Good morning, RVA! It's 73 °F, and there's a decent chance of rain throughout the day. Highs will hit the mid 80s, but like they say, it's not the heat it's the humidity. Stay dry out there.
Water cooler
It may have rained a bunch last night, but city and county officials have announced voluntary water conservation measures. That means don't water your lawn! Technically, it means no watering on Mondays, and then odd addresses may water on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday; while even addresses may water on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. But, like, maybe just don't do it at all until the James River fills back up a bit, OK?
Melissa Hipolit at WTVR talks to some of the folks living in Creighton Court, one of the City's six public housing neighborhoods, about the plans to relocate 250 of its residents this year. The Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority plans to eventually relocate 100% of the people living there despite missing out on a big, $30-million federal grant. As with yesterday's article from the CEO of the RRHA, I struggle to understand this process and what the impacts are/will be. The City should be transparent and over communicate exactly what changes are coming to these public housing neighborhoods and what that means for residents and the City in general.
Ned Oliver has a writeup on a march that took place to mark the 217th anniversary of the execution of Gabriel.
Style Weekly has published their 2017 Folk Festival Guide. Maybe start with this FAQ-style piece that includes a sample itinerary, and then dig in to learn more. The Richmond Folk Festival kicks off on Friday and runs through Sunday.
Cyclocross looks totally weird yet strangely compelling when you see it in person. I happened to end up in Forest Hill Park for one of the races, and I couldn't stop watching racers zoom around, hop off their road bikes, and fling themselves (and bikes) over barriers—like some sort of awkward, two-wheeled hurdles. Turns out this is a thing lots of folks in Richmond are into, and Matt Crane at Richmond Magazine has more details.
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation announced this year's MacArthur Genius Grant winners (aka 2017 MacArthur Fellows). The set of winners is so diverse—you've got a mathematician, an urban planner, a psychologist, a historian, an opera singer, and all sorts of other professions represented. Excuse me while I now spend hours reading about what all these people are up to.
Sports!
The United States failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup—the first time we'll stay home since 1986. Bummer.
- Nats had their must-win game postponed by weather and will attempt to make it up today at 4:00 PM (good luck).
This morning's longread
From Aggressive Overtures to Sexual Assault: Harvey Weinstein’s Accusers Tell Their Stories
Here's Ronan Farrow's comprehensive reporting on Harvey Weinstein's years of sexual assault. It's hard to read, but important to do so. Believe women!
Last week, the New York Times, in a powerful report by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, revealed multiple allegations of sexual harassment against Weinstein, a story that led to the resignation of four members of his company’s all-male board, and to Weinstein’s firing from the company. The story, however, is more complex, and there is more to know and to understand. In the course of a ten-month investigation, I was told by thirteen women that, between the nineteen-nineties and 2015, Weinstein sexually harassed or assaulted them, allegations that corroborate and overlap with the Times’ revelations, and also include far more serious claim