went 404 for the past couple of days. They’re sort of up now, showing screenshots for most of the dashboard pages, but, like, you can’t scroll down on any of them and that makes finding “Richmond’ in an alphabetically sorted list a challenge. I’m missing data in my spreadsheet since Thursday, so expect numbers and chartsandgraphs to be weird for a while.This past Friday afternoon, Governor Northam “lifted Virginia’s universal indoor mask mandate to align with new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.” He recorded a short video of the announcement, too, if you’d rather hear his soft Eastern Shore drawl than read a press release this morning. The gist is the same as what we went over last week: If you’re fully vaccinated you can do whatever, whenever with a handful of exceptions (transit, health care facilities, and a few other spots). Additionally, businesses can still choose to require masks, so pay attention before you saunter into a place maskless. The Governor also announced that he’ll “ease all distancing and capacity restrictions on Friday, May 28th.” That’s two weeks earlier than planned and right before Memorial Day weekend—an, I’m sure, not unrelated fact. Until the 28th, though, we’re stuck in this limboland of mixed messaging around who can do what and for what reasons. Can I pack a big room full of maximally vaccinated people? I think the Governor’s restrictions prevent it, but the guidance says it’d be fine. Confusing. Regardless of how you feel about the sudden lurch in masking guidance, we’ll have a lot more clarity at the end of this month. I like how President Biden put it: “The rule is now simple: Get vaccinated or wear a mask until you do.”The school procurement and construction situation continues to evolve? devolve? Over the weekend the Richmond Times-Dispatch’s Chris Suarez reported that Mayor Stoney and three City Council members “are asking the School Board to reconsider its plans for the school division to manage the construction of a new George Wythe High School.” Via Councilmember Lynch’s newsletter, here are screenshots (first page, second page) of the letter sent by Mayor Stoney and Councilmembers Lynch, Robertson, and Newbille (that’s the Council President, Vice President, and George Wythe’s council rep) outlining how the new proposed process will work. It sounds like the City will hire a third party to help both sides with the procurement and construction process for “the entirety of the process.” Importantly, via Suarez’s piece, swing-vote School Board member Jonathan Young seems interested in the idea. School Board meets tonight, so maybe tune in to see if they choose to respond to this letter publicly.A Chris Suarez double header! He reports that the City has withdrawn a $75,000 contribution to the Enrichmond Foundationafter complaints about how they’ve involved (or failed to involve) volunteers and descendants—folks who have been working to preserve and restore those cemeteries for years and years. This is a long-simmering conflict and, from reading the article, does not sound nearly resolved. Also of note in a political intrigue sort of way, near the bottom of the article, Del. Delores McQuinn weighs in to disagree with Mayor Stoney’s decision.The Department of Public Works has a new survey up (until May 30th) for folks to weigh in on potential new bike lanes for the summer 2021 and spring 2022 paving seasons. You‘ ll be asked to weigh in on how bike lanes should look on six potential corridors: Brookland Parkway (not Brookland Park Boulevard), Colorado Avenue, Grove Avenue, Marshall Street, Walmsley Road, and Warwick Road. It’s so incredibly exciting to me that bike lanes are now just part of the regular paving process. Not too long ago, each of these pieces of proposed bike infrastructure would have involved a huge, drawn out, months long battle in public meetings and in the media. Progress!The City’s Planning Commission meets today and there’s a lot of interesting stuff on the agenda—including some cool pedestrian plaza stuff, a public stairs project (which you know I love), and the rezoning of the Southern States silos. Probably most interesting to readers of this newsletter is the presentation on the rezoning of the area around the Science Museum, Alison Street, and VCU & VUU Pulse stations. Last time this particular rezoning popped up on agendas there was much rending of garments and gnashing of teeth from nearby residents about all the typical stuff (height, density, shade, crime, sewers, etc, etc, etc). We’ll see how the City plans on moving this rezoning forward, now that we’re coming out of the pandemic and the Planning Department has new leadership.Important civic duty reminder: Today is the deadline to register to vote or update any of your voter information if you want to vote in the June gubernatorial primary.This morning’s longreadWhy The Vaccines are a Home Run Despite the Yankees’ OutbreakThis was the best analysis of the New York Yankees COVID-19 story that I read. It’s a challenge to remember that, with so many folks vaccinated, new cases are far, far less important than the number of hospitalizations and deaths. This piece made me want to rewrite the template for the top section of this email!A case of vaccine breakthrough is not the same thing as an unvaccinated or non-immune person catching COVID-19. Personally, if I had tested positive while unvaccinated, I’d be worried until it played out. Post-vaccination? For me, testing positive would be but a curiosity unworthy of my anxiety. There’s a reason that vaccine trials and real world data show so few severe cases, let alone hospitalizations or deaths. Post-vaccination, the virus would no no longer be able to surprise my immune system as a novel pathogen, and I’m not that worried whether it replicates just a bit in my nose before getting shut down.If you’d like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol’ Patreon.Picture of the DayThis was the best lunch I’ve made in months.

Virginia gas shortage exasperated with Northam emergency, Mayor Stoney lost about what cause gun crime, Who is the CDC?, Top baby names in Virginia, Democrats attack Youngkin, Loudon County school trainwreck, and more!

