Photo by: Gabriele Diwald

Good morning, RVA! It’s 71 °F, and those were some exciting early morning storms! The chance for more thunderstorms continues throughout the day and really picks up this evening. Stay dry out there!

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The chamber of commerce has come out in support of the Coliseum redevelopment proposal with this piece co-written by both the ChamberRVA chair and president. They end their argument for the proposal with a bunch of questions, but none of them are the questions I’d start with. Honestly, it’d have been nice to have a public conversation about whether or not we even need a downtown arena. Assuming that we do (which, meh), I think we first have to ask whether taking on this project impacts our ability to fund our existing, critical schools, public housing, and transit needs over the next couple of decades. These are things that we know we need and we know will cost hundreds of millions of dollars to cover decades of underinvestment. We shouldn’t let an arena hold us back from our obligation to invest in the basic needs and infrastructure of our city. I’m not saying this particular proposal will do that, and I’m also not saying we can’t redevelop the Coliseum while also funding schools, public housing, and transit. We’ll just have to look at the financials details when they come out and let all of our elected officials know how we feel about them then.

Photo by: Gabriele Diwald

Good morning, RVA! It’s 71 °F, and those were some exciting early morning storms! The chance for more thunderstorms continues throughout the day and really picks up this evening. Stay dry out there!

Water cooler

The chamber of commerce has come out in support of the Coliseum redevelopment proposal with this piece co-written by both the ChamberRVA chair and president. They end their argument for the proposal with a bunch of questions, but none of them are the questions I’d start with. Honestly, it’d have been nice to have a public conversation about whether or not we even need a downtown arena. Assuming that we do (which, meh), I think we first have to ask whether taking on this project impacts our ability to fund our existing, critical schools, public housing, and transit needs over the next couple of decades. These are things that we know we need and we know will cost hundreds of millions of dollars to cover decades of underinvestment. We shouldn’t let an arena hold us back from our obligation to invest in the basic needs and infrastructure of our city. I’m not saying this particular proposal will do that, and I’m also not saying we can’t redevelop the Coliseum while also funding schools, public housing, and transit. We’ll just have to look at the financials details when they come out and let all of our elected officials know how we feel about them then.

Photo by: clayshek

Good morning, RVA! It’s 69 °F, and we’ve got a whole day of cooler temperatures! Expect highs in the mid 80s and the rain to probably even stay away until tomorrow.

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Infuzion, the Scott’s Addition Club outside of which a quadruple shooting took place a couple weeks ago, has closed says Karri Peifer in the Richmond Times-Dispatch. I don’t know anything more than what’s in this story, and I definitely don’t know the specifics of Infuzion’s liquor license (which was revoked the day after the shooting) or their relationship with the building’s owner, but I do want to quote from what Marc Cheatham wrote earlier this week: “But my next thought was a concern for Infuzion, one of the only hip-hop clubs in that area (I think it’s the only one in Scott’s Addition). Will they now become a target of the high-level scrutiny that only a club with majority black patrons can be subject too? … When I heard the news, my thoughts turned to: Will Infuzion be subject to some sort of forced evacuation? Let’s face it, Scott’s Addition, “the upcoming neighborhood” that is a hub for new breweries and an influx of young professional patrons – I don’t know any of those breweries to be black-owned and the majority of their patrons who visit them are not black – may not want a hip-hop club and lounge in their ‘up and coming’ mix.” And now, back in the Karri Peifer piece, I want to quote from the building’s owner: “Our goal is to lease the space to a tenant that complements the building and the neighborhood.” Again, I don’t know the specifics of anything, but I’ve been thinking about Marc’s words since he wrote them, and then, today, this.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 70 °F, and highs are stuck in the upper 80s. Take it all in, because there’s some weekend rain headed our way.

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This morning, the Richmond Times-Dispatch talks to the other elected members of our government—City Council and School Board—to get their thoughts on the Coliseum redevelopment proposal. The School Board has no say, authority, or input on the proposal, but takes advantage of the media opportunity to remind everyone that our school facility needs were not fully funded by this year’s meals tax increase 💸. While maybe some of the Board’s concerns about the City taking its eye off the schools-facilities ball are valid, it’s pretty disingenuous to imply that future Coliseum funding could have instead been used for schools. To be clear, this article does not do that, but it gets close. It’s also wild to me that every person talking about schools funding isn’t shouting “property tax increase!” from the rooftops. It’s the only bucket of money big enough to get it all done.

