Photo by: adamwilliams4405

Good morning, RVA! It’s 77 °F, and we’ve got another hot day on deck with highs in the mid 90s. There’s a chance for storms late this evening which will continue into tomorrow and throughout the weekend.

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Here’s a feel-good Richmond Public Schools story from Justin Mattingly at the Richmond Times-Dispatch: Rodney Robinson has been named Region 1 Teacher of the Year. That’s for all of Central Virginia! It’s tournament-style, so next week he’ll move on to the Virginia Teacher of the Year competition, and then on to National Teacher of the Year from there. Robinson teaches History and Social Studies at the Virgie Binford Education Center, which is part of the juvenile detention center. I love this quote from him, “I just made it a point to try to cover every inch of this building with motivational material and something to inspire them…even though [the students’] situation is bad, it’s a reminder that their minds can still wander and when you get out, your mind can still take you places.”

Photo by: adamwilliams4405

Good morning, RVA! It’s 77 °F, and we’ve got another hot day on deck with highs in the mid 90s. There’s a chance for storms late this evening which will continue into tomorrow and throughout the weekend.

Water cooler

Here’s a feel-good Richmond Public Schools story from Justin Mattingly at the Richmond Times-Dispatch: Rodney Robinson has been named Region 1 Teacher of the Year. That’s for all of Central Virginia! It’s tournament-style, so next week he’ll move on to the Virginia Teacher of the Year competition, and then on to National Teacher of the Year from there. Robinson teaches History and Social Studies at the Virgie Binford Education Center, which is part of the juvenile detention center. I love this quote from him, “I just made it a point to try to cover every inch of this building with motivational material and something to inspire them…even though [the students’] situation is bad, it’s a reminder that their minds can still wander and when you get out, your mind can still take you places.”

Photo by: sandy's dad

Good morning, RVA! It’s 76 °F, and temperatures are back up near 100 °F. If you’ve got things to do outside get them done early or after the sun sets, I guess. Also something to keep in mind: The forecast for the next several days looks real wet.

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A woman hit by a driver on Parham Road in Henrico County near Tucker High School last month has died. @transitrunner points to Google Streetview photos of kids walking to school along Parham and asks if Henrico County or Schools are willing to do anything to make this area safer. This is the latest of several pedestrian deaths in Henrico County this year. Then, in the City yesterday, a driver rammed their car into the Shockoe Bottom Pulse Station—luckily no one was seriously injured. @notAlexWinston on Twitter puts it well (and has pictures of the scary damage to the station): “If our elected officials are serious about achieving Vision Zero and cracking down on public nuisances on city streets, they need to start being honest about what the problem is. It’s not the scooters. It’s the cars.” This is not hard or impossible: Slower speeds and safer streets will save lives—all it takes is the political will.

Photo by: Gamma Man

Good morning, RVA! It’s 77 °F, and today you should expect sunny and hot—again. Temperatures will hover around 90 °F, but it’ll feel way hotter.

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Justin Mattingly at the Richmond Times-Dispatch says the Richmond Public School Board passed a five-year strategic plan last night. You can/should download the final, approved version of the strategic plan and read through the 40 action items (PDF). The plan itself says that “baseline numbers, as well as five-year and annual targets, will be developed for each goal” over the course of the 2018–19 school year, and Superintendent Kamras says he’ll begin costing out the plan over the next couple of weeks. I look forward to updating my PDF library with both of those things!

Photo by: thenoodleator

Good morning, RVA! It’s 77 °F, and today you can expect highs in the 90s and maybe some clouds here and there. It’s looking like a rain-free next couple of days.

