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Ep 141 Description:  “You are the expert on you. So trust your own expertise when you bring that to the conversation. Don't let anybody talk you out of your own expertise.” —Dr. Nicole Rankins   Your voice matters in the birth room!  Too often, women's preferences and concerns are overlooked or dismissed during hospital births. But we can reclaim our power by understanding the foundation for a positive, empowered birth experience.  Dr. Nicole Rankins is a Board Certified OB GYN, maternal health advocate, and creator of one of the top 0.5% global podcasts on pregnancy and birth, with over 2.6 million downloads. Her expertise and accessible approach have empowered thousands of women to approach birth with confidence. Tune in as Debra and Dr. Nicole discuss the must-knows of childbirth education, preparing for birth without overwhelm, creating birth plans that actually work, and expert advice for an empowered hospital birth experience.   Connect with Debra! Website: https://www.orgasmicbirth.com  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/orgasmicbirth X: https://twitter.com/OrgasmicBirth  YouTube https://www.youtube.com/c/OrgasmicBirth1  Tik Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@orgasmicbirth  Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/debra-pascali-bonaro-1093471    Episode Highlights: 03:32 First Birth: A Traumatic C-Section 07:59 The Importance of Childbirth Education  10:17 Green Flags, Red Flags 16:22 Birth Plans and Preferences    21:40 Informed Decision-Making in Labor 24:47 Creating a Joyful Birth Experience     Resources: 

Episode Notes: Back from summer vacation, Teaming Up is returning with a debate of sorts. It's the battle of media relations vs. content marketing. We brought in one of our favorite independent practitioners, Jill Vaughan of JLV Communications, to pair up with Josh Dare to discuss these dueling tactics for our 20th episode. Over the course of their conversation, Josh and Jill talk about the pros and cons of each tactic. Spoiler alert, there isn't a clear winner in this conversation, because as the two will go on to point out, there is a time of place for each tactic – and a combination of the two tactics. As you tune in, you can hear Jill share about her early media relations days pitching our very own Sean Ryan, and how she hosted a press conference at the Richmond International Airport to celebrate a very BIG dollar figure. Josh will also share some of his media relations anxieties and will sprinkle in a little paid perspective into the conversation. Other topics in this episode include: How technology has impacted media relations The value of third-party validation The emergence of content programs Considerations to ask when deciding which tactic to leverage Can you pick us a side? Relevant Links JLV Communications $217M Powerball ticket bought at Richmond airport (NBC12)

An unidentified Central State Hospital patient died this weekend; The housing crunch has home values and rents going up. Jahd Khalil from VPM News reports city council is looking in backyards for one solution; The 19-year-old driver who killed one cyclist and injured another last year in Henrico County pleaded guilty earlier this week to three felony charges, according to NBC12.

Good morning, RVA! It's 47 °F, and today looks sunny and wonderful with highs in the 70s. NBC12's Andrew Freiden says it's his Verified Best Weather Day of the Week™ and that it caps off the “third warmest Meteorological Winter in Richmond's history.” If I weren't headed to VCU's final home game of the season, I'd spend the evening out getting lost in the woods. I hope you find the time today to get out there and enjoy it! Water cooler This past Sunday, Henrico County Supervisor Tyrone Nelson hit a person riding their bike with his car. From NBC12's report: “The Henrico Police Department says Tyrone Nelson failed to give a three-foot distance when trying to pass the cyclist in the 6500 block of Osborne Turnpike around 11:45 a.m.” This block of Osborne Turnpike is just 1.5 miles from where a driver hit and killed Jonah Holland while she was riding her bike this past August. There's no doubt that this stretch of road is dangerous, but how many people need to get hurt or killed before the County does anything about it? If an elected official, someone who has the actual power to make this street safer, can hit someone with their car and just move on with life...I don't know. Depressing. Michael Martz at the Richmond Times-Dispatch has some electoral next steps now that we've got this past weekend's firehouse primaries behind us. First up, the special election on March 28th, and then the Democratic primary on June 20th (which gears up for the big November election). Also this is the first reporting I've read that confirms soon-to-be Senator Bagby (from the now-old 9th Senate District) will run in the new 14th Senate District in that June 20th primary. Speaking of the General Assembly, Bob Lewis at the Virginia Mercury pulls the numbers on the part-timedness of our commonwealth's legislative body. Given the ridiculously short amount of time our legislators spend actually legislating (just 46 days this year), to get through all of the bills submitted they'd need to “average final action on 45 bills per day.” Impossible! What's also impossible is changing the system to something that makes a little more sense. I think a lot folks like how the General Assembly works because it's weird, brutal, and inaccessible—sort of like an unnecessarily painful badge of civic honor. Today is the very last day that you can weigh in on the City's plan to bring bike lanes to Westover Hills Boulevard from the Nickel Bridge to points south. I encourage you to fill out the quick survey if you haven't already, asking for physical protection along the lanes and (kindly) reminding the City's Department of Public Works that sharrows are not real infrastructure. Additionally, the folks at Bike Walk RVA point out that extending the bike lane down 49th Street to a residential dead end doesn't connect anything to anywhere at the moment, and the proposal should, instead, continue the lanes down Westover Hills Boulevard south to Crutchfield. If, like me, you have to see it on a map, I crayoned Bike Walk RVA's preferred alignment here. So, to recap: 1) Add protection the the bike lanes, 2) Don't use sharrows, and 3) Extend the bike lanes on Westover Hills Boulevard to Crutchfield. Take four minutes and fill out the survey this morning (it's your last day to do so!). This morning's longread Let Lily Kwong—and a Mountainful of Orchids—Resensitize Your Cold, Dead Heart First, orchids! Second, I thought this was an incredibly thoughtful answer to the nihilistic question (which I see pop up in internet discourse constantly) of “why do anything at all, isn't everything terrible?” Before I go, I'm curious how Kwong, whose work in horticulture and urban design has also sought to address issues of native gardening and food insecurity, sees how these flashy, large-scale stunners, often brought to life at the behest of corporate brand partnerships, exist in conversation with her overall mission to connect people with the natural world. In response, Kwong eagerly asks me if I've ever been to Muir Woods. “They're the tallest trees in the world—literally these ancient giants that are hundreds of years old,” she says, thinking back to her childhood again. “It's a spiritual experience walking through them,” Kwong explains. “It feels almost like a cathedral…that is my framework of how I first connected with nature. So, when I do a piece like this, or Grand Central, I'm trying to channel that frequency of awe. Because in my experience, from awe came the curiosity. Then came education, knowledge, understanding, and stewardship.” If you'd like to suggest a longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol' Patreon. Picture of the Day Getting lost in the forest.

Simone tells us why she's an Eagles fan and why they will beat the Chiefs Sunday. Plus, we get some inside on her story on Henrico native K'Von Wallace.

Good morning, RVA! It's 53 °F, and today, after the wet weather moves through, looks like our warmest day of the week. Expect highs in the 60s to go along with a small possibility of rain this morning. I think, after today, we might get enough rain-free days to dry out our soggy landscapes! P.S. You are not imagining it: Karri Peifer at Axios Richmond reports that our average winter temperatures are four degrees warmer than in the 1970s. Water cooler Big news from RPS Superintendent Kamras's daily email: The school district has hired a new Chief Wellness Officer and Chief Operating Officer. Both internal hires, Renesha Parks (previously the Director of Exceptional Education) will serve as the CWO, while Dana Fox (the Director of School Construction) will take over at COO. Congratulations to these bold, brave women who step into important and complicated roles. We'll see what the future holds for them, because I was pretty convinced that the School Board would pull some shenanigans to keep these positions open even longer. Jahd Khalil at VPM reports that the Mayor's administration has finalized the total amount of revenue collected from the City's real estate tax, which clocks in at $21 million over their original estimate. Most of the additional cash will help pay for inclement weather shelters and additional raises for police, fire, and emergency communications staff. Quick aside about the latter: “A press release from the mayor's office said those pay adjustments would be for employees not accounted for in a $17 million increase in first-responder wages in May's budget.” This sort of “Ope! We found more money!” happens every year to some extent, so you shouldn't be too scandalized by this reporting—but it's clearly not the best way to run things. Would last year's budget process have gone any differently with an additional $17 million hanging around? No clue, but it'd be nice to have all the money on the table before we head into budget season. That's why (I think), when the Mayor introduced his plan to issue real estate tax rebates, an additional piece of the assessments puzzle was to “align the city's assessment and budget cycles.” Theoretically that administrative shift might could fix these sorts of year-end money influxes. Richmond BizSense's Jonathan Spiers has some great reporting on the draft details of Those Thee Zoning Changes, specifically the proposed changes to the City's Airbnb regulations: “the recommendations would eliminate a primary residency requirement in which operators must reside at the property being rented for at least half the year. Instead, [Short-Term Rentals] would be permissible in any dwelling in any of the city's zoning districts, but with a distance requirement separating the unit from another STR at a non-primary residence.” This is a hard sentence for my brain to understand, but, I think the intent here is to allow landlords to run multiple Airbnbs but prevent them from buying up entire blocks of housing to use as short-term rentals. This is, of course, anti-housing and will reduce the amount of housing stock in Richmond, but I think it is a compromise I'd be willing to trade for permitting by-right Accessory Dwelling Units everywhere and the entire elimination of parking minimums (the other two zoning changes). You can flip through the City's presentation on these changes here and you can leave a public comment here. We all know the A.P. Hill monument at Hermitage and Laburnum is horrible, creates one of the most dangerous intersections in the city, and will, at some point, come down. When, though? I've been pretty wait-and-see, since legal challenges tend to take forever to lawyer their way through the system, but it does feel like we're getting close. NBC12's Henry Graff reports that the statue could come down as early as next week. Exciting! This morning's longread How Apples Are Ranked I'm almost positive I've linked to this apple guy before, but now he's got his own, very thorough, very funny apple ranking site. Yes, it's mostly a joke, but it's also entirely a real apple ranking site. Thankfully in the early 2000s, due to the emergence of a class of idle yuppies willing to shell out disproportionate amounts of disposable income at organic grocery stores, it became economically viable to invest in the development of what I term “designer apples.” As a result, a dizzying array of new apples hit the shelves and continued to do so year after year. With so many new breeds, the antiquated system of delegating an apple as “good” or “bad” is an unworkable injustice of oversimplification. Society demands an updated rubric for apple evaluation that meets the moment. I have created that rubric. I have no children. This rating scale is my only hope to keep my namesake alive. It is something I hope to be utilized for generations to come and is my only chance at achieving immortality. Therefore I am naming this system: The Frange 100 Point Apple Rating Scale aka the F100. If you'd like to suggest a longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol' Patreon. Picture of the Day Just seconds before runneling.

Canary Cry News Talk #497 - 06.15.2022 FROSTY TECHNIUM Ukraine Escalates, Obama 24, Monkeypox Rebrand  LINKTREE: CanaryCry.Party SHOW NOTES: CanaryCryNewsTalk.com CLIP CHANNEL: CanaryCry.Tube SUPPLY DROP: CanaryCrySupplyDrop.com SUPPORT: CanaryCryRadio.com/Support MEET UPS: CanaryCryMeetUps.com Basil's other podcast: ravel Gonz' New Youtube: Facelikethesun Resurrection Gonz' Video Archive: Facelikethesun.Live App Made by Canary Cry Producer: Truther Dating App   LEAD 5:29 V / 2:50 P UKRAINE/RUSSIA/SPACE POPE REPTILIAN Breaking: Biden sends another $1 billion to Ukraine (CNBC) Zel strikes back, hits military base in Russian territory (The Sun, DailyMail) Pope Francis suggests Ukraine conflict might have been ‘provoked' (DailyMail)  → ‘Shilling For The Devil'–Media Explodes As Pope Admits NATO ‘Provoked' Russia (Sputnik)    INTRO (M-W-F) 39:51 V / 37:12 P B&G Update, V4V/Exec./Asso./Support   FLIPPY 46:33 V / 43:54 P Poland largest retail chain introduces hot-dog making robot arm (First News)   [Party, Ravel, Clips, Text, Clue] 55:59 V / 53:20 P   BILL GATES 59:19 V / 56:40 P Gates predicts macroeconomics “Tech winter” (AXIOS)   PSYOP/POLYTICKS 1:05:28 V / 1:02:49 P → Obama requests 2,500 gallon commercial propane tank on MV property (MV Times, WND) → AOC with Dana Bash, doesn't support Biden 2024 (CNN) → Brittany Griner Russia extended    Update: Local Coeur d'Alene “White Lives Matter” Group Affiliated With Patriot Front — Leaked Chat Reveals Celebration After LGBT Event (Idaho Tribune)   [TREASURE/SPEAKPIPE/BYE YOUTUBE] 1:32:00 V / 1:29:21 P   COVID 1:57:10 V / 1:54:31 P No, Sudden Adult Death Syndrome is not linked to vaccines (NBC12)  → Researchers use AI to identify long Covid (MarketPlace)   MONKEYPOX 2:05:15 V / 2:02:36 P Monkeypox in semen, but NOT STD (Fortune) (Reuters) → Monkeypox to get a new name, says WHO (BBC)   [TALENT] 2:33:21 V / 2:30:42 P   ANTARCTICA 2:46:00 V / 2:43:21 P Multi Million Dollar Base to remain the color Green, vote ends (Stuff NZ)   AI 2:52:16 V / 2:49:37 P AI-driven robot boat Mayflower crosses Atlantic Ocean (BBC)   [TIME/OUTRO] 2:56:08 V / 2:53:29 P   EPISODE 497 WAS PRODUCED BY… Executive Producers Sir Redbeard Pirate King of the Demoochers** Felicia D**   Producers Melinda NOT GATES, MORV, Sir James Knight and Servant of the Lion of Judah, Brother G, LX Protocol V2, Sir JC Knight of the Technosquath, James M, Gail M, Darris S, Veronica D, Sir Scott Knight of Truth, Sir Casey the Shield Knight   AUDIO PRODUCTION (Jingles, Iso, Music): Jonathan F   ART PRODUCTION (Drawing, Painting, Graphics): Dame Allie of the Skillet Nation, Sir Dove Knight of Rusbeltia   CONTENT PRODUCTION (Microfiction etc.): Runksmash: Basil and Gonz sit in the Canarium Studio, behind them as they live stream a glowing green spider opens the door as Basil reaches the climax of his I-Told-You-So rant about the zombi robot girl scouts. Unnoticed is Rooster plugging in his beak.   CLIP PRODUCER Emsworth, FaeLivrin, Epsilon   Timestamps: Mondays: Jackie U Wednesdays: Jade Bouncerson Fridays: Christine C   ADDITIONAL STORIES: Dementia in a patient with autoimmune disease and hypercoagulable state worsened by COVID-19 vaccination: A case report (ScienceDirect)  Children are being infected with up to THREE viruses at a time because COVID measures have worn down their immune systems (DailyMail)  Detective tried to uncover vaccine status of dead children's parents, sources say (CBC)  New tick diseases emerging across US and world, fueled by climate change (Insider)  → Conn. man Dies from Rare Tick-Borne Virus, 2nd U.S. Fatality This Year (People)  …sources… → IBM-powered Mayflower autonomous ship sets sail across the Atlantic (CNET) → After IBM failed to sail an autonomous boat across the Atlantic, it's trying again (WaPo) → AI, Captain: A Robot-Driven Boat Will Recreate the Mayflower's Historic Voyage—Without a Single Crew Member (Robb Report)  → IBM AI US Mayflower voyage finally lands…in Canada (The Register) …more Ukraine… Putin mad at Xi for lack of support (News AU) Russian Oligarchs' Jets Flying Over Europe Despite Sanctions: Report (Newsweek)  Ukraine says Elon Musk's Starlink has been 'very effective' in countering Russia, and China is paying close attention (Insider)  US Quietly Urges Russia Fertilizer Deals to Unlock Grain Trade (Insider) 

Keeshae Jacobs was 21 years old when she disappeared from Richmond, Virginia on September 26th, 2016. None of the belongings she brought with her, including her phone, ID, and overnight bag, have ever been located. There has been no evidence found to lead to Keeshae's whereabouts, and no suspects have ever been named in her disappearance.Keeshae's case was featured in the HBO documentary, "Black and Missing," created by the Black and Missing Foundation.Black and Missing Foundation: https://blackandmissinginc.com/Help Find Keeshae Jacobs Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Community/Help-Find-Keeshae-Jacobs-345064462508759/_________________________Request a Case: https://forms.gle/FFZTNhqcXpQ6qRGr8Goodpods | Leave a review: https://goodpods.app.link/ij0wxVE8vobPodchaser | Leave a review: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/crime-and-crime-again-1440387Music: "Poisoned Rose" by Aakash Gandhi_________________________Sources:• "Her Last Night Out." Still A Mystery. Season 2, Episode 9. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12718668/?ref_=tt_ch• Keeshae Jacobs | The Charley Project: https://charleyproject.org/case/keeshae-eunique-jacobs• Robinson, M 2018, 'Her daughter is missing. Her son was murdered. This Mother's Day, she graduates in their honor,' Richmond Times Dispatch, 11 May 2018. https://richmond.com/news/local/her-daughter-is-missing-her-son-was-murdered-this-mothers-day-she-graduates-in-their/article_5916a720-210b-535d-9c10-1e144b679583.html• Hillier, B 2018, 'Mother of missing daughter holds 'Missing Person Day' to help support families with missing loved ones,' NBC News, 17 September 2018. https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/missing-in-america/mother-missing-daughter-holds-missing-person-day-help-support-families-n910496• Battle, M 2017, 'What Happens When People Think Your Missing Daughter Is A Joke,' Elite Daily, 28 March 2017. https://www.elitedaily.com/news/dc-missing-black-girls-motherhood-keeshae-jacobs-toni-jacobs/1840648• Layne, T 2021, 'Where is Keeshae Jacobs? It's been 5 years since the Richmond daughter disappeared,' 6News Richmond, 26 September 2021. https://www.wtvr.com/news/local-news/where-is-keeshae-jacobs• Tron, G 2021, ''Begging Them To Please Help Me,' Who is Keeshae Jacobs And Why Was Her Disappearance Ignored?' Oxygen, 23 November 2021. https://www.oxygen.com/true-crime-buzz/who-is-keeshae-jacobs-missing-woman-included-in-black-and-missing-on-hbo-max• Burkett, J 2018, 'Crucial development in Keeshae Jacobs case involves man in prison: Crime Insider sources,' 6News Richmond, 26 September 2018. https://www.wtvr.com/2018/09/26/crucial-development-in-keeshae-jacobs-case-involves-man-in-prison/• "Victim Identified, Arrest Made in Greshamwood Place Homicide," Richmond, VA Police Blog, 9 January 2017. http://richmondvapolice.blogspot.com/2017/01/victim-identified-arrest-made-in.html• "Sources: Man killed in Southside shooting is brother of missing woman," NBC12, 10 January 2017. https://www.nbc12.com/story/34213221/sources-man-killed-in-southside-shooting-is-brother-of-missing-woman/• Rockett, A 2019, 'Man pleads no contest before retrial in killing at Richmond motel, gets 5 years,' Richmond Times-Dispatch, 5 June 2019. https://www.pressreader.com/usa/richmond-times-dispatch/20190605/281616716862833• Tabackman, L 2019, 'Mother of murdered Richmond man frustrated with killer's sentence,' 6News Richmond, 4 June 2019. https://www.wtvr.com/2019/06/04/mother-of-murdered-man-frustrated-with-killers-sentence

In this bonus episode of How We Got Here - we go behind the sounds with Host Rachel DePompa, Executive Producer Colten Weekley and Digital Director Kate Albright to dive deep into how we made this season. You'll hear about some of our favorite guests and which segments really stuck with us. 

Season 6 launches on Monday, March 7. How We Got Here, presented by NBC12 in Richmond, Virginia, is a podcast highlighting Virginia's rich history, one week at a time.