Over on the other side of City Hall, Mark Robinson talks to City Council, who are thinking about commissioning their own independent study of the Tom Farrell proposal 💸. I feel pretty good that most everyone on Council sounds like they’re willing to wait until the full details of the proposal come out before making any judgments and are also willing to take however long it takes reviewing that proposal—even if it throws off Mayor’s/Farrell’s timeline.

Photo by: cpjRVA

Good morning, RVA! It’s 71 °F, and yesterday’s rain has cooled things down a bit. Expect highs in the upper 80s for the next little while.

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Alright, my dudes, I went to yesterday’s Land Use, Housing and Transportation committee meeting so you wouldn’t have to. Here’s the update on the four bills that I’d prefer to never see on an agenda again:

Good morning, RVA! It’s 76 °F, and we’ve got highs in the 90s with a reasonable chance of thunderstorms after lunch. ‘Twould be nice to cool things off a bit.

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Richmond Police are reporting that a 19-year-old shot last month has died from his injuries. Andrew K. Hensley was fatally shot on June 29th on the 5800 block of Willow Oaks Drive.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 76 °F, and we’ve got highs in the 90s with a reasonable chance of thunderstorms after lunch. ‘Twould be nice to cool things off a bit.

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Richmond Police are reporting that a 19-year-old shot last month has died from his injuries. Andrew K. Hensley was fatally shot on June 29th on the 5800 block of Willow Oaks Drive.

Photo by: adamwilliams4405

Good morning, RVA! It’s 77 °F, and today’s high is a toasty 94 °F. If we play our cards right, some rain tomorrow should cool things down a bit for the rest of the week.

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Richmond Police are reporting a murder that occurred on Friday. At 2:07 AM, officers arrived at 1400 Roseneath Road and found Terrance C. Peters, 46, shot to death. This murder was part of an incident in Scott’s Addition where three other people were also shot.

Photo by: sandy's dad

Good morning, RVA! It’s 68 °F, and we’ve got a hot one on deck. Expect highs in the mid 90s and a clear blue sky.

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Yesterday, I talked about the TIF (tax increment financing) that NH District had proposed to fund the redevelopment of the area around the Coliseum. Catherine Komp from WCVE has a good Twitter thread filled with more reading on (mostly the perils of) TIFs. I especially like this one which recommends requiring affordable housing, job creation, living wages, and a clawback clause that forces “developers to pay back all or part of the subsidy if they fail to meet their job, wage, and other responsibilities.” Maybe these things are included in the proposal? We won’t know until more information is made public. The RTD’s Editorial Board has some effusive praise for the proposal.

Photo by: cpjRVA

Good morning, RVA! It’s 62 °F, and highs today should stay in the 80s with plenty of sunshine to go along.

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Police are reporting that Kevin V. Burks, 57, was hit and killed by a driver while riding his bike near the 5300 block of Hull Street Road. That portion of Hull Street has an inconsistent and patchy network of sidewalks and certainly no bike lane to protect people on bikes.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 77 °F, and today’s highs are back up in the 90s again. But! There’s a decent chance for some cooling thunderstorms later this afternoon. Either way, tomorrow—and the rest of the weekend—looks a heckuva lot more temperate than the last couple of days.

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I am skeptical of this editorial from the RTD Editorial Board that praises the Monument Avenue Commission’s report (PDF), celebrates the recommendation to take down the Jefferson Davis monument, but advocates for removing just his statue and leaving the rest of the colonnade and other materials behind. They argue especially for keeping the statue on top of the large central column, that “allowing Vindicatrix to remain on her perch — even as a statue of some worthy Richmonder fills the pedestal below that once elevated Davis — offers an opportunity for symbolic justice and healing.” My dudes, this statue, which has nothing to do with justice and healing, is also known as “Miss Confederacy” and is used today as a rallying image by neo Confederates. I’m not necessarily against repurposing the colonnade or even the big huge column, but if we decide to do something like that the new monument must starkly contrast with the existing one and clearly stand against white supremacy and racism. Leaving Miss Confederacy atop her column does neither.

