Good morning, RVA! It's 51 °F, and today looks cloudy but amazing. Expect highs in the mid 70s, no reason at all to wear socks, and a near perfect opportunity late in the afternoon to sit on the stoop and watch the day end. Tomorrow, rain returns and cooler weather follows immediately.
Richmond Police are reporting that an officer shot and killed an individual on the 1900 block of Cedar Street earlier this week. Hereâs some information describing the incident, quoted directly from the RPD press release: âYesterday at approximately 4:58 a.m., officers were called to the 1900 block of Cedar Street for the report of a disturbance with an armed person. Officers arrived on the scene within minutes and located the male suspect, [Kenneth] Sharp. After a brief encounter during which Sharp produced a firearm, Sharp was shot. He was transported to a local hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries.â Police Chief Rick Edwards has said in the past that, following fatal shootings by police officers, his department would produce and release a âCritical Incident Briefing videoâ featuring audio and video from the investigationâfrom sources like body cameras and 911 calls. RPD hopes to release the briefing video for this incident within the next two weeks.
A week late, I finally got around to listening to Mayor Stoneyâs budget presentation while in the shower yesterday. The Mayor does a good job with his remarks, and I think it might be the easiest way to get yourself oriented towards the budgetâs big-picture items. Related: The City hasnât posted the video from yesterdayâs second City Council Budget Work Session, but, when they do, Iâll make sure to get it up on The Boring Show as quick as I can.
The Richmond Times-Dispatchâs Luca Powell reports that the USPSâs Office of Inspector General has released the promised audit of Richmondâs mail processing faculty out in Sandston, and...itâs not great news. You can download and read the surprisingly concise PDF (weighing in at only 35 pages!) for yourself here. The audit makes 10 recommendations (look for the red headers), and they range from fairly mail-specific like ârecord omitted trips in the data systemâ to general good biz advice like âtrain all management personnel in the Richmond region to understand and perform their roles and responsibilities.â I guess USPS will now attempt to implement these recommendations, and, with Sen. Kaine still on the case, I hope they take them seriously!
Megan Marconyak, also at the RTD, embarks upon an ambitious project: Each week sheâll share the best thing she ate in a column appropriately titled âBest thing I ate this week in Richmond.â I feel like sheâll have to eat a stunning number of new things each week to sustain this column, and I wish her the best! For me, this project would just be a lot of posts about this Cheesy Baked Pasta With Sausage and Ricotta from the NYT that I make constantly. Or maybe, like, lemon Oreos and Kroger-brand Pink Grapefruit Seltzer?
Over on Mastodon, all-purpose internet wizard Waldo Jaquith has put together a really fun bot that posts actual personalized license plates that the Department of Motor Vehicles has rejected for being too inappropriate. Beware that some of the plates are actually inappropriate or offensive, but most are just silly: BOOTY, MESSYB, and TRSTS8N (Val rightly wondered if TRSTGD would have made it through the filters?). I love this sort of project, which takes publicly available data and makes it easier for the public to accessâespecially if it does so with a little personality.
Also, this reminds me to remind you that if youâre still wandering through the post-Twitter social media wilderness, looking for a home for your microblog-type content, you can sign up for a Mastodon account over on rva.fyi. There are a million and one different places to create a Mastodon accountâmastodon.social being the biggestâso no pressure!
Via Richard Hayes at RVA Hub, this incredible picture of someone flying(?) into the raging James River to rescue folks trapped slightly off frame. You can see a few more pics over @sandys_dadâs instagram. Whoa, what a dramatic day down by the River!
Youâre definitely going to want to tap through and check out the exquisitely precise art âcarvedâ onto leaves by WWI soldiers stuck in a trench for endless days. Beautiful and incredible!
Like many soldiers, Hodeau spent hours huddled in these muddy channels. In order to kill time, perhaps, or lift his spirits, he gathered leaves from an oak tree â elongated, striated, forest green â and used a form of relief carving to inscribe the names of his daughters, AndrĂŠe and ElĂŠonore, as well as the word âsouvenirâ and what looks like âArgonneâ...As unique as his objects may seem, Hodeau was not alone in carving leaves. The art form flourished during World War I as a way to enhance letters home with a unique lightweight enclosure. Soldiers used a needle or knife to whittle between the oak and chestnut veins, leaving only words or, sometimes, an image.
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Urban views.