In just over two months, there will be an equal amount of time between light and dark as the world approaches equinox. Until then, there’s enough time to spend this winter gathering up enough information to see us through the summer. But in all likelihood, the warmer times will be just as busy. It’s January 19, 2022 and this is Charlottesville Community Engagement. I’m your host, Sean Tubbs. (Apologies that this one was sent twice - there was an error in the first one that I could not edit and somehow had to publish a second time!)On today’s program: City Council selects an interim city manager from three candidates picked by a consultant Albemarle is looking for people to join various boards and commissions, including a vacancy on the Architectural Review BoardThe Albemarle Economic Development Authority discusses an outstanding loan to the Lewis and Clark Exploratory CenterA brief update from the Virginia General AssemblyFirst shout-out goes to Camp AlbemarleToday’s first subscriber-supported public service announcement goes out to Camp Albemarle, which has for sixty years been a “wholesome rural, rustic and restful site for youth activities, church groups, civic events and occasional private programs.”Located on 14 acres on the banks of the Moorman’s River near Free Union, Camp Albemarle continues as a legacy of being a Civilian Conservation Corps project that sought to promote the importance of rural activities. Camp Albemarle seeks support for a plan to winterize the Hamner Lodge, a structure built in 1941 by the CCC and used by every 4th and 5th grade student in Charlottesville and Albemarle for the study of ecology for over 20 years. If this campaign is successful, Camp Albemarle could operate year-round. Consider your support by visiting http://campalbemarleva.org/donate. Council picks former D.C. administrator to run the city A former city administrator from Washington D.C. will serve as Charlottesville’s latest interim city manager. Here’s City Councilor Michael Payne reading from the resolution. “Be it resolved by the Council of the City of Charlottesville that the Robert Bobb Group having previously having been awarded a contract to provide interim city manager services has offered Mr. Michael C. Rogers as its key personnel to be assigned by the firm to perform the duties of City Manager,”  Payne said. Rogers served as D.C.’s administrator in the mid 1990’s at the same time Marion Barry was serving in his last term as Mayor. He resigned in 1997, according to coverage in the Washington Post at that time. Rogers was introduced by Robert Bobb of the Robert Bobb Group. “Michael Rogers has a doctorate, has a J.D. degree, a master’s in public policy, and has over 30 years of experience in municipal government and in the private sector,” Bobb said. “He has served as the city administrator of the District of Columbia and as a director of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Government, the regional planning agency.”Rogers held that position for four and a half years and was commended in a resolution from January 2003. From April 2018 to July 2019, Rogers served as the chief operating officer and chief financial officer in Petersburg. He resigned from the position according to this story from WTVR and this one from NBC12. He’s also served as chief procurement officer for the City of New York. Rogers thanked Council for selecting him. “I am excited about this opportunity,” Rogers said. “I can tell you what I know about Charlottesville. Early in my career, I met a man named Cole Hendrix who was your long-term city manager. I kind of grew up with him in my career. I can still remember the excitement and joy in his voice when he talked about his city of Charlottesville.”Hendrix served in the position from 1971 to 1996. Rogers said he has been here a couple of times, and has a lot to learn. “I look forward to coming to town, hitting the ground running, working with you, listening to you, understanding the issues that are immediately before you so that we can work on constructive solutions for addressing problems and issues for the citizens of the citizens and residents of the city of Charlottesville,” Rogers said. Rogers begins work on January 31. Storm clean-up updateBefore then, Deputy City Manager Ashley Marshall and Deputy City Manager Sam Sanders are in charge of day-to-day affairs. Sanders gave Council an update on the city’s response to recent winter storms.“It has been a trying time I must say in Public Works in that we’ve had these two storms back to back with very little time in between, “ Sanders said “That has provided less opportunity for us to make really sure everything is working as we need it work because we haven’t had downtime.” Sanders said a third of the public works operations team were not able to work due to COVID. “And in that, of course that may lead to some things not necessarily getting addressed the way we have been accustomed to addressing in the past so we do apologize for any issues that might have come up over the course of the past day and a half,” Sanders said. Sanders said work is now underway to prepare for the next round of winter weather. Openings available on Albemarle government panelsThe Albemarle Architectural Review Board met yesterday with four members. Fred Missel stepped down from that body when he was appointed to the Albemarle Planning Commission. The group selected Chris Henningsen to serve as its chair and Frank Hancock as the vice chair. Would you like to be the fifth member? Go ahead and apply. Or check out all of the vacancies on boards and commissions and throw your hat in the ring for one of those! Two vacancies on the 5th and Avon Community Advisory CommitteeOne opening on the Acquisitions of Conservation Easements CommitteeFour slots on the Charlottesville-Albemarle Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive CommitteeSeveral vacancies on the Crozet Community Advisory CommitteeTwo terms of existing members of the Economic Development Authority Board of Commissioners are ending soon Three vacancies on the Natural Heritage CommitteeThree openings on the Pantops Community Advisory CommitteeOne slot on the Places-29 Hydraulic Community Advisory CommitteeFive immediate vacancies on the Places29-North Community Advisory CommitteeOne definite appointment and five four terms are pending on the Village of Rivanna Community Advisory Committee Second subscriber-supporter public service announcement goes to Shift/EnterDo you or someone you know want to find a job in the tech community? On this upcoming Saturday, there will be another Shift/Enter workshop in which participants can go through directed sessions with knowledgeable volunteers on resume feedback, interview advice, and perspectives on the tech landscape. For an $8 ticket, you'll have three different interview sessions with people to have a career conversation, to review your resume, or to have a mock interview. To learn more and to sign up, visit shiftenter.org. Albemarle EDA briefed on 2022 plans, Lewis and Clark Loan There will be no change in leadership on Albemarle’s Economic Development Authority. Donald Long will remain the chair, George Ray will stay the vice chair, and David Shreve gets to keep being treasurer. The group met virtually yesterday and heard from Economic Development Director Roger Johnson about what his office will be up to this year. In the first part of the year, COVID remains a threat to business as usual and Johnson said help will be available from economic development. “We would expect there would continue to be COVID prophylactics, particularly when you think about some of the things that we have done historically,”  Johnson said. “It includes things like the LIFT grant, microloan programs, Safe Places and Safe Spaces.”Previous funding has come through the federal CARES Act of 2020. To see how that money’s been used to date, visit enablealbemarle.org. Johnson said this year the EDA’s Board of Commissioners will review a new grant program in Albemarle to encourage the reuse of historic buildings. He also said the EDA may be looking to purchase land. “There are many ways that the Economic Development Authority can promote economic development through land ownership so we may be coming back to this particular board to talk about ways in land ownership or site control which may advance the county’s mission to accomplish a sustainable economy,” Johnson said. The EDA was also given an update on an outstanding loan granted to the Lewis and Clark Exploratory Center. Nine years ago, the nonprofit borrowed $260,000 from the economic development authorities of both Albemarle and Charlottesville to cover the unanticipated cost of drilling rock as the center was being at Darden-Towe Park. Richard DeLoria is a senior assistant county attorney. “The loan originated in 2013 and there have been two amendments to the loan and the second one extends the performance date to June 30, 2018,” Deloria said. To date, the Lewis and Clark Exploratory Center has not made a payment and has been seeking to forgive the loan. City Council voted in November 2015 to do so, but only if Albemarle followed suit. The Board of Supervisors opted to not grant forgiveness two years later and the matter remains unresolved. “The primary purpose is to make you aware that this authority needs to take action between now and June 30, 2023 or lose legal standing,” Johnson said. Donald Long said a decision on forgiveness is not up to the EDA.“The Board of Supervisors provided the money to us to turn around and make the loan so ultimately it is the Board of Supervisors’ decision about whether they want to forgive it,” Long said. “We obviously may have the legal authority if we chose to do that but I think the Board appropriated the money for that purpose so my view is that our obligation is to continue to collect or take reasonable efforts to do it unless we’re given direction by the Board of Supervisors to forgive it.”Long suggested convening a group to work with the Center to work out a payment arrangement. “We need to take some steps to figure out what’s going on and try to at least come up with a plan to move forward,” Long said. The Center has been paying the interest on the loan. Johnson said he would reach out to the Center. General Assembly updateSeveral more bills in the Virginia Senate have ended their journey in the 2022 General Assembly through dismissals by various committees. But that’s never the complete story. Or is it? This process moves so fast and it is hard to keep track of it all. Yet, I shall endeavor. This update is as of 8 a.m. this morning. A bill from Senator Chap Petersen (D-34) to institute a $20,000 cap on individual contributions to candidates in Virginia was passed on indefinitely in the Privileges and Elections committee. (SB44)Senator Joe Morrissey (D-16) had a cap of $25,000, and that bill was also passed on indefinitely (SB111)Two bills failed that would have required voters to present photo identification. A bill (SB118) from Senator Amanda Chase (R-11) was incorporated into another bill by Senator Mark Obenshain (R-26) which was also passed on by indefinitely on a unanimous committee vote. (SB127) Another bill from Senator Mark Peake would have required registrars to verify each voter by name, date of birth, and social security number was passed on a 9 to 6 vote in the Privileges and Elections Committee. (SB162)Another bill from Peake would have ended a provision allowing people to vote on their day of registration. This was also defeated on a 9 to 6 vote. (SB167)Support the program!Special announcement of a continuing promo with Ting! Are you interested in fast internet? Visit this site and enter your address to see if you can get service through Ting. If you decide to proceed to make the switch, you’ll get:Free installationSecond month of Ting service for freeA $75 gift card to the Downtown MallAdditionally, Ting will match your Substack subscription to support Town Crier Productions, the company that produces this newsletter and other community offerings. So, your $5 a month subscription yields $5 for TCP. Your $50 a year subscription yields $50 for TCP! The same goes for a $200 a year subscription! All goes to cover the costs of getting this newsletter out as often as possible. Learn more here!On today’s program: City Council selects an interim city manager from three candidates picked by a consultant Albemarle is looking for people to join various boards and commissions, including a vacancy on the Architectural Review BoardThe Albemarle Economic Development Authority discusses an outstanding loan to the Lewis and Clark Exploratory CenterA brief update from the Virginia General AssemblyFirst shout-out goes to Camp AlbemarleToday’s first subscriber-supported public service announcement goes out to Camp Albemarle, which has for sixty years been a “wholesome rural, rustic and restful site for youth activities, church groups, civic events and occasional private programs.”Located on 14 acres on the banks of the Moorman’s River near Free Union, Camp Albemarle continues as a legacy of being a Civilian Conservation Corps project that sought to promote the importance of rural activities. Camp Albemarle seeks support for a plan to winterize the Hamner Lodge, a structure built in 1941 by the CCC and used by every 4th and 5th grade student in Charlottesville and Albemarle for the study of ecology for over 20 years. If this campaign is successful, Camp Albemarle could operate year-round. Consider your support by visiting http://campalbemarleva.org/donate. Council picks former D.C. administrator to run the city A former city administrator from Washington D.C. will serve as Charlottesville’s latest interim city manager. Here’s City Councilor Michael Payne reading from the resolution. “Be it resolved by the Council of the City of Charlottesville that the Robert Bobb Group having previously having been awarded a contract to provide interim city manager services has offered Mr. Michael C. Rogers as its key personnel to be assigned by the firm to perform the duties of City Manager,”  Payne said. Rogers served as D.C.’s administrator in the mid 1990’s at the same time Marion Barry was serving in his last term as Mayor. He resigned in 1997, according to coverage in the Washington Post at that time. Rogers was introduced by Robert Bobb of the Robert Bobb Group. “Michael Rogers has a doctorate, has a J.D. degree, a master’s in public policy, and has over 30 years of experience in municipal government and in the private sector,” Bobb said. “He has served as the city administrator of the District of Columbia and as a director of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Government, the regional planning agency.”Rogers held that position for four and a half years and was commended in a resolution from January 2003. From April 2018 to July 2019, Rogers served as the chief operating officer and chief financial officer in Petersburg. He resigned from the position according to this story from WTVR and this one from NBC12. He’s also served as chief procurement officer for the City of New York. Rogers thanked Council for selecting him. “I am excited about this opportunity,” Rogers said. “I can tell you what I know about Charlottesville. Early in my career, I met a man named Cole Hendrix who was your long-term city manager. I kind of grew up with him in my career. I can still remember the excitement and joy in his voice when he talked about his city of Charlottesville.”Hendrix served in the position from 1971 to 1996. Rogers said he has been here a couple of times, and has a lot to learn. “I look forward to coming to town, hitting the ground running, working with you, listening to you, understanding the issues that are immediately before you so that we can work on constructive solutions for addressing problems and issues for the citizens of the citizens and residents of the city of Charlottesville,” Rogers said. Rogers begins work on January 31. Storm clean-up updateBefore then, Deputy City Manager Ashley Marshall and Deputy City Manager Sam Sanders are in charge of day-to-day affairs. Sanders gave Council an update on the city’s response to recent winter storms.“It has been a trying time I must say in Public Works in that we’ve had these two storms back to back with very little time in between, “ Sanders said “That has provided less opportunity for us to make really sure everything is working as we need it work because we haven’t had downtime.” Sanders said a third of the public works operations team were not able to work due to COVID. “And in that, of course that may lead to some things not necessarily getting addressed the way we have been accustomed to addressing in the past so we do apologize for any issues that might have come up over the course of the past day and a half,” Sanders said. Sanders said work is now underway to prepare for the next round of winter weather. Openings available on Albemarle government panelsThe Albemarle Architectural Review Board met yesterday with four members. Fred Missel stepped down from that body when he was appointed to the Albemarle Planning Commission. The group selected Chris Henningsen to serve as its chair and Frank Hancock as the vice chair. Would you like to be the fifth member? Go ahead and apply. Or check out all of the vacancies on boards and commissions and throw your hat in the ring for one of those! Two vacancies on the 5th and Avon Community Advisory CommitteeOne opening on the Acquisitions of Conservation Easements CommitteeFour slots on the Charlottesville-Albemarle Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive CommitteeSeveral vacancies on the Crozet Community Advisory CommitteeTwo terms of existing members of the Economic Development Authority Board of Commissioners are ending soon Three vacancies on the Natural Heritage CommitteeThree openings on the Pantops Community Advisory CommitteeOne slot on the Places-29 Hydraulic Community Advisory CommitteeFive immediate vacancies on the Places29-North Community Advisory CommitteeOne definite appointment and five four terms are pending on the Village of Rivanna Community Advisory Committee Second subscriber-supporter public service announcement goes to Shift/EnterDo you or someone you know want to find a job in the tech community? On this upcoming Saturday, there will be another Shift/Enter workshop in which participants can go through directed sessions with knowledgeable volunteers on resume feedback, interview advice, and perspectives on the tech landscape. For an $8 ticket, you'll have three different interview sessions with people to have a career conversation, to review your resume, or to have a mock interview. To learn more and to sign up, visit shiftenter.org. Albemarle EDA briefed on 2022 plans, Lewis and Clark Loan There will be no change in leadership on Albemarle’s Economic Development Authority. Donald Long will remain the chair, George Ray will stay the vice chair, and David Shreve gets to keep being treasurer. The group met virtually yesterday and heard from Economic Development Director Roger Johnson about what his office will be up to this year. In the first part of the year, COVID remains a threat to business as usual and Johnson said help will be available from economic development. “We would expect there would continue to be COVID prophylactics, particularly when you think about some of the things that we have done historically,”  Johnson said. “It includes things like the LIFT grant, microloan programs, Safe Places and Safe Spaces.”Previous funding has come through the federal CARES Act of 2020. To see how that money’s been used to date, visit enablealbemarle.org. Johnson said this year the EDA’s Board of Commissioners will review a new grant program in Albemarle to encourage the reuse of historic buildings. He also said the EDA may be looking to purchase land. “There are many ways that the Economic Development Authority can promote economic development through land ownership so we may be coming back to this particular board to talk about ways in land ownership or site control which may advance the county’s mission to accomplish a sustainable economy,” Johnson said. The EDA was also given an update on an outstanding loan granted to the Lewis and Clark Exploratory Center. Nine years ago, the nonprofit borrowed $260,000 from the economic development authorities of both Albemarle and Charlottesville to cover the unanticipated cost of drilling rock as the center was being at Darden-Towe Park. Richard DeLoria is a senior assistant county attorney. “The loan originated in 2013 and there have been two amendments to the loan and the second one extends the performance date to June 30, 2018,” Deloria said. To date, the Lewis and Clark Exploratory Center has not made a payment and has been seeking to forgive the loan. City Council voted in November 2015 to do so, but only if Albemarle followed suit. The Board of Supervisors opted to not grant forgiveness two years later and the matter remains unresolved. “The primary purpose is to make you aware that this authority needs to take action between now and June 30, 2023 or lose legal standing,” Johnson said. Donald Long said a decision on forgiveness is not up to the EDA.“The Board of Supervisors provided the money to us to turn around and make the loan so ultimately it is the Board of Supervisors’ decision about whether they want to forgive it,” Long said. “We obviously may have the legal authority if we chose to do that but I think the Board appropriated the money for that purpose so my view is that our obligation is to continue to collect or take reasonable efforts to do it unless we’re given direction by the Board of Supervisors to forgive it.”Long suggested convening a group to work with the Center to work out a payment arrangement. “We need to take some steps to figure out what’s going on and try to at least come up with a plan to move forward,” Long said. The Center has been paying the interest on the loan. Johnson said he would reach out to the Center. General Assembly updateSeveral more bills in the Virginia Senate have ended their journey in the 2022 General Assembly through dismissals by various committees. But that’s never the complete story. Or is it? This process moves so fast and it is hard to keep track of it all. Yet, I shall endeavor. This update is as of 8 a.m. this morning. A bill from Senator Chap Petersen (D-34) to institute a $20,000 cap on individual contributions to candidates in Virginia was passed on indefinitely in the Privileges and Elections committee. (SB44)Senator Joe Morrissey (D-16) had a cap of $25,000, and that bill was also passed on indefinitely (SB111)Two bills failed that would have required voters to present photo identification. A bill (SB118) from Senator Amanda Chase (R-11) was incorporated into another bill by Senator Mark Obenshain (R-26) which was also passed on by indefinitely on a unanimous committee vote. (SB127) Another bill from Senator Mark Peake would have required registrars to verify each voter by name, date of birth, and social security number was passed on a 9 to 6 vote in the Privileges and Elections Committee. (SB162)Another bill from Peake would have ended a provision allowing people to vote on their day of registration. This was also defeated on a 9 to 6 vote. (SB167)Support the program!Special announcement of a continuing promo with Ting! Are you interested in fast internet? Visit this site and enter your address to see if you can get service through Ting. If you decide to proceed to make the switch, you’ll get:Free installationSecond month of Ting service for freeA $75 gift card to the Downtown MallAdditionally, Ting will match your Substack subscription to support Town Crier Productions, the company that produces this newsletter and other community offerings. So, your $5 a month subscription yields $5 for TCP. Your $50 a year subscription yields $50 for TCP! The same goes for a $200 a year subscription! All goes to cover the costs of getting this newsletter out as often as possible. Learn more here! This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit communityengagement.substack.com/subscribe

In this bonus episode of How We Got Here - we go behind the sounds with Host Rachel DePompa, Executive Producer Colten Weekley and Digital Director Kate Albright to dive deep into how we made this season. You'll hear about some of our favorite guests and which segments really stuck with us. 

In this episode of How We Got Here - the day a tornado touched down in the Tri-Cities, shearing storefronts in half and claiming lives along the way. Plus, a detective story 200 years in the making. Why the British may be to blame for Virginia's missing census records. And, the story behind the resignation letter from the commander of the Confederates after the shattering loss at Gettysburg. 

In this episode of How We Got Here - the mother of modern medicine, born in Virginia. The ethical seesaw surrounding Henrietta Lacks, and how her story changed medical discoveries for generations. Plus, meet the Gray Ghost of the Confederacy. The mystique of John Mosby during the Civil War, and how his own views changed after the Confederacy fell. And we'll take you inside the ‘room where it happened.' How two Virginians and a New Yorker moved the U.S. capital. Finally, hundreds were killed in an explosive instant outside of Petersburg after the Union decided to tunnel underneath their rebel foes.

Good morning, RVA! It's 66 °F, and highs today should stick around in the upper 80s. Honestly, looks like a pretty pleasant day ahead of us! NBC12's Andrew Freiden says a cold front will come through tomorrow, setting us up for some excellent Thursday weather. Get excited!Water coolerThe Richmond Times-Dispatch's Kenya Hunter has the update from last night's RPS School Board meeting during which they…actually, I'm still kind of confused on what they decided to do. It sounds like the Board (well, the same five-member voting bloc of boardmembers) has now required Superintendent Kamras to issue an RFP for the design of a school to replace George Wythe High School by the end of August, despite RPS not having the staff hired to do so until October. If you're a resident of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, or 6th Districts, your school board rep is part of the voting bloc that refuses to compromise, continues to delay action, and sets unrealistic goals for the school district and its staff. It's embarrassing and doesn't give me a whole lot of hope for the next three years of this Board's tenure. If you'd like to drop your rep an email, you can find all of their contact information here. Honestly though, they're so dug in at this point I'm not sure what you'd say to change any minds. Maybe it's worth copying your councilmember and taking a screenshot of your email to post publicly on social media? I dunno, like I said, I've got a real dark feeling of hopelessness.City Council's Land Use, Housing and Transportation committee meets today with a packed and interesting agenda. Up first, they'll, once again, consider the Richmond 300 amendment resolution (RES. 2021-R026). I wish this resolution would take its jumbled list of inappropriate and conflicting changes to our award-winning master plan and just go away. Second, Councilmember Jones has introduced RES. 2021-R043, which asks the CAO to prepare “an affordable housing plan for each Council District that distributes as equally as possible affordable housing options across the Council District.” I think this is an interesting resolution! From the background section of the paper: “As detailed in the Affordable Housing Plan and Biennial Real Estate Strategy approved by Council, there are 76 [city-owned] parcels dedicated to affordable housing. However, a majority of the parcels are concentrated in the 6th District.” 31 parcels, in fact, are in the 6th—16 more than in any other district. This is probably the result of a million things: Land and housing values, zoning, the incredibly successfully efforts to prevent dense and new housing by folks in the more affluent parts of our city, racism. It is, of course, harder and more expensive to create affordable housing in the 1st District than it is in the 6th District exactly because of all of those things. However, I like how the summary section of this paper frames it: Each district bears a responsibility to address the affordable housing crisis. That'll mean different strategies in the 1st than in the 7th, but it's our responsibility to figure out those strategies. Finally, if you still don't believe there's an affordable housing crisis, tune in to today's meeting to catch a presentation from Javon Burton, Director of Implementation for the Partnership of Housing Affordability. Across our entire region—in Richmond, Henrico, Chesterfield, and Hanover—rent increases have outpaced income increases, and 32% of households are cost-burdened. Think about that next time you hear councilmembers and public commenters wringing their hands about building 10-story buildings on literal Broad Street.The City kicked off the public engagement process for their Draft Shockoe Small Area Plan yesterday. You can download the 213-page document here, but don't be deterred by page count alone! The Department of Planning and Development Review has gotten pretty good at making readable PDFs over the last couple of years, this one included. You'll see a lot of Richmond 300 vibes once you start scrolling through the document. I haven't read through the whole thing yet, but it'd be huge to add that amount of public green space to what's basically a broiling asphalt desert (p. 30). Also, apropos of the previous paragraph, check out page 27 for the extreme lack of affordable housing within this plan's study area (and within a 10-minute walk from the two nearby Pulse stations). In-person public comment opportunities start at the end of the month, and you can always leave comments using Konveio or fill out this general comment form until August 27th.Never in one million years would I have guessed that local hotel magnate Neil Amin would end up appointed as the chair of the State's Cannabis Control Authority Board of Directors. But here we are! You can read through the full list of the Governor's appointments in this release over on his website. The Governor also appointed members to the Cannabis Equity Reinvestment Board and the Cannabis Public Health Advisory Board.This morning's longreadNikole Hannah-Jones Issues Statement on Decision to Decline Tenure Offer at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and to Accept Knight Chair Appointment at Howard UniversityThe whole Nikole Hannah-Jones tenure situation went down while I was on vacation, so maybe it's old news. That said, her statement is still worth reading.How could I believe I'd be able to exert academic freedom with the school's largest donor so willing to disparage me publicly and attempt to pull the strings behind the scenes? Why would I want to teach at a university whose top leadership chose to remain silent, to refuse transparency, to fail to publicly advocate that I be treated like every other Knight Chair before me? Or for a university overseen by a board that would so callously put politics over what is best for the university that we all love? These times demand courage, and those who have held the most power in this situation have exhibited the least of it.If you'd like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol' Patreon.Picture of the Day

In this episode of How We Got Here - years before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat in Alabama, Irene Morgan in Virginia did the same thing, leading to a landmark Supreme Court decision that became the starting point for dismantling segregation in the United States. Plus, the story of the man known as the father of the U.S. Navy. How Scottish-born John Paul Jones would rise to fame during the American Revolution. And the moment that humankind first touched foot on the moon.

In this episode of How We Got Here - A look at the final execution in Virginia before the first state in the South abolished the death penalty. Plus, the most ‘animated' of the Confederate statues comes down along Monument Avenue. Then, the decades-long tale of the Norfolk Four, from their wrongful convictions to their freedom. And revealing the identity of Virginia's most famous sorceress, the Witch of Pungo.

Good morning, RVA! It's 65 °F, and, wow that was a lot of lightning in the storm that rolled through last night. I think, however, it brought with it cooler temperatures, because we can expect highs in the mid 80s today. NBC12's Andrew Freiden says the next couple of days look stellar.Water coolerAs of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports the seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths as: 140, 32, and 10.4, respectively. VDH reports a seven-day average of 11.3 new cases in and around Richmond (Richmond: 0.7; Henrico: 2.4, and Chesterfield: 8.1). Since this pandemic began, 1,343 people have died in the Richmond region. 45.1%, 56.4%, and 52.8% of the population in Richmond, Henrico, and Chesterfield have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.Do you still need a reason to get vaccinated? How about this set of headlines: “Distorted, Bizarre Food Smells Haunt Covid Survivors,” “Many Post-Covid Patients Are Experiencing New Medical Problems, Study Finds,” or “Coronavirus infections dropping where people are vaccinated, rising where they are not.” While the least serious of these headlines, the first one terrifies me. I once lost my sense of smell for a week and it was awful—so much of eating is smell-related! Don't lose your sense of smell or have it rewired by a coronavirus infection! Go get vaccinated today!City Council met last night and adopted a bunch of papers I had my eyes on: the rezoning of the Southern States silo (ORD. 2021–115), a resolution to earmark $7.1 million of ARP money for the Affordable Housing Trust Fund (RES. 2021-R028), and, of course, the casino resolution (RES. 2021-R034). The Richmond Times-Dispatch's Chris Suarez has the meeting recap and reports that, as foretold, the casino resolution passed 8–1, with Councilmember Jordan as the only No vote. Now the decision of whether or not to build a casino in the 8th District moves to…us! If the gubernatorial election was somehow not enough to motivate you to vote this November (which, gasp), maybe having a casino on the ballot will?Ali Rockett at the RTD reports on the RPD's crime data meeting, which ended up going in an entirely unexpected, billboard-related direction. The Richmond Coalition of Police, who you may remember from this year's budget discussions when they demanded double extra raises for police, has put up a billboard saying “The safety of the city is in jeopardy. Public safety is in a CRISIS due to poor pay & staffing.” I imagine the Mayor does not love having every person driving down 95/64 see such a billboard, and I bet it puts his police chief in a tough spot when he has to answer questions about it. About the data though, making any sort of year-over-year comparisons—about crime or anything else—will be tough given the year we just had.I hesitate to even share this ConnectRVA constrained project list. It's part of our larger region's long-range transportation plan, and represents a whittled down list of potential projects the region wants to build (down from the “universe of projects”). It's an important list because it will ultimately guide future big transportation projects—like sprawly road widenings or new bus rapid transit lines—that will stick around for our entire lifetimes. Typically this sort of thing is totally my jam, but, unfortunately, these are an almost indecipherable set of documents. Here's the four-page spreadsheet of projects if you dare. It includes things like a “widening with added capacity” of Old Hundred Road (boooo) and a bunch of segments of the Fall Line Trail (yaaaay). Theoretically, this here is a map of that entire spreadsheet on which you can leave comments or you can just comment on this blog post. I don't know how a person who cares is even supposed to intelligently interact with this information. I guess you could leave a general anti-road widening, pro-climate comment? It's honestly pretty shocking the number of road widenings and expansions we're considering over the next twenty or so years given how quickly we're incinerating our planet. Anyway, you have until 5:00 PM on June 17th to share your thoughts and opinions!It's wild to go from road widenings to this piece by Sarah Vogelsong in the Virginia Mercury about the impact sea-level rise will have on the 757. Here's a quote from Virginia Beach's stormwater engineer: “We want Virginia Beach to remain a viable coastal destination for people to come to…the discussion in Virginia Beach is learning to live with water.” Bleak! It's just bananas we're over here in Central Virginia planning on ways to incentivize more and more driving and more and more climate-destroying sprawl while our neighbors down the road slowly slip into the sea.Richmond Public Schools will host their East End-focused reopening conversation tonight at 6:00 PM. If you've got questions about how in-person school will look in the fall, now is the time to ask them. Although, honestly, maybe keep a list of those questions somewhere because there's a whole lot of time until the first day of school (85 days), and who knows what will change between now and then. Zoom-in information here.This morning's longreadA treasure map for an American tyrantThe Boston Globe put together a series of short pieces describing the top reforms they'd like to see to keep our American democracy safe from future Trumps. This is pleasant to read, but it all hinges on the idea that Republicans should be motivated to make these changes because the next autocrat could be a Democrat. That's a little naive as Republicans at the federal and state level seem intent at warping our democracy to prevent Democrats from being elected entirely. Kind of eliminates the incentive to limit power, doesn't it?Trump may not have destroyed the American presidency, but he did put the institution on a perilous path. Because while Trump himself has been sitting in Mar-a-Lago brooding over his loss to Joe Biden, all the weaknesses in our legal and constitutional system that he exploited remain, waiting for a future presidential miscreant to take advantage of them — maybe even for Trump himself, if he is reelected in 2024. That's why Congress and the current president must act fast and impose more durable legal guardrails on the commander in chief. By passing stronger anti-corruption laws, strengthening existing norms and creating new ones, and deterring future presidents from abusing their power by making an example of Trump and holding him accountable, the country can protect itself against future — and potentially far more devastating — presidential corruption and misconduct. The nation can, and must, prevent the rise of an American tyrant.If you'd like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol' Patreon.Picture of the DayI bought a bead curtain.