Michael O’Connor at the Richmond Times-Dispatch continues the trickle of updates coming out of Henrico’s Brookland District: We’ve now got three official candidates and one maybe candidate to replace Courtney Lynch. Sounds like the Board of Supervisors will finalize the details for the November special election this coming Tuesday. Full disclosure: Democrat Danny Plaugher sits on the RVA Rapid Transit board, my full time employer, and is a tireless advocate for public transportation. That’s a good play on words because he’s the executive director of Virginians for High Speed Rail.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 77 °F, and today’s highs are back up in the 90s again. But! There’s a decent chance for some cooling thunderstorms later this afternoon. Either way, tomorrow—and the rest of the weekend—looks a heckuva lot more temperate than the last couple of days.

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I am skeptical of this editorial from the RTD Editorial Board that praises the Monument Avenue Commission’s report (PDF), celebrates the recommendation to take down the Jefferson Davis monument, but advocates for removing just his statue and leaving the rest of the colonnade and other materials behind. They argue especially for keeping the statue on top of the large central column, that “allowing Vindicatrix to remain on her perch — even as a statue of some worthy Richmonder fills the pedestal below that once elevated Davis — offers an opportunity for symbolic justice and healing.” My dudes, this statue, which has nothing to do with justice and healing, is also known as “Miss Confederacy” and is used today as a rallying image by neo Confederates. I’m not necessarily against repurposing the colonnade or even the big huge column, but if we decide to do something like that the new monument must starkly contrast with the existing one and clearly stand against white supremacy and racism. Leaving Miss Confederacy atop her column does neither.

Michael O’Connor at the Richmond Times-Dispatch continues the trickle of updates coming out of Henrico’s Brookland District: We’ve now got three official candidates and one maybe candidate to replace Courtney Lynch. Sounds like the Board of Supervisors will finalize the details for the November special election this coming Tuesday. Full disclosure: Democrat Danny Plaugher sits on the RVA Rapid Transit board, my full time employer, and is a tireless advocate for public transportation. That’s a good play on words because he’s the executive director of Virginians for High Speed Rail.

Photo by: cpjRVA

Good morning, RVA! It’s 77 °F, and highs will hit the low 90s today, but it’ll feel hotter. Tomorrow, some rain should come our way and cool things down.

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Justin Mattingly at the Richmond-Times Dispatch says State Senator Bill Stanley has sent Mayor Stoney a letter asking: “Do you believe failing to provide the funding necessary to do basic maintenance to avoid conditions the School Superintendent called “heartbreaking” is consistent with Brown II and Article VIII, Section 1 of the Virginia Constitution?” This, my friends, is political garbage. One of the main reasons Richmond is so far in the hole when it comes to schools is that the state government refuses to fund education at appropriate levels. The Mayor calls this out in his response, naming “the General Assembly’s negligence in adequately funding public education.” For a state senator to condescendingly lecture Richmond about money for schools while he sits there with the power to actually do something about it is infuriating. I’m amazed that the Mayor responded in such a measured way; I would not have. The RTD has PDFs of both Stanley’s letter and the Mayor’s response.

Photo by: cpjRVA

Good morning, RVA! It’s 77 °F, and highs will hit the low 90s today, but it’ll feel hotter. Tomorrow, some rain should come our way and cool things down.

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Justin Mattingly at the Richmond-Times Dispatch says State Senator Bill Stanley has sent Mayor Stoney a letter asking: “Do you believe failing to provide the funding necessary to do basic maintenance to avoid conditions the School Superintendent called “heartbreaking” is consistent with Brown II and Article VIII, Section 1 of the Virginia Constitution?” This, my friends, is political garbage. One of the main reasons Richmond is so far in the hole when it comes to schools is that the state government refuses to fund education at appropriate levels. The Mayor calls this out in his response, naming “the General Assembly’s negligence in adequately funding public education.” For a state senator to condescendingly lecture Richmond about money for schools while he sits there with the power to actually do something about it is infuriating. I’m amazed that the Mayor responded in such a measured way; I would not have. The RTD has PDFs of both Stanley’s letter and the Mayor’s response.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 79 °F, and the heat advisory continues today from 12:00–8:00 PM. Watch out for a heat index up to 107!

