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Justin Ferguson spends his workdays making Virginia real estate deals. But when work is done and it's time to play, Ferguson becomes TheBlackSommRVA, a role that allows him to share the wine knowledge he's learned while becoming a WSET Level 3 certified sommelier. "The more I jumped into this business [commercial real estate], I started being around wine more, and I wanted to be a better agent and understand what my clients want. So I'm like, let me learn about it. I've just kept progressing. And here we are now," he said about the bridging of his real estate and wine careers. "During COVID, it was great when the world was shutting down, and you didn't want to talk to anyone about real estate. I would call people and say, 'Hey, let's drink wine and talk about something other than real estate. We'll sit six feet apart and just be humans.' Real estate is transactional, but it gets too transactional. So, like, hey, Justin is here to provide wine value to me as well." But Ferguson doesn't just use wine to help his real estate career. He's been able to launch a second career as the wine director at The Underground Kitchen in Richmond, Virginia. "It is an experiential dining kitchen. So we're not open every day, which is great," he said. "The Kitchen pays respect and creativity to the LGBTQ community but also to chefs of color with flavors. We like seasoning. Chef Steve Glenn likes Creole and Southern cooking. So that's good portion sizes, but really well-seasoned food. It's fun pairing different cultures with wine." Initially inspired by Dlynn Proctor and the movie SOMM, Ferguson said he hopes his efforts expose more people to the beauty and wonder of wine. "There was a guy, his name was Dlynn Proctor, and he was, like, the only Black guy. There aren't many Black Master Somms. So seeing him in that role sparked the idea — representation matters," Ferguson said about his initial push toward earning his sommelier certification. "Because my family still, to this day, doesn't drink wine; they aren't wine people. They are beer and other alcohol drinkers. I think [wine] wasn't introduced throughout my culture the same way other spirits were." When asked to recommend a bottle of wine for Eat It, Virginia listeners to try, Ferguson did not hesitate. "The thing on top of my mind right now is, honestly, Black winemakers," he said. "One that I've been enjoying is O.P.P wine (Other People's Pinot Noir) by André Mack." Other stuff on this episode: The opening of Ripple Ray's, a Grateful Dead themed bar in Richmond (2:10) The new Mardi Gras menu at Get Tight Lounge (2:45) The Sunday Bagel phenomenon (4:40) The opening of the Ugly Dumpling (6:45) Robey's new column in Style Weekly (7:50) Robey's recent visits to Brave Captain and Susie's (9:00) The Mailbag wants to know about James Beard Awards snubbing Richmond restaurants once again (12:00) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Antonio Owen, the chef-owner of Sweet P’s in Richmond, Virginia, recently shared his culinary journey and life philosophies on the “Eat It, Virginia” podcast with Scott Wise and Robey Martin. The veteran’s guiding philosophies in the kitchen is that no job is beneath him. "If you think you’re too good to take out the trash, your whole mindset is wrong," he said. This hands-on mentality has been crucial in establishing a strong, supportive team. The restaurant also embraces fun, with the introduction of “Whitney Wednesdays,” a weekly event celebrating Whitney Houston’s music and food inspired by her favorite dishes. In this episode, Robey also discusses an extensive list of Richmond-area Christmas bars that she helped compile for Style Weekly.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Deborah Freeman is the creator of Setting the Table, a multi-award winning podcast exploring Black foodways and culinary history that in 2023 was honored by the International Association of Culinary Professionals as “Podcast of the Year.” She's also a colleague in the food writing world, with contributions including to Eater, Condé Nast Traveler, and Garden and Gun, and is the food editor for Richmond's Style Weekly. We sat down via Zoom to talk about her most recent project, Finding Edna Lewis, a new docuseries for Virginia Public Media that explores the life of the Black female trailblazer who was a celebrated chef and author. As a proud Virginia native, Deb champions Virginia foodways and the power of personal history as a through line in food that can teach us about ourselves and connect us to our ancestors. It's something that Edna Lewis' work illustrates and the kind of work Deb is doing in the world, too; therefore, here's another Southern Fork sustenance conversation, diving deep into the foundational “why” when it comes to the power of food.
This week on the show the guys sit down with Jamie Radtke, from Global Media Outreach, on how to everyone can be a missionary in the digital world. Jamie Radtke is currently serving as Chief Growth Officer of Global Media Outreach .Jamie previously served as the President of Explore God for seven years, which merged with Global Media Outreach in 2021. Prior to her time in the nonprofit sector, Jamie spent 20 years in the public policy and political space, which culminated in her campaign for United States Senate in 2012.Jamie has worked in various roles for nonprofits, as an adjunct professor in higher education, as a consultant in corporate America, and in all levels of government. In 2010, she was selected to be one of Style Weekly's “Top 40 Under 40” for the Greater Richmond area. In 2012, she was selected to participate in the American Swiss Young Leaders Conference. Jamie is a frequent commentator and speaker.Jamie received her undergraduate degree from Liberty University and holds a master of public policy from the College of William & Mary. Jamie and her husband have been married for 24 years. They live on a farm in Virginia and have four children.Check out Global Media Outreach
#290: Today we're doing one of our favorite thing on HTLA: explore – and eating – LA's rich food scene. Every heard of Black tacos? Or as some people refer to them: Black people tacos? Well, they're a thing, especially in LA, and they are delicious. Think traditional soul food spices and braised meats with all the Mexican fixins' that Angelenos love. We love our tacos here in LA, and today we're exploring the origins and evolutions of the Black taco. And we eat at Sky's Gourmet Tacos. Guests: Veronica Daniel, LAist Studios intern, Deborah Freeman, food anthrologist and food editor for Style Weekly, Barbara Burrell, owner of Sky's Gourmet Tacos Places to grab a Black taco in LA: Ms. Ruby's Bakery 404 E Manchester Blvd # 1320, Inglewood, CA 90301 Taco Pete's (has been serving the South L.A. community for more than 50 years) 12007 South Central Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90059 (the historic location) 3272 West Slauson Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90043 Alta Adams (try their jerk-spiced grilled plantain tacos for brunch) 5359 West Adams Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90016 All Flavor No Grease Food Truck 8600 South Western Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90047 on Manchester near Ralph's. My 2 Cents 5583 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, California 90019
On today's episode we have Kevin Sheffield - a local bartending celebrity who recently opened Smoke & Barrel in the former space of the Dugout, Step Down Raw Bar, The White Dog, and its longest tenant, Lady N'awlins. The space has been around since the 70s. Kevin is most well known for his drink slinging skills at New York Deli. He's been in the bartending business for 10 years now at places like ChaChas, FW Sullivans and Lady N'awlins. He won bartender of the year for RVA 6 years in a row (2016-2021) and he's in the hall of fame for Style Weekly. He loves Richmond, going to VCU basketball games and Flying Squirrels baseball games. We also discuss Pharrell Williams filming his movie in RVA, Opossums, restaurants and band of the week, and more!Support Smoke & Barrel:InstagramFacebookReservationsBand of the week:Almost Gone - cool 90s/pop/punk cover band that does Blink-182, Nickleback, Nirvana, and bunch more great covers.InstagramAlmost Gone On SpotifyRestaurants of the week:Smoke & Barrel: 2329 W. Main StreetIt has a high end speakeasy vibe with an incredible happy hour and food menu. You can get high end old fashioneds, martinis, negronis, palomas, margaritas and more for only $7! We've never seen a happy hour price that good. They have an amazing happy hour food menu and a robust delicious dinner menu as well. Try the steak egg rolls and the empanadas - big portions for a great price. They also have duck and steak on the menu. Nothing is over $30.Tito's taqueria & Bar: 733 W Cary Street@titostaqueriarvaDrinks: Texicana marg or spicy mango margaritaApps: The Sampler - guac, cheese dip, salsa trio and flaming hot crazy corn rolled in hot CheetosEntree: Birria tacos with beef or hot Cheetos burritoShoutouts:NY DeliHandthrown Pottery StudioThe ParkMugshot
In this episode, we sit down with Taya Jarman, a communications professional at The Institute for Public Health Innovation, to explore the nuances of strategic communication. Taya shares her journey of conducting an initial communications audit at her organization, highlighting the importance of understanding and effectively using various communication channels to reach and engage diverse audiences. Through her insights, listeners will learn about the challenges and opportunities in crafting messages that resonate, the critical role of strategic planning in nonprofit communications, and how to ensure their efforts align with their organization's mission and goals. About the guest Taya M. Jarman, MS, APR is an award-winning and accomplished Communications Director at the Institute for Public Health Innovation (IPHI). At IPHI, she has refreshed the organization's brand to include a robust DE&I and ADA-compliant website, social media ecosystem, and marketing materials to improve health and wellness in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia region. Before IPHI, she served in the state government for 16 years as the Population Health Communications Director for the Virginia Department of Health (VDH). Throughout her career, Taya has won over a dozen local and national awards. She was recognized twice as Top 40 under 40 in Richmond's Style Weekly and nationally in PRWeek. She graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a Master of Science in strategic public relations and studied abroad in China (Beijing and Shanghai). She also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in communication and leadership from Christopher Newport University (CNU) and a graduate certification in general management public relations from the University of Maryland Global Campus. When she's not working, she enjoys traveling and spending time with her husband, two sons Tripp and Tyler, and a pandemic puppy – Uno the Schnoodle. Resources Axios: https://www.axios.com/American Marketing Association: https://www.ama.org/Public Relations Society of America: https://www.prsa.org/ Navigating the Nonprofit Landscape with AI – George Weiner of Whole Whale: https://brooks.digital/health-nonprofit-digital-marketing/navigating-nonprofit-landscape-ai/ Contact Taya LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tayajarman/Institute for Public Health Innovation: https://www.institutephi.org/
Family Matters and the Premiere(s) of Sister Sister Family Matters S5E21 Sister Sister S1E2 and S1E2 Follow us @TGIFcast Email Us: TGIFcast@gmail.com Vote for us in Style Weekly's Best of Richmond for Best Podcast: https://www.styleweekly.com/best-of-richmond-readers-poll-2024/#/gallery?group=476843
Boy Meets World and Step By Step this week: Boy Meets World S1E19 Step By Step S3E20 Follow us @TGIFcast Email us: TGIFcast@gmail.com Keep voting till 3-31-24 for Two Guys Into Fridays in Style Weekly's Best of Richmond (Arts & Culture/Podcast) https://www.styleweekly.com/best-of-richmond-readers-poll-2024/#/gallery?group=476843
Today we are joined by Erin, the soulful and extremely talented vocalist from RVA's Erin & The Wildfire. The band started out as four college friends in Charlottesville, VA making music just for the fun of it. Today they have grown into a flourishing decade long musical experience with an idie-pop flair with influences from Emily King, D'Angelo, YEBBA, Vulfpeck, and Donny Hathaway. The band also includes Ryan Lipps on guitar, Nick Quillen on drums, Matt Woods on bass and Stephen Roach on keys.Erin & The Wildfire create their own music with deeply personal lyrics that mainly focus on Erin's journey with struggles with body acceptance and self-love but also touch on climate change, fighting the patriarchy and more. The band strives to make their shows a safe space for all ages and kinds of people.Their second full-length album, Touchy Feely was released April 1, 2022 and recorded in the Summer of 2021, after nearly a year and a half of virtual songwriting and collaboration during the global pandemic. The new release, named one of Style Weekly's most-anticipated local albums of 2022, was produced by acclaimed songwriter and producer Matthew E. White (Natalie Prass). The meticulous production, impeccable songwriting, and sensual vocals are present as ever on an album that polishes the signature style introduced by their popular single “Shape” in 2020.E&TW have also made appearances at some of the largest festivals on the East Coast including Suwannee Rising, LOCKN', FloydFest, CMJ, RoosterWalk, and more.Support Erin & The Wildfire:https://www.erinandthewildfire.com/https://www.instagram.com/erinandthewildfire/https://www.facebook.com/ErinandtheWildfire/https://twitter.com/ErinAndWildfirehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCA8j8JBYzPOKZrrB7xwweRQhttps://music.apple.com/us/artist/erin-the-wildfire/727140636https://soundcloud.com/erinandthewildfirehttps://www.tiktok.com/@erinandthewildfirehttps://open.spotify.com/artist/03NHhY1mdWC3Hf9uJEnomj?si=W34dC8EkR0uy3YYgGx2z3QOur sponsor:Maya's Belly Dancing
Today With Kim Young: Today on The Inner Edit I am joined by Kim Young, Kim Young of Dope Black Social Worker and host of the Revolutionary Hoodrat podcast. Kim is a licensed therapist, a nationally recognized social worker, and an expert troublemaker. For many years, Kim's career centered on direct clinical services for youth, families, and communities. But over the last five years, Kim has shifted upstream, moving out of direct service, in order to make an even deeper impact in the field of social work, focusing on programmatic, organizational, and systemic changes. Kim gets it. She knows who she is and who she wants to help. And she understands how her platforms—in addition to her real-life work—are all a part of that. In this episode, Kim shares the story of how she ‘accidentally' grew her amazing online following, how she has (reluctantly at times) accepted her influence, and how she uses humor, authenticity, and creativity to make excellent trouble. Pick It Apart [2:45] Kim explains how she began growing a community online—completely by accident [9:40] Kim shares why she is so grateful for her online community and gives tips on cultivating respectful engagement. [20:44] Christie and Kim discuss the importance of setting boundaries, especially within online platforms. [31:38] Kim shares how she has resisted accepting the influence she has because she prefers to work behind the scenes. [46:55] Kim unpacks why it is important for content creators to continuously ask themselves and understand who they are creating content for and why. Christie Rocha's and Kim Young's Ah-Ha Moments “I'm not going to just create content just to create things. I'm not going say things just to say things…When I open my mouth and speak, it's real, deliberate, and intentional.” – Kim Young “If you have the platform, even if you're not going to share your own point of view, put the resources out there of the people that do.” – Christie Rocha “I'm a troublemaker and social worker at my core. Even though I'm online, I'm always thinking ‘how do I use what I have and what I have access to to make sure other people come along with me.'” – Kim Young “I'm not going to concern myself with things I have no control over.” – Kim Young “If we're creating content for external validation—because we're not giving ourselves internal validation—you're never going to find whatever you're looking for.” – Kim Young More About Kim Young Kim is a nationally recognized and sought after Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), expert troublemaker. and host of the podcast, Revolutionary Hoodrat. Kim has over a decade of experience working alongside at promise youth, families, and communities. Kim is deeply committed to cross sector collaboration that utilizes an asset based approach to develop strategies which promote community driven solutions to system created problems. Kim has experience in providing direct clinical services to youth and adults in psychiatric hospitals , residential treatment and community based settings. Kim specializes in working with multi–systems involved youth and young adults who have experienced and participated in acts of community violence. In 2019 Kim made the shift upstream and stepped away from direct service to begin working on programmatic, organizational and system changes. Kim has worked nationally with universities, localities, and organizations delivering consultations, training, keynotes, and lectures. Kim focuses her work around three priority areas: Increase the visibility of Black social workers. Create pathways to opportunities for Black youth and young adults. Eliminate barriers to dreaming for Black youth and young adults. Kim has been recognized as an Essence Magazine Essential Hero, Richmond's Style Weekly 40 Under 40, Virginia Commonwealth University 10 Under 10 and featured in a number of publications and podcasts. Kim was born and raised in San Diego, California and is proud to have called Richmond, Virginia home since 2011. When not causing trouble Kim enjoys moving with ease, reclaiming rest and listening to trap music. Kim believes that relationships heal and there is power in empathy, compassion, and kindness. Connect with Kim Young Website Instagram Facebook X Connect with Christie! Website Like Us: Facebook | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast Other Shows Mentioned: The Inner Edit #190: Renee Reina: Navigating the Intersection: Where Your Passions and Niche Content Meet on Social Media The Inner Edit #198: Tomi Obebe: Transforming Passion into Profit: Lessons in Blog and Social Media Monetization The Inner Edit #203: Chastity Holcomb: The Value in Trusting Your Instincts and Pivoting in Content Creation to Create Evergreen Authenticity