Good morning, RVA! It's 71 °F, and who's excited for more of the same?? Today you can expect highs in the 80s and a chance for downpours. NBC12's Andrew Freiden says we could catch a break this weekend, though.Water coolerAs of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports the seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths as: 198, 31, and 7.7, respectively. VDH reports a seven-day average of 19.4 new cases in and around Richmond (Richmond: 3.9; Henrico: 6.6, and Chesterfield: 9). Since this pandemic began, 1,331 people have died in the Richmond region. 44.7%, 55.9%, and 52.3% of the population in Richmond, Henrico, and Chesterfield have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. This week's stacked chart is really something to look at—across the board you'll see the lowest levels of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths pretty much since this pandemic began. I know a lot of folks are holding their breath until fall—when things took a turn last year—but, for now, the data is down and things are looking up!Biden Goal update! With 68.5% of adults in Virginia with at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and one day to go, we're definitely going to miss my projection of hitting 70% on June 12th. Honestly, at the current rate, hitting July 4th might turn out to be a photo-finish. Either way, this is a dumb thing to be so focused on! Vaccinating the rest of these folks will take long, slow, methodical work—like over the course of this entire year. Shouting about the president's fairly arbitrary goal won't get us there any faster (I will continue to shout about it for reasons I don't really understand!).Y'all! Richmond 300, like, the plan itself, has won a major award! The American Planning Association announced that Richmond 300 won the Daniel Burnham Award for a Comprehensive Plan, making it the #1 comprehensive plan in the country. As one friend put it, this is like winning the master plan Heisman. Congratulations to all of the City staff who worked so hard on Richmond 300, and congratulations to many of you who also served on committees, attended meetings, and submitted public comments. Let me quote a bit from the APA writeup: “Expansive community engagement, unlike any seen in the city's history, led to the creation of Richmond 300: A Guide For Growth…Recognizing the city's history of racist policies that left many residents distrustful of the planning process, Richmond's planning team took special care to ensure all Richmonders can see their influence Richmond 300….After extensive outreach—including the formation and training of a community engagement team to help reach Latinx, Black, and low-income residents—planners succeeded in helping to elevate voices that had gone unheard for decades.”Chris Suarez at the Richmond Times-Dispatch covered yesterday's Urban Design Committee meeting, which, after a bunch of discussion, approved removal of nine Confederate monument remnants. Sounds like the plans will now move to the Planning Commission and then to full Council before the end of the month (assuming things don't get caught up along the way).Richmond BizSense's Mike Platania reports that Torchy's Tacos will open up a shop in the new Carytown Exchange shopping center in 2022. I know they now have tons of other locations, but time was that friends who went to SXSW would rant and rave about a trip to Torchy's.I don't think there's any new information here, but how weird is it to see a virginia.gov website with a marijuana leaf as its logo? Also, I know we already all know this, but some of these rules are farcical, and I have to believe that next year's General Assembly will try to speed up the 2024 commercial sales timeline. I mean this is what we have to live with for three years: “Beginning on July 1, adults 21 and over can grow up to four marijuana plants per household (not per person), for personal use,” but “It will remain illegal to sell marijuana seeds, clones, flower, or any other part of the marijuana plant in Virginia before 2024. Although there are some states that already have legalized marijuana sales, it remains federally illegal to move marijuana across state lines.” I guess if you can apparate a marijuana plant into your house, you're good to go!This morning's longreadGrowing up queer in AppalachiaAnother great essay in Scalawag, this one from back in 2017 around the time North Carolina was kicking around its transgender / bathroom legislation.I visit often, but I never moved back home. In large part I stayed away for the same reason anyone from the rural South does: to find work. That said, I'm not the only person from our small school who came out and moved to New York. There's a reason it's a classic. Lots of us left, or tried to. Some of us have been forced back into the closet. Some were able to stay put and strike a balance, but not nearly enough. I have a very typical queer Southern expatriate chip on my shoulder: furious at what happened to me there, furious at what still happens to my people, furious that anyone else would use their suffering as a rhetorical cudgel to distract from the exact same shit happening in their own backyards. Guilty for leaving them behind.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 72 °F, and while we've got some cooler temperatures today with highs in the mid 80s, I think we've also got a decent chance of rain throughout. NBC12's Andrew Freiden says to watch out for downpours this afternoon and evening.Water coolerAs of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports the seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths as: 204, 34, and 7.7, respectively. VDH reports a seven-day average of 22.3 new cases in and around Richmond (Richmond: 6.3; Henrico: 6, and Chesterfield: 10). Since this pandemic began, 1,330 people have died in the Richmond region. 44.6%, 55.7%, and 52.1% of the population in Richmond, Henrico, and Chesterfield have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Lots of folks, myself included, are nervous/keeping an eye on the rise of new COVID-19 variants (which the WHO has helpfully designated alpha, beta, gamma, and delta). Are our current vaccines effective against the variants? Can a variant “breakthrough” your vaccination? And, most importantly, if I'm vaccinated can a variant make me seriously ill or send me to the hospital? Unfortunately there's not a ton of data out there to answer a lot of these questions, but Emily Oster has a good piece this morning running through some of them, and provides, as always, a good chunk of math to help you estimate your own risk.The City's Urban Design Committee meets today and will consider the plans to remove nine monuments and/or pedestals from neighborhoods across the city. This includes the remaining pedestals on Monument Avenue, cannons from the median of Monument Avenue, the column on Libby Hill, a plinth in Monroe Park, plus the entire kit and caboodle at Laburnum and Hermitage. Remember, this is not the final plan for any of these locations!—just the first step in removing the racist garbage to make way for whatever we want to do next. I'm excited generally, of course, but also specifically because the removal of several of these things will make a handful of intersections way, way safer for people walking, rolling, or riding through. I would love to see the City's first protected intersection at Laburnum and Hermitage!Also in City Council-related news, the Education and Human Services committee will meet today to consider the Mayor's Equity Agenda, which you can now read in its final form. I haven't read through the updated version yet to scope out any updates, but I did snag the original versionif anyone wants to diff the two so we can easily see what's changed.Whoa, how did I miss something called Tacos for Transportation?? Two of my most favorite things! VPM reports that yesterday “Richmond city officials announced the public engagement phase of a multimodal transportation plan…[the Office of Equitable Transit and Mobility] is hosting several community events to encourage public participation. The series of events is called ‘Tacos for Transportation.' In exchange for taking a survey, attendees will receive a ticket for a free taco.” I don't think city officials are in the draft-document stage of things yet, but you can learn a little more about their plans moving forward over on the OETM website. Get excited, because this is going to be something you'll hear a lot from me on over the next year or so.Yesterday's storms brought flash flooding to parts of town, mostly on the Southside, NBC12 reports. The Richmond Fire department rescued 19 people from cars stuck in high water! Some of the flooding is probably just a result of geography, but a lot of it happens because of the historical disinvestment in basic infrastructure on the City's Southside. We've got a couple of opportunities to make huge, once-in-a-generation investments in the Southside coming up, namely the ARP and, potentially, a big chunk of casino money. We should celebrate, take advantage of those opportunities, and not fritter away the chance to do something transformational by earmarking those funds for a million pet projects in each councilperson's district.STAY RVA will host Dr. David E. Kirkland for one of their STAY TALKs tonight at 6:30 PM. Dr. Kirkland is the Vice Dean for Equity, Belonging, and Community Action at NYU and the executive director of the Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and the Transformation of Schools. Sounds like you should expect a fascinating talk: “Dr. Kirkland will help support crucial conversations on how a culturally responsive-sustaining education can best serve our students during COVID and how it can help us reimagine schools beyond it.” Get your tickets over on the Eventbrite for a suggested donation of $25.Richard Hayes at RVAHub has some pictures of a train derailment that took place yesterday morning down by the river near the North Bank Trail! What the heck! Sounds like most of the train cars were either empty or carrying paper and rocks, so, whew.This morning's longreadThe Age of Reopening AnxietyYou know I love this sort of thing. Also, I feel seen because I literally just texted a friend about staying in and watching some horror movies over text.The process by which they rejoin society after such an experience is called “reëntry,” she said. She considers the pandemic a transformational experience for everyone. Reëntry is upon us all. “There's extraordinary anxiety in that phase, and it's not illogical or irrational anxiety,” she said. “We have to ask the questions that reëntry asks. They start with practical questions like, Do I wear my mask? Do I say yes to this invitation? Do I take my children even if they're not vaccinated?” What seem like logistical queries are actually “philosophical and existential questions,” Parker said. “Like, Who are my people? How do I want to spend my time?”If you'd like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol' Patreon.Picture of the DayGolden hour!

Good morning, RVA! It's 53 °F, and today looks lovely—in fact, NBC12's Andrew Freiden say today's your best day of the week weatherwise. Expect highs in the 80s, low humidity, and not a bit of rain. Looks like severe weather could be in the forecast later this week, though, so organize your out-of-doors calendar accordingly.Water coolerAs of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports the seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths as: 347, 45, and 17.6, respectively. VDH reports a seven-day average of 44.6 new cases in and around Richmond (Richmond: 6.6; Henrico: 18, and Chesterfield: 20). Since this pandemic began, 1,329 people have died in the Richmond region. 43.5%, 54.3%, and 50.7% of the population in Richmond, Henrico, and Chesterfield have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.Over in vaccine world, we are so, so close to reaching President Biden's goal of 70% of adults with at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by July 4th. Right now, according to the VDH dashboard, 67.0% of Virginians 18 and and older have had their first jab. I'd said to mark your calendars for June 12th, but we may cross the 70% threshold even sooner. As per always, data reporting issues continue to ruin my pretty little graphs and have made unclear, at least to me, the picture of how many new people are getting vaccinated each day in the Commonwealth. That number's not falling off a cliff though, so that's something. Locally—defined as Richmond, Henrico, and Chesterfield—I don't think we'll hit Biden's goal by the 4th, but we'll be close. Check out our creeping progress towards (mostly) that goal on this chart. I can't find daily, 18+ vaccination data for localities on VDH's dashboard, so this is what I've got!Over the weekend, Jessica Nocera at the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported on the now-faltered effort to create a Civilian Review Board in Henrico County. Disappointing stuff: “For now, [Supervisor] Nelson said if there is a different Board of Supervisors in a few years, maybe the civilian review board would come back for consideration.” Nelson had led the effort to create the County's CRB, but met a lack of support from the police and, more importantly, from the rest of the Board of Supervisors. Rather than push forward and end up with something with no actual power or authority to, you know, review the police, Nelson has decided to hang it up until he's joined by a few more progressive boardmembers. Local elections, y'all! So important.Also in the RTD, Chris Suarez reports that Richmond's bike share system may finally expand beyond its 17ish stations. I mean, sure, that sounds awesome. Although, it's sounded awesome for a bunch of years now, and somehow we have fewer stations than we did when the system launched. When it comes to Richmond's bike share system, I'm in definite believe-it-when-I-see-it mode . Suarez says we should have some opportunities to weigh in on the locations for the new stations soon and that the City will look in to providing RRHA residents with free memberships. Free bus fares plus free bike share memberships (and an expanded bike share network) would really open up some transportation options for folks with lower-incomes. I'm excited to see if we can make all of these pieces work together in a cohesive system.Mike Platania at Richmond BizSense asks a big question that I also have: “What's next for Bow Tie Cinemas site after failed pitch to become a casino?” While the owners don't have an answer yet, the property is zoned TOD-1 which allows for all sorts of fun things that would be more interesting than the expansive parking lot currently in place. I'm hopeful!I don't know quite what to make from this chart of endorsements Ned Oliver put together in the Virginia Mercury, but I just spent too long playing with it this morning. I think one of the interesting things to me is how there's no solidified McAuliffe ticket.Northsiders and park lovers! The Bryan Park Bike Races return tonight after a one-year COVID hiatus. This means that from 5:30–8:00 PM on Tuesdays throughout the summer you should expect to see portions of the park's paths closed off and people on bikes zipping around in a circle. If you've got a planned Tuesday evening stroll or roll, adjust accordingly! This is the 47th season of these races, which is incredible.This morning's longreadI'm Not Scared to Reenter Society. I'm Just Not Sure I Want To.I'm way into the title of this piece.You could admit that you'd accomplished nothing today, this week, all year. Having gotten through another day was a perfectly respectable achievement. I considered it a pass-fail year, and anything you had to do to get through it—indulging inappropriate crushes, strictly temporary addictions, really bad TV—was an acceptable cost of psychological survival. Being “unable to deal” was a legitimate excuse for failing to answer emails, missing deadlines, or declining invitations. Everyone recognized that the situation was simply too much to be borne without occasionally going to pieces. This has, in fact, always been the case; we were just finally allowed to admit it.If you'd like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol' Patreon.Picture of the Day

Season 5 launches on Monday, July 5. How We Got Here, presented by NBC12 in Richmond, Virginia, is a podcast highlighting Virginia’s rich history, one week at a time.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 68 °F, and today looks hot—but not as hot as yesterday. Expect highs near 90 °F, and, luckily, NBC12’s Andrew Freiden says to expect less humidity soaking through your shirts.Water coolerAs of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports the seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths as: 394, 40, and 13.6, respectively. VDH reports a seven-day average of 29.9 new cases in and around Richmond (Richmond: 5.4; Henrico: 14.3, and Chesterfield: 10.1). Since this pandemic began, 1,324 people have died in the Richmond region. 42.6%, 53.1%, and 49.6% of the population in Richmond, Henrico, and Chesterfield have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. For whatever reason, Chesterfield actually reported -43 new cases yesterday, so that accounts for the significant drop in its seven-day average of new cases. Data Reporting: There’s always something.Now that Virginia is so dang close to reaching President Biden’s goal of 70% of adults with at least one does by July 4th, I cannot stop watching the numbers slowwwwwly tick upwards. Two days ago 65.7% of Virginia’s adults had one dose, today 66.2%. Forgetting for a second that fewer people are making the decision to get vaccinated each day and pretending that we’ll just continue along at the same rate we’re seeing right now, we should hit Biden’s goal on June 12th. Mark your calendars (which is a thing I actually just did)!Chris Suarez at the Richmond Times-Dispatch went through the terms sheet of the newly put-forth casino project so you don’t have to (but you totally still can if you’re into that sort of thing). Suarez reports that the casino would give the City a $25 million cash payment within 30 days of the referendum (should it pass, of course), $30,000 annual payments to Richmond Public Schools for five years, reimburse the City for up to $500,000 it spent during the casino evaluation process, and, of course, a chunk of the gambling-related revenue each year. And that’s just a short list, the terms sheet is 20 pages long and includes all sorts of things about jobs, wages, construction, and even a $325,000 annual payment to “support transit mobility solutions to support travel of its employees to and from work.” I’m interested in all of these things, but I’m particularly interested in what happens to that $25 million in cash. If it were me, I’d put it in a special fund dedicated specifically for new infrastructure improvements on the Southside with a focus on the neighborhoods near the casino. I certainly would not let it end up in the general fund, and I would be really careful to not let this $25 million get used to replace funding already earmarked for Southside projects. This is new money and should be used for new projects. I wonder if Council will start putting together a plan for all this hypothetical new money before the actual referendum as a way to sell the public on the casino?Also, the RTD continues their ongoing series talking to Richmonders one year after the murder of George Floyd. Make some time to read this piece by Kenya Hunter about Corey Stuckey, founder of the 381 Movement. You might recognize Stuckey and the 381 Movement, because recently they’ve been focused on “trying to convince the School Board to rescind a resolution that gave the board control over school construction.” I’ll tell you what, it’s life-giving to see movements built during last summer grow and expand into influencing some of the important (but day-to-day) policies of our city.Another sign that post-pandemic life finds a way: Mary Scott Hardaway has a list of newly opened, recently opened, and newly reopened restaurants in Style Weekly.It’s Thursday which means the Richmond and Henrico Health Districts will host a free COVID-19 community testing event at Diversity Thrift (1407 Sherwood Avenue) from 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM.This morning’s longreadWeekly Obsession: CicadasQuartz has these lovely Obsession emails, put together by Friend of the Email Susan Howson, to which you should most certainly subscribe. This week they tackle cicadas, which are big and weird but also pretty cool.Love them or hate them (at Quartz, we’re divided), they are undeniably a net positive for our ecosystem. They don’t damage plants once they emerge from the ground. They don’t bite, they don’t spread disease, they feed a lot of other wildlife, and their exoskeletons decompose into nice tree fertilizer. In a lot of ways, periodical cicadas are one of nature’s more spectacular reminders that, for the most part, the planet is still operational. If Brood X hadn’t made its entrance, it would have been a truly terrifying sign. It may feel like a bug invasion, but cicadas have been doing their thing for hundreds of millions of years. How long have you been doing yours?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

Born in Trinidad, Anthony Antione's mother moved to the U.S. to create a better life for her children. As a child Anthony knew he wanted to be a journalist & he was determined to make it happen.  He started his career behind the scenes as a part-time camera operator while working full-time as a sales rep. His weekends were also spent at the station shadowing reporters, learning how to shoot, write, edit. When a reporter opportunity came up, Anthony made sure his work ethic made him the clear choice. Listen to episode 22 of @BecomingStorytellers to hear more of Anthony’s inspiring journey.   Don’t forget to share & leave a review! Also follow @BecomingStorytellers on Instagram. 

Good morning, RVA! It’s 55 °F, and NBC12’s Andrew Freiden says to be on the lookout for storms this afternoon. More importantly, at least for any baby plants in your care, temperatures could drop below freezing tonight. Take appropriate plant precautions!Water coolerAs of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 1,236 new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealthand 30 new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 159 new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 76, Henrico: 61, and Richmond: 22). Since this pandemic began, 1,263 people have died in the Richmond region. The seven-day average of new reported cases across the state sits at 1,348. Related to things I think about in the morning, the New York Times will redesign their coronadata reporting pages, as we move into, in their words, a different stage of the pandemic. I’ve been wondering if I should do the same and shift focus away from number of new cases each day to the number of folks vaccinated and people in the hospital. Honestly, I’d love to hear from readers about what kind of daily coronadata they find interesting and useful.Speaking of, VDH reports over 25% of Virginians have now been fully vaccinated and over 40% have at least one dose of the vaccine. Those are big, real numbers!From the LA Times, “Former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin was convicted Tuesday of murdering George Floyd in a landmark trial that centered on police brutality and spoke to a nation shaken over the last year by protests against racial injustice and demands to reform law enforcement.” Many, many people, both nationally and locally, released statements after the jury announced their verdict, and I’d like to quote from RPS Superintendent Kamras’s at length. “Like many of you, I sat with my family this afternoon anxiously awaiting the verdict in the trial of Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd. When the news finally broke – guilty on all three counts – we felt both relieved and uneasy. Relieved because justice had prevailed; but uneasy because the victory, though historic, will serve as a sign to some that the ‘system’ is fundamentally sound. It is not. It is still infected with biases, institutional and human, that make the murder of unarmed Black men and women at the hands of law enforcement all too common, and justice for their assailants all too rare…As we celebrate justice for George Floyd, let us remember the many, many others who have been killed under similar circumstances. Please see below for a (partial) list compiled by author Renée Ater of unarmed Black women and men who died at the hands of police since Michael Brown was shot and killed in 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri. If you can bear it, read their names tonight, one by one. We owe them the simple dignity of never forgetting them.”Quick reminder that City Council will meet today at 1:00 PM for their first budget amendment work session—the most exciting of budget work sessions. They’ve got a lot of proposed amendments to work through and a lot of compromises to make, so it should be a fascinating listen. Two things to keep an eye on apropos of the previous paragraph: Councilmembers submitted amendments to fund both the Civilian Review Board and to provide police officers higher pay. Those were already complex conversations and have only gotten more complex since last night. You can tune in live over on the City’s legislative website, or listen via The Boring Show later this week.Mark Robinson at the Richmond Times-Dispatch has some more details on the “biennial real estate strategies” plan that City Council’s Land Use, Housing and Transportation committee looked at yesterday. I think most of the properties that the City proposes to get rid of should be fairly non controversial, but approval of the plan would mean that we should see some RFPs floating around soon for the larger, more interesting sites—places like Oak Grove Elementary School, the Coliseum, and Fulton Gasworks.This morning, you can live stream the assembly of a massive T. Rex skeleton in the Sauer’s Center. The skeleton is, apparently, the only full-sized T. Rex replica in Virginia and measures 40 feet long and 14 feet tall. It has it’s own twitter account! Sure!Tonight, at 7:30 PM, you can join the Richmond Crusade for Voters for a virtual Commonwealth’s Attorney forum featuring incumbent Colette McEachin and challenger Tom Barbour. I think this is the final time for you to see the candidates interact before in-person absentee voting in the Democratic primaries starts on Friday. Zoom info to follow—Meeting ID: 826 3423 6927; Call in: 301–715–8592; Passcode: 132889.This morning’s patron longreadWhat The Shortest Interstate In The U.S. Can Teach Us About Racism In InfrastructureSubmitted by Patron Brian. We, of course, have our fair share of racist-as-hell, garbage infrastructure in Richmond.Our garbage infrastructure is racist as hell and often built and designed with racism foremost in mind. The more you learn about it, the more you see it everywhere you look. Racism is obvious in the very bones of our country. Many folks on Twitter pointed to Robert Moses, the subject of The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York by Robert Caro. Moses was the master planner of a series of parkways on Long Island who made sure to build bridges too low for buses to pass under, thereby keeping Black and poor people from enjoying the public beaches. But this isn’t a problem of the past — it’s one that has shaped and continues to shape our cities. This subject really gets under my skin because I am passionate about two things: infrastructure and my hometown of Detroit, a city decimated by racist infrastructure policies that continue to this day.If you’d like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol’ Patreon.Picture of the DayPollen producer!