Good morning, RVA! It’s 65 °F, and it looks like you should expect some rain at some point today—probably this morning, maybe this evening. Temperatures should stay right about where they are for most of the day.Water coolerAs of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 539 new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealth and 10 new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 96 new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 52, Henrico: 28, and Richmond: 16). Since this pandemic began, 1,295 people have died in the Richmond region. The seven-day average of new reported cases across the state sits at 762. Precipitous! The number of new reported cases continues to drop, and, over the weekend, the seven-day average of new hospitalizations fell off the around-60-per-day plateau. While certainly not the case across the entire world, these numbers and trends are encouraging. Almost 50% of all Virginians have at least one dose of the vaccine, and we haven’t even gotten to people under the age of 16 yet!Over in vaccine world, I’m starting to put together a nice little collection of vaccine-related graphs. First, the chart of new people with at least one dose in Virginiacontinues to show a nearly linear day-to-day decline. It’s not awesome, but it is fascinating. Second, the region administered fewer doses last week than it has in months. Again, not awesome, but I think to be expected. Like I said last week, the shift away from mass vaccination sites to clever, targeted vaccination efforts will come with a slower vaccination rate. That means more “work” per vaccine given, but it’s still good and important work. Third, here’s the graph our our steady march to “regional herd immunity” which is not really a thing, but tracking our progress to having 70% of the region with at least one dose is still useful I think. Remember: If you haven’t gotten your shot yet, you can head over to George Wythe High School on Wednesdays and get your one-and-done Johnson & Johnson vaccine with absolutely zero appointment or forethought required.City Council has a heckin' busy day today. First, at their informal meeting, they’ll host Director of Public Works Bobby Vincent to discuss the annual paving plan. Sounds boring, but, remember, the budget now contains a single “complete streets” bucket from which they’ll handle paving, traffic calming, and bike- and pedestrian-related projects. This is, theoretically, an efficient and smart way to handle things: Pave a road, stripe a bike lane at the same time. It does, however, mean that the rollout of critical projects to make our streets safer for people sometimes relies on where and when the City decides to pave. You can see the map of the city’s pavement conditions here, which is how DPW prioritizes paving. I don’t know how they sub-prioritize withinconditions, though. Like, I’d pave 100 “poor” streets on the Southside before tackling the “very poor” streets in Windsor Farms. After their informal meeting, Council will move into the formal portion of their night and try to tackle an existing agendaAND approve the Richmond Public Schools budget. Of note, Council will consider the legislation to put all future American Rescue Plan money into a special reserve so they can have a bit more control over it than they did with the CARES Act money (ORD. 2021–105). Also, they’ll vote on finalizing the process for “the final disposition…of certain Confederate monuments” (RES. 2021-R025). If you want to give a public comment on the schools-portion of the budget, tonight is your night!A small casino update: The two remaining casino competitors, Cornish and Urban One, have updated their information sheets on the City’s website. I have a hard time telling what’s changed and what some of the marketing speak means. For example, what does “$200 million in additional upfront/ongoing payments to support critical city services” mean? Is that just, like, real estate taxes over 30 years or additional, cash payments to the City? Also here’s this small timeline update from the same press release: “The city’s Resort Casino Evaluation Panel is now entering into the negotiation phase of the evaluation process with the objective of making a recommendation to Mayor Stoney before the end of May on a recommended operator, location and negotiated terms.”Virginia’s Republican Party used ranked choice voting this past weekend to pick their nominee for Attorney General—and that’s pretty cool (the ranked choice part)! Terrifyingly, though, Jason Miyares narrowly defeated Chuck Smith, who you can see in this picture standing next to Amanda Chase holding an assault rifle. Mel Leonor at the Richmond Times-Dispatch has all the details of how the convention went, if you’re interested. I don’t know anything about the internal dynamics of the Republican Party of Virginia, but the tight AG race would make me nervous that Amanda Chase has an actual chance of picking up the gubernatorial nomination.During the deep-pandemic lockdown, I read a bunch of post apocalyptic books, and I kept thinking about how I would need to find a way to make coffee or tea after the collapse of society. That led me to discover yaupon, America’s only native caffeine-producing plant. John Reid Blackwell at the RTD has a nice write up from this past weekend on Frank Community Farm, a local farm that grows yaupon and handles all the hard work of turning it into tea for you. This is a good stopgap—for now—but if you want to corner the post-apocalyptic morning drink market, you’ll need to get to planting some yaupon in a green space near you.This morning’s longreadThe Case for Moving Back to Your HometownHome, family, and tradition—however you create and define those things—have always been more exciting and attractive to me than big-city adventure.I am wired for coming home in the same way it is assumed we are wired for leaving. Any adventure that lures me out is no match for the ties that draw me home again. I come home in the way you’d fall asleep after a day spent in the heat of the sun—before you know it’s happened, before you know you want to. Half the pang of growing up for me was realizing that I’d somehow have to create a sense of home wherever I went, that for all the effort I spent trying to leave, all I would ever want to do is figure out homecomings, ways of returning to the place where I feel the most like me.If you’d like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol’ Patreon.Picture of the DayI keep finding these amazing nature spots within walking distance from my house.