Good morning, RVA: New schools on the way, pipeline updates, and episode 62 🌂

Photo by: sandy’s dad

Good morning, RVA! It’s 43 °F, and today the rain begins. Keep your umbrellas and raincoats at the ready because we’re in for some serious precipitation beginning this afternoon and stretching through the rest of the day and into tomorrow.

Water cooler

I forgot this was happening! Mayor Stoney and Superintendent Kamras broke ground yesterday on the three new schools that are a direct result of increasing the meals tax. Mark Robinson at the Richmond Times-Dispatch has allllll the details, including a few you’ve probably forgotten. There’s still lots left to do when it comes to Richmond Public Schools’ capital needs—and don’t forget about school closings and rezonings—but this is a great first step (of many (I’m serious, we’re not finished and we should hold our leaders accountable to continue taking steps forward)).

J. Elias O’Neal at Richmond BizSense says developers will build more parking at 323 S. 14th Street—that’s on the river side of the flood wall. Obviously I hate this parking lot that’s literally riverfront property on a 15-minute bus line within a 10-minute walk of a Pulse station, but, if this land must be used to store empty cars instead of provide access to the James River, our greatest public asset, I guess I appreciate the planned connection to the Capital Trail.

I rely on Mechelle Hankerson and the other folks at the Virginia Mercury to keep me updated on all things pipeline. It’s an ongoing, complicated story, and I’m grateful for their continued reporting. Today, Hankerson reports on the State Air Pollution Control Board’s decisions to punt on a permit related to a compressor station in Buckingham County.

Is Virginia’s Medicaid expansion program popular? Yes. Over 182,000 folks have enrolled at this point, which is a nontrivial percentage of the entire population of the Commonwealth. And, of course, more folks will sign up in the coming weeks and months—you can apply for Medicaid at any time of the year!

The New York Times reports that Altria is looking to invest $12.8 billion into Juul, the e-cigarette manufacturer. Sometimes I plain forget that Altria is not just the local Richmond company that sponsors the theatre downtown, but is, in the NYT’s words, “one of public health’s greatest villains.” Juul, not willing to pass up on a chance to do its own villainy, has already ticked off the FDA by running some marketing towards children.

Friends! The 62nd episode of the Sam and Ross Like Things podcast is out and available for download. 62 is a lot of podcasts to put out, and I’m pretty proud of Sam and myself for doing this thing for several years now. If you’ve never listened, you should! It’s a lot of fun.

This morning’s longread

Product Review: When Every Bra Size is Wrong

Listen, I know very little about bras and literally nothing about binding, but, dang, the writing in this review of the gc2b half-length binder is just so, so good. I shouldn’t be surprised since its by the same person who found a random wig and then did these hilarious conversations between Joan Didion and Anna Wintour.

Roughly one-third of my waking hours since the age of eleven have been spent nodding in vague affirmation at the reminder, “You know, you’re probably wearing the wrong bra size.” This is a general piece of advice women like to give one another every couple of hours, just in case it’s been a few hours since someone said, “Most women in America are wearing the wrong bra size.” This is never followed by further instructions or more specific advice; it is simply a warning and a watchword and a sign by which we might know one another. “Have you ever considered that you might be wearing the wrong bra size?” “Sister, I consider it.” “It is well.” Exeunt, covered in measuring tape.

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This morning’s Instagram