Good morning, RVA! It's 68 °F, and hello highs in the upper 80s! Expect more of that this weekend as we'll see temperatures in the 90s. Whoa!
Water cooler
If you'd like a good picture of how politicians think and how things get done in Henrico, I present to you this interview with Pat O'Bannon by Cole Smith in Richmond Magazine. O'Bannon sits on the Henrico Board of Supervisors, representing the County's western Tuckahoe District. If you've ever been confused when someone mentioned The Henrico Way, this will help—conservative fiscal policy, incremental changes, and slight shade thrown at the City. But, I do believe, things are changing! For example, sidewalks are coming to the County—which is a big admission that maybe not everyone can or wants to drive around in a car. Plus, in my opinion, the election in the central Brookland District this November could push Henrico in an entirely different, (slightly) more progressive direction. Exciting times for the region!
There's a new episode of the Cheats Movement podcast, and this one features former School Board member Shonda Harris-Muhammed. They're talking, you guessed it, RPS and Superintendent Bedden's departure. Since the entire Board is fresh and new, it's interesting to hear someone speak about the situation who at least has some familiarity with Dr. Bedden.
Michael Paul Williams talks to John Moeser, who's retiring from the University of Richmond. Moeser is the guy in Richmond to talk about the data behind race and poverty. I have a hard time believing reporters everywhere won't still give him a call when they need a quote. Lots of little bits of Richmond history in Moeser's story—which is now definitely part of Richmond's story—so please read!
I don't know where Ned Oliver finds the time to write wonderful pieces like this one about the goldfish in the VMFA pond. Between attending every excruciatingly boring public meeting known to man and keeping us all updated about the inner workings of city government, you'd think he'd be booked to the gills.
Jackie Kruszewski at Style Weekly has this great story about photographer Kim Frost. She's taking photos on the second floor of the Main Library of...library patrons! What an awesome idea, and I wonder how she worked it out with the Library. Ten thumbs up all around to everyone.
This weekend Sports Backers kicks off RVA Bike Month. Check out the list of bike-related events taking place almost every single day in May (PDF), and put some on your calendar. Things kick off this Saturday with the Pedals and Gears Festival, and then keep in mind May 10th (Bike to School Day) and May 19th (Bike to Work Day). Bikes!
WTVR reports that a wake of vultures has taken up residence near Robert E. Lee Elementary School in Petersburg. Birds are gross, but these particular ones are protected by the U.S. Migratory Bird Act.
Oh! It's NASCAR weekend. Remember that if you've got to traverse the Northside in a motor vehicle.
Oh, no big deal, here's a link to pictures of Saturn taken BETWEEN THE PLANET AND THE RINGS. Amazing.
Sports!
The NFL draft began last night, and Wikipedia is my preferred source for updates. Mitchell Trubisky, the QB from North Carolina is about the localest player to be selected (yet).
- Squirrels open a series at Hartford tonight at 7:05 PM.
- Kickers travel to Tampa Bay to take on the Rowdies Saturday at 7:30 PM.
- Nats took the series from Colorado with a 16-5 win last night. They'll start a series with the Mets tonight at 7:05 PM.
This morning's longread
The NBA Is Lucky I’m Home Doing Damn Articles
This article by Dion Waiters is excellent.
See, in Philly, skating was a huge deal. Still is. I’m not talking about, you know, Tony Hawk. I’m talking about roller skating — the brown skates with the four wheels. Every Sunday, we used to have these skating parties run by Ms. Doris. If you were up to no good in school (which I usually was), Ms. Doris would catch you at the door and be like, “Dion! You’re banned from the skating party until you start acting right.” That was a dagger. You did not wanna be banned from the skating party. That was the spot for meeting girls. If you’re picturing some disco thing, that’s not what it was. This was like 100 Philly kids skating around to Rick Ross, doing the Philly Bop. And Rhamik was the best skater, period. He could skate his ass off. Before I knew how to skate, I’d just go and watch him and be like, Damn. I gotta learn. This dude is killing it.