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 48 °F, and it looks like we have a wonderful day ahead of us. Expect highs in the mid 80s and a reason to get out of bed.Water coolerAs of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 719 new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealth and 15 new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 82 new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 33, Henrico: 33, and Richmond: 16). Since this pandemic began, 1,268 people have died in the Richmond region. The seven-day average of new reported cases across the state sits at 1,117. Another day with a three-digit number of new reported cases! If we keep this up, our seven-day average of new reported cases will dip below 1,000 for the first time since October 20th. Locally, we’re seeing a seven-day average of 123 new cases, or 11% of statewide total. Back during this winter’s horrible peak, our region accounted for about 14% of all new cases. I don’t know if that’s useful information or not, but I’m really interested in the urbanization/politicization of the vaccine. Will the map of case counts per 100,000 people start to look like the inverse of the map of vaccinations per 100,000 people?Eric Kolenich at the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that Attorney General Mark Herring says colleges “may condition in-person attendance on receipt of an approved COVID-19 vaccine during this time of the pandemic.” I’m still a little confused on what is and is not allowed when it comes to requiring a vaccine that’s under Emergency Use Authorization, but it sounds like we’re pretty close to finding out.City Council’s Public Safety committee will meet today and hear a presentation about pay raises for police and fire personnel from the Richmond Coalition of Police and the International Association of Fire Fighters Local #995. This conversation is tied up in the Gallagher pay study, one of my new recent obsessions. The Gallagher study—which Council already approved, has partially funded, and is a huge priority in the mayor’s proposed budget—lays out a methodical way of increasing pay for all City employees to raise them all up to market-competitive rates. This year, some Councilmembers have proposed budget amendments to increase pay for police and fire beyond this already approved study, which I think is ridiculous. Last week’s budget session offered a little clarity on this, and Council staff basically said police and fire were unhappy with the existing proposed increases and have submitted their own suggested pay increases instead. That Council would even consider additional pay increases for police and fire, above and beyond the currently planned increases, after the last 18 months of life in America!, boggles the mind. I haven’t listened yet, but VPM’s Roberto Roldan did and says “Richmond City Council is abandoning the idea of trying to implement an increased pay plan for police and firefighters. Both will get the two pay raises already in Mayor Stoney’s proposed budget. They’re going to hire a consultant to study a new pay plan.” While that sounds better than the alternative, I’m still salty about spending any of the City’s on another study—we have a study! How can I submit a rogue salary proposal for Parks & Rec and Planning employees to force the City into studying giving them some more money? Is there a form on the City’s website or something?Related and as expected, City Council passed the red pulse lane ordinance yesterday. I imagine it’ll take a while to get this project moving forward, but I fully expect to see Mayor Stoney out on Broad Street with a paint roller before next summer.The Washington Post has a piece explaining recently-passed federal emergency aid to college students, which opens with a look at how the program helped a first-generation VCU student. As with all of these pandemic programs, the natural next question is “…what if we just kept doing this forever?”The 2020 Census is out! America officially has a “resident population” of 331,449,281, and Virginia now has a population of 8,631,393. The latter is slightly higher than the Weldon Cooper number of 8,535,519that I’ve been using (what, you don’t have a favorite population estimate for your state?). Lots of the media coverage I’ve seen focuses on how the new counts will impact congressional seats ahead of the 2022 midterms, but, idk, to me, access to new data seems like a way more interesting thing to care about.Richmond Public Schools’ #ReopenWithLove2.0 virtual student and family conversations kick off tonight at 6:00 PM with a conversation for Southside families. From the flyer: “[these] virtual conversations will be hosted with RPS and members of the Richmond health community to discuss RPS’s fall reopening plans.” Spanish interpretation is available, too. If you’ve got questions about the general thrust of the reopening plan or needling specifics about what’s happening at your own school, this is a great opportunity to ask. Check out the call info and the rest of the dates and times here.This morning’s patron longreadConjuring Maine’s Clairvoyant KushSubmitted by Patron Daniel. I think Virginia’s marijuana legalization laws close this specific psychic delivery loophole, but life finds a way, doesn’t it?So Justin has remained an Incredibles patron. Earlier this month, he suddenly lost an eighth of an ounce of Bop Gun (sativa hybrid) and another eighth of Raspberry Diesel (indica hybrid). He’d lost other types before but not these. He inquired with Incredibles about recovering them after a jog one afternoon. “We have started to use our Psychic Power to find your lost products,” a text message came back. “Our Psychic is on the way to your location now!” The psychic arrived within five minutes, before Justin had time to take off his socks. The smiling driver passed two sealed jars through the window of the car.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 41 °F, and it’s gross out. Today you can expect cold temperatures, cloudy skies, and maybe even some snow later this morning! The sun should come out after lunch, though, and set us up for what looks like a really pleasant weekend. Get some rest, and enjoy!Water coolerAs of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 2,082 new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealthand 28 new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 220 new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 90, Henrico: 76, and Richmond: 54). Since this pandemic began, 1,186 people have died in the Richmond region. Here’s this week stacked graph of new reported cases, hospitalizations, and deaths. Yesterday, I said we’d hit a plateau, and I think you can see that pretty clearly in these graphs. I mean, just look at this graph of local reported cases—big time flat. The UVA COVID-19 model, which I mentioned earlier this week, has updated, and you can flip through their four possible scenarios for how the disease could spread this summer. Some of the graphs—like what happens if one of the virus’s variants takes over while we’re simultaneously all getting lazy with our mitigation efforts—should give you the shivers. In their words: “If new variants become widespread as residents loosen prevention measures, Virginia may see another peak, with cases peaking at 33,636 per week during the week ending June 27, 2021.” Don’t get lazy! Prevent the peak!Yesterday, at the Richmond and Henrico Health District’s Arthur Ashe vaccination clinic, Mayor Stoney got his first dose of the Pfizer vaccine. Stoney qualifies for vaccination as a member of the “continuity of government” group of Phase 1b frontline essential workers. Every day more and more folks get vaccinated and we get closer and closer to Phase 2: Everybody else. That’s exciting. I know it can feel frustrating, especially for those of us who want a vaccine but aren’t yet eligible—me included!, but, as I wait patiently inside of my house, it’s exciting and hope-giving to see folks continuing to get vaccinated from different parts of my life.Related, a mass vaccination clinic will open up on the Southside next week at Celebration Church off Midlothian Turnpike. The Richmond Times-Dispatch’s Sabrina Moreno reports that the Richmond and Henrico Health Districts plan on giving 800–1,000 doses per week while they kick the tires of this new location for a bit. You should