Good morning, RVA! It's 45 °F, and today you can expect highs in the mid 60s. That's definitely in the sock zone.
Water cooler
City Council meets tonight for their regularly scheduled meeting, and you can find the agenda here (PDF). Looks like the plan for tonight is to continue most things and introduce all of the budget-related papers so Council can vote on them next Monday. Of course, the plan can always (and often does) change, so follow #rvacouncil on Twitter or tune in on channel 57 to keep a watchful eye on things.
History's mysteries! Read this great piece by Bill Lohman in the RTD about St. John's Church, and learn about human remains, bell towers, and Colonial era sounding boards.
Keeping it in the East End is this piece by Carol Hazard about new development in Union Hill. Is a three-story, 27-unit apartment building at the roundabout by The Roosevelt right for the neighborhood? I have no idea. Do we need more and denser housing to help avoid an affordable housing crisis in the Richmond? Yes. The tension between these two things—neighborhood character and density—is legit, and we're seeing that tug of war play out all over the city.
Let's just go all in on the East End this morning. Samantha Willis writes about the Oakwood Arts + P35 Gallery soon to open on the corner of P and 35th. They've already started their programming, which included a panel of Virginia film industry professionals held at Armstrong High School that I'm bummed I missed.
Richmond Magazine has a Q&A with VMFA director Alex Nyerges. His As to the Qs are dang optimistic and positive and a good way to get your Monday started. And also there's a pancake portrait of him!
Episode 36 of the Sam and Ross Like Things podcast is now available to stream directly into your ears. You should give it a listen; I both get the giggles and learn a lot.
The NYT checks in on New Orleans to see how removing their Confederate monuments is going. This unfortunate quote sums it up, "the mayor told The Times-Picayune that every crane company in the region had received threats."
Sports!
- Squirrels lost three of four against Bowie. They'll host Altoona tonight at 6:35 PM. Tickets are available online.
- Kickers and FC Cincinnati played to a 1-1 draw.
- Nats took two of three from the Phillies and open a new series against Baltimore tonight at 7:05 PM.
This morning's longread
The Thieves Who Steal Sunken Warships, Right Down to the Bolts
Whoa, this is sad and fascinating.
For the most part, this kind of theft tends to be a low-tech job. Salvagers pose as fishermen aboard ramshackle boats anchored at the site, and then dive the wrecks for particular parts. Sometimes, they’re audacious enough to arrive with a barge and crane and bring up heavier pieces. They make off with valuable parts first, like those made of brass and copper. But even as salvagers move on to less valuable things like aluminum shafts, they’ll leave plenty of debris in their wake—fasteners, broken metal plating, and of course, the hulls of the ships themselves. That’s a huge part of what is so mysterious about these Java sea wrecks: Not a single bolt remains. Highly unusual, even for skilled and ambitious salvagers.