Good morning, RVA! It’s 39 °F, and a bit cooler. Expect highs in the mid 60s today and for most of the weekend. I think we’ll avoid any rain, so spend some time outside if you can. It’ll be hard, but NBC12’s Andrew Freiden says to wait a couple more weeks before putting in your vegetable garden.Water coolerThe Richmond Police Department reports a murder on the 500 block of N. 30th Street. At 1:10 PM this past Sunday, officers were called to the scene and found Albert Harvey Jr., a man in his 30s, shot to death.As of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 1,415 new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealthand 19 new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 160 new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 67, Henrico: 52, and Richmond: 41). Since this pandemic began, 1,251 people have died in the Richmond region. The seven-day average of new reported cases across the state sits at 1,506. Here is this week’s stacked graph of new reported cases, hospitalizations, and deaths—with one major change. I set the y-axis on the new reported cases graph back to this summer’s value (a max of 2,000), and, whoa, eye-opening. I think our brains see a year’s worth of coronacases, flattened by this winter’s massive peak and think we’ve made a lot of progress. Looking at the data this way, though, at least for me, really put things in perspective. Here’s the graph of combined new reported cases in Richmond, Henrico, and Chesterfield scaled the same way. If you’ve been putting off getting your vaccine, look at these graphs and then go pre-register on vaccinate.virginia.gov today. OK?Sounds like it’s more and more likely that we’ll all need at least a booster shot of our coronavirus vaccine, and possibly a yearly vaccination to pair with the flu shot. It’s unclear, at least this week, what that means for J&Jers as the FDA decide whether or not to unpause use of the one-shot vaccine. Yesterday, Dr. Fauci said “[the pause was] an indication that the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration take safety very seriously. I hope they make the conclusion of this quickly, and get back on track…and I believe they will.” Locally, Sabrina Moreno at the Richmond Times-Dispatch has a nice recap of what’s going on in Richmond and Henrico—vaccinewise—that’s worth reading as we head into the weekend.Huge news! The City, Capital Region Land Conservancy, the Conservation Fund, and the James River Association announced that CRLC will acquire 3011 and 3021 Dock Street and, ultimately, transfer that property to the City. You might know 3011 and 3021Dock Street as the properties adjacent to Great Shiplock Park—aka the section of the Capital Trail currently plopped down on the street and protected by jersey barriers. Once all the legal stuff gets worked out later this summer, we’ll end up with a fully public, fully connected riverfront and Capital Trail. I’m not a Richmond Riverfront Master Plan expert, but I don’t think the Downriver portion of the plan even considered this space since it was privately owned—it’s marked as a combination of “development” and “new open space” in the PDF. I’m stoked about this, and excited to see what happens out that way. Mike Platania at Richmond BizSense has more details.If you’re taking the bus this morning, be prepare for delays. GRTC’s Twitter account reports “many routes are currently not on the road this morning,” and that routes 1, 2, 3, 4, 18, 20, 29, 82, 86, 88, and 95 are impacted in one way or another. Yikes, that’s a lot of routes!Remember back in 2011 when VCU’s men’s basketball team made it all the way to the Final Four? Shocking, amazing stuff. Here’s a fun oral history of that handful of weekends ten years ago. Definitely set aside some time this weekend to flip through the stories and photos from a once-in-a-lifetime moment.This morning’s patron longreadThe Fast and the FamilySubmitted by Patron Sean. Maybe the Fast and the Furious franchise is less about fast cars and more about feelings and family??You might even forget about the hijacking plot because what actually matters to the story is whether Dom will accept Brian into his circle of trust. Cars are the literal vehicle through which they negotiate their relationship. Because it’s a series about cars, right? Fast cars. Furious even! Even the cars have feelings, or are feelings. Before Brian utters his first line, he revs his engine. The action genre negotiates male friendship through objects (read: usually women), but The Fast and the Furious tweaks this dynamic. Racing isn’t where characters displace their affection, it’s where they prove it.If you’d like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol’ Patreon.Picture of the DayShow-off azaleas.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 48 °F, and today looks pretty great. Expect highs in the 70s and sunshine while we wait for rain to move in for the next couple of days. The pollen continues to disgust me, though. Check out this gross video of pollen bursting forth from a tennis court via NBC12’s Andrew Freiden. Blech.Water coolerAs of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 1,310 new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealthand 14 new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 148 new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 57, Henrico: 61, and Richmond: 30). Since this pandemic began, 1,248 people have died in the Richmond region. The seven-day average of new reported cases across the state, which I think I might just start including in this paragraph on the regular, broke 1,500 yesterday (1,527). That’s an 18.6% increase since the recent low of 1,287 back on March 16th. I think it’s important to keep an eye on these creeping numbers so we don’t suddenly end up like Michigan, which leads the nation with a seven-day average of 7,284 new reported cases daily. For context that’s a rate of 73 per 100,000 people, while Virginia sits at just 18.This article in the New York Times about the tension between that state and the federal government is fascinating. Michigan’s Governor Whitmer demands more vaccine doses, and the federal government says she should instead shut things down until the outbreaks cool off. Remember the added layer of how last time Governor Whitmer shut things down, her life was threatened and protesters stormed the statehouse—so kind of a big counter incentive for her to impose any new restrictions at all. Read through to the second half of the article for gross sentences about the blatant political nature of the decisions to shut things down, which would save actual lives: “State Representative Steve Johnson, a Republican, said he doubted that many people would comply with a lockdown order. ‘For her to try to continue those measures would have been political suicide,” he said.’” Cool cool cool.Tonight at 6:00 PM, you can slake your hot thirst for rezoning content by joining a virtual public meeting about the rezoning of Greater Scott’s Addition. Download and flip through this presentation from a few months back if you want to come prepared. The proposed rezoning would take a large swath of parking lots and industrial wasteland north of the train tracks and south of the highway and upzone it from M-1 Light Industrial and M-2 Heavy Industrial to a more humane TOD-1 Transit-Oriented Nodal and B-7 Mixed-Use Business. That means more places for people and more places for people to do things. While there are very few home owners adjacent to this rezoning, I’m sure we can expect the same cast of characters dying 1,000 deaths over the potential to add density.Eric Kolenich at the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that yesterday the University of Richmond faculty senate “announced it had ratified a vote of no-confidence in the board’s top member, rector Paul Queally, calling for him to resign.” Additionally, it sounds like the University will reconsider its original decision and process that led to leaving the names of racists on some of its buildings.I wish I could find out more about this, but a press release from the City has the exciting news that they’ve hired a new Director of Housing. Sherrill Hampton will serve as the sort-of-new department’s new head: “Ms. Hampton has more than 25 years of experience in the affordable housing and community development arenas, and has worked in senior management roles in non-profit, governmental, and educational sectors. She holds a BS in Social Science from Claflin University and a JD from the University of South Carolina School of Law.” I eagerly await someone to do an interview with this person!Minor league baseball returns to Richmond (theoretically) on May 4th, for the first time in 610 days, when the Flying Squirrels take on the Hartford Yard Goats. That’s 21 days from now, which feels too far into the future to know anything at all, but this does feel like an important cultural marker in our emergence from the pandemic. : Baseball! At the moment, the Governor’s current restrictions put a 30% capacity cap on outdoor sports venues which, according to this decade-old RTD " article, would be around 2,800 folks for the Diamond. That’s a little less than half the number of people who typically attend a Squirrels game. So I dunno! Do your own risk calculations, but a fully vaccinated person, wearing a mask, sitting outside, distanced from other people seems like a low risk proposition?This past Sunday, Minnesota Police Officer Kim Potter shot andkilled 20-year-old Daunte Wright during a traffic stop. As we read and learn more about yet another police killing of a Black person, and as people in Minnesota and elsewhere take to the streets in protest, I wanted to link to two things this morning. First, this Instagram post from @coloredgirlsbiketoo, which talks about mobility justice and how Black movement has been criminalized. I like this bit: “We must defund the police by removing police from traffic enforcement, now, and instead invest in Just Streets.” Second, spend some time scrolling through Bree Newsome’s timeline. She always has smart and thought provoking things to say in these moments. Like: “I agree that ending low-level traffic enforcement is good as a step toward abolishing the institution of policing altogether but Wright is not dead solely b/c of that. The nature of policing is such that he could’ve been killed by another [officer] that same day just b/c he was walking.”This morning’s longreadLife Lessons from a Moab TrailerA look back at decades of an imperfect life lived (mostly) in the desert. I think some of the best longreads I find come from Outside Magazine.During the ferry trip, what I should have been contemplating was how our friendship had come to resemble a kind of marriage. I didn’t yet know that a marriage is, in addition to a romantic and carnal match, an economic relationship built on trust. One partner might contribute more of the money; the other might do more of the labor. In our case, I was doing countless hours of unpaid work on the trailer, while Wendy was undercharging on the rent and letting me sublet at will as I jetted around the continent. She had become my patroness, enabling my writer’s life, letting me live alone in a secluded spot where I didn’t have to work half the year. Our arrangement required that neither or us lie or cheat or get greedy. And it worked.If you’d like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol’ Patreon.Picture of the DayMy mom had this set of books but was missing the first volume. One year for Christmas, I bought another set so I could complete her set. Now I have this set of books but am missing the first volume.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 49 °F, and it’s raining. You can expect it to keep raining for awhile. Maybe until tomorrow? According to NBC12’s Andrew Freiden our risk for severe weather has dropped, but we’ll still see some storms this afternoon. Stay safe, and keep any eye on your weather app of choice.Water coolerThe Richmond Police Department is reporting that Marquez Warden, a man in his 20s, was fatally shot on March 16th near the 5700 block of Hull Street. Warden is the 11th person murdered in 2021 in the City of Richmond.As of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 1,327 new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealthand 50 new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 142 new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 75, Henrico: 48, and Richmond: 19). Since this pandemic began, 1,181 people have died in the Richmond region. I think we’ve hit a plateau in our new reported case numbers—a plateau that sits at a too-high altitude that we should all feel anxiety about. The current seven-day average of new cases is 1,299, while the seven-day average from seven days ago is 1,324. Not a ton of change there. I know that 1,300 feels a ton better than 5,000, and I think it’s easy to act like we’re over and done and through with all of our pandemic safety measures. But just keep in mind that for most of last summer the Commonwealth saw new daily case counts below 800. We’ve still got a ways to go.Meanwhile, the Governor has announced his tentative plans for how K–12 schools and institutes of higher learning can host in-person graduation ceremonies (PDF). The gist: Indoor events cannot exceed the lesser of 500 people or 30 percent of the allowed occupancy, and outdoor events cannot exceed the lesser of 5,000 people or 30 percent of the allowed occupancy. Also the following requirement made me chuckle and think about folks with extremely long arms: “Require ten feet of physical distancing between parties. This includes handshakes, hugs, and other physical interactions.” You can read the full press release from the Governor’s office here. He expects the plans to be adopted into an updated Executive Order on April 1st.Two vaccine updates from the Richmond Times-Dispatch’s Sabrina Moreno! First, Richmond and Henrico seniors can now just call their health district’s call center (804.205.3501) and have a vaccination appointment scheduled right over the phone. Second, Moreno reports that the federal pharmacy partnership will expand their vaccination eligibility to include everyone in Phase 1b—including folks aged 16–64 with underlying conditions and disabilities that increase the severity of illness from COVID-19. That means more places to register for a vaccination appointment!The folks at Richmond Together continue to impress me with their clever thoughts on the 2021 budget season. Today, they’ll give a presentation (PDF) at City Council’s Finance and Economic Development Committee (1:00 PM if you want to tune in), and will talk through how the City can use the estimated $159 million headed our way as a part of the American Rescue Plan. I really, really suggest flipping through this presentation as it’ll give you a high-level understanding of how and when the ARP money can be used locally. I love this very practical suggestion: “Richmond Together believes the city should immediately designate or hire one or more capable individuals to be the ‘point person’ for everything related to ARP funds and related [funding] from other sources (such as the state).” Additionally, and also super practical, Richmond Together asks the City to put together “a detailed analysis of how various funding sources can be braided together to maximally fund stated and emergency policy goals…in advance of May 12 and also for public discussion over use of these funds to begin now.” We know this money’s coming, and we should have some clear goals and discussions around how to use it. Honestly, it’s a little like last year’s pandemic budget in reverse. We knew revenue would be tight, and we passed a budget accordingly. Now we know we’re getting a stack of new money, and we should plan for that influx in a smart, holistic, and equitable way. As Richmond Together says, “cities that wisely use this money to advance recovery and policy goals will have a strategic advantage coming out of the pandemic.”I’m still trying to wrap my head around this article in Richmond Magazine by Eileen Mellon about the Ever Better spot on Lombardy Street. Mellon reports that Ever Better sells food and drinks that contain supplements from the Herbalife multi-level marketing company—originally without disclosing it.Today at 6:00 PM, the City will host a public meeting about the rezoning of Greater Scott’s Addition (aka the Diamond District). In the Department of Planning and Development Review’s words, “The current zoning in this area—mostly M-1 Light Industrial and M-2 Heavy Industrial—isn’t aligned with the envisioned Future Land Use categories in this area…Rezoning these areas will allow for dwelling uses by right and reflect the vision for both the Industrial Mixed-Use and Destination Mixed-Use Future Land Use categories envisioned by Richmond 300.” Basically, those M-1 and M-2 zonings, which cover almost the entire area at the moment, prohibit apartments. This means that every apartment you see popping up around the Diamond required a time-intensive Special Use Permit. The proposed rezoning would allow apartments (and other interesting mixed-use projects) by-right, making them easier and quicker to build. A whole lot of rezonings in motion lately, and it’s great to see.Roll right from one virtual event to the next! STAY RVA will host another one of their STAY Chats tonight at 8:00 PM, and this one features Dr. Ram Bhagat. Currently, Ram serves as the Manager of School Culture and Climate Strategy at Richmond Public Schools, but he’s got a long history of working with students and youth in Richmond. This event is free, but you’ll want to register over on the Eventbrite ahead of time.This morning’s longreadCone Snails Are Liars and MurderersOK! Sure!Other snails, such as the geographer cone snail, hunt schools of fish that are snoozing out in the open. These creepers douse their prey in a concentrated cloud of benumbing chemicals that Olivera delightfully calls the “nirvana cabal.” Among the ingredients is insulin, the same hormone humans, fish, and many other animals make to keep their blood-sugar levels in check. The chemical seeps in through the fish’s gills and floods their bloodstream, triggering hypoglycemia and leaving them disoriented and defenseless. The fish “have no energy to swim away,” Olivera said. “It’s like they’re in an opium den.” The victorious snail then deploys its enormous mouth like a net to engulf the comatose fish one by one.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 43 °F, and today looks like the warmest-but-still-dry day of the week. If you can, get out and enjoy it because tomorrow comes thunder. NBC12’s Andrew Freiden says we should expect severe weather tomorrow afternoon—especially just south of Richmond.Water coolerAs of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 1,276 new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealthand 44 new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 144 new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 63, Henrico: 48, and Richmond: 33). Since this pandemic began, 1,179 people have died in the Richmond region. I’m still trying to put my hands on Virginia’s flu data from previous years as a way of benchmarking “the end” of this pandemic. I haven’t yet found exactly what I’m looking for, but this 2017–18 Season Influenza Surveillance End-of-Season Report from VDH is interesting. If I’m reading this right, Virginia confirmed just 4,304 positive cases of the flu that year, but also, at its seasonal peak, 120 people died in one week. For context, 314 people have died in Virginia from COVID-19 over the last seven days. I’m guessing that many, many positive flu cases go unreported, so I’m not really sure what to do with that. I’ll keep noodling.While the Richmond, Henrico, and Chesterfield health districts remain in Phase 1b of the vaccine rollout, yesterday a handful of health districts moved into Phase 1c (Pittsylvania, Danville, Southside, and Eastern Shore). This is exciting! Compared to 1b, population-wise, 1c is tiny. And then, after Phase 1c, comes Phase 2: Everybody Else. I didn’t really believe him when the president said we’d have enough vaccine for the entire country to move into Phase 2 by May 1st, but here we are! I’ll be honest, the prospect of in-person cookouts on July 4th still gives me the shivers a bit, but it does look like a lot of folks will have the opportunity to do so while fully vaccinated.Also of note, Patrick Larsen at VPM reports that VDH will open some mass vaccination clinics today—Community Vaccination Centers in their parlance—including one at Virginia State University. They hope to vaccinate a few thousand folks each day, eventually ramping up to 6,000 vaccinations daily. Love it!Today, Richmond City launched a new and improved RVA 311 where you can report all of the broken stuff in our city—things like potholes, busted street lights, even cars parked in the bike lane (in the system currently as a right-of-way violation). Read a bit more on this Twitter thread or on this page of the RVA Strong website. The new site lets you filter requests in some ways that could be interesting moving forward. Do I really need to know that 14 “Odor from Sewer” requests were made over the last year? Maybe! Anyway, I have reluctantly put this app (back) on my phone and will do my best to submit and document issues as I see them. You should, too!Want to live in the old DEQ building downtown? 14 months from now, you can! Gregory Gilligan at the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that the plans to convert the beautiful building at 629 E. Main Street into a hotel have been switcheroo’d to building 188 apartments instead. I’m not holding my breath on affordable units in this project, but it is nice to see more homes downtown instead of more hotels.Dale Brumfield, field director for Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, has a long piece in Style Weekly about the path the Commonwealth took to abolishing the death penalty. I think the Governor still needs to sign this bill, but, when he does so, on July 1st the death penalty will be no more in Virginia. Good riddance.I 100% did not know a single thing about yesterday’s gubernatorial debate put on by a group of progressive orgs under the banner of the Virginia People’s Debates. Luckily you and I both can stream the entire thing over on YouTube and catch up on what we missed. Absent from the Zoom, Terry McAuliffe, which, shrug.This morning’s longreadStacey Abrams Talks Flipping Georgia, Defending Change, and Setting LimitsThis feels like a good read ahead of Virginia’s gubernatorial race.Most people, she believes, don’t realize how much they can do because they don’t already know how to do everything they want. In addition to that, sometimes they’re actively being misled about their options. “One of the most successful gaslighting operations in American history has been the disinformation [campaign] about our power, and because so many pieces of our society have been weaponized against us, we’ve also been conditioned to believe that weaponization is innate, that what they are doing is the right thing, and everything we’re asking for is a departure.” Extinguishing the gaslight is what organizations like Fair Fight, Fair Count, and the Southern Economic Advancement Project are working to do. There’s a long line of leaders from coast to coast who believe they can do the same in their own reliably red states. Groh-Wargo shakes her head a bit and smiles. “Everybody’s like, ‘We want Stacey to fix our state. Lauren, can you come fix our state?’ And I’m like, ‘Guys, it’s just been 10 years of really hard work.’ There’s not a magic bullet. You’ve got to see the full playing field. You got to fix the party. And it’s just hard. It’s just hard.”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 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 53 °F, and maybe a little rainy. You can expect the rain to taper off this morning and for temperatures to stay right where they are for most of the day. Cooler temperatures return tomorrow.Water coolerAs of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 1,736 new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealthand 170 new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 150 new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 58, Henrico: 57, and Richmond: 35). Since this pandemic began, 976 people have died in the Richmond region. That’s now seven days with a seven-day average of fewer than 2,000 new reported cases across the State. We’re now back at pre-Thanksgiving levels of new cases, and that certainly makes me feel some optimism. VDH continues to work through the backlog of winter death certificates, and locally the results are grim: Since February 19th, our region’s death toll has increased by 253 and now stands at 976. 26% of the deaths caused by COVID-19 in Richmond, Henrico, and Chesterfield were reported in the last nine days.In exciting vaccine news, over the weekend the CDC authorized the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for emergency use. That means we now have a third vaccine to use to fight this disease, and it means a small bump to our local supply, too. VDH says that the Commonwealth expects to receive 69,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine this week, and that it will be “prioritized for mass vaccination clinics across the state.” Remember! The best vaccine for you is the first one you’re offered.Eric Kolenich at the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that a freshman student at VCU “was found dead early Saturday after a fraternity rush event involving alcohol.” Just awful and terrible. Both VCU and the national Delta Chi fraternity have suspended the local chapter, and you can read the University’s full statement here.The RPS School Board will meet tonight and discuss three things I find interesting: Graduation rates (PDF), a reopening “Safety Dashboard” (PDF), and the results of the year-round school survey (PDF). About the first, the administration projects that the dropout rate across the division will drop by 13% this year. About the third, caregivers and teachers both are pretty split about a year-round school calendar.GRTC updated their Regional Public Transportation Plan page to include a handful of new and useful maps. They’ve now got both concepts—the ridership and coverage concepts—overlaid on poverty data and race/ethnicity data. Additionally, they’ve got a bunch of these cool neighborhood maps (PDF) comparing the new places, jobs, and residents that are accessible should we implement either the ridership or coverage concepts. The aforelinked map for Richmond Community Hospital shows how the ridership concept would unlock access to almost all of Northside—frequency is awesome! After you’ve finished tapping, zooming, and scrolling, make sure you fill out the survey to let them know which concept you prefer. Oh! Also! You can read a bit more about this regional plan over on Jarrett Walker’s blog.NBC12’s Hannah Eason reports that the City will install pedestrian hybrid beacons at 12 locations, beginning with one at Grove and Somerset in March (which I think I’ve written about before). These beacons aren’t just your typical flashing yellow light that drivers tend to ignore until you thrust your body in front of their vehicles hoping for the best. No! These have actual red lights and require drivers to stop. The list of planned locations is amazing and addresses some of the most dangerous street crossing for pedestrians, cyclists, and folks trying to catch the bus. Here are a few of my favorites: Belvedere Street at the War Memorial, Laburnum Avenue at Holton Elementary, and Main Street & 24th Street. I’ve nearly been hit by a driver at each of these locations, so to see the City doing something about it is pretty exciting.Tapping around City Council meeting agendas this morning, and I came across this presentation on “Deferred Facilities Maintenance and Fleet Replacement Planning” (PDF). It’s boring. But! Page seven says “The City does not have defined capital funding sources to address the aging [fire department] fleet…we recommend that the RFD work with Fleet Services to identify the aging fleet and to identify actions which need to occur in the Capital Improvement Program to replace apparatuses as they approach the retirement age.” Also boring! BUT! Fire truck access is a constant barrier to creating slower, safer streets for people. Big, huge fire trucks require big, huge streets, which results in other drivers flying around at fast and dangerous speeds. Smaller fire trucks do exist, and if we’re at a critical point for replacing the RFD’s fleet, we should replace them with smaller vehicles as part of the City’s ongoing equitable transportation work. P.S. Page four of this presentation also has a pretty comprehensive list of other important plans and documents if you wanted to add a few PDFs to your collection.The City has released one-pagers provided by each of the six operators who filled out the casino RFP. I couldn’t find the actual responses to the RFP, so maybe they’re Top Secret for now while negotiations are ongoing. I dunno, but I imagine some intrepid reporters are firing up their FOIAs as we speak. Also, the City has outlined the engagement process (PDF), which kicks off with a virtual citywide meeting on March 9th to talk about “1) the community engagement process and 2) the community benefits a resort casino may provide, how communities have used resort casino revenues, and how a resort casino may mitigate negative impacts.”The marijuana legalization bill working its way through the General Assembly almost died an interesting and sudden death over the weekend. Mel Leonor at the RTD reports that, as it stands, Virginia will create a new, regulated market by 2024, but “punted to next year key decisions on the regulatory framework for the market and the new criminal penalties that would go into effect when marijuana is legalized.” We’ll see if the Governor makes any tweaks this week.This morning’s longreadThe Lies Hollywood Tells About Little GirlsA good chaser to the Golden Globes by Mara Wilson.At 13, I already knew all about The Narrative. As an actor from the age of 5, who was carrying films by age 8, I’d been trained to seem, to be, as normal as possible — whatever it took to avoid my inevitable downfall. I shared a bedroom with my little sister. I went to public school. I was a Girl Scout. When someone called me a “star” I was to insist that I was an actor, that the only stars were in the sky. Nobody would touch the money I made until I turned 18. But I was now 13, and I was already ruined. Just like everyone expected.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 35 °F, and today looks gross. Expect cold weather, rain, and then 1–4 inches of snow overnight. Plus some ice on top of that? NBC12’s Andrew Freiden says “freezing drizzle” could continue into tomorrow morning, and the National Weather Service at Wakefield say a second round of storms on Friday night “will bring the potential for significant icing.” Winter weather approaches! Stay dry, stay warm, and stay inside if you can.Water coolerEarly yesterday morning, Richmond Police officers responded to a report of a shooting at the 2100 block of Harwood Street. They arrived and found Sylvester Washington, a man in his 40s, shot to death.As of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 3,203 new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealthand 34 new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 426 new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 255, Henrico: 102, and Richmond: 69). Since this pandemic began, 717 people have died in the Richmond region.We’re up, we’re down, we’re up, we’re down—it’s hard to tell what’s going on from the daily VDH data dump. We’ll look at the stacked graphs tomorrow, but the local numbers, driven in part by an increase in cases in Chesterfield, aren’t tracking with statewide counts. If you want to get deeper into the local data—way, way down—check out this Weekly Case Report from the Richmond and Henrico Health District(PDF). There is a lot of really interesting information in this PDF. To just pick one: Case rate per 100,000 people in Richmond and Henrico compared to Virginia (5,843; 5,931; 6,219). Some of this data is available on the VDH dashboard, some of it’s not, all of it’s worth scrolling through. Sabrina Moreno at the Richmond Times-Dispatch says, “Richmond, Henrico among first in Va. to release equity data for recent cases, vaccinations.”Of course, and unfortunately, the data say a predictable thing: Black and Brown communities who are more impacted by this disease are not receiving more of the vaccine (page 17 of the data report). Moreno goes into some of the reasons why, how—due to racism—these communities lack access to healthcare, transportation, and sick leave. Important context for this conversation is that 42.1% of folks vaccinated in Richmond and Henrico since the week of December 15th have not reported their race. If we had better data would it show an increased or decreased disparity? I have no idea, but it sounds like we should have more complete data in the coming weeks: “Richmond and Henrico have shifted to having a volunteer base dedicated solely to data entry at events, emphasizing its importance to providers and learning how to quickly pull in the data that’s coming from separate sources.”The Virginia Mercury’s Kate Masters has a great piece about how technology platforms are thwarting local efforts to quickly and efficiently administer vaccine. To date, local health districts have not been given a tool to create vaccination clinics open to a certain set of people. Want to open up vaccination to folks over the age of 75 living on Richmond’s Southside? Prepare for a lot of manual labor to make that happen—as one health district employee said “It’s been a Herculean effort, but Herculean is not scalable.” I think Masters’s article pairs really well with this Twitter thread from Dan Hon about why the NYT’s recent “this guy built a vaccine website for $50!” article is harmful and irresponsible. Read them both, and then sit quietly with your anger!One final vaccine thing: Governor Northam, along with his pals Governor Hogan and Mayor Bowser, requested “increased federal support in administering the COVID-19 vaccines to essential federal employees.” Specifically, they want “a dedicated allocation of vaccine and associated supplies to support the vaccination of essential federal workers, contractors, and Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) employees within the National Capital Region.” Part of this, I’m sure, is to get the feds to cough up additional vaccine, but part of it is an implicit acknowledgement that transit workers are super important to the functioning of a city. I’m excited about what this could mean locally! Currently, transit workers are prioritized for vaccination in Phase 1b Group 7 (below folks like veterinarians or people that work manufacturing jobs). I think that current prioritization points to a rural/suburban bias, and having the Governor escalate D.C.’s transit workers to a top priority maybe creates some wiggle room to do so in Virginia’s cities.Mel Leonor at the RTD has an exhaustive recap of where we are with legalization of marijuana. There are a lot of moving pieces, and it seems like folks from the Senate and the House still have a ways to go before they get on the same page. And remember! Bills die in frequent and interesting ways! You shouldn’t get too attached to any specific path forward for this legislation.If you’re not following along live, you should really read impeachment.fyi' s coverage of yesterday’s impeachment trial. One of the quotes that sticks with me is from Rep. Castro: “On January 6, President Trump left everyone in this capitol for dead.” CSPAN has seven hours of video, if you really want to commit.This morning’s longreadHow the empty bags and wrappers got thereI loved this pandemic piece from local writer Kelly Gerow.This is not new for me. The idea of alone time — true alone time, not just “everyone is asleep but me” time, that a lot of overworked parents stretch into the too-late hours — is so decadent and rare that I naturally associate it with indulging in unhealthy foods. My first night alone since having children happened only the year before, and I started the day with a giant buttermilk biscuit with bacon, egg and cheese, had expensive chicken salad and crackers for lunch, and ate out of a quart of ice cream for the rest of the day. The next day I ordered Pad Thai with an appetizer of fried tofu for dinner and a giant slice of peanut butter and chocolate pie from an amazing bakery that we save for special occasions. Half of the pie was left on the morning my husband came back, and before he arrived, I ate it for breakfast to ensure I wouldn’t have to share it. That was a great weekend.If you’d like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol’ Patreon.Picture of the DayBolt scooters out front of 1301 Roseneath Road.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 28 °F, and temperatures should warm up a little once the sun has a chance to get up and going later this morning. We are officially under a Winter Storm Watch that expires at 1:00 PM on Friday, and, as of this movement, we could see three to five inches of snow starting tomorrow afternoon. NBC12 puts us in the two-to-six inches band.Water coolerAs of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 3,291 new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealthand 78 new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 440 new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 222, Henrico: 133, and Richmond: 85). Since this pandemic began, 714 people have died in the Richmond region.The seven-day average of new reported cases continues to mostly fall, but, worryingly, hospitalizations are on the rise and have topped 100 five of the last seven days. In fact, new hospitalizations haven’t really followed the peak-and-fall pattern of cases over the last few weeks at all, instead, staying on a 100+ plateau since the second week of December. VDH’s pandemic metrics dashboard says that 87% of the Central Region’s hospital beds are occupied and that number has increased over the last 15 days. Also, our statewide hospitalization graph looks nothing like the nationwide graph put together by the COVID Tracking Project—not that it always should, but it definitely doesn’t at the moment. Something to keep an eye on.Yesterday, I said this about CVS’s attempts to open up an additional way for folks over the age of 65 to get vaccinated: “Details are scarce—just like vaccine—which I’m sure won’t make for a stressful situation at all.” Then, just a couple hours later, CVS opened up their appointments—apparently to whoever was willing to check a couple of boxes—and instantly, like a PS5 on Target.com, those appointments vanished into people’s online shopping carts. Dr. Danny Avula describes the botched rollout, which favored “people who get up super early…trolling the internet,” saying “This is not a system that allows equitable access. That’s what we’re fighting for and, unfortunately, we weren’t able to work it out in this scenario.” Michael Martz and Sarbina Moreno at the Richmond Times-Dispatch have more details on how that all could have gone a whole lot better. This sucks, but, the only reason it sucks is that we have such an extremely limited supply of vaccine right now. Please keep that in mind—and who’s responsible for that—every time you’re filled with fury thinking about seniors getting up in the middle of the night to refresh their browsers over and over, hoping to find an appointment.I didn’t listen to last night’s RPS School Board meeting, but luckily the RTD’s Kenya Hunter has the update on how the District plans on dealing with the Governor’s request to open schools to in-person learning by March 15th. It seems like the Superintendent and the School Board are on the same page (!?) that getting folks into buildings in less than 40 days doesn’t seem possible. Not only from a health safety perspective—millions of dollars of HVAC upgrades are still pending—but just from a logistics perspective: “The district is 27 custodians short of meeting industry standards, the board heard Tuesday.” Now I’m interested in what happens if districts just decide to not listen to the Governor? Is a good faith effort toward getting the pieces lined up for in-person school next year enough? Meanwhile, down in Chesterfield County, that District’s School Board voted unanimously to open up the option of in-person instruction to middle and high school students beginning March 9th.Via /r/rva a video of Slaughterama in 2006. Slaughterama—which doesn’t exist any more (or I’m now too old to know about it)—was an open-air, beer-fueled bike festival/olympics. It was one of my favorite things about 2000s-era Richmond! But, looking back, it’s also a clear example of how white people can pretty much do whatever they want in public space with absolutely no consequences.Yesterday, the Senate’s second impeachment trial of Donald Trump got underway, and you can read the recap over on impeachment.fyi. Of note, House Managers (the folks acting as the prosecution) showed this intense, hard-to-watch video of the January 6th insurrection. It’s not a pleasant way to start your morning, but it’s probably something that you should find the time to watch.This morning’s longreadHow the Federal Government Could Help Kill the Highways It BuiltWhoa! Federal money to study undoing the damage caused by running highways through Black and Brown neighborhoods! Should this money actually end up existing, Richmond should go after it with an eye toward capping I-95/I-64 between 1st and St. James Street as recommended by Richmond 300 (PDF, p. 126).Now, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has unveiled legislation that would reverse this decades-old infrastructure formula, offering billions in federal dollars for cities willing to demolish those urban highways. As Streetsblog reported on Jan. 11, the Economic Justice Act, a spending package worth over $435 billion, includes a $10 billion pilot program that would provide funds for communities to examine transit infrastructure that has divided them along racial and economic lines and potentially alter or remove them. It would also help pay for plans to redevelop reclaimed land. The program contains specific language requiring projects funded through it prioritize equity and avoid displacement. It also provides grants meant to facilitate community engagement and participation as well as construction.If you’d like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol’ Patreon.Picture of the DayA #2 bus stop out front of 4000 Forest Hill Avenue.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 46 °F and rainy this morning, but I think we’ll probably see the sun later this afternoon. Expect similar temperatures tomorrow, and then…maybe more snow on Sunday! NBC12’s Andrew Freiden says there’s too much uncertainty at this point to give confident snow totals, but his first prediction map puts us at 1–3 inches. Fingers crossed!Water coolerAs of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 3,059 new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealthand 75 new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 332 new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 134, Henrico: 91, and Richmond: 107). Since this pandemic began, 696 people have died in the Richmond region. Here is this week’s stacked chart of new reported cases, hospitalizations, and deaths. It really shows the dramatic reduction in cases we’ve seen in the last week or so—which is now starting to be reflected in a decrease of hospitalizations, too. Locally, across the entire region, we’re seeing a similar trend. However, Henrico and Chesterfield have driven most of the local decrease in new cases. Richmond’s been stuck on a case-count plateau since the beginning of the year, and I don’t know what that means. Is it an artifact of testing? Something else? I’m not sure it matters—other than that it should give you a heightened sense of caution around your own personal behavior—since our leadership has seemed to moved past containment and is now focused almost entirely on vaccination. Speaking of, the Governor will hold an 11:00 AM press conference today to address vaccine distribution, and you can watch the whole thing over on VPM’s YouTube channel. Apparently he’ll also announce that he’s extending the school year into the summer? Without knowing any of the details my first two thoughts are 1) Will school districts be able to make this choice for themselves? There has been an incredible focus on local control for districts throughout this pandemic and it feels weird to suddenly switch gears; 2) Given the robust conversation about the complexities of year-round school, I have a hard time believing teachers and parents will be universally stoked on the idea of extending the school year unilaterally. More to come at 11:00 AM.Continuing on the schools tip, the RPS School Board has a special meeting scheduled for this coming Monday when all signs point to them voting on how to extend Superintendent Kamras’s contract. While I think the Boardmembers' votes are most likely set at this point, it is now again the time to fire up your trusty emailer and send the entire board an email expressing your support for extending the Superintendent’s contract for four years. If you want a more concrete way to support the Supe, RPS students, teachers, families, and community members will join in a #KeepKamras Car Parade on Saturday from 11:00 AM–12:00 PM beginning at Southside Plaza and ending at Blackwell Elementary.More schools updates! Jessica Nocera at the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that the Henrico County School Board “voted 4–1 to send back prekindergarten through second grade Feb. 22, third through fifth grades and sixth and ninth grades March 1, and all remaining middle and high school students March 8..” Those youngest kids will initially go back to in-person instruction two days a week. So, to recap: Chesterfield has some students already back in schools, some Henrico students head back later this month, and all Richmond students will remain virtual for the rest of the year. I wonder how each district will react to the governor’s announcement today…What?? Jack Jacobs at Richmond BizSense says “Helbiz”, another scooter company, has entered the Richmond market. Apart from having the most metal-sounding name, Helbiz scooters apparently come equipped with hand sanitizer. More scooters is great, but here’s what I really want: dockless bikeshare.It’s Friday, and that means there’s a new episode of Duron Chavis’s Black Space Matters video series. This week’s episode features Ashley Williams, a yoga therapist, mindfulness educator, and founder of BareSOUL yoga. Tune in for a discussion on resiliency and, of course, why Black space matters.This morning’s longreadThe Shocking Meltdown of Ample Hills — Brooklyn’s Hottest Ice Cream CompanyHas anyone had this ice cream? Is it even worth all of this fuss??But on March 15, the day before New York City shut down for the pandemic — and as signage bearing Ample Hills’ farm animal mascots and the words “ice cream coming soon” was still up at a second Disney location — everything came crashing down. Ample Hills filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, just short of the company’s 10th anniversary. It had nothing to do with the pandemic: Even as annual sales had grown, reaching nearly $10.7 million at their peak, so had the losses. Over 2018 and 2019, the company lost about $13 million. In June 2020, Ample Hills sold for just $1 million to perhaps the unlikeliest of buyers — Schmitt, an Oregon manufacturing company that makes laser scanners and sensors for propane tanks.If you’d like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol’ Patreon.