tap through and read Moreno’s full story, because there’s a lot of different pathways for vulnerable folks and folks living on the Southside to get vaccinated—that’s in addition to this new Celebration Church location and includes mobile clinics and a community hub.Mark Robinson at the RTD reports that the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development has approved Richmond’s plan to begin demolishing Creighton Court. Some context from the piece: “HUD’s blessing for the demolition is the latest sign that the massive redevelopment that leaders have pursued over the last decade is fast approaching. The RRHA ceased leasing at Creighton in 2019. More than a third of the units sit vacant. Many are boarded up.” This is complicated stuff. Creighton Court is one of Richmond’s aging public housing neighborhoods, and Richmond does not have the best record at redeveloping it’s aging public housing neighborhoods. Even the words used to talk about this process—redevelop, relocate, transform—make me feel weird. However, the construction of the nearby Armstrong Renaissance, where some folks from Creighton have already moved, does give me hope. If you haven’t had the opportunity to walk through Armstrong Renaissance, I really encourage you to do so. It’s beautiful. Keep an eye on this story though, because it’s important for Richmond to figure out how to move humanely and empathetically through this process.Earlier this week I mentioned the rezoning of the City’s western part of Broad Street, and Jonathan Spiers has some more fascinating details. I love that Councilmember Addison just kind of took the initiative and kicked this rezoning off without waiting for the Department of Planning to get to it. Don’t worry, this conforms (or at least mostly conforms) with Richmond 300, so it’s not a total rogue rezoning. But it is kind of shocking to see a member of City Council propose something progressive related to zoning or land use or infrastructure. I’m so used to ordinances to stop, prevent, or delay that I think my brain’s a little broken!Via last week’s Richmond 300 email, I learned that Sunday is your last day to provide feedback on the Mayor’s Equity Agenda. I see a lot of comments already on the draft, but, in my opinion, it could always use more! Do you have strong thoughts about community engagement, history, policing, children, transit, or public health? I’m sure you do! Take four minutes, tap through that link, and leave two comments about how you think the City could address those issues in a creative and equitable way. The Mayor plans on submitting the Equity Agenda to Council as a resolution, so we’ll learn more soon (I hope) about how they’ll incorporate all of this great feedback.This morning’s patron longreadThe 2021 NCAA tournament will be more complicated than everSubmitted by Patron Karen. While I don’t believe we need to be having any sort of NCAA tournament at the moment, the organizers sure did put a ton of work into planning this year’s coronatimes tournament.Organizers liken the convention center to a university’s student union, and they plan to expand the amenities, including bringing in local restaurants, as teams exit the tournament and more space becomes available. By the Sweet 16, there will be more indoor lounge space, and there are plans for an outdoor garden area with patio furniture and lawn games. There will be dedicated mail and parcel service plus a complex laundry system running almost around-the-clock. Two trailers typically used for disaster response will be stationed in the loading dock, outfitted with 16 washers and 16 dryers. They’re prepared to churn out more than 1,000 bags of laundry per day, accounting for practice and game uniforms, warmup gear, towels and personal clothing. “We brought a lot of our Olympic Village expertise into helping plan these laundries,” Klein said. “When we do the Olympic Village, it’s a similar setup.”If you’d like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol’ Patreon.Picture of the DayOne ring to rule them all.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 40 °F, and it’s cold again. Today you can expect highs in the 50s, a bunch of clouds, and maybe some rain this evening. Actually, there’s a decent chance for rain most days this week.Water coolerAs of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 1,173 new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealthand 34 new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 150 new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 62, Henrico: 53, and Richmond: 35). Since this pandemic began, 1,169 people have died in the Richmond region. On March 14th, 2020 I started keeping my spreadsheet of coronavirus cases and have continued to do so every single day for an entire year. That’s bananas, and I’m impressed with myself, but I do really need to figure out what my metrics are for wrapping up this project. The COVID Tracking Project, which was part of The Atlantic, shut down on the 11th. Maybe I should follow suit once the COVID-19 numbers drop to flu-like levels? Something to noodle on!Over on the vaccine side of things, there’s still plenty of interesting stuff to consider, though. Last week, for the second week in a row, the region hit its newish Stupid Math Goal of administering 37,000 vaccines. Henrico Supervisor Tyrone Nelson said on Twitter that the region vaccinated 12,500 people just between Thursday and Saturday. That’s impressive and great. Also great: GRTC has partnered with the Richmond and Henrico Health Districts to provide free, on-demand trips to vaccination appointments for residents they identify with transportation barriers during ongoing community outreach. You can learn more about what that community outreach looks like in this piece from the Richmond Times-Dispatch’s Sabrina Moreno about how community health workers have helped Richmond’s Latino communities throughout this pandemic.And then, not great: Software continues to stymie the vaccine rollout in Richmond and beyond. Please take a minute to read this piece in the New York Times all about the headaches caused by PrepMod’s busted appointment registration platform. When addressing the fact that anyone can share a PrepMod link—a link to register for an actual vaccination appointment—with their friends, family, and to the randos on Facebook, a PrepMod spokesperson had this to say: “That’s not a problem with our system. That’s a problem with people who should be responsible.” Yikes. Blaming users for issues with software is never a good look—especially when those users are anxious, frustrated people trying to get a life-saving vaccine.Tonight, perhaps, the RPS school board will vote on moving the District to a year-round school calendar. The Superintendent has put together another slide deck explaining the particulars of the proposal, which now includes the updated results of the parent/caregiver and teacher/staff surveys. Those data are now disaggregated by race, income, students with IEPs, and English learners. Here’s the top-line takeaway: “With over 4,600 family responses and over 1,800 staff responses, our calendar survey indicates that a plurality of both stakeholder groups are ‘comfortable’ or ‘very comfortable’ with the proposed calendar, as is every subgroup (race, economic status, IEP status, and English Learner status).” We’ll see how that translates into votes tonight, though. Tune in at 6:00 PM on the Richmond Public Schools Facebook page, and