In November of 1996, Cloverleaf Mall in Richmond, Virginia was the site of the still-unsolved double murder of Cheryl Edwards and Charlita Singleton, two mall employees found stabbed to death in the back office of the dollar store where they worked. In 2004, investigators briefly thought they'd uncovered new leads... that don't appear to have resulted in progress on the case. In the latest episode of Late Edition Crime Beat Chronicles, host Nat Cardona speaks with Scott Bass of the Richmond Times-Dispatch who extensively covered the mall's fallout from the double homicide and the impact it had on the surrounding community. Episode transcript Note: The following transcript was created by Adobe Premiere and may contain misspellings and other inaccuracies as it was generated automatically: Hello and welcome to Late Edition Crime Beat Chronicles. I'm your host, Nat Cardona, and I'm happy to be back after a little bit of a hiatus. The last time you listened, I introduced you to the unsolved case of the Cloverleaf Mall stabbings in Richmond, Virginia. This week, I'm talking with Richmond Times Dispatch opinion editor Scott Bass, who extensively covered the mall's fallout from the double homicide and the impact it had on the surrounding community. Tell me a little bit about yourself, your career now and when you first laid your hands on this topic and coverage and what you were doing then, because I know it's like 15 plus years ago, right? As far as what you were. It was a long time. Right. I'm the Opinion Page editor at the Times Dispatch in Richmond. I've only been here for about a year. In essence, I've been a journalist in the Richmond area for almost 30 years now. Almost 30 years. So I've just kind of jumped around from place to place. I worked in magazine journalism for probably the bulk of my career. Richmond Magazine There was a publication here as an alternative weekly called Style Weekly, where I worked for about ten years. Prior to that, I worked at the Small Daily out in Petersburg, Virginia, the Progress-Index, for about two years. And then, oddly enough, I started my career as a business reporter for a monthly that a weekly business journal called Inside Business. And when the homicides took place in 96, I was I had just kind of started my career as a business journalist. Wasn't very good. Still learning. So most of my focus was kind of on the development side of things. In this particular mall was Richmond's first. The Richmond area's first sort of regional shopping destination was a reasonable shot. We didn't have anything like it, and it kind of replaced in the Richmond area, you know, in most a lot of cities where, you know, the main shopping district was downtown in Richmond, it was Broad Street. And Broad Street had the military roads. It had a big, tall Hammer's big, beautiful department stores. It's where everyone kind of collected during the holidays. It was the primary sort of retail shopping district. And then somewhere around, starting in the mid fifties, early sixties, shopping malls started to replace downtown retail districts as whites that not white flight, but as sort of the great suburban explosion took place after World War Two. Everyone moved out of urban areas into suburban the suburbs, and the retail sort of followed back. And this was Cloverleaf Mall was our first sort of big regional shopping destination that was outside of East Broad Street, downtown. And sort of a big deal. Yeah, we were a little late. Like Richmond was always kind of wait things. So, you know, this opened and the first mall Cloverleaf opened in 1972. But right about this time, within three or four years, several malls had been kind of built, were built right after Regency or excuse me, right after Cloverleaf Mall was built in 72, the Regency Mall, which was a bigger, much nicer facility. It was two stories that was built in 74 five. And then, oddly enough, Cloverleaf, which is located south of Richmond and Chesterfield County, which is sort of the biggest jurisdiction in our metro region, opened a second mall much further down the road, about three miles down the road from Cloverleaf, where there was nothing. It was a real tiny shopping strip with one anchor, and it did no business for several years. They used to call it the Chesterfield morgue. But it's interesting because just as an aside, you mall development really took off in the fifties after Congress kind of passed this as a law, basically making it, allowing developers to depreciate real estate development really, really quickly. And that was in 54. And that just jumpstarted mall development. And all of a sudden there was an explosion. Malls were built literally all over the country because it was very easy for developers to build a mall and get their money back paid off within a few years independent of how the mall actually was doing. From a retail perspective. So it just led to a proliferation of malls. And that's kind of what happened at Cloverleaf Club, which was the first. But there were several others that had built up not far away. And slowly but surely it was eagerness. It started E Cloverleaf to launch. This cloverleaf was sort of on the edge of Richmond or just across the border, and that's in Chesterfield from Richmond. And there's an interesting racial history, too, obviously, in Virginia we have independent cities, which means that our cities are actually they have separate governments from the counties next to them. Whereas if you go and everywhere else in the country, cities are tended to be centers of commerce that are part of another jurisdiction. In Virginia, we have independent cities, which means they have no connection whatsoever to the municipalities around them, which meant that in order for the city to grow, it had to annex the surrounding jurisdictions and its property residents. And this had been going on in Virginia. And, you know, the first part of the 20th century, the last one of the last big annexations and I think it might have been the last one was the city of Richmond, annexing about 23 square miles of Chesterfield County in 1970. Chesterfield County is just south of the city, sort of south and east. And they basically absorbed 23 square miles in about 40,000, 47,000 or so residents understanding that there was a racial backdrop here because this came a few years after desegregation and Richmond was sort of ground zero in massive resistance to segregation of integration in schools. And once that happened in the sixties, there was a white flight, a lot of white flight out of Richmond. People just white folks just left and they moved into Chesterfield and Henrico and some of the surrounding jurisdictions. The sort of last gasp for Richmond to sort of maintain some of its tax base occur in 1970 with the annexation. But it was also an attempt to sort of bolster the white political structure because most of the residents that they absorb were white. They were beginning to lose their political power. And that was a primary motivator for the annexation. The mall was built by Chesterfield Camp in Chesterfield County is kind of a big F-you to the city of Richmond. Like, okay, you can you took our land, you took our residents and we're going to build this big fancy mall and we're going to suck all the retail dollars out of the city into Chesterfield County. That's the way a lot of people read that. So it's just she has an interesting history there. The location was just across the city border, the border with Richmond and Chesterfield. They wouldn't even allow busses to venture into Chesterfield County because the idea was to allow busses to come into the county. We're going to be allowing black folks to come here and no one wanted that because there was a lot of there was this perception that once black residents moved in to Chesterfield County, then, you know, everything was lost. This was a difficult time for the Richmond region from a racial perspective, was not a healthy, healthy time or a place. So the mall had always had sort of this slight stigma attached to it in that regard. But in the very beginning, Cloverleaf Mall was really the center of fashion for a couple of years in Richmond. Everyone coalesced there. You know, the local department stores, which had they had stores all up and down the East Coast, Tom Heimer and Miller Roads that were founded here for hire was there. Railroads came a little bit later and Richmond really was for a period of time, kind of a center of retail innovation. This was in the seventies, sixties and seventies. A lot of the big, big format, big box stores kind of came out of Richmond and Circuit City best products. Back in those days. They were the kind of first to actually do big, big box retail. So it was an interesting time and an interesting place for Richmond because we had this history of sort of retail innovation in New York on the East Coast and in the south. And the mall came along. It was a brand new concept and everyone's letter to the mall that lasted for a few years until the other malls started showing up and duplicating those efforts. And it just kind of splintered the market. The homicides came, I guess it was 96. So several years later, the mall was in decline, had been for several years as a sort of suburban development, really took off in Chesterfield further out where around that other mall that built in that direction. So the mall completely mall was in decline, had been struggling. They had struggled to keep their department stores. They would leave, they would have new ones come in. It was difficult, but during the early nineties, things really started to take a turn. Richmond at that time was becoming known as one of the murder capitals of the U.S. during the crack cocaine epidemic, and a lot of people in the surrounding jurisdictions kind of looked at Richmond as this dangerous place to be and it was drug infested. You didn't want to go into the city. And Cloverleaf kind of was right on the edge. People kind of associated Richmond with Cloverleaf on some level. So it was in decline. People began to view Cloverleaf as a dangerous place or potentially a dangerous place. And then when the double homicides took place in 96, that was kind of the end of it. But a lot of the tenants at the mall decided not to renew their leases. The decline just accelerated and that was, I think, most people who are here in Richmond, you can recall this time period, would agree that that double homicide was kind of the nail in the coffin for Clover Moore, for lack of a better word. Sure. They only. We need to take a quick break, so don't go too far. See you all soon during your you know, your coverage of that and the decline and talking in the nineties, Do you have any recollection of what else was going on there? I mean, goofy things happen when there's like vacant stores and that kind of thing. I mean, there had but like, like what didn't what was going on inside a, I mean, murderous aside, like as far as trouble, whatever you want to label it as. There have been some, you know, some reports of, you know, teenagers walking around the mall intimidating, you know, shoppers, that kind of thing. The mall had changed in terms of the retail mix. So as as it became less of a destination and other malls had kind of cornered the market in more populous areas, the demographics around Cloverleaf were lower income. You know, there was a higher black population, higher Latino population, and you started to see a change in retail mix. So you didn't have some of the higher end retailers or the big chains had already kind of breaking. So the gaps, you know, the limited and those kinds of stores had kind of long had and left the place. So you ended up with smaller stores that didn't quite fill the spaces that had been originally, you know, it was designed for a larger footprint and it created more vacancies. And it became a place where, you know, people kind of viewed all that's at the mall is the low income, you know, mall for for people who don't have as much money. And the clientele kind of matched that. And that's the way a lot of people used. CLOVERLEAF But the vacancies were there. I mean, I don't know that it was anything I don't recall any any other major episodes. There had been, I think, another where every now and then there would be a report of someone who had been fired or a gun or a shooting or something like that. But it wasn't. But thanks for clarifying that. Yeah, I just didn't know if there was like other stuff going on there. It's more just like we don't go there because it's more. That's what made this case so bizarre, is because it was a state. It was a you know, I think they were both staffed at least ten times, from what I recall. And, you know, they they couldn't quite figure out sort of, well, who was this someone who was just passing through? Because it was kind of an it was right off of Chippenham Parkway, was close to the interstate. Could this been someone who was just passing through where they're looking around? Who knows? But the fact that they were stabbed multiple times kind of raised the question of it seemed personal. There was nothing I mean, not I mean, they scoured I mean, the police really did put everything into this, as far as I recall. And they just kept coming up empty. They couldn't that they had every lead that they had. There was a U-Haul at one point in the parking lot that it had been left unlocked with the lights on. I think that turned out to not be connected. They just they just got run into dead ends. And yeah, it's just bizarre. I have no one really ever I don't think that. I suspect today they are not any closer than they were. We know whatever happened in 2004 as a possible break in the case or we did, you know, obviously fizzled out. And it's been there almost 20 years since. So, yeah, it's definitely really. 30 years here. Yeah. Yeah. Well, from 24 for there to be like this possible break. But that was like the last that we've seen. Right. That's the most completely They gone now. They tore down that wall. Right. So, so 1990. So November 1996, these murders happened. I was your one style Weekly article that I first came across was, you know, eight years later in 2004. So when you were covering that, where where was the mall at at that time? Was it about like literally on its last legs or. Yes, it was. It was literally on this last legs. I mean, in terms of the other day, gosh, I can't recall who was actually if one of the department stores was still there. wow. Sears might have still been there in 2004. Okay. But I believe they were the last anchor. But yeah, at that point in time, I mean, you know, a lot of it becomes self-fulfilling prophecy. Chesterfield County had pegged it for redevelopment a few years earlier. And, you know, if you spend enough time talking about the mom and dad to your constituents and the news and with plans of what we're going to do to fix it, it kind of seals the enamel. Yeah. And by 2004, it was done. Okay. It was just a matter of who was going to pay for the redevelopment. Sure. And then on as an aside to that on the fringe, it really could never shake that. This is the place where two women were murdered and they still don't know what happened. True. Yeah. No, absolutely true. There was a real estate agent. Real estate agent or a commercial real estate broker. We followed all of this with me, and the story that I wrote made the comment that, you know, that was got death written all over it. And that was really true. Like no one wanted to touch them all. You couldn't get content to resign. It just had this perception of being in a bad area. There's some racial undertones to it, of course, but by that point it was so far gone that I don't think anyone reasonably thought it could be resurrected as a retail destination. Sure. And then do you have any idea how long that all in $1 store where they were murdered out? Like how long did that survive? Any clue after they were murdered? Yeah, I don't imagine a real oak. That's a really good question. I don't know the answer to every you know. Have you talked have you tried to talk to Jay Latham? I know that the feelers have been out with that. I he he would probably have more insight on that. Right. He's a great interview. Yeah. And he actually had he did two stints there. So he was I thought he was the original loan manager, but he came in I think 75 or six, 76 somewhere. There came a couple of years after they left and then came back and he was the manager at the mall where the homicides took place. And it was like a really crazy time period, really. He just returned five weeks before or something. He hadn't been there long, and they were in the process of trying to revive it. So he worked for a Think Simon Property group, which is either just purchased the mall or believe it and have to go back and check. But yeah he was with a group that had was they had taken it over and they were had hopes of sort of reviving and then that happened and yeah, changed his plans. So. Right, so what, what's there now. They had this sort of mixed use thing. It's, there's a big Kroger, one of the biggest doesn't have me, there's nothing exciting there. They basically replace it with a mix of retail and residential and Chester County had gotten involved in issuing health issue bonds to kind of pay for some of the infrastructure and got Kroger to build. I think at the time it might still be one of the biggest Kroger's in Virginia and it's just massive Kroger marketplace. And that was the big anchor. Well, interestingly, there is one little remnant of the mall still left, which is a tire shop that was part of the mall and it still has the old sixties and early seventies sort of architecture that refused to sell. And it's still there. And it's right in the middle of this sort of new development because they put him on kind of sticking out like a sore thumb. So you can appreciate. The entire place. Yeah, and it's exciting, but they're in the process of redeveloping the whole area now. You know, there's some stuff going to put it in a couple of ice skating rinks across the street and there's a big sort of office park that have been there for years. They're trying to interconnect their office park with some shopping district slash entertainment complex right next to it that's close to the mall. You know. This is like any to pop that in any city kind of thing. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah. What's different? Right. Well, what's the what's the demographics in the area now? It's still primarily it's not a high income. You know, the area of of just, you know, just was big is about 400 square miles. So it's a big, big footprint. The sort of the as the suburban development kind of shifted further out, you know, that there was sort of inner edge parts of both counties is just kind of, you know. The one last thing that pops in my mind here is, I mean, I know you weren't a crime reporter and you are not one currently, but just for more context, because we're I'm not there and I know that Richmond was at one time, you know, the murder capital, like you say. Are there more cases like this? Like I just I guess it's interesting to me that there's so little coverage of an unsolved murder of two women at a mall, something so public. And you know, seemingly random. And it's just like, is this? And I was just kind of one of those earmarked cases in the area that people like. Definitely. No, definitely remember like or other like tons of these. I just I just don't get it. I think at the time I mean the be just what I remember of this time period, you know, Richmond was I think two years early. We had 160 murder incidents in a city of less than 200,000 people. It was a problem. We had a higher murder rate. So it wasn't it didn't happen often in Chesterfield, the jurisdictions around the city. I mean, they always had it and we've always had issues, but not not 160 murders year. So when the Cleveland murders happened, I think it just kind of got lost a little bit. I was like, okay, it's there's a racial element to it. You know, if it were two white women, then there would be way more attention focused on it. That's just tends to be the case. And because these were minority women who were found stabbed to death and all that, people had stopped caring about at least those with political power and stopped caring about allowing it to sort of just kind of drift. That's quite a bit of that here. No, it's almost. Yeah. Is there anything else you just want to add about your realm of things in connection with cool relief? Yeah, I'm so, I mean, you know, I hope it's I hope it's enough for you to sink your teeth into. And I guess I'm not having a lot of information about the actual case itself. I know Chesterfield was very close to the vest about what they were, what they would release the police department was. So I recall just kind of during when I was reporting on this, just kind of being in my head against the wall because they wanted this to be out there. But they were very it was very difficult to get them to talk about some of the leads that they had and didn't have them. All that good stuff. You know, I think for me, just going back and looking at the the case itself, I was always fascinated with it. I mean, I'm I'm a local, you know, journalist, you know, So outside of Richmond, maybe you wouldn't care about such things. But, you know, there are there are so many different layers to it from understanding like the connection between annexation and sort of the racial history. There was always like another layer to it that maybe I didn't think about or didn't realize until I went back and looked at everything again. And that's all for now. Subscribe. So that you don't come back and you episodes cases are coming your way. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
This is an interview with Ben Cleary, author of "Searching for Stonewall Jackson: A Quest for Legacy in a Divided America." Kevin and Ben discuss the famed Confederate general in terms of his military genius and his unique eccentricities. Ben is an author, journalist, and teacher. He has written extensively for a variety of media, including print, web, video, and radio. His journalism has aired on All Things Considered and appeared in the New York Times and Richmond's Style Weekly. His creative biography of Stonewall Jackson is available now from Hachette Book Group. Find Ben at https://bencarloscleary.com/ Find his book at Amazon.com: Searching for Stonewall Jackson: A Quest for Legacy in a Divided America eBook : Cleary, Ben: Kindle Store
FINALLY THE MIGHTY THREE IS BACK!!!!! Moral, Carl, and Gabriela look back on an amazing season. Moral sends a congrats to Style Weekly's Top 40 under 40. ShoutOut goes to Rollineatz Food Truck (@rollineatzva) and Gabriela shares her perspective on the pod's growth and impact this season. Follow for more happening on IG @embrace_podcast
Jason Roop, former editor of Style Weekly and founder of media/PR firm Springstory, joins John to give a Richmond weekend update.
Jason Roop, former Editor of Style Weekly and founder of media and PR firm Springstory, speaks to John Reid about all the exciting things going on this weekend in Richmond.