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

Good morning, RVA! It’s 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.

This week we’re sharing a conversation Matt had with Megan Wise back over the summer. For folks in Richmond they may be familiar with Megan, she’s a meteorologist on NBC12 and if you’re familiar with her Instagram you know she’s often playing golf around the metro Richmond area and also not shy about sneaking in some putting at the station between newscasts. Megan’s only been playing a handful of years or so but has found it to a great escape during the pandemic and has some tips for how to interpret that 50% chance of rain you see in the forecast.

Senior Vice President of Government Relations and Distribution for Gray Television Robert Folliard discusses that on New Year’s Eve, NBC12 and CW Richmond were dropped from Verizon FiOS as the two companies dispute over a new contract.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 33 °F, and today it will rain. It is slightly too warm for snow, so, instead, we get lots and lots of cold rain. Boooo! Expect the rain—which is not snow—to really kick in this afternoon.Water coolerAs of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 3,160↗️ new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealth and 56↗️ new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 329↗️ new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 172, Henrico: 82, and Richmond: 75). Since this pandemic began, 506 people have died in the Richmond region. This is the third straight day with a decrease in new reported positive cases statewide, and new hospitalizations have at least leveled out (albeit at an extremely high level of around 100 per day). Does this mean we’re past the peak? Or are we still just waiting to catch up from the weekend? I don’t know, but maybe folks got the message—or at least a portion of the message—and are making better public-health decisions. Speaking of getting things, Governor Northam will be on hand at 12:00 PM today as the very first VCU Health System frontline workers get their first round of COVID-19 vaccine! So rad. My coronacounts spreadsheet has 278 rows in it, and it feels so bizarre that, in just under a year, we could be looking at the beginning of the end of this pandemic. It also feels so bizarre that I’ve been keeping a pandemic spreadsheet for almost 300 days now. Weird feels all around.The Virginia Public Access Project has pulled the demographic information for the 88 people who have applied to serve as citizen members of the state’s Redistricting Commission. The results are real predictable and real bad: The vast, vast majority of applicants are rich old white dudes. This needs to change! If you are not a rich old white dude, please consider applying for this commission before December 28th! Of course, the prospect of serving on a volunteer commission—with a time commitment of “unknown” (PDF) but “serious and substantial”—is set up to favor rich old white dudes with a bunch of time to kill. These are the results you should expect when “posting the application online” is pretty much the extent of your outreach. Del. Cia Price, who’d been pretty publicly against the redistricting amendment, puts it better: “Cue up the folks with the ‘well anyone can sign up’ and ‘well we can’t make people sign up’ but that’s the difference between an announcement and OUTREACH! You don’t get diversity through the chosen methods for promoting the applications. So yeah. No.”Today, the Richmond Times-Dispatch’s Michael Paul Williams has a good piece about the Lost Cause narrative and how Republican’s attempts to toss out the election results mirrors the South’s attempts (and partial success!) to toss out the results of the Civil War. I’m just going to quote this excellent paragraph: “Our notions of the past shape our present and our future. Richmond’s unabashed celebration of its Confederate heritage sent contradictory messages about the virtue of white supremacy, winners and losers, truth and reconciliation, and loyalty to nation. Our post-election turmoil dramatizes the historic willingness of a chunk of Americans to embrace misinformation and forsake this nation’s stated principles—be it freedom prior to Emancipation or free and fair elections today.”Also at the RTD, Chris Suarez reports on GRTC’s most recent board meeting, which you can watch here or scroll through the agenda here (PDF). Mindblowing to me is that ridership on local routes actually increased month-over-month by 1.45%, and, still, year-over-year ridership on local routes has only fallen by 6.01%. I think this continues to speak to the critical role public transit plays for essential workers in Richmond. Two other transportation-related bits of news: First, Congress’s new compromise COVID bill could contain $15 billion for public transit; Second, President-elect Biden has named Mayor Pete as his Secretary of Transportation. Transit Twitter had all kinds of takes on the Mayor Pete announcement, but I think it’s mostly fine.As I lamented above, we will NOT see snow today, but Karina Bolster at NBC12 reached out to Henrico County Public Schools spokesperson Andy Jenks about the possibility for snow days during virtual school. Take heart: “I think folks reacted very positively to the idea that it might still be a thing…That won’t get changed; that won’t get taken away, everything else might be different, but snow days might still be a thing.” The situation might be different in Richmond Public Schools where more faculty and staff are working from home than in the County, so don’t take too much heart—just the appropriate amount of heart.With so much happening in 2020 can one single Year in Review contain it all? Style Weekly says no!, and has six Year in Reviews for you to scroll through and go “Whoa, that was this year??”This morning’s patron longreadThe intriguing maps that reveal alternate historiesSubmitted by Patron Sam. In addition to giving you lots of cool, fake maps to explore, this piece is filled with alternate-history novels to put on your reading list.Such maps can also help us see the past and present with fresh eyes. For example, any alternate history is not simply a point of divergence, followed by seat-of-the-pants conjecture. True masters develop scenarios and fleshed-out histories, ones that simply beg for a slew of maps to go along with them. The alternate history textbook For Want of A Nail by Robert Sobel is such a scenario, exploring what if the United States had lost the American Revolution. Or, as this textbook from an alternate 1970s might put it, if the Rebellion had been crushed by the British Empire.If you’d like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol’ Patreon.

Wes goes “Covering the Commonwealth” with Mike Niziolek of the Roanoke Times on VT, Preston Willett of CBS19 on UVA, and Marc Davis of NBC12 on Richmond & VCU.  Vinnie Iyer of SportingNews discusses the potential for the NFC East in the playoffs, the Eagles QB situation, and which was a bigger win: the Giants beating the Seahawks OR Washington upsetting the undefeated Steelers?​

Good morning, RVA! It’s 32 °F, and snow?! Is it snowing where you are? Is it sticking? NBC12’s Andrew Freiden says we could see up to two inches on some grassy surfaceswith roads mostly staying wet (but snow-free). After this morning’s brief flirtation with winter, expect continued cold temperatures and highs just under 40 °F.Water coolerRichmond Police are reporting that Cory Hines, a man in his 30s, was fatally shot on the 2000 block of W. Broad Street this past Saturday. This is the Whole Foods/Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken block, and RPD are asking anyone who may have seen anything suspicious near the intersection of N. Allison Street and Broad Street to contact them.As of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 3,880↗️ new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealth and 3↗️ new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 323↗️ new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 83, Henrico: 150, and Richmond: 90). Since this pandemic began, 477 people have died in the Richmond region. Whoa, shockingly high numbers of new reported cases both at the state and local levels. Saturday posted similarly high levels but was accompanied by the familiar data-backlog caveat message. Sunday’s update came with no such caveat, and I’ve again had to change the y-axis on my statewide cases chart. Additionally, the seven-day moving average of new hospitalizations has reached a level we haven’t seen since the peak back on May 13th. The COVID Tracking Project has this to say: “Averaged across the last 7 days, each of our core metrics is at record levels.” Not great. This virus is not yet done with us.Well this is a huge shift from last we spoke about the COVID-19 vaccine: VDH announced that Virginia will receive 480,000 doses of vaccine by the end of the year. They estimate that this is enough to give all of the state’s health care personnel and long-term care facility residents their first round of shots. That’s a lot of dang vaccines—way more than the “70,000” we heard about in the Governor’s NPR interview last week. Sounds like that 70k allotment will be the first of many, will arrive “mid-December” (which is, like, next week), and go to health care system across the Commonwealth.Alright, in one week (assuming agendas don’t change like shifting sands) City Council will consider ORD. 2020–236, the Richmond 300 ordinance. I think now’s the time for folks to start emailing City Council (and liaisons!) to let them all know you’d like them to vote for this critical update to our master plan. This—the emailing of councilfolk to tell them what you’d like them to do—is important civic work, and you should just take the two minutes and send those emails right now. If you have questions, feel unprepared or hesitant, you can hop on to this Bike Walk RVA call tomorrow at 5:30 PM and learn more about what you can do to help get the plan across the finish line. And, honestly, it may need your help. According to Jeremy Lazarus at the Richmond Free Press, Councilwoman Robertson thinks the plan has “too many flaws” and “wants the plan returned to the city Planning Commission for revision.” Robertson, however, sits on the dang Planning Commission, which has already given Richmond 300 its stamp of approval! Maddeningly, Lazarus says “she acknowledges that she did not delve into the plan deeply enough before it cleared the commission in early October.” This is ultra embarrassing, especially so since the Richmond 300 process has been ongoing for years and there were plenty of opportunities to delve before now. Additionally, the public engagement around this plan has been better than…almost anything I’ve experienced in Richmond? As Sheri Shannon said on Twitter the other day, “Just so we’re clear: the Richmond 300 master plan did not happen overnight. It was a three-year process that involved the time, labor and expertise of hundreds of Richmond residents. When project managers noticed not everyone was being engaged, they hired folks to do that work.”Kind of related, the City’s Planning Commission will meet today and will discuss ORD. 2020–241, which grants a perpetual easement to the state “on, over, under, and across certain rights-of-way located along North 9th Street, East Franklin Street, East Grace Street, and East Broad Street.” This is part of the State’s work to build a new General Assembly building, and, I tell you what, it makes me NERVOUS. A nontrivial number of buses head up 9th today (including the 15-minute #5) and our best pieces of east-west bike infrastructure connect through Franklin and Bank Streets. We’ve already seen how the Commonwealth treats Bank Street, making it hostile to bike traffic, so I don’t have a ton of faith that our other non-car infrastructure won’t be impacted by these other plans (which I can’t fully grok because I’m bad at engineer diagrams). Anyway, I hope the Planning Commission will keep the City’s entire transportation network in mind today while working through this paper.Speaking of buses, GRTC says customers should expect delays starting yesterday through the next several days due to a shortage of operators after folks needed to quarantine after a possible COVID-19 exposure. You can read through a very thorough list of GRTC’s coronacases at the bottom of this page. In the aforelinked release, GRTC CEO Julie Timm says "The health and safety of our staff is critical to preserving reliable transit service, and this is why I believe it is essential for our transportation frontline staff to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in the first round, not the second round as tentatively planned.” I mean, I get it. We need to first vaccinate the vaccinators, but then the vaccinators have to be able to get to work, right?This morning’s patron longreadDemocracy Is Still Not Safe in the United StatesSubmitted by Patron Sam. The headline here is a huge bummer, but I felt a tiny bit more hopeful after reading this.Reforming these systems is a clear step towards greater democracy. Some people argue that more direct voting risks populism, that so-called low-information voters will vote against their own interests and therefore can’t be trusted with democracy. That was, after all, more or less the reasoning of the Founders when they developed the Electoral College. But consider that a simple popular vote would have given us a different result four years ago. Consider that the single-party control that abandoned all moderating role in the interests of appointing partisan judges and personal enrichment was enabled by gerrymandering and corporate funding. The Republican proportion of seats in the House is consistently greater than its share of the popular vote. The District of Columbia and its 700,000 residents have no voting power in Congress at all. The populism and venality in our elections are not the result of too much democracy, but of too little.If you’d like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol’ Patreon.