read this piece by Kenya Hunter in the Richmond Times-Dispatch for some more details.Well this is unexpected! The RTD’s Chris Suarez reports that GRTC’s route #111–Chesterfield’s only local service route—“is meeting GRTC’s ridership expectations despite the pandemic, exceeding a daily average of 140 rides during the week.” Not only that, but, “After decades of limiting bus service to only a few rush-hour commuter routes, the county is now looking to run more buses and regular routes to low-income communities with limited transportation options, to foster growth and redevelopment in aging suburban highway corridors.” Whoa! Who knew that putting decent transit along a corridor full of people and stuff would result in people riding transit to stuff!I don’t know what this is all about, but NBC12 reports that someone toppled a bunch of gravestones at Hollywood Cemetery over the weekend. It’s a big enough deal that Mayor Stoney released this statement: “This weekend’s desecration at Hollywood Cemetery is morally wrong. Disturbing final resting places is contemptible, criminal and will not be tolerated.”In sports news, five men’s basketball teams from Virginia (VCU, UVA, Virginia Tech, Liberty, and Norfolk State) made it to the NCAA tournament—this despite COVID-19’s best attempt at ruining the postseason for a whole lot of folks. I mean, really, it’s despite everyone’s better judgment on doing indoor sports at all, but, whatever. Anyway, the Bracket is set, and you’ve got just a couple of days to get yours filled out. The clock is ticking!This morning’s patron longreadAmerica Is Not Made for People Who PeeSubmitted by Patron Lisa. Remember when we almost had a public bathroom as part of the Monroe Park redesign? It’s disappointing how few places we have to pee downtown—unless you buy something.In the 19th century, the United States did set up public toilets in many cities. They were often called public urinals, abbreviated as P.U. (this may be part of the origin of “P.U.” to mean something that stinks, although there are competing theories). In the early 20th century, these were supplemented by “comfort stations” for men and women alike, but most closed in waves of cost-cutting over the years. That’s partly because this is a class issue. Power brokers who decide on infrastructure priorities can find a restaurant to duck into, while that is less true of a Black teenage boy and utterly untrue of an unwashed homeless person with a shopping cart.If you’d like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol’ Patreon.Picture of the DayBaby goats: So cute! Adult goats: Who left the portal to hell open again?

Good morning, RVA! It’s 36 °F, and today you should expect warmer temperatures and plenty of wind. Maybe by the end of the day we’ll all feel a little less soggy and ready to head into tomorrow, which looks to be the best-weather day of the week.Water coolerAs of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 1,155 new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealthand 155 new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 187 new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 68, Henrico: 55, and Richmond: 64). Since this pandemic began, 797 people have died in the Richmond region. First, a data reporting note on the huge number of deaths reported both statewide and locally: “VDH is now processing 2021 death certificates related to the post-holiday surge of COVID-19 cases. As a result, a larger number of deaths is expected to be added by report date. To observe the trends in COVID-19 deaths most effectively, please review the chart that shows deaths by date of death on the cases dashboard.” That graph is wild (you need to select “Deaths” from the map above and then scroll down to see the trend graph, or just tap here), and you can clearly see the missing chunk of data VDH will now backfill. Keep this in mind, because Friday’s stacked chart of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths is gonna look real broken. Second, and this is good news, the seven-day average of new reported cases across the state has dropped below 2,000 for the first time since November 19th.Due to the limited supply of vaccine and last week’s inclement weather, the region failed to hit my Stupid Math Goal of administering 20,000 vaccines per week. It got close, though, and that’s impressive. I’m still not sure it’s useful, but here’s the same graph with number of statewide doses received overlaid on top of it. I think the biggest takeaway from this second graph is that some of the doses delayed due to weather showed up this week: Virginia reported receiving over 300,000 doses in the last couple of days.Resort casino applications were due to the City by 3:00 PM yesterday, and Michael Martz at the Richmond Times-Dispatch says “at least four” folks submitted proposals. Martz says the City will release the full list of names and proposals in the next week or so, but until then, we’ve got his list of four to noodle on: the Movieland Parking Lot Proposal (by The Cordish Companies), the Weren’t They Gonna Build Amazon Here Proposal (by Bally’s Corp.), the Casino By The Port Proposal (by Urban One), and the Pamunkey Indian Tribe Proposal (by the Pamunkey Indian Tribe, but “four miles south of the property it originally proposed”). As you can imagine, I’m excited to get my hands on some of these PDFs. As for next steps, Martz says a City panel will evaluate the proposals and then make recommendations to Mayor Stoney, then Council will vote on the recommendation, and then you and I will vote in a fall referendum. More thoughts and feelings after I’ve seen some more details on each of the proposals.Ned Oliver at the Virginia Mercury reports that the General Assembly has sent legislation abolishing the death penalty to the Governor for his signature. Should Northam sign the bill, which it sounds like he will, Oliver says Virginia will be “the first state in the South and the 23rd in the nation to end capital punishment.”RPS Superintendent Jason Kamras’s newsletter from yesterday is worth checking out if you have questions about the year-round school proposal. He’s got a good summary of the proposed changes, some links to studies on the benefits of a year-round calendar, and then a bunch of FAQs. If you haven’t already, RPS parents/caregivers can fill out this surveyand teachers/staff can fill out this survey. Unrelated to the calendar, I hadn’t realized that RPS will try and offer both in-person and virtual instruction next year: “Our goal is to open fully in-person next school year, while also offering a virtual pathway for families who would prefer that option.”Doug Allen on Twitter reminds me that it’s been almost a month since the Department of General Services put up that horrible fencing around MDP Circle, yet the statue of Robert E. Lee still stands. What gives? I feel duped and embarrassed for not listening to folks who know better. I should have know, I mean when was the last time great things happened because the State decided to fence off public space?Jonathan Spiers at Richmond BizSense has the details on Henrico’s Short Pump Town Center planning sessions. I love that the County is already thinking about how to repurpose some of the vast sea of parking surrounding the mall: “…county planning director Joe Emerson said the nearly 20-year-old outdoor mall does provide opportunities for reimagining to keep it up with the times. The mall’s expansive parking lots could provide