Good morning, RVA! It's 55 °F, and with highs in the mid 70s, today's weather looks perfect.
Water cooler
Michael Paul Williams writes about the City's new anti-gun violence advertising campaign which launched last week. Too many guns in Richmond is the problem, and the quickest way to solve that problem is to get rid of the guns. But, faced with flaccid and cowardly state-level gun violence laws, we're left running advertising campaigns on video game platforms. It feels hopeless. Here's what I'd like to see: localities like Richmond and states like Virginia push hard against existing gun laws and see what they can get away with. I am not a lawyer or a law enforcement agency, but we need creative and brave leadership to do something more than put ads in PlayStations.
Justin Mattingly at the RTD has the list of the 10 people that applied for the open 7th District School Board seat. The Board hopes to appoint Nadine Marsh-Carter's replacement by October 20th.
And, in a Richmond Times-Dispatch hat-trick, Katy Burnell Evans has the maybe final chapter of the Petersburg Woe Watch™—and it's not Chapter 9 bankruptcy! The Bobb Group has done their work, the City's budget is balanced, and the checking account has more than $75,000 in it. With things back on track, it's now up to City leaders not to fudge the bucket.
Richmond Magazine has three stories about teacher shortages in the region and the state. Jackie Kruszewski starts things off writing about the lack of English as a Second Language teachers. Did you know more than 10% of Richmond Public Schools students need help with the English language? Next, Brad Kutner digs into the effort, across the state, to hire more diverse teachers—specifically Black men. And, finally, Susan Winiecki has the general, state-level picture and what the government plans on doing about it.
Brandon Fox at Style Weekly says we're getting another doughnut shop—and this one serves beer. In retrospect, this seems like an obvious escalation.
Speaking of beer, Paste Magazine has ranked 176 of the best Double IPAs and Imperial IPAs, and beers #31, #15, #4, and #2 are all from Richmond. Allow me to quote from their review of Triple Crossing's Ivory Tower (beer #4): "Theory: Richmond, Virginia is secretly the best IPA city in the United States—and thus the world. Evidence: The Veil. Hardywood Park. The Answer Brewpub. And last, but certainly not least, Triple Crossing. These guys are Richmond’s secret weapon, and it’s not a new development—they’ve been a great brewery for quite a while, and one that hasn’t received the praise and national attention that was due to them."
I have to link you to this New York Times article about the Nobel Prize in Physics winners. It's about BLACK HOLES! Scientists are the best!
Sports!
- Washington lost to Kansas City, 20-29.
This morning's longread
Celery Was the Avocado Toast of the Victorian Era
Celery! Who knew!
Native to the Mediterranean, celery cultivation began in the early 1800s in the cool, damp wetlands of East Anglia. It was fussy to grow and difficult to obtain—and this made it irresistible to the Victorian upper classes. Between the 1830s and the early 1900s, celery appeared as a standalone dish in countless cookbooks and housekeepers’ guides. It was served both braised and au naturel; it was presented au velouté (in a light gravy) and à la Espagniole (in a rich demi-glace). “Plain celery” as well as “dressed celery” (mayonnaise was de rigueur) were listed among the salads on a 1865 menu at the upscale Parker House Hotel in Boston. (Still operating today as Omni Parker House, the celery course is, tragically, no longer a thing.)