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Late last week, Richmond’s Commonwealth’s Attorney Michael Herring, declared Marcus-David Peters’s death a justifiable homicide. Ali Rockett at the Richmond Times-Dispatch has a bunch of details and WTVR has the actual report from the Commonwealth’s Attorney for you to download and read (PDF). Behind the RTD paywall, Michael Paul Williams tries to make sense of what it all means and where we go from here 💸. I’ll quote from his piece briefly: “There are no winners here. The pervasive cynicism surrounding the criminal justice system gives this outcome the appearance of a fait accompli. In America, the killing of unarmed black men has been justified far too often by a criminal justice system designed to protect its own.” I’m disappointed in some of the news coverage’s focus on the “drugs” found in Peters’s toxicology report—which only serves to help create a justification for his death. I also don’t understand the sense of inevitability we have regarding police-involved shootings. Killing a person as a last resort only exists as an option for police officers because we’ve allowed the system to be designed that way. I don’t accept that this is the only way, and I think that, if you look around at the rest of the world, you’ll find lots of other folks who agree.

Photo by: Gamma Man

Good morning, RVA! It’s 72 °F, and last night’s storms brought cooler temperatures with them: Expect highs in the upper 80s today. There’s an OK chance of more thunderstorms this afternoon, so expect that, too. And then, kind of expect a similar thing throughout the weekend.

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The previous coverage on the General Assembly was dead-on in predicting that yesterday’s redistricting session would amount to very little. Graham Moomaw has a recap in the Richmond Times-Dispatch containing this perfect sentence which explains it all: “With no competing proposal to push, Republicans spent hours Thursday trying to make the Democratic plan seem unpalatable.” Mechelle Hankerson, with the Virginia Mercury talks with Brian Cannon from OneVirginia2021 about how, duh, if you give a politician a chance to redistrict, they’re going to draw a partisan map based on their own self interests. To fix this obviously suboptimal situation forever, Cannon’s group has put together a bipartisan committee of citizens to “draft an amendment to the Virginia Constitution that would ensure fair, non-partisan redistricting after the 2020 Census.” That sounds awesome, let’s do it. Finally, the Virginia Public Access Project has a bunch of neat maps that let you toggle and compare the current and proposed districts under the Democrat’s plan (aka The Bagby Plan). Whew, that’s a lot of links—and after reading them all, I’m not sure I’m super clear on the path forward.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 79 °F, and no heat advisory today but still a chance for temperatures in the upper 90s. Keep your eye out for thunderstorms this afternoon, too, which may help cool things down.

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Today, the General Assembly reassembles to theoretically tackle some federally required redistricting. Ned Oliver and Mechelle Hankerson at the Virginia Mercury have the details, but also say you shouldn’t get your hopes up on any dramatic changes—or anything at all—happening soon. Dilly dally too long, though, and the courts will step in and redraw the maps themselves. Reema Amin at the Daily Press has a good explainer on how we got here that you should read, too. Finally, if you want to get involved, you can join One Virginia 2021 throughout the entire day as they advocate for fair redistricting. Festivities start at 9:00 AM with bagels down at the SunTrust Building (919 E. Main Street).

Yesterday, Mayor Stoney announced a big expansion of after-school events for elementary and middle school students. It sounds like Richmond’s philanthropic community upped their contributions to a handful of nonprofits already providing after-school programs by $2 million. This allows the nonprofits to serve more students at more schools, plus—and this is big—transportation will be provided. Trucking kids around, to and from events and activities, is real expensive and often a huge barrier to attendance for youth. This makes me think that maybe we should expand our yet-to-launch free bus pass program to elementary and middle school students as well. Not that they’d ride the bus around by themselves, but, with appropriate supervision, we could probably get (some) kids to and from programs while teaching them how to move around the City.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 79 °F, and no heat advisory today but still a chance for temperatures in the upper 90s. Keep your eye out for thunderstorms this afternoon, too, which may help cool things down.

Water cooler

Today, the General Assembly reassembles to theoretically tackle some federally required redistricting. Ned Oliver and Mechelle Hankerson at the Virginia Mercury have the details, but also say you shouldn’t get your hopes up on any dramatic changes—or anything at all—happening soon. Dilly dally too long, though, and the courts will step in and redraw the maps themselves. Reema Amin at the Daily Press has a good explainer on how we got here that you should read, too. Finally, if you want to get involved, you can join One Virginia 2021 throughout the entire day as they advocate for fair redistricting. Festivities start at 9:00 AM with bagels down at the SunTrust Building (919 E. Main Street).