Monica and Ethan King continue their conversation with Tommy Bettin and Maggie Small of Fred Astaire Dance Studios in Richmond, Virginia. Discussing adding children to the mix, determining roles and responsibilities and the internal secrets that make it all work successfully, this episode shares the second part to their conversation. Episode Quote: Our relationships whether business or personal are nourished and shaped by the commitment we express through our actions. Dr. Steve Maraboli Fred Astaire Dance Studio Richmond https://www.facebook.com/fredastaireRVA Tommy Bio Tommy Bettin, a classical trained ballet dancer and ballroom and latin professional dancer, trained and performed throughout the United States and Mexico. Mr. Bettin started his own independent ballroom school, Maity Dance, in Richmond, Virginia which transitioned to become a part of the Fred Astaire Franchised Studios. Over the last 5 years, Mr. Bettin has launched the FADS Richmond location into one of the foremost performing in the franchise and has been awarded individually as “Top 40 Under 40” by Richmond-based publication, Style Weekly, for making a notable impact on the growth of the city by excelling in his genre. Maggie Bio Maggie Small, a native of Richmond, Virginia, danced as a professional ballerina with Richmond Ballet for 16 years and has earned a B.A. in Performing Arts from St. Mary's College of California. She has performed internationally in the United Kingdom and China as well as domestically in notable performance spaces such as The Joyce Theater, Jacob's Pillow and alongside Carmen Devallade at Jazz at Lincoln Center. Honors include a Dance Magazine cover story feature as Richmond Ballet's “Homegrown Ballerina”, a “Hometown Hero” Award from the Links, Inc., Style Weekly's Top 40 Under 40, Class of 2020 and the inaugural “Dancer of the Year” RVA Dance Award. Maggie retired from Richmond Ballet in 2019 where she remains as member of the Advisory Council. She also serves as a member of Richmond City's Public Art Commission and works with her husband and business partner, Tommy Bettin, operating and growing Ballroom, Latin and Social Dance studio, Fred Astaire Dance Studio Richmond. Episode Sponsor - Zeus' Closet Helpful Entrepreneurial Resources from Become Your Own Boss Helpful Entrepreneurial Resources from Become Your Own Boss Join the Become Your Own Boss Community Monica FREE ebook Get your Become Your Own Boss Planner Ways to reach Monica: Instagram: @becomeyourownbosspodcast Email: monica@monicaallen.com --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/becomeyourownboss/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/becomeyourownboss/support
Have you thought about working with your spouse? Are you considering starting a business with your significant other? Are you already in business together? On this week's episode, Monica hands over the mic to her husband and business partner, Ethan King as they talk with Tommy Bettin and Maggie Small about startup challenges, one of the biggest myths of owning your own business, working together and so much more. Episode Quote: There is only one thing you must remember in order to have a successful marriage. Always put your spouse first. ~Unknown Fred Astaire Dance Studio Richmong https://www.facebook.com/fredastaireRVA Tommy Bio Tommy Bettin, a classical trained ballet dancer and ballroom and latin professional dancer, trained and performed throughout the United States and Mexico. Mr. Bettin started his own independent ballroom school, Maity Dance, in Richmond, Virginia which transitioned to become a part of the Fred Astaire Franchised Studios. Over the last 5 years, Mr. Bettin has launched the FADS Richmond location into one of the foremost performing in the franchise and has been awarded individually as “Top 40 Under 40” by Richmond-based publication, Style Weekly, for making a notable impact on the growth of the city by excelling in his genre. Maggie Bio Maggie Small, a native of Richmond, Virginia, danced as a professional ballerina with Richmond Ballet for 16 years and has earned a B.A. in Performing Arts from St. Mary's College of California. She has performed internationally in the United Kingdom and China as well as domestically in notable performance spaces such as The Joyce Theater, Jacob's Pillow and alongside Carmen Devallade at Jazz at Lincoln Center. Honors include a Dance Magazine cover story feature as Richmond Ballet's “Homegrown Ballerina”, a “Hometown Hero” Award from the Links, Inc., Style Weekly's Top 40 Under 40, Class of 2020 and the inaugural “Dancer of the Year” RVA Dance Award. Maggie retired from Richmond Ballet in 2019 where she remains as member of the Advisory Council. She also serves as a member of Richmond City's Public Art Commission and works with her husband and business partner, Tommy Bettin, operating and growing Ballroom, Latin and Social Dance studio, Fred Astaire Dance Studio Richmond. Episode Sponsor - Zeus' Closet Helpful Entrepreneurial Resources from Become Your Own Boss Helpful Entrepreneurial Resources from Become Your Own Boss Join the Become Your Own Boss Community Monica FREE ebook Get your Become Your Own Boss Planner Ways to reach Monica: Instagram: @becomeyourownbosspodcast Email: monica@monicaallen.com --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/becomeyourownboss/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/becomeyourownboss/support
Jason Roop, former Editor of Style Weekly and founder of media and PR firm Springstory, joins Richmond's Morning News to give us a Richmond Weekend Update
Former Editor of Style Weekly and Founder of media and PR firm Springstory Jason Roop provides his weekend event update.
In this episode, Katee and Jackye chat with Aurora Higgs. Aurora (she/they) is a Black queer visionary and activist from Richmond, Va. Aurora works as an equity consultant all around the world. Aurora transitioned in 2018 and uses her platform to promote justice and equity. Aurora is the VP of Operations at HUMiN Inc, a Seattle-based Consultancy specializing in DEI and Management Consulting for Large Tech and Biopharma corporate clients. In 2019, Aurora founded Borealis Consulting RVA where she works as a speaker, researcher, performer, and producer of media that elevate queer BIPOC voices. Higgs also was invited to assist Del. Danica Roem (D-Prince William), in passing several pieces of legislation related to transgender rights in Virginia, including a bill to make transphobic discrimination by medical providers illegal. Her work in the Richmond community has earned her a number of honors in recent years. Aurora was a featured honoree in Style Weekly's 2019 Top 40 Under 40 Issue as well as in the Virginia Museum of History and Culture's Agents of Change Exhibit. The Advocate named Aurora a 2022 Champion of Pride from Around the US. And if you ever find yourself on MacArthur Ave in RVA, you can find a mural in honor of Aurora and her impact on the community. Aurora believes that her calling is to show up in spaces bravely and authentically, no matter the repercussions. Someone once said “Show up so BIG in the room that it feels too small after you've left.” Aurora holds this mantra close to her heart as she creates space for her communities and herself. If you like what you hear, we would like to encourage you to subscribe to our channel! We would also appreciate it if you would rate this channel by going here: RateThisPodcast.com/inclusiveaf We create this podcast as a labor of love. But if you would like to support this channel you can buy us a cup of coffee here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/InclusiveAF
In this episode, Katee and Jackye chat with Aurora Higgs. Aurora (she/they) is a Black queer visionary and activist from Richmond, Va. Aurora works as an equity consultant all around the world. Aurora transitioned in 2018 and uses her platform to promote justice and equity. Aurora is the VP of Operations at HUMiN Inc, a Seattle-based Consultancy specializing in DEI and Management Consulting for Large Tech and Biopharma corporate clients. In 2019, Aurora founded Borealis Consulting RVA where she works as a speaker, researcher, performer, and producer of media that elevate queer BIPOC voices. Higgs also was invited to assist Del. Danica Roem (D-Prince William), in passing several pieces of legislation related to transgender rights in Virginia, including a bill to make transphobic discrimination by medical providers illegal. Her work in the Richmond community has earned her a number of honors in recent years. Aurora was a featured honoree in Style Weekly's 2019 Top 40 Under 40 Issue as well as in the Virginia Museum of History and Culture's Agents of Change Exhibit. The Advocate named Aurora a 2022 Champion of Pride from Around the US. And if you ever find yourself on MacArthur Ave in RVA, you can find a mural in honor of Aurora and her impact on the community. Aurora believes that her calling is to show up in spaces bravely and authentically, no matter the repercussions. Someone once said “Show up so BIG in the room that it feels too small after you've left.” Aurora holds this mantra close to her heart as she creates space for her communities and herself. If you like what you hear, we would like to encourage you to subscribe to our channel! We would also appreciate it if you would rate this channel by going here: RateThisPodcast.com/inclusiveaf We create this podcast as a labor of love. But if you would like to support this channel you can buy us a cup of coffee here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/InclusiveAF
In this episode, Katee and Jackye chat with Aurora Higgs. Aurora (she/they) is a Black queer visionary and activist from Richmond, Va. Aurora works as an equity consultant all around the world. Aurora transitioned in 2018 and uses her platform to promote justice and equity. Aurora is the VP of Operations at HUMiN Inc, a Seattle-based Consultancy specializing in DEI and Management Consulting for Large Tech and Biopharma corporate clients. In 2019, Aurora founded Borealis Consulting RVA where she works as a speaker, researcher, performer, and producer of media that elevate queer BIPOC voices. Higgs also was invited to assist Del. Danica Roem (D-Prince William), in passing several pieces of legislation related to transgender rights in Virginia, including a bill to make transphobic discrimination by medical providers illegal. Her work in the Richmond community has earned her a number of honors in recent years. Aurora was a featured honoree in Style Weekly's 2019 Top 40 Under 40 Issue as well as in the Virginia Museum of History and Culture's Agents of Change Exhibit. The Advocate named Aurora a 2022 Champion of Pride from Around the US. And if you ever find yourself on MacArthur Ave in RVA, you can find a mural in honor of Aurora and her impact on the community. Aurora believes that her calling is to show up in spaces bravely and authentically, no matter the repercussions. Someone once said “Show up so BIG in the room that it feels too small after you've left.” Aurora holds this mantra close to her heart as she creates space for her communities and herself. If you like what you hear, we would like to encourage you to subscribe to our channel! We would also appreciate it if you would rate this channel by going here: RateThisPodcast.com/inclusiveaf We create this podcast as a labor of love. But if you would like to support this channel you can buy us a cup of coffee here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/InclusiveAF
Kristen Johnson currently serves as the Director of Development and Community Engagement for REAL LIFE, a nonprofit organization providing holistic support and services to individuals impacted by incarceration, homelessness or substance use disorder. Kristen is also the President-Elect of the Junior League of Richmond and was recognized as one of Style Weekly's Top 40 Under 40. In her spare time, she loves cheering on the Washington Capitals and Nationals, photography, reading, and building Lego. Kristen currently resides in Richmond with her partner, Myke, and their two cats, Marauder and Wilson.Please rate us on Apple and Spotify and subscribe for free at mikeyopp.com This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mikeyopp.substack.com/subscribe
Josh and Adam--both of whom are pretty big fans of Cutty in The Wire--are forced to watch an episode this week where Chad L. Coleman is seen Ray Rice-ing his special lady friend, played by the wonderful Meagan Good. That's not fun to watch, but it's also not fun to watch the SVUs acting against the victim's vehement wishes. It's even less fun to watch after Amaro (who is just back from beating a perp to within an inch of his life) blows up in the opening scene of "Spousal Privilege" (Season 16, Episode 8), making the audience wonder just what qualities in outburst-prone people determine that they get a second chance.Don't worry, the Munchie Boys also use this episode to revel in RedChanIt, take notice of how many of the SVUs were abused as children, and dive deep into the NYC's first black mayor, David Dinkins, who happens to have two lines in this episode. Sources:Walking Tall - Richard Foster, February 12, 2013 - Style Weekly, Richmond, VAFive years later, setting the record straight on the Ray Rice video - AJ Perez, September 7, 2019 - USA TodayPeyton Manning's squeaky-clean image was built on lies, as detailed in explosive court documents showing ugly smear campaign against his alleged sex assault victim - Shaun King, February 13, 2016 - New York Daily NewsThe Past Is Never Dead: Peyton Manning and Today's Jock-Rape Culture at Tennessee - Dave Zirin, February 15, 2016 - The NationOlder elite football players have reduced cardiac and osteoporosis risk factors - Nicole A Lynch, Alice S Ryan, Joyce Evans, Leslie I Katzel, and Andrew P Goldberg, Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, NIH National Library of Medicine, July 2007Prosecuting Domestic Violence Cases Without a Victim - New-York-Lawyers.orgMusic:Divorcio Suave - "Munchy Business"Thanks to our gracious Munchies on Patreon: Jeremy S, Jaclyn O, Pedro H, Amy Z, Nikki B, Louise M, Whitney C, D Reduble, Tony B, Zak B, Barry W, Karen D, Madelin K, Sara L, Miriam J, Drew D, Meghan M, Nicky R, Stuart, Jacqi B, Natalie T, Robyn S, Isabel P, and Christine L - y'all are the best!Be a Munchie, too! Support us on Patreon: patreon.com/munchmybensonFollow us on: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Post, and Reddit (Adam's Twitter and Josh's Twitter)Join our Discord: Munch Casts ServerCheck out Munch Merch: Munch Merch at ZazzleCheck out our guest appearances on: Storytellers from Ratchet Book Club…These Are There Stories (Adam and Josh)FMWL Pod (1st Time & 2nd Time)Chick-Lit at the MoviesVisit Our Website: Munch My BensonEmail the podcast: munchmybenson@gmail.comNext Week's Episode: Season 23, Episode 11 "Burning With Rage Forever"
Style Weekly writer Karen Newton joins fill-in host Jason Roop to preview New Year's Eve events in Richmond.
Former Editor of Style Weekly and founder of media and PR firm Springstory Jason Roop provides his weekend event update.
For many people around the world, ringing in the new year brings with it the promise of new hope, a fresh start, and renewed possibilities. But each year of Ricky Javon Gray's short life brought only violence, brutality, and death ending in a shocking murder spree over New Year's weekend 2006. Sources: “The Visitors” by Melissa Scott Sinclair for Style Weekly, October 20, 2010. https://www.styleweekly.com/richmond/the-visitors/Content?oid=1381013 “Man convicted of grisly murders of Virginia couple, daughters” Associated Press, August 17, 2006. “String of Slayings Shatters Richmond” by Carol Morello for The Washington Post, Jan 15, 2006. “Gray v. Commonwealth”, Supreme Court of Virginia, Decided June 8, 2007. Retrieved from FindLaw.com. “Cold Blooded” on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ck1M87CT1Tk “Lawyers describe childhood abuse as ‘sexual slavery' as they argue Ricky Gray should be spared from death” by Gary A. Harki for PilotOnline.com, Dec 13, 2016. “Ricky Gray's execution took more than 30 minutes. His attorneys want to know why” by Rachel Weiner for The Washington Post, Jan 19, 2017. “Virginia Becomes First Southern State to Abolish the Death Penalty” by Samantha O'Connell, AmericanBar.org, March 21, 2021. Sponsors: Best Fiends - Download Best Fiends for FREE on the App Store or Google Play. Hunt a Killer - www.huntakiller.com/once and use code ONCE for December discounts and limited edition merchandise. Parade - Get up to 45% off with code BFONCE at https://yourparade.com/BFONCE. Wondery - The Vanished - Follow The Vanished on Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, or listen early and ad-free by joining Wondery Plus. Smile - Smile, the hit horror movie is now streaming on Parmount+. Head to paramountplus.com to try it free. Links: Patreon - www.patreon.com/onceuponacrime to listen to all episodes ad-free and gain access to bonus episodes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Sources: “The Visitors” by Melissa Scott Sinclair for Style Weekly, October 20, 2010. https://www.styleweekly.com/richmond/the-visitors/Content?oid=1381013 “Man convicted of grisly murders of Virginia couple, daughters” Associated Press, August 17, 2006. “String of Slayings Shatters Richmond” by Carol Morello for The Washington Post, Jan 15, 2006. “Gray v. Commonwealth”, Supreme Court of Virginia, Decided June 8, 2007. Retrieved from FindLaw.com. “Cold Blooded” on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ck1M87CT1Tk “Lawyers describe childhood abuse as ‘sexual slavery' as they argue Ricky Gray should be spared from death” by Gary A. Harki for PilotOnline.com, Dec 13, 2016. “Ricky Gray's execution took more than 30 minutes. His attorneys want to know why” by Rachel Weiner for The Washington Post, Jan 19, 2017. “Virginia Becomes First Southern State to Abolish the Death Penalty” by Samantha O'Connell, AmericanBar.org, March 21, 2021.
Former Editor of Style Weekly and Founder of media and PR firm Jason Roop provides his weekend event update for the Thanksgiving weekend.
Former Editor of Style Weekly and Founder of Media and PR Firm Springstory Jason Roop provides his weekend event update.
Former Editor of Style Weekly and founder of media and PR firm Springstory Jason Roop provides his weekend event update.
Former Editor of Style Weekly and founder of media and PR firm Springstory Jason Roop provides his weekend event update.
Former Editor of Style Weekly and founder of media and PR firm Springstory Jason Roop provdes his weekend event update.
Noah-O is an innovative rapper and entrepreneur that has been a staple on the Virginia Hip Hop scene since his debut project Monument Avenue in 2014. He founded the Charged Up Entertainment record label and recently launched a flagship store in Richmond, Virginia. He's made appearances on Sway in The Morning and Hot 97 and was named one of Style Weekly's Top 40 Under 40. His latest release is the deeply personal album TRILLipino, which captures his experiences as a Filipino American growing up in San Francisco & Richmond, VA. In this hour long conversation we discuss Dissolving self-pressure to allow for creative experimentation Translating storytelling and poetry skills into a creative career And so much more! Noah-O's site: noah-o.com Noah-O's IG: @chargedupnoaho TRILLipino: Link to Album TRILLipino is Noah-O's most personal project to date. Original conceptualizing this album began in 2016. Noah wanted to create a body of work that would capture his experiences as a Filipino American growing up in San Francisco, CA & also Richmond, VA. Through having a desire to tell his own story he began to realize that the album to not only tells his family's story but also touches on the collective experience of the Filipino diaspora. Musically TRILLipino is a project that combines Noah's diverse influences From Bay Area Rap, Boom Bap to Lo Fi & Southern Hip Hop. Searching hi & lo to find a producer who could pull this together Noah met Suttahomz. A Brooklyn native who now resides in VA. Suttahomz is a seasoned veteran formerly of Roc Nation with production credits from Amerie to 2 Chainz. Through years of hard work, becoming friends and finding a cohesive sound, we now present "TRILLipino." Noah on Patreon: patreon.com/noahscalin Music by Jantrax --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
Former Editor of Style Weekly and founder of media and PR firm Springstory Jason Roop provides his weekend event update.