In today’s Patreon fueled shout-out: The Local Energy Alliance Program, your local energy nonprofit, wants to help you lower your energy bills, make your home more comfortable, and save energy. Schedule your Home Energy Check-Up to get started - now only $45 for City of Charlottesville and Albemarle County residents. You’ll receive energy-saving products and expert advice customized to your needs. Sign up today!In today’s newsletter:Albemarle zoning appeals board upholds North Pointe construction entranceSupervisor Donna Price talks budget, broadband, Biscuit Run Local Food Hub to continue drive-through markets each Today is the last day to comment on a draft affordable housing plan for CharlottesvilleToday the Virginia Department of Health reports 2,417 new cases of COVID-19 in Virginia, and the seven-day average for positive PCR tests has increased to 8.3 percent. Governor Ralph Northam is scheduled to address the Commonwealth at 2 p.m. today. He is not expected to announce any new restrictions, according to a tweet from NBC12 reporter Henry Graff. Source: Virginia Department of Health*The Albemarle Board of Zoning Appeals has ruled that a temporary construction road for the North Pointe development is compliant with the county’s rules and regulations. A former county employee who lives on Pritchett Lane had argued that the original zoning had not authorized the use of his road for construction traffic. “When I worked in zoning for almost 14 years I was taught by the previous zoning administrator and the county attorney that you must always find where a proposed use is allowed, not prohibited because the zoning ordinance is an inclusive ordinance,” said Stewart Wright, adding that his interpretation of the code was that nothing was written down to allow the road to be used for construction traffic. “Construction access points along Pritchett Lane were never proposed by the developer, they were not shown as an element of the approved application plan, and therefore were never reviewed by staff, the Planning Commission, or the Board of Supervisors,” Payne said. The current zoning administrator, Bart Svoboda, had a different interpretation. “There was no prohibition to prohibit construction access on Pritchett Lane,” said Bart Svoboda, the county’s zoning administrator. Deputy county attorney Andy Herrick agreed. “I appreciate the appellant’s frustration and I am sure that the residents of Pritchett Lane don’t appreciate the additional construction traffic and I certainly sympathize with that, but I would say that the unmet expectations there are the result of a fundamental misunderstanding of the special use permit conditions,” said deputy county attorney Andy Herrick. Several people spoke during the public hearing, but the Board of Zoning Appeals must make their rulings based on interpretation of the code, and not public opinion. BZA member Marcia Joseph said she lives across the street from an active construction site and understands the frustration. However, she said that construction entrances are often depicted as part of the erosion and sediment control plan.  That was the case with North Pointe, according to testimony from David Mitchell with the firm Great Eastern Management Company. “The contractor, Faulconer Construction, they got a land use permit from VDOT and they have permission from VDOT to enter at that point and presumably VDOT has assessed that is an acceptable location,” Mitchell said. The BZA voted 5-0 to uphold the county’s determination. Credit: Stewart Wright*It has been over a year since Donna Price was elected to represent the Scottsville Magisterial District on the Albemarle Board of Supervisors, and by now she and her fellow Supervisors would have had held several town hall meetings. However, the pandemic has put that on hold until now. Last night, Price became the second Supervisor to hold a virtual event to take questions from constituents and to give fiscal updates.“We are just at the early stages of preparing our budget for next year,” Price said. “There is great uncertainty as to what that budget will actually end up being. The county gets most of its revenue through property taxes and while residential real estate seems to be doing quite well at the market, that does not necessarily means all of our owners of residential property are equally doing as well financially.” Price said the recent announcement by State Farm that its workers will continue to work remotely and not at the operations center is a demonstration that the market for commercial real estate may be dropping. During the hour-long session, Price said she had concerns about converting agricultural lands to solar panel fields, wants the county to do more to help provide more rural broadband, and that the county should update a policy that discourages building cell towers. “I would rather see a cell tower on a hill and know that my neighbors have the ability to call 9-11 in an emergency and have access to the Internet or their business or their child’s schooling,” Price said. Price also announced that Southern Development has asked to defer a hearing on the Breezy Hill rezoning near Glenmore from December 16 to January 20. She said she would want any altered proposal to go back to the Planning Commission. Someone asked Price why the county was taking on opening of a park at Biscuit Run. The land had been slated for development, but was purchased by-then Governor Tim Kaine in late 2009 in order to become a park. In January 2018, the county agreed to take on the responsibility and leased the park from the state. The construction of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline was to have brought $5 million to help pay for its infrastructure, but that project has been canceled. Price said eventually the county will find a way to proceed.“In time, and it’s not going to be this year or next year, but in time, Biscuit Run will be for Albemarle County what First Landing State Park has been to Virginia Beach, and I think we just have to be patient and continue to work the success that I really think we’re going to be able to get.”Price said supported an idea from one attendee that a nature education center be included at Biscuit Run, but said that might not be in the first iteration of the park when it is able to open. *The Charlottesville-Albemarle Metropolitan Planning Organization met yesterday and adopted a new version of its plan to ensure environmental justice for different groups of people. However, there will be a more complete review of the MPO’s Title VI document in the near future.“We are going to do a study on equity in transportation to learn more about the minority groups and how our transportation planning is affecting them and where they are and connect with them and find out what they want,” said Lucinda Shannon with the Thomas Jefferson Planning District.   *Today is the last day to submit comments on a draft affordable housing plan put together by consultants hired by Charlottesville City Council to complete the Comprehensive Plan. As of yesterday, Rhodeside and Harwell had received nearly 200 responses to a request to comment on the plan as well as the guiding principles for the comp plan. People are asked to review the materials on the Cville Plans Together website before filling out the survey. The consultants will revise the draft plan and the goal is to return to City Council with a revised version in January. (survey)These are the draft Comprehensive Plan principles. What do you think? Let the the consultants know. *During the pandemic, the Local Food Hub has continued to connect local agriculture with local customers through drive-through markets held in the parking lot of the former K-Mart Building. The nonprofit has recently announced they will keep going in 2021 after taking a brief break after December 18. The markets will resume Wednesday and Friday from 3:30-5:00 p.m. beginning on January 13. Order taking for that market will begin on January 7. (order) “Developed in response to COVID, the market has been operating since March, and has done over $600,000 in sales,” said Portia Boggs, the director of advancement and communications for the Local Food Hub. According to a press release, vendors at the market include Recurring vendors at the market include: Agriberry, Back Pocket Provisions, Bellair Farm, Caromont Farm, Clover Top Creamery, Carter Mountain Orchard, delli Carpini, Forking Creations, Free Union Grass Farm, Gathered Threads, Gillispie's County Line, good phyte foods, Foresthill Firewood, JAM According to Daniel, Fairweather Farm, Little Hat Creek Farm, Lone Light Coffee, MarieBette Cafe and Bakery, Millstream Farm, Mountain Culture Kombucha, Sussex Farm, Sweet Greens Farm, Elysium Honey Company, Wandering River, Twenty Paces, Pachamama Peru, and The Pie Chest.Some of the items that can be purchased through the Local Food Hub’s drive-through market. (Credit - Local Food Hub)*Today in meetings, the Albemarle Board of Supervisors meets and will have discuss the possibility of levying a tax on cigarettes, will get an audited financial report for the last fiscal year, and will consider a private sewer system for the new Regents School on Fontaine Road Extended. On the consent agenda is a report on the Land Use and Environmental Planning Committee, a group of city, county and University staff that replaced a group that consisted of elected officials top UVA officials. (report)Tonight at 7 p.m., the Albemarle-Charlottesville Historical Society will host the the head of the First Amendment Museum in Augusta, Maine, as part of a new series they are calling Unregulated Historical Meanderings. (zoom registration) (Facebook page)Support my research by making a donation through PatreonSign for a subscription to Charlottesville Community Engagement, free or paidPay me through Venmo This is a public episode. Get access to private episodes at communityengagement.substack.com/subscribe

Good morning, RVA! It’s 33 °F, and today looks a lot like yesterday. Expect cooler temperatures with highs in the mid 50s, plus plenty of sunshine. Temperatures go up from here!Water coolerAs of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 2,071↗️ new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealth and 25↗️ new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 186↘️ new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 42, Henrico: 95, and Richmond: 49). Since this pandemic began, 444 people have died in the Richmond region. This is the third day in a row VDH has reported more than 2,000 new positive cases, and the current seven-day average across the Commonwealth stands at 1,761. I probably need to add the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association’s Virginia Hospital COVID-19 Dashboard to my daily-read list. Right now—and, remember this is statewide data—27% of ventilators are in use as are 74% of ICU beds. Locally, that ICU bed occupancy numbers looks to be 88.3% and juuuuuust barely under the Uh Oh Threshold. VDH also has a couple graphs about the number of hospital beds occupied, which you can filter by region. I don’t know that the Central Region graphtells me much other than we’ve had a high percentage of hospital beds occupied since even before the pandemic began. Honestly, those last two graphs looks pretty different, and I’m not sure why that is. All of that to say, lots of folks are in the hospital right now, and you should do whatever you can to stay out of the hospital—for coronareasons and otherwise.Also, and this is petty, but didn’t Governor Northam give his final press conference until after Thanksgiving last week? At the time, I thought that sounded bananas, and, it turned out to be actual bananas, as he’s had near daily press conferences since his Friday announcement of new statewide restrictions. Mel Leonor at the Richmond Times-Dispatch confirms: “At a news conference a week earlier, the governor had not signaled further statewide mandates and had wished reporters a happy Thanksgiving, promising to not appear again before the cameras until after the holiday.” Oops. Anyway, at his press conference yesterday, Northam did say “all options are on the table” as far as further restrictions go, so we’ll see what that means and if he’ll take any additional action before Thanksgiving. Just thinking out loud: A holiday weekend lockdown would piss a lot of people off, but would probably keep a lot of people from catching COVID-19. Announced soon enough and folks could at least have some time to process what their long weekend will look like stuck inside? I dunno—hard, sad, and complex stuff.As for schools, Karina Bolster at NBC12 reports that 62% of Henrico County Public Schools students (at least those who responded) plan on remaining fully-virtual. I think those responses came before the District pumped the brakes on reopening to in-person instruction, so I imagine those numbers could change. Related, Richmond Public Schools Superintendent Kamras released the ongoing results of his Should We Stay or Should We Go survey, and, as of 2:00 PM on Tuesday, 63% of family respondents would prefer for RPS to remain fully virtual as would 80% of staff respondents. An important reminder from Kamras: “I do want to note that, while our family data is becoming more demographically representative of RPS each day, it is still under-representing families of color, who make up about 90% of RPS but only 65% of survey respondents. Our goal is to achieve a fully representative picture of how our families feel about the second semester, which is why we’re keeping the survey open for the next couple of weeks.” If you’re a member of the RPS community and haven’t take the survey, please do (family survey in English, family survey in Spanish, staff survey)!It looks like we have official, final election results in Virginia, says the RTD’s Andrew Cain, and that means we have official, final results in Richmond’s 2nd District City Council race! Katherine Jordan will now represent the City’s 2nd District, and you can follow her on Twitter @KatherineJRVA if you want to get in an early word. Congratulations, Councilmember-Elect Jordan!University of Richmond made a pretty stunning announcement yesterday: “…the University has announced it will meet the full demonstrated financial need for all RPS graduates who qualify to attend with grant aid—not with loans—up to the full cost of attendance at UR.” RPS Superintendent Kamras put it well, saying “The word ‘equity’ gets thrown around a lot in education, but real equity requires real dollars. And that’s exactly what UR just put on the table. RPS seniors, if you’ve never thought about the University of Richmond because of the cost, well, here’s the link to apply!”If you live within 25 miles of the 2610 Buford Road ABC store, which is, like, everyone in the entire region, you can now order alcohol online and have it delivered to your home. This is amazing, and it only took a pandemic to get it. You’ll need to make sure you’re ordering from the Buford Road store, and it looks like you’re limited to that store’s stock—but still! Look at us! Reasonably modern alcohol laws in Virginia, who woulda thought. Not me!Today, the Richmond City and Henrico Health Districts will host a free COVID-19 testing event at Regency Square (1420 N. Parham Road) from 9:00–11:00 AM. If you can’t make this one, there are many, many places to get tested. Also, if you’re planning to get a test before some sort of holiday travel your window is closing!This morning’s longreadWhy Millennials Are Suddenly So Obsessed With HouseplantsThis is not a great piece, and I mostly eye-roll at “Millennials do X because of Y” reporting. That said, remember 2019?? I got such a sense of The Before Times nostalgia while reading this. Hilarious that people used to do things for any reason other than to make pandemic life a little more livable.In addition to social media connections, getting involved in the plant community also provides countless opportunities to meet up in person. Besides plant swaps, enthusiasts of particular varieties can attend shows throughout the year. This coming weekend, thousands of plant lovers will descend on Miami for the International Aroid Society Show and Sale, which the community has dubbed the “Coachella for plants.” That’s not to say there can’t be a dark side to plant collecting. Some plant parents get wrapped up in hunting down super-rare species, adding too many to their collections and spending more money than they can realistically afford. Like any type of collecting, it’s possible to compromise your quality of life and go overboard.If you’d like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol’ Patreon.

In this bonus episode of How We Got Here, we go behind the sounds with Host Rachel DePompa and Executive Producer Colten Weekley to dive deep into how we made this season. You’ll hear about some of our favorite guests and which segments really stuck with us.

Wes goes “Covering the Commonwealth” with Travis Wells of WDBJ-TV on the Hokies, Bennett Conlin of The Daily Progress on UVA, and Marc Davis of NBC12 on Richmond & VCU. Plus, filmmaker Kyle Thrash shares insight on his documentary “Maybe Next Year” about the Philadelphia Eagles fan base on their latest run to the Super Bowl, which can be found on all streaming platforms.​

In this episode of How We Got Here – The fight in Virginia to give women the right to vote; a three-generation, 72-year battle that came down to one vote. Plus, the day the angel of the Confederacy was born. Why the title she was given is still debated to this day. And we look at the founding of the Virginia Military Institute, including its fight to survive the Civil War and the social battles it faces today.

In this episode of How We Got Here – Tales from the Lewis and Clark expedition that you didn’t learn in school: how American myth-making dominates the way their story is taught. Plus, the political process to elect the first – and only – President of the Confederate States of America. Why Jefferson Davis was considered a moderate choice. And one of the worst plane crashes in Virginia history is a little-known story that changed the way the United States Army transported troops around the country, as dozens died less than a mile from the runway at Byrd Field.

In this episode of How We Got Here – the history of one of Richmond’s most glamorous and ritzy places to stay, the Jefferson Hotel. And, what you didn’t learn about Bacon’s rebellion in high school history class. We’ll take you inside a catastrophic disaster at NASA’s Wallops Island facility as a rocket headed for the International Space Station explodes just seconds after liftoff. Finally, the day British General Charles Cornwallis is suddenly paroled and allowed to sail back to Britain after his surrender at Yorktown.

In this episode of How We Got Here - the extraordinary life of a naval aviator and explorer from Virginia. The incredible journeys to both ends of the earth by Adm. Richard Byrd. Plus—a deadly delivery in the mail as anthrax is found in envelopes in the aftermath of 9/11. We take you inside the moment human speech first crossed the Atlantic Ocean, going from Virginia to Paris. And—one of NASCAR’s darkest days, as news of a tragedy in the skies finally reaches the half-mile of mayhem.

In this episode of How We Got Here – the search for a serial rapist and murderer in Charlottesville. Plus, the birth of a woman who would go on to lead a Union spy ring in the heart of the Confederate Capital. We delve deeper into the death of an American household staple—the phone book. One monument in Richmond that isn’t causing controversy on Capitol grounds. And we look back at one of the top five worst hurricanes to hit Virginia.

Candidates for Mayor of Richmond met last night in a debate hosted by VPM and NBC12; In-person voting has already seen a huge turnout; JLARC issued a new report about the Virginia Department of Education; and other local news stories.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 49 °F, and we’ve got another excellent fall day in front of us. Expect highs in the mid 70s and every reason to take at least one of your Zooms out on the porch.Water coolerAs of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 687↗️ new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealthand 3↘️ new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 39↘️ new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 10, Henrico: 11, and Richmond: 18). Since this pandemic began, 379 people have died in the Richmond region. Do we have a word for “shocking yet unsurprising?” Because the New York Times reports that the “White House has decided not to trace the contacts of guests and staff members at the Rose Garden celebration 10 days ago for Judge Amy Coney Barrett, where at least eight people, including the president, may have become infected, according to a White House official familiar with the plans…It has also cut the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has the government’s most extensive knowledge and resources for contact tracing, out of the process.” Cool, cool, cool. This is bad for the people involved, sure, but it’s also bad for all of the contact tracers out there working hard to help prevent the spread of a deadly virus. Now they’ve got to deal with folks who may just opt out of the process because of the president’s bad example.The Richmond Free Press has the results of a district-level mayoral poll which puts Mayor Stoney “significantly ahead” in the 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th Districts. Councilmember Gray leads in the 1st and the 2nd Districts, and the two are within the margin of error in the 3rd and 4th Districts. Remember! Mayoral candidates need to win five out of nine Council Districts, not the popular vote. If no candidate wins a majority of districts—if, say, Alexsis Rodgers picked up a district or two—we move into a run-off and I probably die of stress.Related, Marc Cheatham at the Cheats Movement has kicked off a series of essays on the mayoral candidates and starts with Mayor Stoney. I agree with almost everything Cheatham says: it’s the Mayor’s election to lose, and, outside of his absolutely trash handling of the police and protests, he’s done a pretty good job in his first term. It’s easy, four/infinity years in, to forget about the embarrassing state of affairs left behind by the two previous administrations. Mayor Wilder literally evicted the school administration from their offices. Heading into the 2016 elections, the City had no money or employees to cut the dang grass and actually asked for volunteers to help out. It was bad, and things are way better than they were four years ago. The School Board hired Jason Kamras and the relationships between Schools, Council, and the Mayor are stronger than I’ve seen in a while. And even though I’ve had my fair share of complaints about Public Works and their handling of, well, all sorts of things, you can’t deny that they’ve filled the potholes, paved the streets, and cut the grass. With that said, I’m going to quote this section from Cheatham’s piece in full, because I entirely agree with it, too: “Stoney has been bad in dealing with the Richmond Police Department (RPD) in the face of civil unrest and protest. The RPD has been awful in dealing with the protest and protestors. We’re on our 3rd Police Chief since the unrest has started and I’m not sure that this new Police Chief is the ‘right’ man for the job either. RPD attacking protesters with tear gas and other chemical agents is just trash. Arresting protesters that didn’t need to be arrested, breaking up demonstrations at Marcus-David Peters Circle, all trash. RPD not even wearing masks? What is that…just trash.”And related to that, the Richmond Police Department sent out this press release last night under the subject line “Officers indicted”: “On Monday, the Richmond Grand Jury deliberated 18 indictments involving Richmond Police Officers regarding their actions during the summer civil unrest. They came back with True Bills on two officers. Mark Janowski and Christopher Brown have been charged with misdemeanor assault and battery. Janowski, a detective, has been with the Department since 2014. Brown, a detective, has been with the Department since 2015. ‘These events are unfortunate,’ said Chief Gerald Smith. ‘However, we must allow the legal process to work. The officers will be placed on administrative assignment until a verdict is reached.’” Ben Dennis and Alonzo Small at WRIC have a few more details about what exactly that means.The Richmond Times-Dispatch’s Kenya Hunter reports that the Richmond School Board decided last night to shorten RPS’s school day for all students. While this decision will certainly help with kids who’ve gone all zombie-eyed by the end of a long day of Zooming, I do wonder how this will impact folks' childcare situations. You can look through the proposed schedule changes in this PDF, but, beware, I’m not sure if the Board made any tweaks to what Superintendent Kamras proposed. We should know ultra soon, though, because School Board wants the new changes rolled out ASAP—like within two weeks.Roberto Roldan, one of our excellent and talented local journalists, will moderate a mayoral forum tonight at 7:00 PM hosted by ChamberRVA, VPM, and NBC12. Tune in to hear where the candidates stand on all sorts of things and to see who decides to follow best practice and wear a mask while indoors!The Valentine hosts one of their Controversy/History events tonight at 5:30 PM and will focus the conversation on voting, which I think makes a ton of sense at this particular moment. For some of us (white men) it feels like we’re living in the worst timeline where powerful people suddenly want to suppress our votes, while others of us (everyone else) are like, “welcome to the party, pals.” American history is packed with examples of people trying to keep other people from voting, and I bet/hope these are the types of conversations you can expect at tonight’s event!The Henrico and Richmond City Health Districts will host a free community COVID-19 testing event today at Diversity Richmond (1407 Sherwood Avenue) from 4:00–6:00 PM. Raine or shine!—but I don’t think you need to worry about rain today. If you do need a test but today doesn’t work for you, check out this list of public testing sites in Richmond and Henrico, or you can, of course, always call the COVID-19 hotline (804.205.3501). Don’t not go get a test if you need one!This morning’s longreadA Decade of Music Is Lost on Your iPod. These Are The Deleted Years. Now Let Us Praise Them.There might be some confirmation bias going on here, but this resonates with me and people exactly my age. Some real weird stuff went on during the early years of mass internet adoption.I know my favorite music from 1997, because I’m hoarding CD booklets overstuffed with post-Oasis Britpop, Ben Folds Five, and Soul Coughing. I can call my favorite music from 2017 right up on my phone, because I make year-end playlists in both Apple Music and Spotify and post them on Twitter at Christmas (which I think we can agree is not the same as burning a CD). But if you ask me to name my favorite songs from 2007, I might need to use a lifeline. The music of the mid-aughts to early-teens is largely gone, lost down a new-millennium memory hole. There is a moment that whizzed right past us with no cassettes, discs, or Shazam queries through which to remember it. These are the Deleted Years, and we need to start honoring this period, right now, before we forget it forever.If you’d like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol’ Patreon.