Yesterday, Mayor Stoney announced a big expansion of after-school events for elementary and middle school students. It sounds like Richmond’s philanthropic community upped their contributions to a handful of nonprofits already providing after-school programs by $2 million. This allows the nonprofits to serve more students at more schools, plus—and this is big—transportation will be provided. Trucking kids around, to and from events and activities, is real expensive and often a huge barrier to attendance for youth. This makes me think that maybe we should expand our yet-to-launch free bus pass program to elementary and middle school students as well. Not that they’d ride the bus around by themselves, but, with appropriate supervision, we could probably get (some) kids to and from programs while teaching them how to move around the City.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 78 °F, and we have a heat advisory in effect today from 12:00–7:00 PM. Expect highs in the upper 90s but for it to feel 10 degrees hotter. Stay cool, stay safe, and stay hydrated.

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Since Sunday, Richmond has seen three murders. On Sunday, August 26th, Shirley Washington, 78, was stabbed to death in her home at the 3800 block of Peyton Avenue. Later that same day, police were called to the 3000 block of P Street where they found Michael Allen, 41, shot to death. Finally, Krissia Henderson-Burrus, 21, the victim of a Saturday-evening double shooting on the 1100 block of Starview Lane, died on Monday.

You can see the full list of 2018 murder victims over on the Richmond Police Department website.

Photo by: taberandrew

Good morning, RVA! It’s 62 °F, and, again, today’s weather looks absolutely incredible. Expect highs right around 80 °F, lots of sunshine, and no rain. It’s a beautiful Friday, so spend some of it outside!

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The Virginia Pilot has done some extensive, national reporting on how people with mental illness die in jail. What they found is horrific—no other way to put it. Here’s just some of the stark statistics: 41% of those that died in jail were in isolation; 44% were by suicide; and in 11% of the cases, family members warned the jail that the inmate had a mental illness with associated needs. Keep in mind, these are jails, not prisons. Often folks in crisis who need space in a mental health facility end up instead arrested, which means they go to jail, which means time spent in a place designed only to temporarily store humans away from others—the last thing people in crisis need.

Photo by: FGleach (and taken in 1985 at Shafer Court!)

Good morning, RVA! It’s 65 °F, and, whoa, expect way cooler temperatures today. Expect highs near 80 °F, and there’s not a rain cloud to be seen on the forecast. Things will heat up over the next several days, but, for now, enjoy!

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Unannounced, mid-week emails from Superintendent Jason Kamras usually bring with them some bad news, and yesterday’s email ‘twas no different. The Virginia Department of Education released SOL scores for this past year and, I’ll just quote the Superintendent here, “Overall, scores for Richmond Public Schools declined from last year, with pass rates hovering near 50–60% for all subject areas. Math, Writing and History scores decreased by 2, 3 and 5 percentage points, respectively. Reading improved by 1%, while Science remained flat. I’m not going to sugar coat it. These scores are deeply disappointing.” You can see the scores for the entire district over on the VDOE website or use this tool to search for specific schools. Conversations about whether or not SOLs are cool and good aside, I really love the way our new Superintendent communicates. He’s often the first source I read on a given schools-related issue, and his blunt, honest, yet optimistic tone leads me to trust him—or at least give him the benefit of the doubt. This lets him set the tone and narrative instead of having it set by local media (or by local opinion-havers with an email newsletter).

Photo by: FGleach (and taken in 1985 at Shafer Court!)

Good morning, RVA! It’s 65 °F, and, whoa, expect way cooler temperatures today. Expect highs near 80 °F, and there’s not a rain cloud to be seen on the forecast. Things will heat up over the next several days, but, for now, enjoy!