Lindsay Hoffman is an entertainment news journalist who currently is working for Life and Style Weekly, US Weekly and In Touch Magazines. She is also the founder of MashupLA, which is a way that allows brands to connect to one another to create out of this world content. Hoffman also has a blog called, "Dose of Bliss." here she posts motivational and inspiring quotes and tips to encourage people and inspire them to always be happy and to believe in themselves. Creating platforms such as her blog, and MashupLA on top of being a journalist for the world of entertainment are huge life goals that Lindsay has accomplished, and it is no doubt that she's going to keep shining a light on people everywhere. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/jayme-starr/support
Jared Shapiro / Founder & Managing Director of The Tag Experience Jared Shapiro is a brand strategist, marketing maven, and publicist with over 15 years of experience in the entertainment and media world as principal of marketing + strategy + PR agency The Tag Experience. As the former editor in chief of the Miami headquartered Ocean Drive Magazine, Jared utilized his 13 years of experience in NYC as the editorial director of In Touch Weekly and Life & Style Weekly (selling a combined 60 million copies per year on the newsstands) to further broaden Ocean Drive's international appeal and global reach. Jared is also a New York Times Best Selling Author and Forbes contributor. Jared has written for Us Weekly, Star, TV Guide, Men's Health and the New York Post (more…)
Regional Peer Support with Carla Heath About the Episode Date: October 25, 2021 Episode 12: Regional Peer Support with Carla Heath Summary As the profession of peer support continues to evolve in Virginia, new career ladders are developing. Learn more about the role of a Regional Peer Recovery Specialist Coordinator and how the position collaborates with other providers, shares recovery resources with those in Region 4 (Central Virginia), and assists in connecting the supports available to those who need them. Carla Heath has fifteen years of experience in the peer support field, developing, providing, and overseeing peer services. Her experience and skills acquired in serving as a co-founder and executive director of a non-profit center, combined with her work at Community Service Boards, gives her a unique perspective regarding peer and recovery-oriented services. She is a Peer Recovery Specialist trainer, a Certified Personal Medicine Coach trainer, an ECPR trainer, an Ethics facilitator, a Mentorship trainer, and a WRAP facilitator trainer. She has conducted numerous workshops at conferences and has given keynote addresses. Carla's story has been told in the book “Firewalkers,” as well as in articles in Richmond's Style Weekly and the Chesterfield Observer. She was honored to be a part of a segment on ABC News regarding recovery from mental health challenges. Resources Region 4 CPRS Booklet Region 4 YouTube Channel
mad big ups to Michael K. Williams, Style Weekly, Fuquan Johnsonmusic news includes Elton John, Lil Uzi Vert, Vince Neil, Stevie Wonder, Metallica & more.Slaps include ABBA, Kanye West, Drake, Anderson. Paak & Iron Maiden.Patreon - http://patreon.com/thehustleseasonBandcamp - http://thehustleseason.bandcamp.comTHS YouTube -https://bit.ly/THSYouTubeChannelInstagram - http://instagram.com/thehustleseasonTwitter - http://twitter.com/thehustleseasonSpring (fmrly Teespring) - https://bit.ly/HustleSeasonMerchFacebook - http://bit.ly/HustleSeasonFBThe Hustle Season on Apple Podcasts - https://bit.ly/TheHSPodcastAppleThe Hustle Season on Spotify Podcasts - https://bit.ly/TheHSPodcastSpotify
Good morning, RVA! It's 69 °F, and today looks hot and humid with sticky highs in the 90s. Hold on tight, though, because (slightly) cooler weather shows up tomorrow.Water coolerA quick update on two papers floating around during yesterday's Land Use, Housing and Transportation committee meeting! First, the Richmond 300 amendments resolution (RES. 2021-R026) which I say bad things about was recommended for continuance, and, second, Councilmember Jones's resolution to ask the CAO for a report on how to evenly distribute affordable housing across council districts (RES. 2021-R043) was recommended for approval. Stoked on the latter, and wondering if the former is in the process of death by a thousand continuations. Introduced back in April, RES. 2021-R026 is now one of the older items on Council's agenda. Shoutout to current Methuselatic Ordinance titleholder, ORD. 2019–275, which was introduced way back in October…of 2019!There's not a ton of new information in this article by VPM's Alan Rodriguez about the School Board's decision to issue their own RFP for a George Wythe replacement. However, I do think it's worth reading to squeeze out a little more of the situation's flavor. With School Board now having drawn a end-of-August line in the sand for issuing an RFP, how do we react when the RPS administration fails to meet that possibly (probably?) unrealistic deadline? Or what do we do if the administration somehow crushes it out of the park and pulls off getting an RFP out the door in the next 41 days—while also reopening in-person school for the first time in over 400 days?Look at this great news: Jessica Nocera in the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that Henrico County will give Church Road, way out by Short Pump and 295, a road diet! Not only will the County reduce the number of lanes, thereby slowing traffic, but they'll use the newly created extra space to install bike lanes. Check out these incredible results from their public engagement process: “71% of respondents overwhelmingly favored the final option.”Rich Griset in Style Weekly has an update on all of the the updates going on at a lot of the city's museums. The VMFA, Virginia Museum of History & Culture, Science Museum of Virginia, and the Valentine are all in the midst of expansions, renovations, and reorganizations. I'm glad these museums survived the last year and are even in a place to expand.I've spent the last 18 months aging in place and have lost track of the number of new arcades/barcades in Scott's Addition. So it is new news to me that DawnStar Video Games and Arcade will open not one but two mini pinball rooms. One, the Starcade will feature “brighter, more nostalgic machines” while the other, the Mooncade, will host “darker, horror themed machines.” Honestly, I love everything about this article by Noah Daboul in Richmond BizSense, especially the header image.This morning's longreadThe new real estate normalThis is what a housing crisis looks like!They'd seen more than 50 houses in the past three months, and the only thing that had changed about their housing search in Boise was that the prices continued to rise. They'd gone from looking at homes listed for a maximum of $400,000, to stretching their budget up to $450,000, to now considering spending $500,000 or more. “It's on the far, far end of our range,” Craig said. “We'd be looking at five times our old house payment.” “We need somewhere to live,” Heidi said. “If we keep going like this for another few months, we might be looking at the same places for $600,000. What choice do we have?”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 today you can expect highs in the mid 90s with Feels Likes above and beyond 100 °F. We're deep in dangerous heat territory, and if you've got to go outside, be smart about it! We've got at least a couple more days before temperatures cool down.Water coolerAs of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports the seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths as: 165, 7, and 6, respectively. VDH reports a seven-day average of 15.4 new cases in and around Richmond (Richmond: 2.1; Henrico: 10.1, and Chesterfield: 3.1). Since this pandemic began, 1,358 people have died in the Richmond region. 46.6%, 58.2%, and 54.8% of the population in Richmond, Henrico, and Chesterfield have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.The big COVID-19 news this morning is that a WHO official urged the public to continue wearing masks indoors—even if fully vaccinated—as a precaution against the delta variant of COVID-19. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health quickly followed suit and issued the same recommendation for its residents. I've seen this new variant-related mask recommendation framed a couple of ways in the media, mostly as “we don't know enough about the delta variant, and wearing masks helps keep you—even if you're vaccinated—from spreading this highly transmissible variant to folks who may be unvaccinated.” But I've also seen the actual quote from the WHO official, taken out of whatever context it may have originally been in, and it reads way more intense: “People cannot feel safe just because they had the two doses. They still need to protect themselves…Vaccine alone won't stop community transmission.” According to the NYT, yesterday the CDC “pointed to [its] existing guidance and gave no indication it would change.” So, here we are again with seemingly conflicting mask guidance, and I don't love it! To give you some context on the local spread of the delta variant, the VDH Variants of Concern dashboard reports 48 total cases in Virginia, with zero in Richmond, 14 in Henrico, and three in Chesterfield.Kenya Hunter at the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that Richmond Public Schools “anticipates a 14 percentage point boost in its graduation rate, with Latino students and economically disadvantaged students seeing the most significant gains.” This year, according to preliminary figures, 85.7% of students will graduate on time, compared to 71.6% last year. That's a lot of dang percentage points to increase, and I wonder what it all means given the year students just had. Will those numbers hold for next year? Was something about virtual learning better for high school students? Or maybe, as RPS's Chief Academic Officer Tracy Epp, says “This is the culmination of three years—we're seeing that we're finally gaining traction, based on the past three years of our efforts.”Quick City Council update: Last night Council passed all of the Jackson Ward street dedication ordinances. DPW will now get to hanging up some new signage!I'm fascinated by ghost kitchens, and Richmond BizSense's Mike Platania reports that Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick will bring one to Broad Street near Arthur Ashe Boulevard. If I'm being honest with myself, I'm mostly fascinated by the generic, keyword-heavy names that some delivery-only restaurants using ghost kitchens come up with. Mine would be called “Wings are Good.”Twitter user Doug Allen made this super useful map of all (?) the Richmond-area bike shops. I know bike shops are like tacos—everyone has a favorite spot—but, if you don't already have a favorite of your own, check out the map and try one out near you. I definitely prefer taking my bike(s) to the shop and having them actually fix a thing rather than watching a YouTube and getting frustrated that my brain can't understand simple machines for some reason.Brent Baldwin at Style Weekly talked to Chris Haynie, cofounder of Happy Trees Agricultural Supply, about how to grow marijuana in your house. Honestly, sounds waaaaay too complicated for me. I do love this quote, though, which makes me feel like I could at least keep a plant alive as an ornamental, “Cannabis is not some crazy plant that aliens gave us from some other world, it grows like a pepper, man. It's a fast-flowering annual.”The Washington Post has a nice article from a couple weeks back about how Virginia is crushing it when it comes to expanding passenger rail. It'll still take the better part of a decade to realize some of the planned improvements, but I'm pretty stoked to take the train everywhere when I'm retired.This morning's longreadWhy ‘tiny forests' are popping up in big citiesI live in a very shady, tree-filled neighborhood—which we know is because where I live was never redlined and has seen decades of investment in its trees and other infrastructure. Many neighborhoods near me—in fact, the one just across the street—haven't had the benefit of all that investment and of all those trees and sits sweltering and shadeless in 100 °F heat. I wonder if strategic tiny forests could be part of the solution?The small-footprint projects are based on the work of Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki, who, beginning in the 1970s, pioneered a method of planting young indigenous species close together to quickly regenerate forests on degraded land. Miyawaki, who extensively studied and catalogued the vegetation of Japan, surveyed forests near potential Tiny Forest sites for a mixture of their main species. “The planting should center on the primary trees of the location, and following the laws of the natural forest,” he wrote in a 2006 essay upon accepting the Blue Planet award. Competing for light, the saplings grow quickly, explained Miyawaki's collaborator Kazue Fujiwara. According to Fujiwara, the method can work anywhere, even in plots as small as one meter wide, though she said a minimum of three meters is easier to plant a mix of species.If you'd like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol' Patreon.Picture of the DayTake-out bike is back!
Good morning, RVA! It's 73 °F, and, guess what? More of the same! Expect hot, sticky highs in the 90s, with even hotter Feels Likes, plus a possibility for rain this evening. Cooler temperatures move in tomorrow, 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: 202, 35, and 8.4, respectively. VDH reports a seven-day average of 23.6 new cases in and around Richmond (Richmond: 7.7; Henrico: 6.4, and Chesterfield: 9.4). Since this pandemic began, 1,330 people have died in the Richmond region. 44.4%, 55.5%, and 51.9% of the population in Richmond, Henrico, and Chesterfield have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.Biden Goal update! As of this morning, 68.2% of adult Virginians have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. So close! But gains of just 0.1% per day will push the Commonwealth's target for hitting the 70% goal out to around June 26th. I've become irrationally interested in this number!The Virginia Public Access Project has the results of last night's Democratic Primary. Here's what November's statewide ticket will look like: For governor, Terry McAuliffe; for lieutenant governor, Hala Ayala; and for Attorney General, Mark Herring. Locally, both incumbents, Colette McEachin and Antoinette Irving won their Commonwealth's Attorney and Sheriff races respectively. You can check out the results of the General Assembly primaries here, which feature a lot of victorious incumbents as well. As per usual, I didn't vote for a lot of these folks, but I'm excited to support them heading into November. I like the moment after primaries where we can all take a moment, regroup, and get on the same page. Speaking of same page, look at this map of localities that went for McAuliffe—it's all of them, like, 100% of them. That's impressive. Now, what I want to see, is former Governor McAuliffe turn on his money printing machine and start out raising Republic candidate Youngkin ASAP. Virginia! We have elections every year! It's exhausting!The Richmond Land Bank has put out an RFP for the former Bank of America branch building and the attached parking lot at 1307 E. Brookland Park Boulevard—that's right off the roundabout at Six Points. The nearby Six Points Innovation Center has already done some community engagement work, and applicants should consider submitting proposals for a grocery store, restaurant, coffee shop, cafe, bakery, community center, or doctor's office. Or maybe some clever combination (or something else entirely!). You should tap through and read that community engagement report, though, regardless of your interest in this property. It's a great example of how to put together something like that. Anyway, I'm not sure how many developers read this email, but surely a few are within at least a half a Kevin Bacon of some of y'all—so please share this really interesting opportunity in Highland Park with the developers in your lives.Via this story in the Richmond Times-Dispatch about political donations and casinos, here's a long list of the local investors involved in the ONE casino project. It's a list I've not seen before, and you'll definitely recognize some of these names. Fascinating. I wonder if a similarly lengthy list existed for the 2nd District casino proposal? As for the political donations stuff, I know “and are you surprised?” is not a helpful response, but it's what I feel in my heart. Because I am a complex and inconsistent human, I will hold my general disgust with money in politics in tension with the above sentence I wrote about how I hope McAuliffe out money-in-politics his Republican challenger.VPM's Whittney Evans reports that, yesterday, the Virginia Supreme Court heard the Governor's case about removing the Lee Monument. Evans says it could be six to nine weeks before the Court issues an opinion. Bleh.RRHA will hold two public meetings today to review their Annual Agency Plans and hear public comment on them. The first meeting kicks off at 12:00 PM and the second at 5:30 PM. Zoom info on the aforelinked website. If you want to dig into those plans ahead of the meeting, you can do so here.Rich Griset at Style Weekly talked with a handful of local folks who run Instagram accounts dedicated to documenting very specific foods—like nachos, cheese fries, or, specifically, the Bloody Mary at Bamboo. I have yet to find a nacho that surpasses the old Bellytimber nachos, but I've got an open mind (and stomach).This morning's longreadA Love Letter to Black Queers in the Rural SouthThe Scalawag newsletter, which is a wonderful newsletter y'all should subscribe to, has put together a great set of articles and essays for Pride. Here's one that I thought was beautifully written.I wish my narrators spoke of Souths that were different from my own. But they tell me what I know too well about Southern queer and transgender people navigating a lack of resolution with acceptance—bound by religious mores—and their own God-given identities. For my narrators, being out offers little reprieve. There remains a binding expectation to not be too open—an expectation that is complicated by the lingering hold of HIV and the way it divulges too much about sex or who one might love. The result is disconnection.If you'd like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol' Patreon.Picture of the DayVolunteer cucumber plant or alien facehugger?
Good morning, RVA! It's 58 °F, and you can expect temperate highs in the 80s today followed by a chance for storms this evening. Same deal for the next couple of days, too. Maybe most of the rain will miss us?Water coolerAs of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports the seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths as: 262, 43, and 16.3, 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, 1,328 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. Good-looking averages continue! I do want to raise a tiny yellow flag that these numbers may go up in the coming days as folks shake off the long weekend and get back to entering data into spreadsheets. Prepare yourself for that, and don't freak out too much if it happens.As things here shift out of the pandemic and into whatever the next phase of American life looks like, I think it's important to remember that a lot of places around the world are still fighting a horrible battle with COVID-19. Here's a short New York Times piece checking in with the places across the globe who are shutting down schools and re-entering a summer lockdown.Yesterday, I mentioned a forthcoming way to get involved in planning the next phase of RVA Bike Share, and then someone sent me the this survey you can fill out that includes a map of proposed locations for new stations. I asked and then received! I can't find an official link to the survey on the City's website, so maybe take with you a tiny grain of salt? Anyway, the included map divides the city into six pizza-pie slices instead of the typical north, south, east, and west quadrants, which is clever. I don't think I've seen anyone do that before, and it matches my mental model of “parts of the city” pretty well. It's great to finally see a handful of stations south of the river, a few on the Northside, and a decent-sized expansion into the East End (see, there I go with quadrants). The middle of the Fan is conspicuously absent of stations, just as it's conspicuously absent of useful public transit. And, if it were me, I'd move one of the Brookland Park Boulevard stations over to Brook Road. Honestly, other than a few quibbles, the map looks pretty good. We'll see how quickly the Department of Public Works can run this engagement process, finalize the station locations, and then get the stations on the ground.The Richmond Times-Dispatch's Michael Paul Williams writes about Richmond and Henrico's attempts to put together Civilian Review Boards. Williams does a good job in this piece of tying local and national events together to paint a bleak picture of our leaders' willingness to hold police accountable for their actions: “The electability of any politician is predicated on public safety — or more specifically, the perceived safety of white people. And America always has had a short attention span and limited endurance when it comes to sustaining the work of social justice.”Also in the RTD, Holly Prestidge has a nice piece about Front Porch Cafe's in-person reopening. Check this out: “On top of the cafe being a valuable resource for the community, none of the roughly eight Front Porch employees lost their jobs during that time last year…” I'm really interested in how restaurants that have started to reopen attract and retain employees. Will things go back to the way they were? Will they be any different? I guess this conversation, and a million other ones, are, in some ways, parallels to the police Civilian Review Board conversation above.Richmond's Department of Public Utilities has opened up their second phase of utility relief funding, which comes from CARES Act money. If you've fallen behind on your utility bills as a result of…all of this…tap the previous link and fill out the application right now. It's a first-come, first-served situation and the program launched yesterday, so if you're planning to apply you better get after it.Brent Baldwin at Style Weekly answers a question I've had for a couple of days now: What happens to all of these outdoor concerts that already sold tickets before the Governor lifted capacity caps? Sounds like most promoters and organizers will leave things be for this season, rather than switch things up after folks already bought tickets. I'm personally not ready for this, but as Baldwin says: “If vaccinated, why not dive back in fully? I can't think of a sweatier, booty bumpin' show more likely to get up close and personal than New Orleans' queen of bounce, Big Freedia, performing June 11 at Richmond Music Hall.”Via /r/rva this map of the shortest routes by road to Richmond from anywhere in Virginia. It definitely reminds me of blood vessels or trees—take your pick.This morning's longreadHome Truths: How HGTV, Magnolia, and Netflix Are Building a Massive Space in the StreamI don't know why, but I will always read something about home improvement TV shows and people—I don't even watch any of this stuff!And there are emerging competitors in the TV market, like the upcoming Magnolia Network—a television outlet under the lifestyle company started by former HGTV stars Chip and Joanna Gaines—and Netflix, which is swiftly erecting structures on the territory first settled by HGTV. If one wanted to, as I often have, one could spend whole weeks awash in nothing but discourse about marble countertops versus quartz ones, bearing happy witness to the ongoing wars between Shaker cabinets and the equally craved and dreaded open shelving. (Dreaded by me, anyway; I could never abide such a constant invitation to gaze at my own disorganization.) The domestic-design media boom has turned the idea of home into something terribly adaptable, full of possibility and never quite nice enough.If you'd like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol' Patreon.Picture of the DayCan you make tea from hops?