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Dun dun dunnnnn…The Monument Avenue Commission’s final report is out for you to download and read (PDF). The recommendations begin on page 32, but, to summarize: remove the Jefferson Davis monument, add signage/context to the rest of them, and install some new artwork along the avenue. These recommendations are not nearly as bold as they could have been but are slightly bolder than I thought they’d be. So that’s something? I guess?

Setting aside removing Jefferson Davis, which may involve sussing out some state-level legal issues, I’m fascinated by what the process will look like to design signage that “reflect[s] the historic, biographical, artistic, and changing meaning over time for each” monument. Will we equivocate in the language on these signs, writing that only some people say these men fought to oppress and own other humans? Will the signage be of significant scale so that when you look down Monument Avenue and see these tremendous White men towering on their literal pedestals you also see monumental reminders that they were white supremacists? Or will we end up with tiny brown plaques filled with tiny writing that no one will read and no one will see that quietly points out the reality that these monuments should have been removed? I do have a bit of hope, since the report recommends that the Public Art Commission could possibly be involved, that if we are limited to providing context to these monuments that we can do it in an interesting way and at an appropriate scale. Stay tuned for a public presentation of the report later this summer.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 77 °F, and today will be HOT—there’s even a heat advisory in effect from 12:00 PM to 8:00 PM today. Temperatures will reach 100 °F, but the heat index could hit 107 °F. Brutal.

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The ridership numbers for the first couple days of service for the Pulse are in, and whoa! Sunday through Wednesday (the only days for which GRTC has released ridership data at the moment), our new BRT saw tons of folks hop on board, obliterating goals and expectations. Goal: 3,500 daily riders. Actuals for Sunday–Wednesday: 6,240; 8,669; 7,968; and 7,877. I’m sure the newness of the thing and the week of free fares helped push those numbers up, but still! Dang! We’ll know more about regular ridership after this week, but keep in mind we’ve got a holiday on Wednesday, which will probably throw things off a bit. Now that the Pulse (and the redesigned bus network) are off and running, we can focus on the smaller things that will make day-to-day usage of the system better. The most immediate need, in my view, is that new spots across the City where many folks end up transferring between bus lines need benches, shelters, and trash cans. Then, for a great list of Pulse-specific recommendations, see this Twitter thread by @DFRSH757. I agree with #3, #4, and #6 a ton ! Safe pedestrian access to Pulse stations and strict enforcement of no-parking in the bus lane will be huge moving forward. P.S. All of those improvements I just mentioned are the responsibility of the City, not GRTC. So if you want to holler at someone, make sure it’s the right someone.

City Council will have a special meeting this evening to consider some expedited papers. First, the mayor will appoint four folks to the RMTA, which sound boring but could be important as the region starts to get its transportation act together. Second, they’ll look at two resolutions to update City Council’s reimbursement policy. These new resolutions will allow Council, in some cases, to reimburse itself for expenditures without requiring a resolution to do so (RES. 2018-R065) and will increase the threshold of those reimbursements from $1,000 to $5,000 (RES. 2018-R066). I’m not out here suggesting Council is trying to reduce transparency under the cover of night in an expedited special session—putting together an ordinance to approve the purchase of pizza for a meeting is most likely a tedious waste of time. But, like, what’s the rush? I swear, I do not fully grok this Council. Half the reason they delay or kill things is to continually do additional studies, get more information, and allow the community to further weigh in. Sometimes, though, stuff just zips right through. It’s fascinating.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 76 °F, and temperatures keep on creeping up. Today, expect highs in the mid 90s and maybe a few clouds if you’re lucky. Wear sunscreen and stay hydrated!

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Well, I went to Councilmember Hilbert’s 3rd District meeting last night to hear what he had to say about his ordinance to prevent bike lanes on Brook Road (ORD. 2018–194 (PDF)). I gotta say, while 50+ folks showed up and many had incredibly thoughtful/smart things to say, I walked away very disappointed. After an hour and a half of conversation with Hilbert and Councilmember Gray (who also showed up), I still don’t have a clear picture of why this ordinance was introduced or the real reasoning behind it.