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Unannounced, mid-week emails from Superintendent Jason Kamras usually bring with them some bad news, and yesterday’s email ‘twas no different. The Virginia Department of Education released SOL scores for this past year and, I’ll just quote the Superintendent here, “Overall, scores for Richmond Public Schools declined from last year, with pass rates hovering near 50–60% for all subject areas. Math, Writing and History scores decreased by 2, 3 and 5 percentage points, respectively. Reading improved by 1%, while Science remained flat. I’m not going to sugar coat it. These scores are deeply disappointing.” You can see the scores for the entire district over on the VDOE website or use this tool to search for specific schools. Conversations about whether or not SOLs are cool and good aside, I really love the way our new Superintendent communicates. He’s often the first source I read on a given schools-related issue, and his blunt, honest, yet optimistic tone leads me to trust him—or at least give him the benefit of the doubt. This lets him set the tone and narrative instead of having it set by local media (or by local opinion-havers with an email newsletter).

Good morning, RVA! It’s 75 °F, and expect more of the same: Temperatures in the mid 80s, plenty of humidity, and a decent chance for rain. If you’re moving around the City today by foot, scooter, bike, or bus, may you successfully find the dry spots in today’s weather.

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Ali Rockett at the Richmond Times-Dispatch lists out the four times this year an officer from the Richmond Police Department has shot someone.

I took two things away from this Mark Robinson update on the Historic District situation in Blackwell 💸. First, the Hilds—who originally said that if the decision to expand the Historic District was delayed they would pull out of $250 million of investment in the area—had no comment for this story. 🤔. Second, the state Department of Historic Resources says they have “never done as intensive community outreach for any historic district” as they have for Blackwell. I can’t decide if this means that maybe they consistently don’t do enough community outreach for these things or that they’ve definitely gone above and beyond in this case.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 75 °F, and expect more of the same: Temperatures in the mid 80s, plenty of humidity, and a decent chance for rain. If you’re moving around the City today by foot, scooter, bike, or bus, may you successfully find the dry spots in today’s weather.

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Ali Rockett at the Richmond Times-Dispatch lists out the four times this year an officer from the Richmond Police Department has shot someone.

I took two things away from this Mark Robinson update on the Historic District situation in Blackwell 💸. First, the Hilds—who originally said that if the decision to expand the Historic District was delayed they would pull out of $250 million of investment in the area—had no comment for this story. 🤔. Second, the state Department of Historic Resources says they have “never done as intensive community outreach for any historic district” as they have for Blackwell. I can’t decide if this means that maybe they consistently don’t do enough community outreach for these things or that they’ve definitely gone above and beyond in this case.

Photo by: drewesque

Good morning, RVA! It’s 76 °F, and, while highs will stay in the mid 80s, there’s a chance for thunderstorms throughout the afternoon. Keep an eye out!

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Justin Mattingly at the Richmond Times-Dispatch has an update from last night’s RPS school board meeting 💸. The board talked about how they’d spend their new-to-them money, and it’s no surprise what they intend to focus on: HVAC, bathrooms, that kind of stuff. There are some other interesting items of note hidden behind the paywall, one of which is new school buses. The existing bus fleet is getting old, so, makes sense, but it’s unfortunate that the timing didn’t work out a little better with RPS’s new public transit initiative for high school students. I imagine, in the long run, the plan is to reduce school bus spending.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 73 °F. Expect a cooler day today—highs in the low 80s—and a chance of thunderstorms until dinner time.

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Police are reporting that Leon M. Chandler II, 24, was shot and killed early Sunday morning. Richmond police arrived at the the 3500 block of Meadowbridge Road and pronounced Chandler dead at the scene.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 76 °F, and you should expect a hot, sunny Friday with highs in the mid 90s.

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Well that was quick. Ned Oliver at the Virginia Mercury says the City has impounded all of the Bird electric scooters that popped up yesterday. I’m bummed, but, honestly, I can’t fault the City. Bird’s whole deal of dropping a bunch of scooters into a city without giving anyone a heads up is not appealing to me at all. But, as y’all know, I’ve been shouting from the rooftops to whoever will listen to me for the past couple of months that Richmond needs a scooter ordinance ASAP. Now we have no ordinance and no scooters, and folks are dissapointed. Moving forward, I hope to see an ordinance hit Council’s agenda for their September meeting and the return of the scooters before too long.