for infill development, and additions to the mall.” Yes! The County has a couple virtual events scheduled this week for folks to learn more and weigh in, too.Can it be?? Last night City Council struck former-Councilmember Kim Gray’s, ORD. 2018–236, finally ending its reign as Richmond’s Most-Continued Ordinance. Gray introduced ORD. 2018–236 on September 10th, 2018 a full 897 days ago! It hadn’t even taken a trip to a Council committee for 460 days. It just sat on the agenda, getting continued over, and over, and over again. Goodbye, long-familiar friend! Joking aside, it’s bad in all sorts of ways to have shriveled and rotting legislation cluttering up agendas, and I’m glad to see this go. Now the (dis)honor of Most-Continued Ordinance belongs to Councilmember Addison’s ORD. 2019–275, which would establish a technology zone program. It was introduced on October 14, 2019—498 days ago.This morning’s patron longreadThe Mushrooms Will Survive UsSubmitted by Patron Gretchen. I guess I need to get a mushroom kit now??In a world where the construction industry produces more than one-tenth of all greenhouse gases, fungi may become a sustainable building material; mycelium grow obscenely quickly and can be coaxed to take the shape of architectural molds. So far, tinkering researchers have managed to guide it into the form of compostable bricks and rather organic-looking chairs. Some fashion designers are also experimenting with mushroom leather.If you’d like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol’ Patreon.Picture of the DayIf we had one, this would be my family logo.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 26 °F, and it snowed! Kind of! There’s a winter weather advisory in effect until 8:00 AM, so take your time and watch for slippery roads and sidewalks. However, it’s looking more and more like we might get another chance for real snow on Sunday. Fingers crossed!Water coolerAs of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 5,227 new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealthand 54 new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 522 new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 216, Henrico: 198, and Richmond: 108). Since this pandemic began, 662 people have died in the Richmond region. Yesterday, at the Governor’s COVID-19 briefing, we learned three interesting things. First, he’ll extend the restrictions on gatherings and the 12:00–5:00 AM curfew (that I had honestly forgotten all about) through the end of February. Second, Virginia should expect a 16% increase in its supply of vaccine from the feds, not 5% like I said yesterday. That’s about 17,000 additional doses and is, in fact, more than enough to vaccinate one Siegel Center of people—but still clearly not a overabundance of additional vaccine. Sounds like we should continue to expect austerity levels of vaccine for at least the next several weeks. Third, the Governor directed local health districts to allocate the limited supply of vaccine that they do have in the following way: 50% going to people aged 65 and older; and 50% going to the entire rest of Phase 1b (frontline essential workers, folks with underlying conditions or disabilities that increase the severity of COVID-19, and people living in certain congregate settings). Personal opinion here, taken together, the second and third thing will result in a lot of very anxious people. The governor has told a vast swath of Virginians, something like 50% of the entire state!, that they are eligible for vaccination as part of Phase 1b. Simultaneously, he’s halved the number of doses available for those folks, doses which were already in extremely short supply. We’re left in a situation where a huge number of people are eligible but will almost certainly be unable to access the vaccine. Hence a lot of very anxious people. Mel Leonor at the Richmond Times-Dispatch has a few more details from the press conference.Yesterday, the City announced that the Mayor himself has tested positive for the coronavirus. It’s gotta be weird to give a quote about your own personal health situation in a press release, but here’s what Mayor Stoney had to say: “Since the coronavirus first started to spread in our region roughly a year ago, over 12,000 residents in our city have been infected with COVID-19. Today, I count myself as one of them…While I do not feel 100 percent, I am thankful that my symptoms are currently manageable and will continue to work from my home to ensure the continuity of city government.” Understandably, the Mayor will postpone his State of the City address until Thursday, February 11th.Tyler Thrasher at WRIC reports that RRHA held a community meeting on the next steps of redeveloping Creighton Court. I want to learn more about this! It sounds like folks in this initial phase will need to relocate (to somewhere?) so that the existing structures can be torn down and replaced and will then move back in “by 2023.” I’m all for replacing our aging public housing, but we need to get the details right—which has been a constant struggle over the past…forever.Graham Moomaw at the Virginia Mercury reports that the Virginia Senate voted to censure Chesterfield’s Senator Amanda Chase yesterday. While it’s embarrassing, I don’t think I really understand what practical impact “censure” has on a sitting senator—especially in this present political moment where it could even be viewed as a badge of honor by certain folks. The move to strip away her committee assignments, which already happened, seems like it has more impact on her day-to-day. Anyway, embarrassing for Chase, embarrassing for Chesterfield, and embarrassing for the Commonwealth.At any other time I’d be stoked on this news from the RTD’s John O’Connor who reports that the A-10 men’s basketball tournament “looks as though it’s headed to VCU’s Siegel Center and the University of Richmond’s Robins Center.” College basketball tournaments are a ton of fun, and I think, under normal circumstances, Richmond would make a fantastic host. Now though, I won’t be able to attend one in my own dang city featuring my own dang teams, and folks that do attend will bring with them increased risk of spreading COVID-19 to our neighbors and communities.This morning’s longreadOp-Ed: Let’s Show Confidence In Mr. Kamras!Amy Wentz has a pro-Kamras op-ed in RVA Mag. Read this piece to understand what folks are using to argue against extending the Superintendent’s contract for four years and how a lot of those arguments are misleading at best.We say that we want systemic and structural change, but to do so, we must understand and commit to doing this work for the long haul. Mr. Kamras came on board in February of 2018. That’s only one complete instructional year to assess before the pandemic hit and we were forced into a virtual environment. This is how we sound: “FIX OUR SCHOOLS! But you can’t adjust the curriculum, you can’t adjust teacher schedules, you can’t hire your own staff, you can’t adjust the calendar.” The way we fix schools is to be honest in our assessments. If you can’t even give credit where it’s due and have to inflate the facts to make your points, it’s a disservice to students. Let’s identify what we are getting wrong, and work with our school board to put the right measures in place to hold our Superintendent accountable. We can’t just continue to throw the whole thing away every few years.If you’d like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol’ Patreon.

Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney announced he had tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday; Governor Northam is overhauling the state's vaccination efforts; the state senate censured Senator Amanda Chase after comments in support of the assault on the U.S. Capitol; and other local news stories.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 32 °F, and today you should expect surprising highs right near 60 °F. Eventually we’ll get to the winter part of winter, right?Water coolerAs of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 4,598 new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealthand 75 new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 455 new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 153, Henrico: 162, and Richmond: 140). Since this pandemic began, 613 people have died in the Richmond region. That’s three days in a row now with case counts less than 5,000; the mini trend holds! Hospitalizations, however, continue to creep back up to their highest point in the pandemic. The statewide seven-day average of deaths, which typically lag behind hospitalizations, is now at an all-time high. Yesterday and the day before were the second and third worst days for new reported deaths—the only more deadly day, according to the data dashboard (which is not reality), involved a data reporting issue. But! Hard work on distributing the vaccine continues! The Richmond, Henrico, Chesterfield, and Chickahominy Health Districts will begin opening up Phase 1b of their vaccination distribution plans this coming Monday, January 18th. While Phase 1a focused on healthcare workers and residents of long-term care facilities, Phase 1b includes people aged 75 or older, frontline essential workers (defined ultra broadly), and people living in correctional facilities and homeless shelters. Next week, out of that large group of people, the Health Districts will start vaccinating “police, fire, and hazmat; corrections and homeless shelter workers; and childcare/PreK–12 Teachers/Staff.” For whatever reason, moving into Phase 1b and including folks outside of healthcare makes me feel like I really can see through to the end of all this. I know a bunch of teachers! They can start getting vaccinated! That’s awesome! I imagine there’s more news coming about how folks in these Phase 1b categories can actually factually register for their vaccines, but, until then, Phase 1b workers or employers in Richmond and Henrico can fill out this vaccine interest form: vax.rchd.com.The Governor delivered his State of the Commonwealth Address last night, and you can read through the entire thing as prepared here or watch the hour-long speech over on YouTube. Mel Leonor at the Richmond Times-Dispatch watched the speech so you don’t have to. Items of note: Northam promised to follow the new federal guidance to begin vaccinating people aged 65 and older as soon as possible, increase the evictions relief trust fund by $25 million, give teachers a 2% bonus, legalize marijuana, and restore the voting rights of felons. Who knows what on this list he’ll get accomplished over the next couple of months, but it’s a pretty good list!Also on the GA tip, the RTD’s Mel Leonor and Micheal Martz report that House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn stripped three republicans from their committee assignments because they seditiously supported overturning the results of a democratic election. I say give them the boot entirely, but that’s why I’m not an elected official. Also, read the rest of the aforelinked article which is mostly about how Republicans are unwilling to extend the legislative session past it’s ludicrously short 30-day window. The way the General Assembly works is designed to keep you, a Virginian, out of and confused by the process. It’s awful, and it’s irritating to see the state’s Republicans double down on making that process even worse. Mel Leonor, who has been extremely busy over the last couple of days, also has a look at the Governor’s proposed marijuana legislation. If all goes according to plan, it sounds like you could buy legal weed in Virginia in 2023! That’s legislative lighting speed, all things considered.Roscoe Burnems is now Richmond’s first Poet Laureate. I think that’s great, and I deeply agree with this take from Mayor Stoney: the “Poet Laureate should relish showing, kids, teens, and adults the healing, restorative power of the written word.” Words! They matter—especially now! Burnems will make his public debut this Saturday at the Poe Musuem’s celebration of Poe’s 212 birthday. You can tune in for free on their YouTube channel from 12:00–4:00 PM. Also, take a minute and read Burnems Lycanthropy of a Black Boy.The coronanumbers are bad, y’all. If you think you need to, please get tested. The Richmond and Henrico Health Districts will host a free community testing event todayfrom 1:00–3:00 PM at the Broad Rock Community Center (4615 Ferguson Lane). If you can’t make this event, though, please seek out another place to get your test.This morning’s longread[Impeachment.fyi — January 13th, 2021 )As my wife, Valerie, said: “

Good morning, RVA! It’s 38 °F, and we have a chance of snow this morning. Not, like, good, fun snow, but snow may fall from the sky, distracting thousands of kids stuck inside for virtual learning. NBC12’s Andrew Freiden says, “this is far from an ideal Snow setup for us.” Booooo!Water coolerAs of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 5,379 new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealthand 49 new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 497 new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 189, Henrico: 196, and Richmond: 112). Since this pandemic began, 577 people have died in the Richmond region. The seven-day average for statewide new reported positive cases continues to break records and now sits at an all-time high of 4,728. Locally, our seven-day average of new cases—478, also an all-time high—has doubled since December 5th. With today’s data dump, our region will pass an ominous milestone: All three localities will have reported over 10,000 coronavirus cases since March. Here’s the stacked graph of new cases, hospitalizations, and deaths, and here’s the graph of new cases in Richmond, Henrico, and Chesterfield. As another sign of how things are trending, Sabrina Moreno at the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that area hospitals have started instituting no-visitors policies to help keep the disease from spreading within their facilities. Also, now that I’ve got about two weeks of data, I’ll try to put together some vaccine-related