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
In episode 62 of The Charity Charge Show, Stephen speaks with Julia Warren, Founder & Executive Director at Celebrate RVA, with the mission to give disadvantaged children a memorable birthday celebration in a safe and fun environment. She currently serves as the Executive Director and is a firm believer in the power of a celebration and how joy can impact a child's heart. Passionate about creating meaningful impact, Julia also works closely with corporate and small business sponsors to help create a culture of community, giving, and philanthropy. She has been named as one of STYLE Weekly's 2019 Top 40 Under 40, The Prospect's 20 Under 20, The Law Firm of Allen & Allen's 2015 Hometown Heroes, and Richmond Inno's Top 25 under 25.
This week on CURTAIN CALL Claire Boswell from Style Weekly interviews 3 of the students in the RTCC’s Artsies Mentorship Program.
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 31 °F, and today you can expect colder temperatures. Still no rain though, but looks like we should plan on highs in the mid 40s until about Tuesday. Cozy up and have a great weekend—much warmer temperatures in store for next week, though.Water coolerThe Richmond Police Department reports that Grayson Babbs, a man in his 20s, was found shot to death on the 900 block of St. Paul Street this past Saturday.As of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 1,300 new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealthand 31 new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 40 new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 30, Henrico: -14, and Richmond: 24). Since this pandemic began, 1,098 people have died in the Richmond region. Negative numbers in Henrico aside, I think we’re through the winter death certificates data reporting issue. 31 total deaths across the state is a lot, but, compared to the seven-day average (99), it at least seems plausible. Here’s this week stacked chart of new reported cases, hospitalizations, and deaths. Ignoring that the deaths chart is utterly broken, I think we can finally see all three of these indicators trending in the right direction. The case counts show the same thing on the local level, too. I keep saying it, but, whew/big sigh of relief/light at the end of the tunnel.By now, everyone should have filled out either a vaccine interest form with their local health district or the newish statewide vaccine pre-registration form (if not, tap the link and do so immediately—even if you’re not yet eligible for vaccination). Those two databases have been mushed together, and you can now look yourself up on the statewide pre-registration site to verify that you’re in there. Not only that, but you can now edit your information! Everyone should also probably go ahead and do that immediately, too, to make sure they’ve got the most accurate information.Just another quick reminder to encourage all the seniors out there (or the seniors in your lives) to check their email if they’ve pre-registered for a COVID-19 vaccine but haven’t yet gotten vaccinated. The Richmond and Henrico Health Districts and Henrico County are holding mass vaccination events over the next couple of days, and seniors can make appointments now. Also, if they sign up for the event on the 8th they’ll get the Johnson & Johnson vaccine—one and done!The Mayor will present his FY22 budget to City Council today at 3:00 PM. I think you’ll be able to find a link to tune in on the City’s legislative website. Budgets reflect your priorities in a real and concrete way, and it’ll be interesting to check in on what the Mayor wants to get done in the middle of…all of this. Given his past priorities, I think we will see a focus on RPS and educational programs, something about affordable housing, a continued commitment to street paving, maybe a interesting new position or two, and a general goal to maintain until the pandemic ends (whatever that means). I’ll also be looking for how the Mayor’s recently released equity agenda pairs with his budget. Budget season!Do you remember Abbie Arevalo? She sought asylum in First Unitarian Universalist Church of Richmond and had been living there for the last three years. Ali Rocket at the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that on February 25th, she was “granted a one-year stay of removal from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.” I appreciate this quote from First Unitarian’s minister, “During the past 32 months, I was impressed with the way Abbie handled her ordeal with grace, dignity, courage and faith…We all could learn a lesson on how to deal with adversity from Abbie, as I most certainly did.”Folks interested in learning more / weighing in on RPS’s proposed year-round school calendar have four opportunities to do so next week via some virtual town halls. Last we spoke, the RPS School Board wanted to make their calendar decision on Monday, March 15th, so get your thoughts and opinions in front of the decisions makers before then!Wyatt Gordon, writing for Style Weekly, reminds me that the Richmond Black Restaurant Experience kicks off today and runs through March 14th. This is the fifth year that the organizers—Kelli Lemon, Amy Wentz, and Shemicia Bown—have put on this week of delicious food. That’s incredible. Check out the list of special events and the list of participating restaurants. I know you’re planning on ordering food this coming week, why not make it from one of these Black-owned restaurants?This morning’s longreadNo I’m Not ReadyWe’re on a cusp! The smart and lovely writing has started to pivot away from AUGHHH THINGS ARE HORRIBLE REMEMBER THE BEFORE TIMES to WHAT HOW ARE WE EXPECTED TO BE PEOPLE IN THE AFTER TIMES?You’re probably going to feel exhausted when you want to feel exhilarated, panicked when you thought you’d feel safe, combative when all you want is to feel soothed. Your social skills have atrophied and you’re probably going to get in some big fights that will seem like they’re about nothing but are actually about everything. You’re going to crave some of the parts of quarantine life you swore you never would. You’re probably going to over-plan and over-schedule and feel an alarming and unexpected need for solitude and have to pull back and re-evaluate.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 31 °F, and today we see the sun! It might take until later this afternoon, but we’re gonna see that thing and feel good about it. Expect highs in the mid 40s, the snow to melt, and the opportunity to enjoy a really great cup of coffee/tea/beverage of your choice.Water coolerYesterday afternoon, police officers were called to the 1500 block of Mechanicsville Turnpike and found Jaquon Mitchell, a man in this 30s, shot to death. According to the RPD’s homicide list, this is the second murder of 2021.As of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 2,740 new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealthand 43 new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 395 new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 155, Henrico: 160, and Richmond: 80). Since this pandemic began, 683 people have died in the Richmond region. That’s three straight days with new reported cases in the 2,000s, and the seven-day average of the same metric fell below 4,000 for the first time since January 1st. We’ve got a similar decreasing trend in hospitalizations: We haven’t seen the seven-day average of new hospitalizations under 100 since the last day of 2020. Additionally, the seven-day average of deaths, which, remember, does lag behind the rest of the metrics, appears to have at least plateaued. These all seem like good signs of progress? Decreasing cases + increasing vaccinations = the world I want to live in right now. I am still a little nervous that Data Reporting Issues will return to dash any hopes that my spreadsheet has generated, but I’m going to allow myself to feel optimistic this morning!Michael Paul Williams at the Richmond Times-Dispatch writes about Black History Month and what it means to look back at 2020 through the lens of history. To quote a bit: “To call February’s Black History Month a ‘celebration’ always felt a bit off, but never more so than this year. Trumpism, resurgent white nationalism, insurrection and the disparate toll of COVID-19 on people of color highlight the folly of treating Black history like a footnote. You can’t understand this moment until you accept that America’s treatment of its Black citizens represents a profound failure of democracy. America’s shallow pool of knowledge of this story has just enough depth to drown us.”The City’s Economic Development Authority has approved a $120,000 grant to local restaurant delivery company ChopChop—think GrubHub, but local. From the press release: “The grant will allow ChopChop to create the Richmond Rate Reduction Program. The Richmond Rate Reduction Program reduces delivery fees charged to local restaurants from 20% to 7% for a three-month period.” A 13% reduction in fees charged to restaurants seems like maybe a noticeable amount? I have no idea! I do know, however, that this $120,000 runs out after three months, so we’ll see if ChopChop will keep their new, lower rates moving forward (which is definitely their “long-term objective”). Also, neither here nor there, this administration loves restaurants. I love restaurants, too, and I desperately miss them, but they love them, like, a lot a lot.Wyatt Gordon, writing for Style Weekly looks at how Feed More and Richmond Public Schools have worked (and continue to work!) to address hunger in our city. I love this quote from Doug Pick, Feed More’s chief executive, "This pandemic has made really clear the haves and have nots of our country…We are a really well-run logistics business with a big heart, but hunger is not the problem—it’s poverty.”General Assembly update! Keep in mind that bills die horrible deaths at many, many points along the path to becoming a law. Try not to get too stoked or upset about any of these things, because who knows when they could radically change or flameout entirely. First, for the Virginia Mercury, Ned Oliver covers the progress on marijuana legalization. Check out this exchange between Sen. Jennifer McClellan and Sen. Creigh Deeds: “Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Bath, noted lawmakers have already decriminalized marijuana, which reduced the penalty for possession of an ounce or less from a misdemeanor punishable by jail time to a $25 civil infraction…‘At least where I live, law enforcement don’t feel incentivized to write the tickets and they’re not writing the tickets,’ Deeds said. McClellan responded, ‘With all due respect, I think that might be different in other parts of the state.’”
Former Editor for Style Weekly and Founder of the media and PR Firm Springstory Jason Roop discusses what stores will be open and events that will be happening during the holiday weekends in the Richmond area.
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.
Former Editor of Style Weekly and Founder of the media and PR Firm Jason Roop, looks at the local happenings in Richmond.
Former Editor of Style Weekly and Founder of the media and PR firm Springstory Jason Roop shares some events that are happening around the Richmond area.
Former Editor of Style Weekly and Founder of the media and PR firm Springstory Jason Roop discusses what events or stories that are going on in Virginia and in the Richmond area.
Good morning, RVA! It’s 63 °F, and today looks like the warmest, nicest day of the week. Expect a pleasant afternoon with highs in the mid 70s. Tomorrow, though, the rain moves in, temperatures start dropping, and by Friday I’m wearing overalls.Water coolerAs of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 1,134↗️ new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealth and 19↗️ new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 109↗️ new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 29, Henrico: 45, and Richmond: 35). Since this pandemic began, 415 people have died in the Richmond region. We are one week away from the 2020 election—a date that’s seemed both infinitely far away and right around the corner for four years. It’s ultra important that you vote, but there is a pandemic on. I think by now, y’all know the basics for safe coronavoting—masks, distance, hand washing, and giving yourself plenty of time to deal with lines and delays—but do you know what to do if you end up in isolation or quarantined between now and Election Day? Lucky for you (well, not so lucky as you either have COVID-19 or were exposed to someone who does), the Virginia Department of Health has some helpful information on casting an emergency absentee ballot (PDF). The dates are important here, so don’t screw it up: You must request to vote emergency absentee before 2:00 PM on the day preceding the election and the completed form must be turned in by 5:00 PM. You can find some more information on the Department of Elections website, too. Don’t let a virus keep you from exercising your right to vote!On Monday, police in Philadelphia shot and killed Walter Wallace Jr., a 27-year-old Black man who was experiencing a mental health crisis. Since then, protestors have filled the streets of Philly, and the Philadelphia Inquirer has an intense set of photos from the last couple of days. This is horrible, well-worn territory that we seem unable or unwilling to stop repeating. Last night, a couple dozen Richmonders marched in solidarity with the folks in Philly and in remembrance of Marcus David-Peters, who, while experiencing a mental health crisis, was shot and killed by Richmond Police. I can’t really tell from the news or the Twitter this morning if folks were arrested, but here’s at least one video of Police man-marching down a street in the Fan and rushing after someone. I’m still waiting for, maybe stupidly, a dramatic shift in tone from the RPD—a shift both in their language and their physical response to what appear to be generally peaceful protests. This shift could be implemented by the Chief of Police or, of course, by the Chief’s boss, the Mayor.Yesterday, Attorney General Mark Herring made some progress in the ongoing legal battle to take down the state-owned Robert E. Lee monument. From his Twitter: “We WON the Lee statue case after a judge found that it was raised against a backdrop of white supremacy and that it is against public policy to keep it up. The ruling is stayed pending appeal, but this is a HUGE win and we’re on the path to bringing down this relic.” Governor Northam released a short statement, too, saying “The Lee monument was built to celebrate the Confederacy and uphold white supremacy. This victory moves Virginia forward in removing this relic of the past—one that was erected for all the wrong reasons.” Sounds like the people that want to keep this particular monument to white supremacy up have 30 days to appeal, which I’m sure they will. I just don’t see a world in which the man-and-horse portion of the Lee monument sticks around, but it may be well into 2021 before the State sweeps away any remaining legal issues preventing its removal. In the meantime, Richmond City should kickstart a public planning process to figure out how best to move forward with the now very-sacred space. I shouldn’t be the one to decide, but removing the stone plinth at this point, which I think is the State’s current plan, doesn’t seem appropriate.In the RTD, Jessica Nocera has a stressful story about Chesterfield County Public Schools’s reopening process. Yesterday, the District’s health panel decided—in a split decision—to send the final, older cohort of students back to in-person instruction on November 9th. From the article (and from having read a bunch of PDFs), it sounds like the County’s panel is using the newish CDC School Metrics and maybe the associated Virginia Department of Health’s guidance(PDF) on those metrics to make their decisions. As with most things in our country’s / state’s / city’s response to the pandemic, these documents are mostly just that: Guidance, not requirements. Disease is complicated, turns out. I definitely do not envy the panel who must make these very important, very public decisions.Candidate questionnaires are important—not just to inform voters (which, there’s a good chance you’ve already voted) but to keep candidates accountable after they win their elections and start in on the business of running our town. Richmond Mayorathon has posted most of the responses to their policy-heavy questions so you can hear from candidates on things like bikes, buses, combined sewer overflow, police, and all kinds of other topics you most likely care about. Print these bad boys to PDF, file them away, and let’s check back in 2022 on promises kept and promises broken.The RTD’s Mark Robinson has a ton of mayoral fundraising details for you to wade through. Most interesting to me: Alexsis Rodgers has outraised Kim Gray.Style Weekly has released their annual Top 40 Under 40 list—a list of 40 rad people doing rad things all under the age of 40. You’ll recognize some of these names! That makes sense, though, because of all the rad stuff these folks get into.This morning’s patron longreadParenting Is a Job. During the Pandemic, It’s Impossible.Submitted by Patron Jeff. Parenting is a lot of work under normal circumstances, and right now, under the most bizarre of circumstances, it can feel hopelessly overwhelming. If you work with folks responsible in some way for a tiny human, give them a little extra grace.The most impossible of situations falls to single parents, most of whom are single moms. A quarter of US families are single-parent households (and four out of five of those households are headed by single mothers). A single mom must somehow manage to parent all day and all night, while also working and being the sole provider of income. In the cases where schools and daycare centers are closed, single parents are not able to work. Without a job, they are left with little to no unemployment benefits to feed and shelter their children, and with no other parent in the house to take over while they apply for jobs or run basic errands to get groceries. During the pandemic, the lack of social supports for single parents is heightened, because social-distancing measures make it nearly impossible to get outside help. There is, as one economist bluntly put it, “no escape.”If you’d like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol’ Patreon.
Former Editor of Style Weekly and Founder of the media and PR firm Springstory Jason Roop on the events that are going on in Richmond and in Virginia this weekend.
Former Editor of Style Weekly and Founder of the media and PR firm Springstory Jason Roop provides a recap of the Richmond Mayoral Debate.