OH WAIT NOT SO FAST. Just after I finished writing that paragraph, I saw this post on reddit and a couple folks posting screenshots of the Bird app this morning. Birds are back, baby. See what I mean about not being super into their kinda of sketchy business practices? Get ready for some more scooter drama today.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 76 °F, and it’s gonna be a hot one. You know the drill: Drink water, maybe wear a hat.

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There’s a a ton of multimodal transportation news to dig into this morning, so let’s get started.

Last night, a driver struck and killed a 17-year-old boy on W. Broad Street near the Libbie Place Shopping Center. The teenager was walking home after a shift at the McDonald’s nearby. No one should die walking home from work. No one should die walking on our streets. But as our city grows and our transportation networks begin to reach out into the surrounding counties (Libbie Place is a likely spot for a future Pulse extension), we have to do a better job at protecting pedestrians. Henrico’s got a lot of work to do to make the entire length Broad Street safer, and they need to start immediately.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 71 °F, and highs will creep back up into the 90s today. It’s been a while since I’ve reminded you, so: Stay hydrated!

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I feel like I have to link to this Jeff Schapiro piece in the Richmond Times-Dispatch about taxes 💸. It’s very long and sounds very smart, but my eyes kind of glaze over when reading about the political implications of state-level tax/finance schemes. Never the less, I persisted and read to the end, and it sounds like Northam will do a thing to help poor people maybe, but then I also saw a comparison to the car tax and we all make fun of Gilmore for that now, so, honestly, I don’t know. 🤷‍♂️

GRTC announced that Charles Mitchell will serve as their interim CEO. This is the second time Mitchell has filled the role, and, now, with a temporary leader in place, GRTC will move forward with a search process for the new CEO. That is exciting!

Good morning, RVA! It’s 66 °F, and today’s forecast looks extra pleasant. Expect highs in the upper 80s and tons of sun.

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OK! The Brook Road Bike Lane is back, and I’ve got action items for those of you who wish to see more—not fewer—safe ways to move about the City. First, Jeremey Lazarus at the Richmond Free Press says Councilmembers Gray and Hilbert will meet with the presidents of Northside civic associations tomorrow at the Ginter Park Library. Ostensibly this meeting is for the councilmembers to answer any questions the civic association leaders may have about the already approved, designed, and funded bike lane. However, as far as I’m aware, to date neither councilmember has accurately described the planning and facts that support this project, so…color me skeptical about the fairness of the information presented at this meeting. I kind of don’t want to put the civic association heads on blast about this, as they’re mostly just regular folks, but this is an important issue to their neighborhoods annnnnnd their email addresses are totally available on the City’s website. So, the first thing you can do is, if you’re a Northside resident, kindly email your civic association in support of the Brook Road bike lane. The second thing you can do, regardless of where you live, is sign this Sports Backers petition in support of the bike lane. They’ll print out all of the signatures and present them to City Council if/when the ordinance to prevent the bike lane (which, again, is already approved, designed, and funded) shows up on the agenda. Third, if you feel like you need talking points to send to your civic association, or just want some scintillating dinner conversation, download this informational PDF Bike Walk RVA has put together about the bike lane. You’ll learn the answers to such great classics as “Will emergency vehicle response times be affected?” (No!) and “Will all the parking be deleted?” (No!), and who could forget “Will any once and future apartments flood Brook Road with so many cars that a bike lane would create a gridlocked mayhem?” (No!) Any way, it’s a good PDF, and you should check it out.

Michael Paul Williams in the Richmond Times-Dispatch turns his keyboard toward Fulton, its history, the current developments, and the neighborhood’s future 💸. I knew the Artisan Hill development was big, but I didn’t realize it’d bring 204 apartments to the area—some of them “priced at workforce rates,” whatever that means. As always, more housing is good, but, like with other Richmond neighborhoods experiencing growth, we’ve got to be proactive in policies to prevent folks from being displaced while leveraging the development to bring needed amenities to the area. I’ll keep looking towards advocates like Cheryl Groce-Wright of the Neighborhood Resource Center of Greater Fulton for guidance and leadership on how we can best thoughtfully move forward.