In this bonus episode of How We Got Here, we take a look back at the infamous collapse of the Church Hill tunnel in Richmond. On Oct. 2, 1925, the train tunnel gave way during construction work, killing at least four men and entombing at least two people whose bodies remain there today. A steam locomotive and ten flatcars are still buried beneath Church Hill as well. We talk to the son of two survivors of that fateful day, as he visits the now-sealed tunnel entrance for the very first time

Dave Sheinin of The Washington Post shares his thoughts on how surprised he is that we made it to the MLB postseason, the best story in baseball this season, the team with the most pressure to win it all, and the contract extension for Davey Martinez. Parney of the Richmond Flying Squirrels joins Wes for this week’s edition of “Parney’s Picks” with Andrew Freiden of NBC12, plus “4 Downs” with Kris Wright of TheSabre.com.​

Season 4 launches on Monday, Oct. 5. How We Got Here, presented by NBC12 in Richmond, Virginia, is a podcast highlighting Virginia’s rich history, one week at a time.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 75 °F, and today you should expect super hot highs in the 90s—we’ve even got a heat advisory in effect until 8:00 PM. The heat index could reach as high as 109 °F, and that means you probably should stay inside if at all possible.Water coolerAs of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 927↗️ new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealthand 29↗️ new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 138↗️ new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 40, Henrico: 68, and Richmond: 30). Since this pandemic began, 326 people have died in the Richmond region. Just yesterday, the seven-day average of new cases in Virginia hit 1,012—the first time it’s been over 1,000 since August 13th. Percent positivity has also started to trend upward in the Commonwealth, and, at 7.7%, is now at its highest level since around June 8th. Statewide numbers are whatever, and it’s maybe more helpful to look at percent positive in the Central Region—which is bigger than just Richmond, Henrico, and Chesterfield, but still smaller than the entire state. Turns out percent positivity for the Central Region is…7.8% and that’s the highest it’s been since August 9th. What does this all mean? Keep working from home if possible, keep your mask on, and keep your distance from other people—that’s for sure.Ali Rockett at the Richmond Times-Dispatch has more on Tuesday’s shameful display of violence by the Richmond Police Department. Here, again, is the hard-to-watch video of a police officer tackling a person off of their bike, smashing their head onto a sidewalk. And here is how the RPD’s Deputy Chief Sydney Collier describes the incident: “Force is met with force…He’s eluding. He’s trying to avoid capture. As long as he’s trying to elude, the officer used the only option he had to stop him while he was on the bicycle.” Force is met with force?? What kind of force, exactly, does an unarmed kid standing in front of a tow truck with a bicycle need to be met with? Watch that video again and tell me that was the only option available to over a dozen police officers to “capture” this one person on a bike. The police continue to gaslight us by responding to actual, literal video of their horrible behavior as if it doesn’t exist at all. I honesty feel like I’m losing my grip on reality when I read quotes like this. Who are these people? Why do they behave this way? Why will none of our elected leaders do anything about it??This seems like a big, leafy deal: The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation announced a $227,467 grant to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation that “will plant more than 650 new trees in neighborhoods suffering from extreme heat linked to racially-motivated housing discrimination in the past.” That’s awesome, but even awesomer, this grant will focus on Southside neighborhoods and build on the work that folks like Southside ReLeaf and Groundwork RVA are already doing in that part of the city.A million years ago in 2017, Richmond adopted the Pulse Corridor Plan which recommend a bunch of rezonings to make the neighborhoods surrounding our best transit denser, more walkable, and more transit-friendly. As part of that plan, the Planning Commission will consider rezoning the area around the Science Museum, Allison Street, and VCU & VUU Pulse stations next week. If you can’t wait to talk zoning/rezoning, tonight you can attend a virtual public forum from 6:00–7:30 PM to hear the Department of Planning and Review talk through this proposed rezoning and why it’s important. You’ll probably hear from lots and lots of neighborhood folks angry about the standard set of anti-density stuff: tall buildings, sewer and school overload, parking, and traffic. It’s frustrating to have to argue about these same exact things each and every time we want to build more homes so more people can live in our city, but, that’s the bad timeline we live in. Until we have a decidedly urbanist City Council and Mayor we’ll need to do whatever we can to drag Richmond forward in these tiny and frustratingly incremental steps.Whoa, the Virginia ABC reports a $117 million increase in revenue compared to last year. I’d love to see those numbers by month, because I bet a huge portion of that increase came during the coronaspring. Of note, over the course of last year, Virginians spent $52.3 million on Tito’s Handmade vodka, the top-selling booze in the Commonwealth. That’s a lot of vodka!Daniel Heffner at NBC12 says that “roofers working on Bellevue Elementary School in Church Hill uncovered a decades-old beehive while repairing a section of the roof.” The beepeople brought in to save/remove the bees estimated the hive to be 40 years old and contain 60,000 bees! The pictures alone are worth your tap.The Henrico and Richmond City Health Districts will host a free community testing event today at Tuckahoe Middle School (9000 Three Chopt Road) from 9:00–11:00 AM. Walk-ups welcome! If you’re sitting at home worrying about your coronastatus, get out there and get a free test this morning. These are your local health districts! They’re here to serve you.This morning’s patron longreadWelcome to Leeside, the US’s first climate havenSubmitted by Patron Susan. I love this genre of thing, where the creator fabricates bits of an alternative historical record to tell their story (my favorite example of this at the moment is the Mystery Flesh Pit National Park Tumblr). This piece in QZ tells the future history of Leeside, a (fake) Midwest town that decide to open its Rust Belt arms to climate refugees, and now, years later, the town is booming.It’s 2057 and no life has been untouched by the realities of a warming globe. But mere decades ago, at the dawn of the 21st century, Americans were only just waking to this truth. Rising seas, powerful storms, and raging fires were destroying their cities, rendering homes uninhabitable, and dismantling livelihoods. Residents affected by such loss began to ask, “Where will we go?” In an increasingly isolationist world, many responded, “Not here.” But Leeside opened its doors. And after years of implementing innovative policies benefiting both the environment and the city’s residents, the United Nations inaugurated Leeside as the United States’ first Green Haven in 2035. Now, the city is recognized as a model of successful adaptation—physical, economic, and social—to a world in which cities and their communities are transformed by the millions seeking shelter from the storm.If you’d like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol’ Patreon.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 67 °F, and today looks like a stunner. Expect highs in the mid 80s, lots of sunshine, and maybe even no downpours. Enjoy!Water coolerAs of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 734↘️ new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealthand 4↘️ new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 134↘️ new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 2, Henrico: 82, and Richmond: 50). Since this pandemic began, 309 people have died in the Richmond region. First, an apology: Yesterday, I linked to UNC’s pretty extensive coronavirus dashboard and made the bad assumption that just because VCU doesn’t have one that the University of Richmond doesn’t have one either. That is clearly not the case, and it was lazy to not even look! Speaking of UNC, though, yesterday the University decided to switch all undergraduate classes to remote learningdespite already calling students back to campus. In just the past week, UNC reported 135 positive cases which shot their percent positivity up from 2.8% to 13.6% and sent 177 students in to isolation and 349 in to quarantine (here’s a good explainer on the difference between isolation and quarantine, btw). It’s terrifying how we’re just waiting to learn how this plays out on our region’s campuses. Will better public health policies and increased vigilance keep the coronavirus from burning through college students and spilling out into the surrounding communities? We’ll start to find out next week.The night before the General Assembly special session, Portsmouth police charged State Senator Louise Lucas with “felony injury to a monument.” From Sara Gregory and Margaret Matray in the Virginian-Pilot: “Portsmouth police announced criminal charges Monday against a bevy of public officials and activists — including state Sen. Louise Lucas, leaders of the NAACP, the city’s top public defender and a School Board member — stemming from a June protest and vandalism at the city’s Confederate monument that left a man seriously injured and much of the statue toppled.” Lucas is a Black woman, the first Black woman to serve as the President pro tempore, and will preside over the special session as the Senate considers bills to reform police across the state. Graham Moomaw from the Virginia Mercury pointed out some additional context on Twitter: Back in June, Senator Lucas called for the firing of the Portsmouth police chief. And here’s the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus’s statement. I have no idea what is going on here, but it’s almost impossible not to read this charge as retaliatory and an intimidation tactic from the Portsmouth Police Department. Like, what do police departments think we’re trying to reform, here?Ned Oliver at the Virginia Mercury has a nice piece listing out all of the police reform bills that democrats in the General Assembly want to pass during this special session and which ones they have agreement on between the House and the Senate. It’s easy to read through this list of reforms (especially stuff like getting rid of qualified immunity) and see why police departments across the state might not be too stoked on their legislators this week.It’s not just police reform bills in front of the GA, though, and Housing Opportunities Made Equal’s email this week points out the housing-related issues up for discussion.Alright, Richmond’s School Board met last night, and I am very thankful to @BossRVAfor live tweeting the hourslong meeting. The vague agenda item that I hinted at yesterday turned out to be a request from the City to use school buildings as locations for emergency child care. I think that this is a good idea. It may seem counter to the whole “we just closed school buildings because it’s not safe” thing, but isolated pods of kids tucked away in various corners of an enormous building is not the same thing as a school full of teachers and staff and students. With public school fully virtual for the foreseeable future, some folks will need childcare. I wish that weren’t true and that the federal government had decided to use its vast resources to keep folks safe and at home. That’s not the world we live in, and a lot of families are headed back to work and can’t just leave their kids at home all day in front of the Chromebook. This is an opportunity to provide childcare for those that need it in a professional, safe way using huge, modern, and otherwise empty facilities. Seems smart to me, and I’m into it. School Board will hold a meeting on August 31st, with public comment, to discuss further. If you’ve got thoughts and feelings on the matter, you can let your School Board rep know.There is a lot of dense, multi-family housing on Chamberlayne Avenue and developers have been buying and selling property along the corridor for years. Jonathan Spiers at Richmond BizSense says a New Jersey developer just bought 500 units for $27.5 million. If I had a magic housing wand, or, like, enough political will, I would do everything in my power to make/keep a huge portion of these units affordable—and build more!Richmond City’s new website has launched with a new look and a much-improved, ultra short domain: rva.gov. I haven’t had the time to poke around too much yet, so I don’t have any strong thoughts. While it’s not as clean, straightforward, or helpful as, say, Oakland’s website, it does seem like an improvement over the 90s-era website we were limping along with for the last forever.Here is a strong contender for the best subject line of any email I’ve ever received: “Richmond City Council invites all parties interested in acquiring a Civil War Monument to submit letters of intent by Sept. 8, 2020.” Are you an interested party? Are you willing to provide your own monument transportation? Email monuments@richmondgov.com in the next month or so!Hanna Eason writing for NBC12 says there’s a seal in the James River? …???This morning’s patron longreadCan Killing Cookies Save Journalism?Submitted by Patron Casey. Internet advertising is so broken! It’s nice to see some folks reconsidering how the current model works.In 2019, Ster ran an experiment with 10 different advertisers, including American Express, to compare the performance of ads shown to users who opted in or out of being tracked. On the most important metric, conversions—the share of people who ended up taking the action the advertiser cared about, whether it was adding an item to their cart or signing up for a subscription or credit card—contextual ads did as well or better than microtargeted ones. “When do people want to buy a Snickers?” said van Bentheim, recalling a conversation he had with someone who worked at an ad agency. “It’s not because someone is in a specific age or in a specific region or has a high income; it’s because they are hungry and they are looking at food at that moment.”If you’d like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol’ Patreon.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 65 °F, and highs today will stay in the mid 80s—a relief from the past month or so. I think we’ll also avoid torrential, continual downpours at least for most of the day. NBC12’s Jim Duncan has a post up about the incredible amount of rain Richmond has seen this summer. This August—which still has 15 days left—is the now the 2nd wettest August ever and the 4th wettest month ever! Also: “It’s notable that since June 1st Richmond has received nearly 23 inches of rain, even with the near drought conditions in early summer. That amount is more than half our typical rain total for an ENTIRE year!” So, yeah, it’s not just you, it has rained a lot.Also, Chesterfieldians, take note: The County has declared emergency water restrictions for residents as “significant flooding caused the temporary shutdown of Chesterfield’s water treatment plant and emergency repairs are needed at the City of Richmond’s Jahnke Road pump station, which supplies water to Chesterfield and portions of Powhatan County. Customers are asked to conserve water for essential use only and immediately stop all irrigation. While emergency restrictions are in place to help reduce demand on the water system, the water is safe to drink.”Water coolerAs of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 937↘️ new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealthand 0↘️ new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 123↘️ new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 25, Henrico: 83, and Richmond: 15). Since this pandemic began, 309 people have died in the Richmond region. Today, VCU students head off to their first day of class, and, normally, the first day of fall classes at VCU is one of my favorite days of the year. The Fan and Downtown feels so empty without all of those students hurrying to class and hanging out in pocket parks. Now, though, I just worry about them all and hope they stay safe and virus-free for as long as our institutions of higher learning are open for in-person instruction. That’s not going great for our neighboring states, by the way. UNC has already announced four “clusters” of COVID-19 on campus, which is defined as “five or more cases in close proximity,” and class hasn’t even started yet. They have, however, put together this very informative and public COVID-19 tracking dashboard. I haven’t seen anything like that yet locally, and I think it’d be useful for folks. If you’re interested in the procedures and protocols VCU has put together for their students, you can read through the full list here.The City has set up “nearly 50 locations around the city to pick up disposable surgical face masks free of cost.” Here’s the map of spots, and if you’d like to offer up your institution (some restrictions apply) as a mask distribution location, you can do so using this form.Maybe the aforelinked map could be a useful resource to the assortment of police officers who responded to last night’s Reclamation Teach-In event and apparently weren’t interested in wearing face coverings? I was not there in person, so I don’t know the full details, but these pictures of cops not wearing masks while also disregarding social distance make me feel intensely uncomfortable. I have no idea what the actual guidance is for cops wearing masks while doing their jobs, especially while outside, but dang set an example!Over the weekend some jerks came by and cut down the hand-painted Welcome to Beautiful Marcus-David Peters sign. This was NOT done by the City, the Richmond Police Department, or even the Virginia State Police. The VSP have intentionally left the sign in place previously, and the RPD put out this statement over the weekend: “No city agency was involved - including the RPD. It is illegal to remove signage without permission. Whoever did this may be trying to spark more violence in the City of Richmond.” All signs point to jerks, and, potentially, white supremacist jerks at that.Richmond’s School Board meets today and has a couple of interesting things on their agenda. Make sure you take a look at this PDF updating the Board on the MOU between Richmond Public Schools and the Richmond Police Department. The survey data about staff and student perception of cops in schools (aka School Resource Officers aka SROs) may surprise you. The Board will also continue to work through the reopening plan and will discuss “proposals from the City for support of virtual learning.”The City’s Planning Commission will also meet today to consider Richmond’s own Black Lives Matter mural (PAC 2020–002). The mural would stretch across both lanes of Grace Street between 8th and 9th, right in front of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church and the entrance to the Capitol. Each letter would be yellow and 24 feet tall. You can see a rendering in this PDF to get a sense of the scale.I haven’t yet wrapped my head around the General Assembly’s special session which starts tomorrow, but Mel Leonor at the Richmond Times-Dispatch and Jeremey Lazarus at the Richmond Free Press have some details on what lawmakers hope to accomplish. They’ve got coronabills and police reform bills to pass, plus probably a bunch of other stuff that seemed like, in the Before Times, it could wait but now maybe shouldn’t. I look forward to all of the brilliant GA watchers to spin up their thoughts and opinions over the next couple of days.Yesssss a 15-story apartment building could pop up on a Monroe Ward surface-level parking lot, Mike Platania at Richmond BizSense reports. Going from zero to 15-stories is a heckuva improvement—it’s an infinity percent increase! The developer specializes in student housing, so I’m not sure that the larger units—some with four bedrooms—are appropriate for families (which is something I’d like to see built more often). But, again, 171 places for people to live in a spot that currently just stores cars. Also, 67 parking spaces for 171 units is…just 0.39 spaces per unit. Nice.This morning’s longreadThe Plan That Could Give Us Our Lives BackI don’t know that we’ve got what it takes—as a country—to execute this plan to use cheap, less accurate tests to test the mess out of basically everyone all of the time. We can’t even get everyone to wear masks. Still though, this is one possible path forward.Testing is a non-optional problem. Tests permit us to do the most basic task in disease control: Identify the sick, and separate them from the well. When tests are abundant, they can dispel the fear of contagion that has quieted public life. “The only thing that makes a difference in the economy is public health, and the only thing that makes a difference in public health is testing,” Simon Johnson, the former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund, told us. Optimistic timelines suggest that vaccines won’t be widely available, in the hundreds of millions of doses, until May or June. There will be a transition period in which doctors and health-care workers are vaccinated, but teachers, letter carriers, and police officers are not. We will need better testing then. But we need it now, too.If you’d like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol’ Patreon.

Jer'Mykeal McCoy dedicates his time to advocating for and empowering residents of the 5th District and the greater Richmond community. He is passionate about bringing more people into the political process and showing them the power of their vote. McCoy is running again for Richmond City Council because he believes that as our city grows, so should all of us. He wants to use his policy and business experience to enhance the lives of his fellow Richmonders. The Knoxville, Tennessee native is a product of public schools and public housing. He grew up in a loving family on the city's east side, yet he has seen firsthand the pain of drug abuse, mass incarceration, and gun violence. He credits his mother's determination to be a homeowner and entrepreneur as the driving force behind his quest to further his education. McCoy also honors his father, a Navy veteran and security guard, for always supporting his goals and accomplishments. His parents' sacrifices and work ethic are essential elements for him and his younger brothers development and he wants to pay that love forward in supporting the next generation. McCoy's life of service started early. His teenage years as a YMCA Black Achiever laid the foundation of service. This program exposed black youth to various professional development opportunities and educational workshops. Currently, McCoy is a Business Development Manager with Schutt Sports. In this role, he manages the company's sales operations for the entire Commonwealth of Virginia, by partnering with local sporting goods stores to service high school and college sports programs. This position provides him first-hand knowledge of the challenges facing small businesses and public schools. He is also a Capstone Adviser at Georgetown University. Additionally, McCoy is the President for the Urban League Greater Richmond Young Professionals. Under his leadership the organization donated $10,000 in scholarships to Richmond Public School students. He also serves on the Advisory Council for Richmond 300, the Board for Venture Forum RVA, a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., the Richmond Crusade for Voters, the Tennessee State University National Alumni Association, and The Life Church RVA. He holds a B.A. with honors from Tennessee State University, an HBCU, and a Masters of Professional Studies from Georgetown University. He is a 2020 TSU Alumni 40U40 honoree and has been featured in various publications, including the Washington Post, Richmond Free Press, NBC12, and ABC8.

In this bonus episode of How We Got Here, we sit down with Francis Gary Powers Junior, the son of the CIA spy who was shot down over the USSR on May 1, 1960. After Episode 4 of Season 3 was released, Powers Jr. contacted us to tell us he lives in Central Virginia and would be willing to discuss his father's incredible story of espionage and imprisonment by the KGB. Powers Jr. has written a book about his dad and travels the country to set the record straight about his dad’s famous crash in the Soviet Union.

Marc Davis of NBC12 shares this thought on MLB’s hold up and what it was like to cover the protests in the RVA last week. Radio.com Sports Insider Eliot Schorr-Parks on the NFL and Roger Goodell’s video response movement and what  if Colin Kaepernick came back wanted to come back?

In this bonus episode of How We Got Here, we go behind the sounds with Digital Director Kate Albright and Executive Producer Colten Weekley to dive deep into how we made this season. You’ll hear about some of our favorite guests and which segments really stuck with us. Plus, we have exciting news about the future of the podcast!

In this episode of How We Got Here – A tainted treaty for peace in the Virginia Colony. Colonists seeking revenge poison Powhatan Native Americans with a deadly drink. Plus, the hostess with the mostest – how Dolley Madison, the first “First Lady,” helped her husband navigate the precipitous political scene of a young United States. And, the angel of the battlefield. How a woman whose passion for helping soldiers during the Civil War led to her launching the American Red Cross.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 62 °F, and highs today are headed up into the mid 80s! NBC12’s Andrew Freiden says today is the best day of the week to chill in your front yard or nearest patch of grass, so make sure to take advantage of it. The weekend ahead of us looks pretty great, with some potential rain as the week approaches. Enjoy!Water coolerLate Wednesday morning, Richmond Police were called to the 4300 block of Williamsburg Road and found Dominique Danzy, 22, lying on a bike path, shot to death.As of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 1,067 new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealthand 28 new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 94 new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 47, Henrico: 28, and Richmond: 19). Statewide, 1,067 is a new all-time high for new cases reported in a single day, and, after a week of flirting with 10,000 tests per day, the Commonwealth has fallen back to an average number of reported tests per day under 7,000 (that using either unique people tested or total testing encounters). Yet, for most of the state, today marks the beginning of the Governor’s Phase One of recovery. However, in NOVA, Accomack County, and…Richmond City!…Phase One will start no sooner than May 28th. Yesterday, the Mayor held a press conference at which he announced he’d requested a formal delay of Phase One within the city limits from the Governor, and, last night, the Governor approved his request (PDF). You can read the City’s press release which contains this graph of percent positivity in Richmond, the Governor’s favorite metric, clearly showing an increase over the last two weeks. You can also read the Governor’s press releasein which he says he is “pleased” to grant delays for both Accomack and Richmond. I’m proud of the Mayor and his team for pushing back on the Governor’s timeline, asking for Richmond-specific data, and then making the informed, empathetic, and clear-eyed decision to protect the health and safety of Richmonders. For folks living and working in Henrico and Chesterfield, I’m sorry, and please stay safe. If you can, continue to stay at home and do as much as you can to keep others safe. P.S. Who’s asking VDH for percent positivity data for each locality so we can do some before/after Phase One comparisons?Speaking of the surrounding counties, I want you to read this letter to the Governor—signed by the county executives of Henrico, Chesterfield, and Hanover—making extra double sure that the Gov knows they are 1000% ready to open today. This letter, honestly, is one of the most bizarre things I’ve read during the pandemic. The framing of businesses as some kind of living entities that aren’t composed of workers—which are, you know, people—is so off-putting. The letter barely even mentions health! During a pandemic! Compare and contrast this letter from county leadership to the letter the city’s Mayor sent the Governor. The Counties: “Our business community is vulnerable and for those businesses that were deemed essential from a retail perspective to those operating in office environments, great strides have been made by them to have safety standards above even the state guidelines and executive orders.” The Mayor: “As you are aware, the unique nature of Richmond’s dense urban environment and the disparate impact this disease is having on our Black and Brown communities merits consideration for Richmond’s unique position and responsibilities to its residents.” The counties: “We are also aware that many of those businesses, that have not already gone out of business, are dependent upon phase one re-openings as they are currently day-to-day in determining whether to close permanently and are at their most vulnerable point right now.” The Mayor: “16 out of 18 deaths in Richmond have been African American. Where we know the race of our positive residents, African Americans have three times the disease incidence as Whites. Where we know the ethnicity of our cases, Hispanic and Latino Richmonders make up an outsize proportion, representing 23% of cases while only accounting for 6–7% of our total population. Additionally, an analysis by zip code data shows that a higher percentage of positive cases are found in the parts of our city with persistent rates of social and economic hardship.”The Virginia Employment Commission’s newest unemployment insurance claims numbers are out. The trend over the last couple of weeks continues: initial claims continue to decrease (52,139), while continued claims continue to increase (392,673). The latter is growing more than the former is shrinking, so the total number of folks making unemployment claims has continued go up. These numbers lag a week, but it’ll be interesting to see how the Governor’s move into Phase One of recovery impacts the unemployment claims—“accommodation and food service” and “retail trade” make up 34% of total claimants last week. Related: Ned Oliver at the Virginia Mercury says the Governor will continue to allow folks to receive their unemployment benefits without looking for a new job every dang week.Via /r/rva, here’s a picture of two people riding horses in Union Hill? Like, just down the street as if that were a totally normal thing to do in a city? Quarantine life is weird!This morning’s patron longreadA Tale of Two Truths: Transportation and Nuance in the Time of COVID-19Submitted by Patron Mariia. I liked this piece about the tension between racial justice and the push for open/slow streets. But, as one of my friends always says when presented with a seemingly either-or choice “why not both?”You can want open streets and want to hold cities accountable to ensuring new policies do not further harm communities of color. You can want open streets and want to prioritize the acute needs of Black and Brown communities that have been forced to show up for themselves in the midst of a crisis that has impacted them severely. Realizing these ideals in tandem may demand greater imagination and the decentralization of personal desires, but they do not necessitate competition. And yet, I’ve repeatedly observed them held in contempt of one another, particularly in the name of closing streets to vehicle traffic.If you’d like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol’ Patreon.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 47 °F, and while we may have some warmer temperatures today, beware tonight and tomorrow night! NBC12’s Andrew Freiden says we’ve got a chance for garden-killing frost both nightsand helpfully points to this post on how to avoid damage to your vegetable younglingsif you’ve already put them in the ground.Water coolerAs of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 585 new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealth and 32 new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 136 new cases over the last two days in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 61, Henrico: 40, and Richmond: 35). Since VDH missed Wednesday’s data dump, they included all of those results in Thursday’s data dump, and now all my graphs are weird. That said, I think we’ve seen a four-day decrease in reported positive cases, which is the first time that’s ever happened in Virginia. Eternal caveat to that: The Commonwealth continues to do fewer tests per capita than almost any other state in America. Related: The Virginia Mercury has a column from Tram Nguyen, co-executive director of New Virginia Majority, about the Governor’s current plan to move into Phase One of recovery by May 15th, saying “The move to reopen should also include providing those with little or no health insurance access to health care facilities and reliable medical treatments that are affordable, culturally-sensitive, and are considerate of language accessibility. Until we can keep our most vulnerable safe and cared for, Governor Northam must reconsider his premature reopening. Virginia should be a welcoming place for all of us, not a place where some of us are dispensable.”It is Friday, and the Virginia Employment Commissions has released their weekly unemployment chartsandgraphs update. While the number of new claimants continues to decrease, the number of continued claimants continues to go up each and every week. As of May 2nd, there were 436,320 folks total filing for unemployment insurance. Even with the decrease in new claimants, the VEC reminds us that while “the volumes of initial claims has retreated from its recent peak, it may not return to pre-pandemic levels for some time.” VEC has also put together this data dashboard that includes a bit of demographic data. As you could have probably guessed, Black Virginians represent 28% of claimants yet only around 20% of the total population of the state.Brief reminder: City Council will hold the (theoretically) final public hearing on the budget this coming Monday, May 11th. If you’ve got thoughts, feelings, or comments on the budget, now is the time to let Council know by emailing the City Clerk (cityclerksoffice@richmondgov.com). If all goes as planned—which, as we all know, during virustime everything always goes according to plan—Council will meet monthly to assess revenues and expenditures and to adjust their adopted budget accordingly.For folks who will vote in the upcoming June primary, did you know you can vote absentee and, in fact, are encouraged to do so? Head over to the Department of Elections website and apply online for an absentee ballot. I’m assuming this will be The Way for November’s election, too, but will look for some more guidance after we get through June.Richmond’s own Dr. Jeremy Hoffman and Alicia Zatcoff make an appearance in this New York Times article about addressing extreme heat while simultaneously dealing with a pandemic. As we move into summer, Zatcoff’s working on getting air conditioners to folks who need them, while Hoffman’s pushing for open streets that function as natural spaces that can be cooler than places without air conditioning. It’s the Virusyear of Our Lord May 2020, and Richmond still does not have a single open/slow street! Despite dozens of reasons to create some and many successful examples across the country!I’m looking forward to this short on Richmond’s experience with the 1918 flu pandemic, which drops today on The Future of America’s Past. I mean, this teaser text speaks directly into my heart: “What happens when you reopen too soon? States plan to reopen even as the coronavirus crisis continues to grow. This impulse has a precedent: it’s what many towns did during the flu pandemic of 1918.”Karri Peifer at the Richmond Times-Dispatch says Virginians are drinking tons of coronabooze—sales have shot up 15% compared to last April. She’s also got the list of the best sellers in the region, and Tito’s vodka comes in at #1. See if you can guess what rounds out the rest of the top 10.This morning’s longreadThe FloorThe floor is lava! Or is it quicksand? Or maybe just off limits?Now, in 2020, the go-to term for games about avoiding the ground is one big phrase: “The Floor is Lava”. Which is frustrating to me, the way that this name—and it’s a good name, evocative, clear—has started to overwrite all the other things that the floor could be. Surely, I thought, people who have lava floors are in the minority—or at least, surely they would be if the phrase “the floor is lava” wasn’t spreading so widely, flowing over other dangerous floorspaces, hissing over quicksand and piranhas and mysterious voids and rustling snakes. So I ran a survey to find out what else the world’s imaginary dangerous floors are made of. And around 3500 people responded. This essay is a collection of some of the things I found out when I went through their answers.If you’d like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol’ Patreon.