Good morning, RVA! It’s 57 °F, and highs today will stick around in the mid 70s. We could see a bit of rain and clouds move through this morning, so keep an eye on that.Water coolerThe Richmond Police Department is reporting that two people were shot and killed this past Monday. In the morning, officers were called to the 1500 block of N. 21st Street and found Stanley L. Robinson, Jr., a man in his 20s, shot to death nearby. Later that afternoon, police were also called to the 3500 block of E. Richmond Road and found Surita M. Abdul-Majid, a man in his 30s, shot to death inside a residence. According to the RPD’s website, I think these are the 43rd and 44th murders in 2020, which is on pace with last year’s numbers.As of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 580↘️ new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealthand 29↗️ new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 49↘️ new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 22, Henrico: 16, and Richmond: 11). Since this pandemic began, 365 people have died in the Richmond region. Note that the number of new deaths reported should still seems high to you, and that’s because VDH has extended the alert on their website about a data backlog through September 25th. You can see those recent death numbers in context on this graph generated by my new, public coronacounts Google Sheet—you can also see the unacceptable labeling of the x-axis that I just cannot figure out how to fix.The Richmond Times-Dispatch’s Jessica Nocera and Kenya Hunter have an update on the number of public school employees that have tested positive for COVID-19. After, I’m sure, an annoying amount of time combing through emails and PDFs, they’ve got the regional counts as at least: 21 cases in Hanover, 33 in Chesterfield, 22 in Richmond, and 30 in Henrico. Critically missing in this analysis is…the denominator! What does 106 positive cases among public school staff mean? Is it a lot? According to Nocera and Hunter, with 17,001 total positive cases across those four localities, public school staff make up less than one percent (0.6%). But how many public school staff are back to work and is 106 a big percentage of that number? How does the incidence rate among teachers compare to the incidence rate in the general public (around 1.7% if I did the math right). How does it compare to, say, grocery workers or bank tellers or waitstaff? I have no idea! But it’s really hard for me to look at a number like “106” with no context and have any sort of idea if we’re doing a good or bad job creeping toward reopening schools.Folks returned to Richmond’s streets last night to protest a Kentucky grand jury’s decision not to file homicide charges against the police officers who shot and killed Breonna Taylor. I don’t mean to imply that there haven’t been protests in Richmond since early summer, there have, but last night’s seems like the most well attended in at least a month (although I’m having trouble keeping track of time lately). Jimmie Lee Jarvis has, of course, a long Twitter thread of photos and videos from throughout the night as does the CT’s Hannah Eason. While dozens of gear-laden riot police did show up to Protect Their House (from line dancing??) and stand in intimidating lines, it sounds like that was mostly the extent of their actions throughout the night. I think a couple protestors were either detained or arrested for unclear reasons, but, I didn’t see any explosions, clouds of gas, or wizzing rubber bullets. I’m thankful for that. I did however see plenty of mask-less cops; I count at least 11 in this one photo.Style Weekly has a mayoral questionnaire about the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority that you should read. Public Housing is one of those things in Richmond where it’s not always obvious which part of our government is responsible for which part of the process. I’m still learning, but a few things I’m keeping in mind while reading this survey: A ton of the money to support our local housing programs comes from the federal government, that said the Mayor puts together the budget which should reflect his or her priorities, and (as Councilmember Jones reminded us the other day) City Council approves that budget while alsoappointing the RRHA board—a board responsible for making sure the Authority wins those important federal dollars. Feels like an ouroboros sometimes.I love intersection murals, and Bike Walk RVA has an application in front of the Public Art Commission today to lay down two on the Southside (PDF)—one at Hull Street & 11th Street and one at Lynhaven Avenue & Wright Avenue. Silly Genius and the All City Art Club will provide the art, some of which you’ve definitely seen pop up around town. I love this bit from All City Art Club’s about page: “Founded by Silly Genius, All City Art Club’s mission is to introduce street art to underserved communities without the goal of tourism or gentrification. Residents should not have to be pushed out in order to make a community beautiful.”Via /r/rva, look at this render? drawing? actual old photo of City Hall? with a park on the Marshall Street side of the building. Did this actually exist before the Social Services building got built?? Regardless, now I get why the “back” of City Hall looks so much like it should be the front.First, there’s a free COVID-19 testing event today at the Randolph Community Center(1415 Grayland Ave) from 9:00 AM–11:00. This one is not rain-or-shine and has a back-up rain location, so keep an eye on the sky! Second, it is definitely flu season—like, regular ol' flu, not, fingers crossed, pandemic flu. As such, our local health district will kick off their free flu vaccination clinics for uninsured and underinsured folks on October 2nd. Spread the word, not the virus!This morning’s longreadThe Big and the SmallHow big is big and how small is small is something that our human brains have a really hard time understanding. This piece will momentarily help, but your dumb brain will instantly forget the second you finish reading.The problem with humans talking about sizes is we just don’t have the right words to do it correctly. We can try our best, calling the biggest things “enormous” or “huge” or “vast,” but those are the same words we use to describe elephants or mountains or the ocean. We can try to describe the smallest things by calling them “tiny” or “microscopic”—but those words describe a grain of sand and an amoeba, which are both huge, vast, and enormous compared to all the far smaller objects. Adjectives just aren’t gonna do the job here. So instead, let’s work our way from the biggest to the smallest using a series of steps, and maybe that’ll work better.If you’d like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol’ Patreon.
On todays show we have on Thomas John - he is a global psychic sensation who has wowed audiences across the world with his impressively accurate messages from ‘the other side'. Find Thomas: https://www.mediumthomas.com/ About Thomas: Hosting sold-out events such as A Night with Spirit, Spirit Circles and Dinner with the Dead, Thomas John is one of the nation's most coveted psychic mediums. Bi-Coastally based, his gifts continue to be in high demand with influencers, A-list celebrities, and those at crossroads in life from coast to coast and around the globe. Thomas John, gifted since birth, connected with the spirit of his late paternal grandfather at the tender age of four and correctly described to his parents the location of a missing wrist watch that had haunted the family for years (Grandpa's best friend Jack had it!). From that point forward, Thomas and his family knew he had prodigious abilities, unlike any they had experienced before. Though born with the spiritual skills to communicate with the dead, he didn't always embrace them. At the age of 18, Thomas began his studies at the University of Chicago. Graduating with a degree in Psychology and Human Development, with departmental honors, Thomas pursued research internships at Yale University and The University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where he was a lead research assistant on studies related to psychopathology and personality. During these internships, Thomas John was the author of three peer-reviewed publications. He was accepted into graduate school programs in medical research, but through the guidance of several of his own deceased loved ones, decided at the last minute to further develop his abilities as an intuitive, and began his metaphysical studies in New York City. In recent years, Thomas' infallible track record, ethics and down-to-Earth approach as a psychic medium has lead him to being known as one of the world's top psychics and has earned him an honorable reputation in the industry. He has made innumerable accurate psychic predictions about celebrities that have come to pass often months after he has reported them to the media, including the death of Whitney Houston, the splitting of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, the death of Michael Jackson, and the circumstances surrounding the birth of the royal babies. Thomas John has also had countless visions surrounding medical breakthroughs, political events, and natural disasters, which have come to pass in record time. "It's about helping people — helping people realize there's more to life than what they may see on a day to day basis. We're not strangers to that world. We were made for it." - Thomas John Thomas John has been prominently featured in top tier print media, including New York Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post, GQ, Maxim, OK! Magazine, The Hollywood Reporter, and Life and Style Weekly, along with broadcast appearances on Dr. Phil, Bravo's Million Dollar Listing New York and The Real Housewives of New York City, and Entertainment Tonight. Thomas John, born and raised in the suburbs of Boston, now resides bi-coastal in both New York City and Los Angeles, CA. His first book, Never Argue with a Dead Person: True and Unbelievable Stories from the Other Side, published in 2015 can be purchased on this website (with Thomas's signature). ---------- Michael and Eric Okon operate a global transportation business that is 100% family owned. With locations in multiple states and 100's of employees, the Okon Bros. talk about navigating life, growing up in a family business, writing books, content creation, self-help, law of attraction and more... Here are our websites: Our main company, BLS - https://www.blsco.com Michaels self-help books - https://www.samuelsbooks.com Michaels fiction books - https://www.michaelokon.com Eric Okon LinkedIN - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericokon Michael Okon LinkedIN - https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-okon-b02b60162 Eric Okon Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eric.okon.7923 Michael Okon Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100054514076427
Former Editor of Style Weekly and founder of the media and PR firm Springstory Jason Roop discusses the Virtual Patriot’s Day Ceremony and the new theme for Monday Night Football is getting a helping hand from a Richmond area band.
Former Editor of Style Weekly and founder of the media and PR firm Springstory Jason Roop discusses small business grants, Swift Creek Mill Theatre, and Mayor Levar Stoney.
Episode SummaryIt’s back to your 3 regular hosts and no special guest. The guys cover a lot of topics and few were requested from a listener like favorite bystander story and top 3 beers. ----more----Show NotesIn this episode, we find out what Josh’s number one rule in his house is, how the choice of new school names Hanover county provided are awful, and some crazy Walmart/bystander stories. Jayson talks about how he completely agrees with Country Style Donuts winning BEST donuts in Richmond in the Style Weekly. Josh also backs him as “his fat ass can not get enough of them.” What’s your favorite people’s of Walmart or bystander story? The guys share a handful of stories with one being a Facebook video from a local Walmart. They close it out with a poll question, What is your top 3 beers? Jayson said, “I’ve been buzzing about this all week because I don’t want to be a let down to the people.” Make sure you don’t forget to leave us a review/rating on apple where more than 50% of our listeners are! Links of topics mentioned:School name options:http://hcps.us/events/what_s_new/school_name_change_survey Letter to Mayor Stoney:https://www.facebook.com/117589918304649/posts/3283694921694117/?extid=kbyVlDlBYUpusyAK&d=n Walmart twerking:https://www.facebook.com/100031543780879/posts/303459154048875/?extid=8MsbGDRb25QKemOH&d=n FOLLOW US ON/REACH OUT:Facebook: https://Facebook.com/ShaneEdmondsShowInstagram: https://instagram.com/shaneedmondsshowEmail: shaneedmondsshow@gmail.com
Former Editor of Style Weekly and Founder of the media and PR firm Springstory Jason Roop discusses the possibily that former Gvernor of Virginia Terry McAuliffe might be running for Governor again.
Good morning, RVA! It’s 72 °F, and, while humid, today’s highs will stick around in the 80s. Speaking of sticking around, how about that random storm last night? I’d love to see an East End rain total comparison with this week’s tropical storm. As for today, keep an eye out for possibly more storms passing through this evening.Water coolerAs of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 798↘️ new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealthand 30↗️ new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 111↗️ new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 29, Henrico: 63, and Richmond: 19). Since this pandemic began, 296 people have died in the Richmond region. I wonder if the tropical storm, which closed offices and testing sites had anything to do with yesterday’s low number of new reported cases—low compared to the seven-day average which stands at 1008. We’ll see if the numbers shift up today or if this is part of a larger downward trend.The big coronanews, however, is the launch of COVIDWISE, Virginia’s exposure notification app. You should download this app and install it on your phone right now. It’s an easy way to participate in the public part of public health. COVIDWISE runs on your phone and exchanges anonymous tokens with other phones you’ve spent time near. That process is safe, secure, does not track or log your location or identity, and is built on the privacy-preserving contact tracing framework put together by Apple and Google. Virginia is the first state to roll out an app built on this protocol! If you get tested for COVID-19 and the results are positive, the Virginia Department of Health will give you a code to enter into COVIDWISE which will then trigger a notification to any phone you’ve spent time near over the last 14 days using those anonymized tokens. Then those folks can take the proper precautions to quarantine or get tested if they’re experiencing some early, slightly-troubling coronasymptoms. Here’s a more detailed comic involving rabbits that’ll gently, but thoroughly, explain how this all can work while maintaining everyone involved’s privacy. Like I said, you should just put this on your phone immediately. I am not a lawyer, but if I were in charge of app deployment at a large company, I’d put it on my employees’ phones immediately, too. I’d call my parents and tell them to put it on their phones. I’d tweet about it daily. I’d ruthlessly and publicly mock friends that refuse to put it on their phones. This is one of the smallest and easiest ways that you can directly contribute to making the pandemic less bad while also making the lives of our local case investigators and contact tracers a little better. They are working very hard and very much deserve your help! Honestly, I’m astounded by the number of folks who have Big Privacy Concerns™ about an app like this yet have no problems pouring personal data into Facebook each and every day. I know our public trust in technology has been broken (by companies like Facebook!), but this is a small, safe step to rebuilding that trust in the name of public health. Ned Oliver at the Virginia Mercury has some more details, including a quote from the state’s director of health informatics that says the data suggests “for every 1.5 users of Virginia’s app, they expect to see one less infection,” and here is the Governor’s COVIDWISE press release.The Virginia Mercury’s Ned Oliver also has an update on the Governor’s request that the Supreme Court of Virginia extend their ban on evictions. There’s some fascinating stuff in this piece about who has the authority to do what when it comes to evictions, and how that confusion (or tension?) means evictions continue to loom.Ha! Turns out the ABC website was not prepared for the crushing onslaught of an entire state’s worth of people ordering cheap(er) booze online after spending five months stuck inside. At some point yesterday, the site slowed to a crawl, sputtered, and gave up on processing online orders. This is why I didn’t tell y’all until after I placed my order at 6:00 AM! Suckers!Jack Jacobs at Richmond BizSense reports that the Naked Onion has permanently closed. That’s a real shame because their bahn mi was something special. Do I need a new section of this email where I lament the loss of my favorite Richmond foods to coronavirus? First Greenleaf’s fries, now this! What a bummer.Style Weekly’s Brent Baldwin talked with the new executive director of the Byrd Theatre, Stacy Shaw, about what running a theatre during a pandemic has been like (stressful, I bet).Via /r/rva: “Richmond exists at the heart of the war between Sheetz and Wawa. Who does everyone align with?” This is a cool piece of data viz, and, I have to say, I will always be partial to Sheetz. Every drive back to Richmond from Blacksburg, when I was young and my stomach strong, I would stop at Sheetz and order two hot dogs with relish, onions, and nacho cheese. What the heck! Why was I so awesome / disgusting??Part of aiming to make Good Morning, RVAmy full-time, insurance-and-mortgage-paying job, means asking for money outloud. Turns out, folks are much more likely to support your projects with actual money if you, you know, ask for actual money. Consider yourselves asked! Please join the GMRVA patreon, chip in five or 10 bucks a month, and help me keep doing what I’m doing. And help me keep paying my mortgage and insurance, tooThis morning’s longreadWe Need to Talk About VentilationVentilation! It’s boring yet possibly critical in our ongoing work to help prevent folks from getting COVID-19.Part of the difficulty with this discussion has been that the relevant experts, including infectious-disease specialists, epidemiologists, environmental and aerosol engineers, don’t even agree on the terminology. The particles we emit from our mouths can be called droplets, microdroplets, droplet nuclei (particles that start out bigger but get smaller because of evaporation) or aerosols. There is no clear line between big and small particles and droplets and aerosols; it’s a continuum with complex aerodynamics depending on the environment, and to make matters worse, the same word—like aerosol—sometimes means something different in each field. The terminological confusion led Milton to write a “Rosetta Stone” paper to try to clarify the terms across fields. For this article, I’ll call the spray-borne particles that travel ballistically “droplets,” and the ones that can float “aerosols” (regardless of what size the particles may be, as the key question is whether they can float and be pushed around by air—and that size cut-off remains disputed).If you’d like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol’ Patreon.
July 15, 2020 The hosts offer a Capitol Catch up for Race Capitol listeners on topics like the Robert E Lee Statue on Monument Avenue, the state of Virginia Evictions with Steve Fischbach from Virginia Law Poverty Center, plus the TWO task forces being talked about in the city of Richmond and finally the Reclamation Revivals taking place in the streets. The demands remain, to dismantle all monuments of white supremacy including the racist instituions. A big thank you this week to Style Weekly and David Dominique for featuring Race Capitol on the cover of this week's issue. Featured Music: -https://soundcloud.com/onraewatkins/middle-finger-to-the-law-ft-fresco-steez-byp100-choir-onrae-lateal-mix -https://youtu.be/QR71QoHMdko
Former Editor of Style Weekly and Founder of the media and PR firm Springstory Jason Roop on what schools might look like this fall.
Former Editor of Style Weekly and Founder of the media and PR firm Springstory Jason Roop on 4th of July activities happening in the Richmond Area.
Good morning, RVA! It’s 68 °F, and highs today look like they’ll stay in the 80s—but beware the humidity! Also keep an eye out for a possible thunderstorm this afternoon. Typical Richmond summer-type stuff.Water coolerAs of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 520↗️ new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealth and 16↗️ new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 114↗️ new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 59, Henrico: 15, and Richmond: 40). Since this pandemic began, 218 people have died in the Richmond region. Yesterday, the COVID Tracking Project announced that the U.S. set a record for new cases reported in a day at 38,672, topping the previous record set way back on April 25th. This chart of the seven-day average of positive cases per million population by region does a great job at illustrating how the Northeast is coming out of a pandemic while the South and West are rushing headlong into one. Looks like things in the South turned a bad, bad corner around Memorial Day, which is probably around the time when people got tired of staying inside and let their desires for cheap beer and grilled meats overwhelm their better judgement. Meanwhile, New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut will impose a 14-day quarantine on travelers from states that meet a certain threshold of infections per 100,000 residents—that’s currently Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Utah, and Texas. North Carolina and South Carolina! They’re right next to us. I wonder if we’ll see something similar from our Governor at his next coronavirus briefing. Stay tuned, stay inside, stay masked up, and stay remembering that there is a deadly pandemic sweeping through the South.That’s two nights in a row neither the Virginia State Police or the Richmond Police Department used chemical weapons on protestors. I feel like I need to get an OSHA safety sign. Last night, folks again gathered at the Lee Circle until nightfall, spent time grillin' and chillin', and cops in riot gear again showed up to eventually force folks from the circle. You can scroll through Zach Joachim from the Richmond Times-Dispatch’s feed or read this thread from the Commonwealth Tiimes’s Eduardo Acevedo. I saw a couple of report of rubber bulletsfired at the crowd, but other than that (and the fact that a phalanx of cops in riot gear is super freaking intimidating), it looks like interactions between the protestors and the police were minimal—at least considering the last several weeks. Then, after vacating the Circle, protestors formed an ad-hoc march and spent the next several hours loudly marching all over the Fan and the Museum District. I wonder two things: 1) Would the march have even happened without the police involvement earlier in the night? 2) What kind of coordination happens between VSP and RPD? Are the local police prepared for whatever happens as a result of state police action? This is a really complicated situation, and I don’t think it’s just going to suddenly resolve itself without thoughtful action from elected and community leaders.So! What does that action look like? First, I think regularly talking and listening to protestors would go a long way. I dunno, maybe hold office hours at Lee Circle each evening and share a meal with folks? The food out there lately has looked incredible. Second, taking down the remaining Confederate Monuments would help—but, obviously, would not address the systemic and racist problems with the structure of our public safety system. On the monuments tip, at today’s Governmental Operations committee meeting, the Interim City Attorney will give a presentation on the City’s monument removal options. I hope he’s learned more since Monday and has found some legal ground for the City to stand on while levering the statues into the bin. That meeting takes place at 12:00 PM, and you can tune in over on Legistar. To address the systemic and racist problems with the structure of our public safety system, the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus has a big list of priorities for an upcoming special session of the General Assembly. I love the intro sentence: “The Commonwealth is past the point for studies on policing and law enforcement—immediate action must be taken to eliminate law enforcement abuse, prevent and punish racist behaviors, weed out institutional discrimination, and increase accountability at all levels of law enforcement.” There’s a lot in their platform, but some highlights include: creating a civilian review board with subpoena power, implementing a Marcus Alert, restricting the use of “tear gas and militarization tactics and weapons against civilians,” ending no-knock warrants, and legalizing marijuana. I don’t know if some of these laws would only apply to state-level law enforcement or if they’d trickle down, Dillon Rule-style, to local police departments. Either way, I’m stoked to learn more and to see our governments begin addressing issues rather than just Party Patroling folks in the Lee Circle night after night.The deadline for collecting signatures and filing paperwork to get on the ballot for School Board, City Council, and Mayor has officially passed! That means we, theoretically, know who’s running for what, and I’ve started to put together this public Trello board of candidates for each race in each district. It’s not complete yet—especially the School Board races—but it’s a good starting point. I hope to add contact info in the immediate future and then start listing out and linking to positions folks end up taking. The goal is to create something really useful by the time we get to November. If you’d like to help out and are a GMRVA patron, give me a holler and I’ll add you to the board.Speaking of elections, this piece in Style Weekly by Rich Griset gives you a pretty good look at the tenor of the mayoral race at this exact moment in time. I don’t think you can possibly predict what the political landscape will look like next week let alone in November, so we may look back on pieces like this and laugh. I mean, remember when Navy Hill was the single issue that would dominate the 2020 elections? Ha!This is it! The final Richmond 300 virtual summit, focused on High-Quality Places, takes place tonight at 6:00 PM. Register over on the Eventbrite and read the related section of the draft plan ahead of time.This morning’s longreadMapping Our Social Change Roles in Times of CrisisI don’t know how this piece ended up in my queue, but I really like the idea that folks have specific skills and roles to play during a crisis. What you’re good at might not be the same was what other folks are good at—and that’s OK!But lately, I’ve been stuck in a fog, cycling through periods of motivation and stillness, outrage and exhaustion, determination and grief. Even though I’m connected to various networks, mentors, and organizations, I couldn’t figure out where I fit in, what my lane was, or how to begin. What is slowly awakening and centering me is my broader ecosystem. As I listen to and understand what others are doing and how they are (re)imagining what is possible in this moment, I have been reflecting and asking myself: what are my values, how can I be aligned and in right relationship with them, what are the needs of the communities who anchor me, and what can I offer with my full energy? Identifying the right actions in times of crisis requires reflection, and it’s in that spirit that I’m offering a new version of a mapping exercise that helps us identify our roles in a social change ecosystemIf you’d like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol’ Patreon.