chartsandgraphs over the weekend.RPS Superintendent Jason Kamras has a good reaction to this week’s violent coup attempt, which I’m going to quote at length: “Yesterday, mostly white men seized and vandalized the United States Capitol—and were then allowed to simply walk away. Last summer, peaceful, mostly Black protestors, who had gathered a block away from the White House to make their voices heard, were gassed and forcibly removed with military tactics, including the use of a US Army helicopter. I shudder at the thought of what would have transpired if the individuals who attacked the United States Congress were Black. As educators and parents, we need to talk about this with our children. And those of us who are white have a special responsibility to do so. For our national ‘reckoning’ on race to yield tangible results, we must actively and repeatedly call out inequity, educate our children about it, and teach them to uproot it. Yesterday’s events were horrific. But rather than run from them, let’s confront them and the uncomfortable truths about race that they laid bare. In doing so, perhaps we can take one more step towards fulfilling the ideals symbolized by the United States Capitol.” While the world’s chaos makes me feel dangerously unmoored, it is so clarifying and anchoring to hear one of our leaders simply say what they believe and tell me how to put the chaos into context. I guess I am defining leadership, and it feels good to be led through this mess.When folks are like “The federal government needs to send more coronarelief money to local governments!” this piece by Chris Suarez in the RTD is what they’re talking about: “Funding for an emergency child care program serving about 1,000 Richmond Public Schools students during the COVID-19 pandemic will not last the rest of the school year.” Kind of related, Mayor Stoney has a column in the paper asking the state to extend its COVID-19 Relief Fund—a fund which “distributes money collected through the taxation of skill game machines.” 1) Yes, 2) It’s hard for my brain to not connect the dots from this column to the City’s recent efforts to bring in a resort casino. I expect to read a bunch of sentences like these once we get closer to the potential November casino referendum: “In Richmond, we are using the funds to keep the wheels of government turning, paying the salaries of vital public service providers and accounting for the increased cost of service delivery during a global pandemic. Those needs won’t go away in a matter of months.”Are you a small business based in Richmond and would like a free box of PPE? This coming Monday and Thursday, the City will distribute 500 boxes of cleaning supplies, hand sanitizer, masks, and gloves from 9:00 AM–5:00 PM at the Convention Center. You should preregister to speed things up and make folks' lives easier, and you’ll need to bring along your biz license or utility bill or some other document showing your business is located in the City.I’ve now got a chart of total unemployment insurance claims in Virginia from the start of the pandemic through the end of the year. The most recent update in data, which covers the week ending January 2nd, saw a 9.4% increase in total claims—driven almost entirely by a 64% increase in initial claims. Things are, of course, “better” than they were back in the spring but still way outta wack compared to pre-pandemic times.To close, a video of some rad dudes skateboarding around parts of Richmond you’ll probably recognize. Pretty amazing stuff (but please wear a mask if you’re outside within six feet of another person (or just don’t get within six feet of other people at all)).This morning’s longread10 Stupid yet Robust Games for Video CallsAs the virus burns and rages, these seem like fun. “Draw the third biggest duck” got me.2020 is a weird year. A lot of people are relying on video calls for holiday gatherings. This is fine, but it does limit the type of holiday games that can be played. For some participants, setting up a video call might push their technical skills to the limit. Asking them to also download an application, share a screen, learn a video game, or install something would lead to disaster. I’ve come up with (or, more accurately, adapted, stolen, or lightly improved) 10 stupid robust games for video calls. They’ve all been tested. Criteria: Will work over video chat; Cannot require special items, applications, or elaborate preparation; Cannot rely on the physical fitness of any participants; Are not intellectually challenging; Are sufficiently ridiculous that anyone who gets overly competitive will feel a bit silly, yet still retain a degree of competition.If you’d like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol’ Patreon.

In a wide-ranging, end-of-the-year interview, Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney opened up about the challenges he faced in 2020. Going one-on-one with me (Cheats), Mayor Stoney talked about the lessons he learned from his 2020 reelection campaign, how COVID-19 shut down the capital city, and how the fight for racial justice affected him personally. You can watch the video HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pc2nxtSzLNI&t=17s

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.

Mayor Levar Stoney was just re-elected Mayor of Richmond VA for a 2nd consecutive term. He speaks in depth in this interview on an array of topics from housing, poverty, jobs, policing, and more! Mayor Levar Stoney is a native of Long Island, New York. Prior to being Mayor, Stoney served as a Governor's Fellow in Mark Warner's administration. Stoney then worked as an organizer in John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign as well as for the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Party of Wisconsin in a "get out the vote effort". During the 2005 Virginia Attorney General election Stoney worked for Creigh Deeds, who narrowly lost. Mayor Stoney then worked for the Democratic Party of Virginia from 2006 to 2009, first as Political Director and then Executive Director. In this role, he worked extensively with President Barack Obama's successful 2008 presidential campaign. McAuliffe appointed Stoney as Secretary of the Commonwealth of Virginia on November 18, 2013. Following confirmation by the Virginia General Assembly, he took office on January 17, 2014. In 2016 at the age of 35 years old Stoney won the Richmond election for Mayor over Jack Berry, 36% to 34%, with now Senator Joe Morrissey in third place, In 2020 Mayor Levar Stoney was re-elected for a 2nd term winning over Kim Gray and Alexius Rogers.

The 2019/20 Proposed BudgetThe 2019-2023 Capital Improvement Program