Early in the meeting, Councilmember Hilbert said the 300 new apartments going in at the Westwood Tract (remember that whole situation?) would create a biblical flood of traffic that a Brook Road, narrowed for a protected bike lane, would be unable to handle. If he’d of done the same amount of research I did just now, in my pajamas at 6:00 AM, he’d have found two things: First, in 2016, the peak annual average daily traffic for any segment of Brook Road from Chamberlayne Parkway north to the city line is 10,000 vehicles (PDF) and, second, the Federal Highway Administration “advises that roadways with ADT (average daily traffic) of 20,000 vpd (vehicles per day) or less may be good candidates for a Road Diet.” There is no way, in any world, that the residents of 300 apartments, no matter how many cars they own or how much they love driving up and down Brook Road, will double the amount of traffic.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 74 °F, and today looks pretty dreamy. Expect highs near 90 °F and some sun shining down on you as you move about the City. Don’t forget: Free buses for the rest of this week!

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Well, this incredibly disappointing: Councilmembers Kim Gray and Chris Hilbert have introduced legislation (ORD. 2018–194) to prevent the construction of the Brook Road bike lane due to unsupported claims of “traffic congestion” and a worshipful deference to “the efficient movement of motor vehicle traffic.” This project is one of the highest priorities listed in Richmond’s Bicycle Master Plan (PDF), would provide a much needed north-south connection from the City’s Northside to Downtown, and has already been designed to accommodate the amount of traffic on Brook Road (spoiler: there’s not a ton). This ordinance runs counter to Richmond’s adopted Complete Streets and Vision Zero resolutions. This ordinance prioritizes people driving cars over the safety of folks riding bikes. This ordinance reads like it was drafted by an evil, car-obsessed Buddy Garrity. I am against this ordinance, you should be against this ordinance, and even Councilmember Gray should be against this ordinance as she’s the one that said, referring to Scott’s Addition, “The number one goal is to have a walkable, bikeable space.” But, here we are. It just so happens that Councilmember Hilbert will host his regularly-scheduled district meeting tonight from 6:00–7:30 PM at the North Avenue Library (2901 North Avenue). If executing the City’s longstanding plan to build a safe network of bike lanes for people to get around town is important to you, I’d encourage you to show up at this meeting and let Councilmember Hilbert know that this ordinance is unacceptable and moves Richmond in the wrong direction.

Michael O’Connor at the Richmond Times-Dispatch has an early look at some of the candidates who could replace Henrico’s soon-to-be-ex Supervisor Courtney Lynch. Remember that if the County decides to go with a special election this November, whoever wins will have to run again next November as well. Sounds exhausting.

Photo by: cpjRVA

Good morning, RVA! It’s 70 °F, and highs today will settle in around 86 °F. Will the rains return? Possibly! Keep an eye on the sky.

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Whoaaaaa, Graham Moomaw at the Richmond Times-Dispatch says that a federal court has rules “the Virginia House of Delegates unconstitutionally packed African-American voters into 11 legislative districts and ordered the General Assembly to draw new district lines by October 30th.” Packing is a gerrymandering technique where you concentrate a bunch of folks you disagree with—in this case, Black people—into a small number of districts so that those voters end up with fewer elected representatives in the legislative body. The opposite strategy, cracking, dilutes voters you disagree with across a large number of districts. Republicans say they’ll appeal this decision to the United States Supreme Court. If you believe that Virginia’s legislative districts should be drawn in a nonpartisan way (currently, legislators drawn their own districts??), head over to One Virginia 2021 and get involved in the work to bring fair redistricting to the Commonwealth.

Good morning, RVA! It’s 69 °F, and today looks pretty chill. Highs near 80 °F, maybe some clouds, and definitely some relief from the heat.

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Richmond Police are reporting a murder at the 1400 block of Drewry Street on the City’s Southside. Early yesterday morning, officers arrived to find Stephon B. Clarke, 33, shot to death.