Former Editor of Style Weekly and founder of the media and PR firm Springstory with what is going on in the City of Richmond.
Former Editor of Style Weekly and founder of the media & PR firm Springstory Jason Roop with an update about the Richmond Marathon, a drive-in concert an dhow Richmond businesses are navigating the reopening.
Former editor of Style Weekly and founder of the media and PR firm Springstory Jason Roop on Virginia Beach this Memorial Day Weekend, the Memorial Day Ceremony at the Virginia War Memorial, a Richmond Theater Facebook group, and the top three selling beverages from ABC Stores.
Robey Martin and Todd B. Waldo talk about their shared love for food and culture and what it means to come together to experience both in Richmond. They also share how their focus on mental health and self-care impacts how they live and work each day. Robey Martin lives an unctuous soup of a life. During a day, she balances human resources and contract staffing for Remx Specialty Staffing (need a temp?). In that very same day, she's an online/tv/print personality who features food, spirits and culture primarily in Virginia. You can find her over at WTVR CBS 6 as a co-host of the food podcast "Eat It, Virginia", author of Richmond's restaurant "hot list" and as their local food correspondent. Other places where she is: Richmond Magazine, Virginia Living, Style Weekly, Richmond Times Dispatch, Beer Advocate, Richmond Grid, Virginia Craft Beer Magazine, or wherever good French fries are. Follow her food-centric life at @callmerobey and @eatitvirginia on Instagram. The spotlight for this episode is Holli Fund. Holli Fund supports individuals in the Richmond-area food service industry who are experiencing an economic crisis such as injury, illness, death of an immediate family member, loss of income due to coronavirus restrictions, or other emergency. Workers who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 and/or are under doctor’s orders for a mandatory quarantine should ask for assistance. A food service worker can apply for assistance up to three months after a crisis occurs. Individuals must be currently employed in the food service industry to qualify or had been employed in the industry until coronavirus restrictions were mandated by the state in March 2020. Learn more at thehollifund.org 40 Lessons is a podcast about the lessons we've learned about family, career, community and the lessons we are still learning. Listen to all episodes on Spotify, iTunes, Soundcloud, Google Play, TuneIn and Stitcher at toddbwaldo.com/podcast. Send your feedback, questions and comments to todd@toddbwaldo.com #40Lessons #podcast #storytelling #family #career #community #food #culture #happyhour #selfcare #MentalHealthAwarenessMonth
This week we discuss the Richmond Spree Murders. Ricky Gray and Ray Dandridge, an uncle and his nephew, who went on a killing spree, beginning in December of 2005 and ending in January 2006. Thanks for listening! This is a weekly podcast and new episodes drop every Thursday, so until next time... look alive guys, it's crazy out there! Where to find us: Our Facebook page is Fruitloopspod and our discussion group is Fruitloopspod Discussion on Facebook; https://www.facebook.com/groups/fruitloopspod/ We are also on Twitter and Instagram @fruitloopspod Please send any questions or comments to fruitloopspod@gmail.com or leave us a voicemail at 602-935-6294. We just might read your email or play your voicemail on the show! Want to Support the show? You can support the show by rating and reviewing Fruitloops on iTunes, or anywhere else that you get your podcasts from. We would love it if you gave us 5 stars! You can make a donation on the Cash App https://cash.me/$fruitloopspod Or become a monthly Patron through our Podbean Patron page https://patron.podbean.com/fruitloopspod Articles/Websites Wikipedia contributors. (2020, March 25). 2006 Richmond spree murders. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 05/03/2020 from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2006_Richmond_spree_murders&oldid=947223487 Harki, Gary A.; Kimberlin, Joanne. (01/14/2017). A man set for execution, and the unforgotten murders that could have happened to anyone. The Virginia Pilot. Retrieved 05/03/2020 from https://www.pilotonline.com/news/crime/article_c400be9c-80dc-515c-847c-9e803cc9f073.html Mitchell, Liz. (09/12/2007). New details emerge in '05 murder. The Daily Progress. Retrieved 05/05/2020 from https://www.dailyprogress.com/archives/new-details-emerge-in-murder/article_d5898d94-60e2-556f-bcbe-5379070128f9.html Ayad, Moustafa. (01/12/2006). Suspects in Va. killings face arrest in Washington County case. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 05/06/2020 from https://old.post-gazette.com/pg/06012/636597.stm Stockwell, Jamie; Morello, Carol. (01/12/2006). Pair Admit N.Va. Stabbing. The Washington Post. Retrieved 05/06/2020 from https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/11/AR2006011102191.html Huff, Steve. (n.d.). Tucker/Baskerville Family Murders. True Crime Library [Archived: Wayback Machine]. Retrieved 05/06/2020 from https://web.archive.org/web/20080207124434/http://www.crimelibrary.com/news/original/0106/1301_Tucker_Baskerville_Family_Murders1.html Associated Press. (09/19/2006). Man admits to gruesome slayings of Va. family. NBC News. Retrieved 05/07/2020 from http://www.nbcnews.com/id/14912731/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/t/man-admits-gruesome-slayings-va-family/#.XrP9np5KgkI Sinclair, Melissa Scott. (10/20/2010). The Visitors. Style Weekly. Retrieved 05/07/2020 from https://www.styleweekly.com/richmond/the-visitors/Content?oid=1381013 Nolan, Jim; Ress, David. (01/16/2006). Seven days in January / Two suspects. Two families. One tragic week in Richmond. Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved 05/07/2020 from https://www.richmond.com/news/local/seven-days-in-january-two-suspects-two-families-one-tragic/article_d3db328e-5bca-11e5-a17e-cb369c474575.html WTVR Staff. (01/12/2017). Ricky Gray apologizes for Harvey murders as groups urge clemency. WTVR. Retrieved 05/09/2020 from https://localtvwtvr.wordpress.com/2017/01/12/ricky-gray-apologizes-for-harvey-murders-as-groups-urge-clemency/ Champion, Allison Brophy. (12/17/2012). 'Tremendous breakthrough' in Warner murder. The Daily Progress. Retrieved 05/09/2020 from https://www.dailyprogress.com/archives/tremendous-breakthrough-in-warner-murder/article_20584112-487b-11e2-a713-001a4bcf6878.html Freeman, Vernon; Web Staff; Burkett, Jon. (01/19/2017). Ricky Gray executed by lethal injection for Harvey family killings. WTVR. Retrieved 05/09/2020 from https://wtvr.com/2017/01/18/ricky-gray-executed-by-lethal-injection-for-harvey-family-killings/ Green, Frank. (01/11/2017). Ricky Gray apologizes; more than 50 mental health experts urge clemency. Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved 05/09/2020 from https://www.richmond.com/news/ricky-gray-apologizes-more-than-50-mental-health-experts-urge-clemency/article_8c5bf9e3-a284-5607-926b-f90df65c43e4.html Books Johnson, Larry. (04/18/2014). Cold Blooded: The New Year's Day Massacre. Against All Oddz Publications. https://www.amazon.com/Cold-Blooded-New-Years-Massacre/dp/1537442481/ Podcasts Brittney and Justine (hosts). (01/03/2018). It’s about Damn Crime. Ep. 46- 2006 Richmond Spree Murders [Audio podcast]. Retrieved 05/10/2020 from https://www.spreaker.com/user/10958507/ep-46-2006-richmond-spree-murders Sara, Erik & Mary (hosts). (01/02/2018). Murder, Myth & Mystery. Episode #37 [Audio podcast]. Retrieved 05/10/2020 from https://mmmpodcast.podbean.com/e/episode-37-1515423183/ History Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (n.d.) Richmond, VA. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 05/08/2020 from https://www.britannica.com/place/Richmond-Virginia Williams, Michael Paul. (02/21/2016). Unsung sites of black history in the Richmond area. Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved 05/10/2020 from https://www.richmond.com/discover-richmond/unsung-sites-of-black-history-in-the-richmond-area/article_ca1d1a37-8fab-522b-8305-8420bfe368d9.html Morley, P. Kevin. (10/16/2016). Getting to know: Richmond Slave Trail. Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved 05/10/2020 from https://www.richmond.com/discover-richmond/getting-to-know-richmond-slave-trail/article_3386ad02-b74d-5d25-8490-88b6d61f23b3.html Richmondgov.com. (n.d.). Richmond Slave Trail Commission Brochure. Retrieved 05/10/2020 from http://www.richmondgov.com/CommissionSlaveTrail/documents/brochureRichmondCityCouncilSlaveTrailCommission.pdf Walls, Bryan. (n.d.). Henry “Box” Brown. PBS. Retrieved 05/10/2020 from https://www.pbs.org/black-culture/shows/list/underground-railroad/stories-freedom/henry-box-brown/ US History. (n.d.). 20f. Gabriel's Rebellion: Another View of Virginia in 1800. Retrieved 05/10/2020 from https://www.ushistory.org/us/20f.asp Zuccino, David. (12/18/08). With unearthing of infamous jail, Richmond confronts its slave past. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 05/11/2020 from https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-dec-18-na-richmond-slaves18-story.html Shout Outs Murder House Fliphttps://quibi.com/shows/murder-house-flip-592/ Ad Crime in Colorhttps://www.crimeincolorpod.com/ Music "Abyss" by Alasen: ●https://soundcloud.com/alasen●https://twitter.com/icemantrap ●https://instagram.com/icemanbass/●https://soundcloud.com/therealfrozenguy●Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License "Jeopardy" by Yung Kartz https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Yung_KartzLicensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License "A Saint" by Saibysed https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoyDwrTWfhlv_yBm84WXXBgLicensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License "Furious Freak" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Connect with us on: Twitter @FruitLoopsPod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/fruitloopspod Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Fruitloopspod and https://www.facebook.com/groups/fruitloopspod
From her home in Richmond, Enjoli Moon joins Todd B. Waldo for the 50th episode of the podcast. She shares how intuition and intentionality have impacted her family and career. And they talk about learning how to maintain balance with time and attention while pursuing passion. Enjoli Moon is the founder and creative director of the Afrikana Independent Film Festival, a festival dedicated to showcasing the cinematic works of people of color from around the world - they place a special focus of the global Black narrative. She is also the Assistant Curator of Film & Special Programs at the Institute for Contemporary Art at VCU where she is dedicated to using film as a catalyst for conversation and authentic connection. Through Afrikana and the ICA she looks forward to helping grow the footprint of Black indie cinema in Richmond and making the city a premier platform for elevating, celebrating, and further validating stories of the marginalized and underrepresented. Outside of film, Enjoli serves on the Board of Directors for Oakwood Arts/P35 and 1708 Gallery, as well as the advisory board for the School of African American Studies at VCU. She is a member of the Public Awareness Committee at The Valentine and serves as chair of the Richmond Region Tourism Black Experience Committee. She is the recipient of Style Weekly’s 2017 40 Under 40 and was named a 2018 Women in the Arts by the same organization. Enjoli is a Richmond native and studied sociology at Virginia Commonwealth University and when she's not out scouting for the next dope film, you'll find her indulging in RVA's best eateries or its theater scene with her son, Jonah, an aspiring artist himself. The spotlight for this episode is Community 50/50. Community 50/50, LLC is a mentoring/community outreach program geared toward the betterment of youth and families in the Richmond metropolitan area and surrounding localities. Their programs service youth ages 5-18 and their families. Their program was created to provide positive adult role models and help children develop socially and emotionally. Their mentors help youth learn to understand and communicate their feelings, to relate to their peers, and to develop respectable and appropriate relationships with other adults. Community 50/50 believes that youth mentoring works best when goals focus on developing trusting relationships with peers and adults. Learn more at community5050.com 40 Lessons is a podcast about the lessons we've learned about family, career, community and the lessons we are still learning. Listen to all episodes on Spotify, iTunes, Soundcloud, Google Play, TuneIn and Stitcher at toddbwaldo.com/podcast. Send your feedback, questions and comments to todd@toddbwaldo.com #40Lessons #podcast #storytelling #family #career #community #being #doing #intentionality #passion
From Lizzo to colorism Blackademics, Kiara Lee-Hart and I talk all things that interests us while keeping our loud and everlasting friendship in the mix. Kiara is a passionate writer, with two children’s books exploring colorism and parental incarceration (Light-Skinned, Dark-Skinned or In-Between? and Be a Man Tyrone: What Happens when Daddy Goes to Prison), a long-running blog (theblackertheberry.org). Kiara owns a t-shirt line called #SCHOOLGIRLHUSTLE. Its mission is to promote girls and women staying in school and proceeds go toward school supplies for local women and girls in need. In 2016, she was selected as one of Style Weekly’s 2016 Top 40 Under 40. She's a warm friend and represents everything the Black Matter platform well brining LOTS of dimentionalities to the mic.
This was such great conversation about how food can be a story telling medium, and what it means to be a reviewer and critic.Robey is food journalist for CBS 6 News and other local/national publications covering all manner of dining and drinking. Find Robey predominantly over at WTVR CBS 6 as a co-host of the food podcast "Eat It, Virginia", author of Richmond's restaurant "hot list” or wherever the good French fries are.Other places to read Robey: Richmond Magazine, Virginia Living, Style Weekly, Richmond Times Dispatch, Beer Advocate, Richmond Grid, Tilt.com, Chesterfield Observer, Marcostyle.com and Virginia Craft Beer Magazine. Follow her food-centric life at @callmerobey and @eatitvirginia on Instagram.
On November 6, 2019, Dale M. Brumfield delivered a Banner Lecture, “The Notorious History of the Virginia State Penitentiary.” In 1796, the Virginia General Assembly finally reformed Virginia’s penal laws and embraced Thomas Jefferson’s theory of “labor in confinement.” The Virginia State Penitentiary cornerstone was laid August 19, 1797, near the intersection of what is today Belvidere and Spring Streets, and the first prisoner, a man named Thomas Merryman, was admitted April 1, 1800. For the next 190 years, the penitentiary endured four fires, an earthquake, and numerous riots and escapes. In 1908, the electric chair was introduced, and 246 condemned men and one woman were executed there before the facility was demolished in 1991. Author, journalist, and cultural archaeologist Dale Brumfield will trace the sometimes cruel, sometimes uplifting history of the personalities within this former notorious Richmond landmark. As well as working as a local journalist, Dale Brumfield is the Field Director for Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty and the author of ten books, including Virginia State Penitentiary: A Notorious History and Richmond Independent Press and Independent Press in DC and Virginia: An Underground History. His stories have appeared in Richmond Magazine, Style Weekly, the Staunton News Leader, Austin Chronicle, Richmond Times-Dispatch, and USA Today, among others.