In this episode of How We Got Here – Secretariat’s birth in a humble, foaling shed in Virginia. How the legend went on to become the greatest racehorse of all time. Plus, severely injured by friendly fire near Chancellorsville during the Civil War, we uncover the secret illness that ultimately killed Confederate General Stonewall Jackson. And the traditional anthem “Hail to the Chief” that is played for the arrival of U.S. Presidents actually started thanks to the wife of a Virginia-born President. How Julia Gardiner became a Tyler after a tragedy on the Potomac.

In this episode of How We Got Here – Dozens killed when a packed courtroom floor gives way at the Virginia State Capitol in what became known as the Capitol Calamity. Plus the epic Battle of Chancellorsville leads to Confederate General Stonewall Jackson being shot by his own men. A standoff tainted with treason ends the appointment of Sir John Harvey as Royal Governor of Virginia. And a day in history the U.S. Supreme Court would like to forget – how Virginia helped set the precedent of forced sterilization.

In this episode of How We Got Here - the largest manhunt in American history; the escape and eventual death of John Wilkes Booth. Inside the macabre mind of Richmond native Edgar Allan Poe. Plus a look back at the storied career of jazz legend and Virginian, Ella Fitzgerald. And when Robert E. Lee turned down an offer to command the Union army.

Season 3 launches on Monday, April 20. In this bonus trailer, we take you through some of its most memorable moments. How We Got Here, presented by NBC12 in Richmond, Virginia, is a podcast highlighting Virginia’s rich history, one week at a time.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 40 °F and rainy. Looks like the rain will continue throughout the day and into the afternoon. After we get through today’s wet forecast, we’ve got two wonderful-looking days ahead of us.Water coolerAs of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 290 positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealth, and seven people in Virginia have died as a result of the virus. VDH reports 35 cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 10, Henrico: 14, and Richmond: 11).Alright! RPS Superintendent Jason Kamras got some guidance from the Virginia Department of Education (which you can read for yourself right here (PDF)) about how to handle students, graduations, and curriculum in This Most Unusual Time. Since it’s from the State, this applies across the Commonwealth, but there is some flexibility in the guidance. Your mileage may vary with how different school districts decide to go about implementation. The gist: high school seniors will receive their diplomas, GPAs are kind of a question mark, and students will not be held back. That last one though comes with some caveats. Here’s Kamras again, “That said, we will need to provide a plan for how students will learn the content they would have otherwise been exposed to this spring. That could take the form of online learning and/or physical packets now, additional instructional time this summer, a longer 2020–21 school year, and/or other measures.” Sounds like those of us trying to quickly figure out homeschooling will have even more to learn over the next couple months. If you’ve got questions—in general or about your specific situation—you can submit them to RPS here.Mayor Stoney wants you to know that no gatherings of 10 people means no Spring Breaking at the river! C. Suarez Rojas at the Richmond Times-Dispatch has this great quote from the Mayor: “If folks are at Texas Beach with a bunch of PBRs, then obviously we’re going to provide some guidance that they should disperse.” Did you hear him? Disperse! Don’t make him close the parks, y’all! He’ll do it, he’ll turn this park right around if you don’t chill, socially distance, and stay the heck home. P.S. Please never, ever bring glass bottles to the river. Thank you.City Council diffused some of my anxiety about how they can continue to meet and pass legislation during this emergency while apparently not being allowed to meet—in person or otherwise. From my inbox: “In light of the current situational context, Richmond City Council is currently working to delineate processes and procedures for holding electronic public meetings, and will share the meeting schedule and method for public involvement once finalized.” OK! That seems like progress! Chesterfield, because they’re Chesterfield, has already figured out their processes and proceduresand that includes streaming (and I assume archiving) meetings on YouTube. This is way better than relying on Facebook (but still not as good as the County owning the content on their own website). Also, one update specific to ORD. 2020–092 : Council is, at this point, committed to “adopting in mid-April an ordinance extending the filing deadline for applications and certifications for tax relief for the elderly and the permanently and totally disabled to mid-May.”Henrico, because they are Henrico, has already started the process of updating (aka slashing) their proposed FY21 budget—the one that was just introduced weeks ago—in light of the coronavirus’s anticipated impact on the economy. Tom Lappas at the Henrico Citizen has the early news, including this sobering quote from the County’s budget director: “[The revised budget will be] more conservative than you’ve probably seen from Henrico County…This is going to be a year unlike any we have seen in the past.” They go on to say that the County will consider adjusting the budget every 90 days, which seems smart. At this point, no one knows what tax revenue will look like in June, and it seems super risky to put together a yearlong budget based on enormous, unknowable question marks. Heck, even tomorrow seems enormous and unknowable.Looks like late last night—or, rather, early this morning—the federal government came to agreement on a $2 trillion stimulus package. Details are sketchy at the moment, but it does sound like a lot of folks will get $1,200 checks in the coming days. Congress looks to pass the legislation today, so I’m sure we’ll learn more about the specifics soon.Some how I forgot to include this huge news from a couple days back: RRHA CEO Damon Duncan will resign after a “60 to 90-day transition.” Micheal Paul Williams at the RTD has some thoughts, including this bummer of a paragraph: “Friday, he pledged to stick around to help the agency and residents through the COVID-19 pandemic, but this virus does not respect deadlines or timelines. An inexperienced board will have to find a new leader during a global crisis…”Beautiful RVA has offered to build raised garden beds—at no cost—for folks facing food insecurity during the coronavirus crisis. I know most of the folks reading this newsletter are not, at this moment, facing food insecurity, so please make sure that Beautiful RVA’s resources go where it’s needed most. In fact, if you’re especially stoked on this project and would like to help, go donate a couple of bucks so Beautiful RVA has the cash on hand to build as many raised beds as needed. It costs between $75–100 to build one bed, let that information guide your donation amount! If you’ve got your own raised beds but feel like you need some help getting more out of it, check out some of these resources put together by Beautiful RVA’s Duron Chavis.NBC12’s Andrew Freiden has a neat thread on Twitter about the green screen he’s got in his garage?? Despite social distancing and lockdowns, the weather must go on! Love it.Waffle House has closed 365 restaurants. When Waffle House starts closing, you know things are serious.This morning’s patron longreadHow South Korea Flattened the CurveSubmitted by Patron Blake. What can the U.S. do to start flattening the curve like South Korea? Probably not by pretend everything is fine starting April 12th, I’ll tell you what!Leaders concluded that subduing the outbreak required keeping citizens fully informed and asking for their cooperation, said Mr. Kim, the vice health minister. Television broadcasts, subway station announcements and smartphone alerts provide endless reminders to wear face masks, pointers on social distancing and the day’s transmission data. The messaging instills a near-wartime sense of common purpose. Polls show majority approval for the government’s efforts, with confidence high, panic low and scant hoarding. “This public trust has resulted in a very high level of civic awareness and voluntary cooperation that strengthens our collective effort,” Lee Tae-ho, the vice minister of foreign affairs, told reporters earlier this month. Officials also credit the country’s nationalized health care system, which guarantees most care, and special rules covering coronavirus-related costs, as giving even people with no symptoms greater incentive to get tested.If you’d like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol’ Patreon.

Season 3 launches on Monday, April 20. How We Got Here, presented by NBC12 in Richmond, Virginia, is a podcast highlighting Virginia’s rich history, one week at a time.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 34 °F, and todays highs will creep up into the low 40s. Keep an eye out for actual snow beginning this afternoon, continuing through the evening, and maybe impacting commutes tomorrow morning. Andrew Freiden at NBC12 says we’re right on the edge, so don’t expect more than an inch of accumulation at best—but, as we all know, that could shut the entire region down.Water coolerThat Scott’s Addition PDF I was looking for the other day now exists (PDF) along with this handy one-pager map / cheat sheet(PDF). First, this is a draft framework—not an adopted plan or a sanctioned RFP. Second, whoa! There’s a lot going on in here, but I want to highlight the amount of density envisioned along Arthur Ashe Boulevard (and, honestly, throughout), the rad crescent of open spaces stretching from the highway down past the Whole Foods, and the “landmark bridge” that would finally give folks a safe way to cross the railroad tracks on foot or by bike. Stay tuned for a survey where you can send the planning folks all of your Scott’s Addition thoughts, feelings, and emotions.Partnership for Smarter Growth’s Stewart Schwartz has a column in the Virginia Mercury about the proposed Central Virginia Transit Authority’s potential to create a ton of sprawl—which is not smarter growth. This is HB 1541, which I’ve written about at length, and, speaking strictly as Ross the Good Morning, RVAguy, yeah, this new source of funding will create enormous pots of new money that the region can use to build new and terrible roads. Luckily, these sprawly buckets of new tax revenue are mostly unrestricted, and, if convinced by their constituencies, instead of roads localities could (theoretically) built great sidewalks, wonderful bike lanes, and even extend and expand public transit operations. Advocates, which definitely includes each and every one of you reading this, will have to work hard to convince their elected officials and decision makers that we’ve got to continue to reverse the decades-long trend of regional disinvestment in public transit and safe, people-scale infrastructure.Sounds like things are coming to a head at the General Assembly over redistricting reform. Mel Leonor at the Richmond Times-Dispatch says that House Democrats will not take up a constitutional amendment on redistricting reform

Good morning, RVA! It’s 47 °F, cloudy, and that’s about today for you. However, tomorrow there is a small chance of…snow! Andrew Freiden at NBC12 says, as per always, Richmond is right on the line but could see actual snow—that accumulates—tomorrow evening! S(n)o(w) exciting.Water coolerRichmond police are reporting two murders. First, at 5:40 PM on Monday, officers on patrol near the 200 block of W. Charity Street heard gunshots, responded, and found Katrez T. Bryant, 18, shot to death. Second, later that same evening, police received a call of a person shot, arrived at the corner of Redd and Coalter Streets, and found Kieshell L. Walker, 25, shot to death.OK. Yesterday I wrote a few words about how I didn’t understand the bill that would create a state-level health insurance exchange in Virginia (SB 732, introduced by my very own rep, Sen. Jennifer McClellan). I heard from back from a bunch of folks (including the patron!) and now have a handful of links for those of us wishing to learn more about state-level health insurance exchanges—which is not a sentence super high on the list of sentences I thought I would ever write. First, a correction: A new, state-run exchange would replace the federally-run exchange in Virginia. You wouldn’t have to poke around in both systems. Whew. Second, locally, the Commonwealth Institute has a piece from back in October looking at several ways, including a state-run exchange, that the Commonwealth could reduce costs and increase access to health care coverage. Third, here’s an interesting stat from last March: Enrollment in Healthcare.gov decreased by 2.6% that year, while enrollment “in the 12 states running their own exchanges ticked up by almost 1%.” Actually, you can check out a graph of Healthcare.gov signups compared to the state-run exchanges since 2014 over on the very specific acasignups.net. One of my concerns is the cost of governments creating new custom software from scratch. I honestly cannot stop thinking about this fascinating thread (with a positive outcome) from Waldo Jaquithabout the proposed cost of new software to support a paid family and medical leave program in Virginia. We all remember the initial rollout of Healthcare.gov, and it’s not too hard to picture a local version of that whole situation. Luckily, this article from Pew Trusts says that a handful of states have made this same switch, and Virginia can learn from their mistakes and successes. Alright! Do you now feel better informed than yesterday??She’s running. Well, technically Mark Robinson at the Richmond Times-Dispatch says sources say that Councilmember Gray will run for mayor in 2020. We’ll see if a public announcement is forthcoming, and we’ll for real for real see later next month because the filing deadline for local offices is March 26th. Also fascinating is that Paul Goldman, who you may remember from the waste-of-time schools referendum from a couple years back, paid for polling to test the waters for Gray and provided the results to the RTD.As we inch closer and closer to spring, my most favorite time of the year fast approaches: Budget Season! Multiple people sent me this year’s budget calendar, which fills me with joy. As you well know, I spend a lot of hours of my life listening to Council’s budget sessions. I continue to think it’s one of the best ways to get a handle on the status of the City’s priorities. This year, though, it sounds like we will have fewer hours of audio to enjoy (I assume there are others out there listening to all of these meetings??). The current calendar shows just five sessions, compared to last year’s six, with each sessions lasting only two hours instead of five. I have no idea how they’ll get everything done in such a short amount of time, but I’m excited to find out.Last night Richmond’s School Board successfully voted to rename three schools, and Justin Mattingly at the RTD has the details. Say hello to Cardinal Elementary, River City Middle School, and Henry L. Marsh III Elementary! Personally, I love the move away from people’s names. Make sure you look through the presentation that includes all of the suggested names for all of the schools and the reasoning behind each of the finalists(PDF).Mike Platania at Richmond BizSense says that the Planning Commission approved the 12-story tower proposed for the corner of Lombardy and Broad Streets. As that New York Times article says: Build build build build build build build build build!Did you see that big fire off of Brook Road near I-95 last night? Carrie Rose Pace on Twitter has an incredible picture of the smoke stretching across the city’s skyline. The Richmond Fire Department says “A primary search was conducted with negative results, no injuries or fatalities to report at this time.” /r/rva, which is down at this moment, has a bunch of absolutely bananas photos folks took of the fire from various points around the city.This morning’s longreadThe Nuclear Family Was a MistakeThis long longread by, check notes, David Brooks(??) has some real interesting facts and figures about the decline of the nuclear family and the benefits of a larger, more interesting, more inter-generational family—even (or maybe especially) if that’s not a family you were born into. Honestly, I think this piece pairs wells with yesterday’s article about building more and denser housing (an article that President Obama just recommended you read). It’s hard to live with and around folks when present-day zoning makes that actually illegal.During this period, a certain family ideal became engraved in our minds: a married couple with 2.5 kids. When we think of the American family, many of us still revert to this ideal. When we have debates about how to strengthen the family, we are thinking of the two-parent nuclear family, with one or two kids, probably living in some detached family home on some suburban street. We take it as the norm, even though this wasn’t the way most humans lived during the tens of thousands of years before 1950, and it isn’t the way most humans have lived during the 55 years since 1965.If you’d like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol’ Patreon.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 59 °F, and that’s today’s high. You can expect temperatures to drop and rain to fall as the day moves on. Once the rain starts it may not stop until…Friday afternoon? NBC12’s Andrew Freiden says we could see as much as three inches of rain tomorrow!Water coolerVDOT has released their Final Study Report for the Ashland to Petersburg Trail—and it’s not one but many PDFs! If you like the Capital Trail, you’re gonna love the Ashland to Petersburg Trail, which will connect the titular Ashland and Petersburg, through Richmond, via a multiuse trail. You can view the alignment of the trail in this PDF, and the Richmond portion starts on page 5. First, having a safe, high-quality north-south path through the city to points beyond will really change things for many, many folks. We all know people, and you may be one!, who say totally legitimate things like “I’d love to bike, but I just don’t feel safe doing so.” This project will give those folks a safe (and useful) place to ride, and that makes me incredibly excited. Second, I’ve got two immediate thoughts on the ATP’s proposed alignment: 1) Sending the kind of bike/pedestrian traffic this amenity will generate across the T-Pot bridge is a bad idea. Just check out the Capital Trail on a nice Saturday—that thing is PACKED with folks. 2) Brown’s Island Way is not a bikeable street and will force northbound folks to walk their bikes up the hill. I ride bikes a TON and Brown’s Island Way is a hill I can barely manage and that I avoid at all costs. There’s a massive bridge with a billion extra lanes just sitting due east that could solve both of these problems. Anyway, rad project, hope the alignment changes, and looking forward to encouraging jurisdictions to fund their portions of it.Speaking of bike stuff, Bike Walk RVA has a nifty form for you to fill out that’ll let your specific state representatives know that you support the handful of bike and pedestrian safety (and funding!) bills floating around the General Assembly. Take the two minutes and do this!It’s a wild moment in the NoBro timeline, where Council has all but killed the project and folks involved (must?) continue on like it’s biz as usual. It’s bizarre. But it does mean we keep getting stories like this one from Bridget Balch and Samuel Northrop in the Richmond Times-Dispatch about VCU’s plans—contingent on the approval of the downtown arena project, of course—to build a new health complex in the project footprint. It also means we get quotes like this from Councilmember Trammell: “I don’t care if they say the queen of England is coming down here to live, it isn’t going to change my mind.” Like I said yesterday, I’m still a bit confused about what will happen this coming Monday, what a “motion to strike” actually means, and if/when the NoBro papers will even end up on the agenda. I feel like I’m pretty involved in the goings-on of Council, and this is new territory for me!Richmond: Grocery stores and stadiums! Mike Platania at Richmond BizSense says the ABC broke ground on their new Hanover headquarters this week. That means VCU can start planning on how to build the new baseball stadium they’ll share with the Flying Squirrels on the land occupied by the current booze warehouse on Hermitage. While that land is state-owned, the City does own 60 acres in and around where the Diamond sits today, and it has tons of potential for, basically, anything other than a bunch of gross surface parking lots. Lord willing, someonesomewhere in the City has learned something about how to involve the community in a large neighborhood redevelopment project from the very beginning. The real arena was the lessons we all learned along the way—now let’s see if we can apply them moving forward.Mark Robinson, at the RTD, has an quick and interesting look at how homeless services providers conduct the required point-in-time count of the people experiencing homelessness in our region. The full results of that count aren’t yet available on Homeward’s website, but you can check out previous years’ point-in-time reports while we wait on the 2020 data.I encourage and support this kind of clever and creative street art, via /r/rva. There are lots of fences scattered around the city, and none of them are anything to look at.This morning’s longreadIt’s Time to Break Down Economic Barriers for Women in VirginiaThe Commonwealth Institute has a new post up about how Virginia’s legislators could make economic life better for women. With the way the New Democratic Majority has been rolling along (repeal of Right to Work made it out of subcommittee??), some of these things definitely have a chance of passing!As a result, Virginia’s minimum wage is the lowest in the country compared to the cost of paying for rent, groceries, transportation, child care, and other necessities. Raising the minimum wage to $15 by 2024 would help reverse the erosion in the value of the minimum wage since 1968 compared to productivity and typical wages, making sure that working people – especially women who have historically had their work devalued and underpaid – see a fairer share of the benefits from their work. The vast majority of working people in Virginia who would benefit from raising the wage are adults helping to support themselves and their families. Raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2024 would help 1 out of every 2 women of color employed in Virginia, thereby boosting the wages of those Virginians who have historically been excluded from opportunities to work in well-paying jobs and have seen the jobs they do have devalued precisely because they are filled by women of color.If you’d like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol’ Patreon.

In this bonus episode of How We Got Here, we go behind the sounds with Executive Producer Colten Weekley to dive deep into how we made this season. You’ll hear about some of our favorite guests and which segments really stuck with us. Plus, we have exciting news about the future of the podcast!

In this week’s episode of How We Got Here, the true story of albino brothers from Virginia who were abducted and exploited by the circus for decades before their mother finally found them when the circus came back to town. Plus, a fiery Christmas disaster at the Richmond Theater that claimed the life of Virginia’s Governor. We’ll tell you about the eighth and final U.S. President that was born in the commonwealth, and the emotional “first” goodbye from George Washington to Congress, as he was trying to get home to Martha for Christmas.

In this episode of How We Got Here, how a Virginia newspaper got the Wright Brother’s first flight oh so wrong. Plus—a brewing tea party demands independence, but not in Boston. We examine the day slavery was abolished in America, and the country finally learns of George Washington’s death from a famous Richmonder. And, an all-around-the-world show of America’s military might that steamed away from the shores of Virginia.

In this episode of How We Got Here, George Washington’s final moments after a torturous night of medical care. And it ended before it began - we take you inside what may have been the fastest battle of the American Revolution. Also the legacy of a black woman from Richmond who changed the face of business in America. And the slaughter pen known as The Battle of Fredericksburg, where hundreds took their final breath beneath the Northern Lights.

In this episode of How We Got Here, the newly uncovered tale of a 16-year-old heroine from Hopewell, Virginia, who rode through the night to expose a British plot to crush the American rebellion. Also, the Commonwealth’s dug-in defiance over a landmark court decision to integrate public schools. Why the Kennedy Administration apologized for getting the first celebration of a national holiday all wrong. And - get ready to dust up on 10th grade American History - we go old-school with the Monroe Doctrine. And finally, in their own words - the heroes of Pearl Harbor recount that horrific day that catapulted the United States into the hell of World War 2.

In this episode of How We Got Here, we relive the fiery death of the oldest electric streetcar system in America. We also introduce you to a slave-turned-spy-turned-folk hero who had to fight for his own freedom after American independence. And, as you start to think about Thanksgiving this year – we’ve got the low down on how it all began (in Virginia…sorry Massachusetts). Plus, we’ll explore how it became illegal in Virginia to duel to the death – and the politician who skirted the law to kill a member of his family! And finally, an army of rebels topples the mightiest power in the world at Yorktown.

Matt sits down - through the magic of Skype - with an old friend from his TV production days to talk about how he went from working in creative services, to starting a social media company, to becoming an author on Idaho beer brewing. Steve's a funny guy who has a lot - a lot - to say about everything and anything under the sun, from getting fired from a few TV stations to writing competing newspaper columns with former Detroit Lions quarterback Rodney Peete. He's an interesting fella, that's for sure.Interested in Steve's book about craft beer in Idaho and want to contribute to his quarterly $0.03 royalty check? It's on Amazon.A production of Harrington Communications Consultants, LLCMusic by Verified PicassoSupport the show (https://www.caughtbyhappy.com/donate)

Season 2 launches on Monday, Nov. 18. How We Got Here, presented by NBC12 in Richmond, Virginia, is a podcast highlighting Virginia’s rich history, one week at a time.