Good morning, RVA! It's 34 °F, and that's a lot colder than the recent early-morning weather. Highs today will stick around the upper 40s, and that's pretty much where they'll stay throughout the weekend.
Water cooler
After reading this piece by Michael Martz, I feel better about the state's plan to take over Bank Street when the General Assembly moves to the Pocahontas building for the next four years. Mostly because Deputy CAO for Operations John Buturla assures us that whatever the state plans to do will not wreck the city's current bike and pedestrian plans. I am, however, a bit mystified that it took the state, like, four seconds to come up with this plan. Did they do any public outreach? Did they talk to impacted residents and businesses? Compare and contrast this process with literally any recent street-related project (aka Richmond Transit Network Plan, 1st and 2nd Street bike lanes).
I wish I could somehow automate linking to Michael Paul Williams's column every time it comes out. Here's his most recent one about Gavin Grimm and the local connections to his Supreme Court battle with Gloucester County High School.
Kathy Mendes writing for RVA Mag has a piece on Rebecca Keel, the once City Council candidate, current all-everything community organizer. If I'm ever at a place where folks have been organized to do a thing—the March on Monument, ICE Out of RVA—Keel is there!
Leah Small at Richmond Magazine has an overview of all the existing and planned bike-related infrastructure in the region. One look at the accompanying map and you'll see that one of these jurisdictions is not like the others. Come on Henrico! GET IN THE ZONE, THE BIKE INFRASTRUCTURE ZONE.
Planning Commission will meet on Monday, and you can find that agenda right here (PDF). Get excited for a presentation on the proposed rezoning of Scott's Addition! Seriously, zoning can be exciting—especially when it leads to denser, transit-oriented development. If you want to see what's possible, dig into the Pulse Corridor Plan (PDF), which includes within it this rezoning to support TOD. There's also a special meeting of City Council on Monday which does not yet have an agenda!
WRIC's Matthew McClellan was at Councilwoman Robertson's emergency 6th District meeting last night. She and the community talked about the Bank of America moving out of the neighborhood which will leave the area bankless. This is a tough situation that I'd like to learn more about. I'm interested in reading some studies / papers / articles about what kind of financial services are critical to communities—especially communities of low-income and older folks. If you know of anything, shoot it my way!
Speaking of that part of town, Richmond BizSense's Mike Platania reports that Black Hand Coffee's location on Brookland Park Boulevard is almost open. Keep your eyes on this part of town—banks moving out, coffee moving in, big changes are coming.
Never in my entire life did I think I would see an article about Food Not Bombs in Richmond Magazine. But here is one written by Tina Eshleman!
Attorney General Jeff Sessions removed himself from the investigation into Russia's role in the 2016 election. America's Attorney General had to remove himself from an investigation of Russia's role in tampering with an election. WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE. If you placed bets, you still have two days left on the 3-day under for Jeff Sessions resigning.
The Nintendo Switch launches today. I will try my best not to drive around the region looking for one at an out-of-the-way Target or Walmart.
Sports!
- Rams face George Mason on Saturday at 2:00 PM in the final game of the regular season.
- Spiders host Saint Louis on Saturday at 4:00 PM.
- Hokies battle Wake Forest at 4:30 PM also on Saturday.
- Hoos welcome Pitt to Charlottesville at 12:00 PM on Saturday.
This morning's longread
The Story of Sweet Marie and an Earlier Women’s Protest
Learning a little history this morning!
A Feb. 24, 1925, article titled “Motherhood Has Changed ‘Sweet Marie’” said that Ms. Ganz, “now Mrs. Nat Ferber,” no longer believed in violence. “I was concerned almost entirely about the poor and the problems with which they had to contend,” she said, adding: “More than anything else, perhaps, it is an empty stomach that makes a real radical. This is a fact that should compel vital attention of all parties even today.”