This week we finish our two part series on The Southside Strangler. A serial killer who terrorized Richmond and Arlington VA between 1984 and 1987.Audience SurveyEpisode PageNamus Case - NamUs #UP8577Episode Sources:Richmond, VA - Wikipedia page.Forensic Files C8: E1 “Southside Strangler” - October 31, 1996.Memorial Care websiteAmazing Advances in Forensic Science Part 1: DNA - .Practical Homicide article by Vernon J. Gerberth, M.S., M.P.S. June 2010.NIH websiteThe Night I Watched a Serial Killer Die - Article by Lee Lofland. August 18, 2018.Virginia Serial Killer Convicted by DNA Evidence is Executed - Los Angeles Times article from the Associated Press. April 28, 1994.Killer breakthrough - the day DNA evidence first nailed a murderer - Article from The Guardian written by Ian Cobain. June 7, 2016.Virginia’s Southside Strangler executed - UPI archives. April 28, 1994.Governor pardons man wrongly convicted of murder. - UPI article by Carolyn Click. January 4, 1989.Timothy W. Spencer, Petitioner-appellant, v. Edward W. Murray, Director, Respondent-appellee, 5 F.3d 758 (4th Cir. 1993) - Argued Oct. 28, 1992. Decided Sept. 16, 1993.The Arlington Serial Killer Who Changed History. - Arlington Magazine article by Laurie McClellan. July 27, 2015.Southern Nightmare Podcast & article series - Southern Nightmare. This is a 10-part print and podcast series on the landmark criminal justice case of the South Side Strangler, which marked the nation's first use of DNA to catch a killer. Articles listed in Style Weekly. By Richard Foster.Cleanser:Maggie L. Walker - WikiMaggie L. Walker Governor’s School HistorySocial Media:WebsiteInstagramTwitterIntro Music:She-Wolf In My Heart (bonus) by Sergey Cheremisinov is licensed under a Attribution License.Outro Music:Trio for Piano Violin and Viola by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.
Shannon welcomes four special guests - a doctor, a therapist and two mothers - for an in-depth discussion of Autism Spectrum Disorder. Dr. Evie Frazier - Dr. Frazier is a developmental-behavioral pediatrician at Bon Secours Developmental & Special Needs Pediatrics who specializes in autism spectrum disorder. Dr. Kathy Matthews - Dr. Matthews is the Executive Director of Education at The Faison School for Autism. She also serves as the CABAS Senior Behavior Analyst at Faison. Lisa Bragg - Lisa is the owner of Richmond’s VIP Resource Connection, which puts resources for Special Needs children In One Place. Carissa Garabedian - Carissa is the Publisher and Editor of Macaroni Kid Richmond, a website that was named Best Online Family Resource by Style Weekly. The Authentic Woman is a weekly radio show hosted by women's rights leader Shannon Fisher offering perspectives on the female experience in America. The show delves deeply into the worlds of writers, artists, celebrities, and community leaders. Follow Shannon on Twitter: @MsShannonFisher. Copyrighted podcast solely owned by the Authors on the Air Global Radio Network, LLC. #Autism #AutismSpectrumDisorder #SpecialNeedsChildren #FaisonSchool #RichmondVIPResourceConnection #MacaroniKid #AuthorsOnTheAir #Radio #Podcast #ShannonFisher #MsShannonFisher
Jared is a brand strategist, marketing maven, and publicist with over 15 years of experience in the entertainment and media world. As the former editor in chief of the Miami headquartered Ocean Drive Magazine Jared utilized his 13 years of experience in NYC as the editorial director of In Touch Weekly and Life & Style Weekly to further broaden Ocean Drive's international appeal and global reach. Jared is also a New York Times Best Selling Author, and principal of marketing + branding + strategy +PR agency, The Tag Experience. Branding and Marketing There is just so much noise in the world of marketing. So just how does one stand out as a small business owner or even just starting up? In this week episode of The Entrepreneurial You podcast, Jared shares some tips on how to do just that. Every year there is an addition to the options available for marketing. The constant change keeps us on our feet. We have to be constantly changing in order to stay relevant. The first thing to note is that you need to distinguish between branding and marketing. Essentially, your messaging about your product or service and marketing is communicating that message to your audience. You have to create a strategy and work it. It could include any number of things including content marketing, print, online, digital, thought leadership and a host of others. Don't overdo it though. Have them say, “where is (insert name) as opposed to, there is (insert name).” What are people saying about you when you are not in the room? The new room is digital! TOP TIP: Don't look around at others and think that they have had overnight success or that their success is even real. Pay attention to you. ---- Connect with Jared Shapiro Website Twitter LinkedIn Resources Mentioned Simon Sinek Jeff Bezos Visit our Sponsor: Jamaica Stock Exchange Email: Heneka Watkis-Porter
On this episode of The Cheats Movement on WRIR, Cheats sits down with the former editor of Style Weekly Jason Roop to talk about his Style Weekly cover story titled "The Kids Are Still Waiting." The article is all about the plan, or lack thereof, to fix Richmond Public Schools. Cheats also has a featured interview with Vikki Tobak, author of Contact High: a visual history of hip-hop. Vikki shares about the book, which has been named to several must-read lists of 2018, and her history with hip-hop in the 90s to today. Cheats also provides a little "life update" since he was in the studio alone. This episode is brought to you by 804RVA. As always follow all things Cheats Movement on the blog. #WESEEIT
How should Christians think about contemporary art? Often Christianity and contemporary art are pitted against one another in tension, when in reality, there is much to glean by putting the two in conversation. Amanda Dalla Villa Adams is a Richmond-based, independent art-writer, curator, and educator. Through her experience as a regular-contributing art critic to Style Weekly and contributor for Artforum, Burnaway, and Sculpture, Amanda will help us explore how Christians have much to learn from contemporary art, and vice versa. We will consider the relationship of contemporary art to the Gospel while asking relevant questions about how this might practically work in the life of the individual and the Church. "Who’s Afraid of Contemporary Art? The Relationship Between Contemporary Art and the Gospel" was presented on November 5, 2018 at Scholé House.
Shannon welcomes four special guests this week for an in-depth discussion of Autism Spectrum Disorder: a doctor, a therapist and two mothers. Dr. Evie Frazier - Dr. Frazier is a developmental-behavioral pediatrician at Bon Secours Developmental & Special Needs Pediatrics who specializes in autism spectrum disorder. Dr. Kathy Matthews - Dr. Matthews is the Executive Director of Education at The Faison School for Autism. She also serves as the CABAS Senior Behavior Analyst at Faison. Lisa Bragg - Lisa is the owner of Richmond’s VIP Resource Connection, which puts resources for Special Needs children In One Place. Carissa Garabedian - Carissa is the Publisher and Editor of Macaroni Kid Richmond, a website that was named Best Online Family Resource by Style Weekly. The Authentic Woman is a weekly radio show hosted by women's rights leader Shannon Fisher offering perspectives on the female experience in America. The show delves deeply into the worlds of writers, artists, celebrities, and community leaders. Follow Shannon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MsShannonFisher Copyrighted podcast solely owned by the Authors on the Air Global Radio Network, LLC.
We're still a few weeks from the May 30 launch date of our first episode but in the meantime, here's an excerpt from an interview that we did this week with true-crime investigative journalist Billy Jensen, who helped complete Michelle McNamara's posthumously published bestseller, I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer. Billy spoke with Southern Nightmare host Richard Foster about the eerie similarities of modus operandi between the Golden State Killer and the South Side Strangler. You can read the whole interview on May 30 in Style Weekly magazine, when Style will run the first installment of a 10-part series of articles that will complement this podcast. In the meantime, if you'd like to read "I'll Be Gone In The Dark" for free, take advantage of our great offer from Audible, Amazon's audiobooks division. You can get a free copy of any audiobook of your choice to keep with a 30-day free trial of Audible. Sign up and get your free audiobook here: https://www.audibletrial.com/southernnightmare
Lavada is the epitome of the phrase "No Excuses". She is an Author, Mother of 5 (yep, that's right 5) and CEO of Haircredible; a hair care line that caters to Natural Fine and Thin Hair. She began her business as a result of being diagnosed with Alopecia and not being able to find products for her naturally fine and thin hair. In 2010, she would embark upon her entrepreneurial journey while still managing a full-time, 3rd shift job. She is the ultimate Mom Boss inspiration and quickly reminds us of the importance of determination and initiative when achieving success. Lavada's hair care line has been featured in Essence, Hype Hair, TXTURE, Popsugar, Life & Style Weekly, Sheen, Kontrol Mag and the list goes on.
Southern Nightmare: The Hunt for The South Side Strangler Coming May 30, Southern Nightmare: The Hunt for The South Side Strangler is a new podcast hosted by Richmond, Virginia, journalist Richard Foster in cooperation with Style Weekly magazine and WRIR 97.3 FM Richmond Independent Radio. Thirty years ago a serial killer terrorized the city of Richmond, brutally raping and murdering women in their own homes. Then he struck again, 100 miles to the north in the Washington, D.C., suburbs of Arlington. Most people have never heard of this case, but it marked the first time in U.S. history that DNA evidence was used to catch a killer in a capital murder case, long before the O.J. Simpson trial or TV shows like CSI and NCIS popularized the idea of using DNA as an everyday forensic science tool. This 10-episode, in-depth weekly podcast will tell the behind-the-scenes story of one of the most important cases in modern American criminal justice, as detectives in two cities relentlessly pursued leads, desperate to stop a monster before he killed again. Southern Nightmare features exclusive interviews with homicide detectives, prosecutors, FBI profilers and friends and family of the victims. For more information, including live events, visit us at SouthernNightmare.com. HOSTED BY: Richard Foster TAGS: True Crime, Serial Killer, Richmond, Virginia, RVA, South Side Strangler, Arlington, DNA, Detective, Homicide, Murder
Kelli's downtown at Pop's grab coffee with Lori Waran. Lori's the publisher at
Jack Lauterback got his start as a writer, blogging about his adventures in the Richmond bar scene. His funny and honest articles about bartending, drinking, and relationships led to a column in Style Weekly, where he stayed for years. Now, you can find him on the Richmond morning radio program he co-hosts with Melissa Chase at 103.7 FM. Colin and Jack talk about the Richmond bar scene, the writing life, and some jobs that aren't worth doing. It's happy hour at American Rambler!
Guest, Thomas John is a global psychic sensation who has wowed audiences across the world with his impressively accurate messages from ‘the other side’. Hosting sold-out events such as A Night with Spirit, Spirit Circles and Dinner with the Dead, Thomas John is one of the nation’s most coveted psychic mediums. Gifted since birth, Thomas connected with the spirit of his late paternal grandfather at the tender age of four and correctly described to his parents the location of a missing wrist watch that had haunted the family for years (Grandpa’s best friend Jack had it!). From that point forward, Thomas and his family knew he had prodigious abilities. He has made innumerable accurate psychic predictions about celebrities that have come to pass after he reported them to the media, including the death of Whitney Houston, the splitting of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, the death of Michael Jackson, and the circumstances surrounding the birth of the royal babies. Thomas has also had countless visions surrounding medical breakthroughs, political events, and natural disasters, which have come to pass in record time. Thomas John has been prominently featured in top tier print media, including New York Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post, GQ, Maxim, OK! Magazine, The Hollywood Reporter, and Life and Style Weekly, along with broadcast appearances on Dr. Phil, Bravo’s Million Dollar Listing New York,The Real Housewives of New York City, and Entertainment Tonight. Thomas resides in both New York City and Los Angeles, CA.
Dale Brumfield is an Adjunct English Professor and the author of seven books. His last two, Richmond Independent Press (2013) and Independent Press in D.C and Virginia: An Underground History (2015) were both nominated for Library of Virginia Literary Awards in nonfiction. Dale is a weekly history columnist for the Staunton News Leader, and is a frequent contributor to Richmond Magazine, Style Weekly and North of the James magazines. His work has also appeared in the Richmond Free Press, Richmond Times-Dispatch and USA Today. His next book, a history of the Virginia Penitentiary, will be published fall, 2017. We discuss the history of state murder in Virginia. See http://dalebrumfield.net
Kelli's at Pop's to have coffee with Brandon Farbstein. Brandon's the kid who gave a Ted talk at 15 years old, then within the same year he was named to Style Weekly's 40 Under 40. At 17 he's now finishing high school online because the bullying got so bad he had to leave but he's using it to motivate and inspire others as he continues his motivational speaking career.
Kelli's at Pop's Market to grab coffee with Chris Dovi. Though they've only ever casually met, when news around the world breaks, Kelli visits Chris' Facebook page for his take. Chris says his Facebook posts are "the last shadow of [him] as reporter," who had formerly written for Style Weekly, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Richmond Magazine, and hosted a radio program on WRIR. He's now the Executive Director of CODE VA
The Podcast Crew is Back! And we had a lot to talk about and new music to play. Cheats, Hip Hop Henry, Rich, Gigi, RT, and DJ Mentos were in the building to talk about our adventure with super-producer 9th Wonder and Soul Council member Kash from Jamla Records. We also talked about the Style Weekly cover story from Brent Baldwin titled "When Will Richmond Embrace Hip-Hop?," we played new music (Joey Gallo, Nickelus F, and more), and in-studio we had a special guest - Lew Sid from the ATI crew out in Virginia Beach. And also in-studio we had our very own J-Slim from 3Way Ent. They created one of the best freestyle sessions we've had on the podcast this year. As always, we had Kush behind the board and Jess (SnyderVision2020) behind the camera. Oh and S/O my brother Bo Fields for coming through as well. #WESEEIT
Check out my interview with Dr. Shantell Malachi of Richmond Virginia, Founder & Executive Director, Dress for Success Central Virginia, Chief Executive Officer at SheEmpowers™ International, Author of “Career Couture: The Modern Guide to Redefining Your Career” available on Amazon, 2012 Style Weekly's Top 40 under 40. We chop it up about empowering women to pursue greater entrepreneur ventures and get involved in philanthropy while discussing how to run an organization that caters to helping people and solving common obstacles that women face in professional and personal settings. Dress for Success is a social service DFS provides services to women who are in a disadvantaged situations or facing some unusual obstacles, such as fleeing domestic violence, reentering the workforce, trying to get back on their feet. SheEmpowers, Shantell describes, is taking the work of DFS a step further. Most of the women who are apart of SheEmpowers are professional women who are already started on the path of entrepreneurship, but for some reason are now stuck. The organization caters to women who need an extra push to step their business up to the next level. We touch about the importance of fulfilling a need in your business in order to be successful. Shantell touches on the different aspects of building an organization that caters to the needs of women of diverse backgrounds, and how helping them helps the overall community. The goal is to transform more women into being leaders in their individual businesses and careers, therefore empowering others to follow their example. Dress for Success Central Virginia https://centralvirginia.dressforsuccess.org/ SheEmpowers™ www.sheempowers.org/
Chef Travis Milton is a passionate spokesman for Appalachia and its cuisine. Growing up in Wise County he spent many hated hours picking beans before realizing early on in his cooking career he wanted to bring that food’s sensibility to the world. Mostly vegetables. Meats as a flavoring agent and garnish. Comforting tastes and textures. Honest food. Everything grown from heritage seeds which translates into all the food on your plate tasting just a bit better than it would otherwise. It’s a story I’ve heard often. A chef works many jobs before realizing the kitchen is home. Travis traveled this path including a stint as a DJ where his handle was Miltie The Albino Love Machine. But while repairing race cars and teaching kids, he realized his true calling. And we reap the benefits. His Appalachian restaurant Shovel and Pick opens in Richmond's Scott's Addition in Spring 2016. Why are greasy beans and sour corn the foundation for all the rest of his cuisine? What are they and why are they important? As he says, for a long time the Appalachian region hasn't had a voice. And now it has one through its food. Beans have dignity. Food can act as a symbol of Appalachia's endurance and sacrifice, which is why the jar of his family's heritage beans is one of his most prized possessions. Why was it important to Travis to serve the Appalachian Food Summit Dinner as a "Fancy Ass Piccadilly"? Why did the Introduction to Cornbread Nation 3 make him break down? Why do Sheepshead fish have people teeth? How do you prepare bear for eating? Why does he carry a Macho Man Randy Savage card in his wallet? All this and more in Episode 21. Travis is the real deal folks. He plans to source 80% of the produce for his restaurant from his heritage seeds grown on the family farm in Wise County. And yes, you can hear the anticipation for that night's dinner in my voice. If you're not hungry after this one, you might be dead. And if you don't laugh, I know you're a corpse. Funny funny dude. And a great storyteller. Enjoy! SHOW NOTES - Links to items discussed within the episode: Style Weekly - excellent profile of Chef Milton by Brandon Fox. The Shack - Chef Ian Boden creates Southern food that defies definition. Glamorous yet completely accessible. And of course, tasty as hell. One of the best in VA if not the nation. The Third Plate - by Dan Barber. Field notes on the future of food. Smoke & Pickles - Chef Ed Lee creates Southern food which includes his Korean roots. Heritage - Chef Sean Brock's award-winning, gorgeous tome of Southern favorites. Coffee table worthy! Shuck Beans, Stack Cakes, and Honest Fried Chicken - Ronni Lundy's classic collection of Southern food. And my personal favorite. Corn Bread Nation 3 - Food of the Mountain South - Excellent collection of food writing presented by the fine folks of the Southern Foodways Alliance. The Foxfire Book of Appalachian Cookery - just one of a huge series of cookbooks preserving Southern foodways. A classic! This episode is sponsored by In A Flash Laser Engraving.
Valley Haggard is a writer. She was the book editor at Style Weekly and currently runs Richmond Young Writers. She shares some crazy stories-- jaunts through Europe, falling in love with a wrangler, working on a cruise ship. She also reads a short piece on how she learned to stop hating herself.
twitter.com/ralphieaversa For the latest Weekend Scoop, we returned to our friends at Life and Style Weekly. Reporter Melissa Roberto talked about stories that the magazine was covering regarding Taylor Swift, Nicki Minaj and Rihanna.
Life & Style Weekly reports that Mariah Carey had a few rather interesting demands before she kicked off her residency at Las Vegas’ Caesars Palace on May 6. Reporter Melissa Roberto also talked about Justin Bieber’s alleged love triangle and how Disney may be changing the way it deals with its younger stars on “Ralphie […]
Life & Style Weekly reports that Meghan Trainor’s musical background has family roots. Senior Reporter Andrew Nodell also talked about Beyonce and Jennifer Lopez on “Ralphie Tonight.”
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