Good morning, RVA! It's 71 °F, and you need to get ready for a blazing hot week. Today's highs in the low 90s will feel like a weekend getaway on Hoth by the time midweek rolls around, so wear your most breathable clothing and remember to hydrate.
Water cooler
Last night Richmond Police responded to reports of a shooting at the 2000 block of Powell Road and found Wayne D. Spencer, 53, suffering from a fatal gunshot wound. Police have charged and arrested a suspect.
The KKK held a rally in Charlottesville that made national headlines—which I assume was the point. C-VILLE Weekly has a story and some photos as does Graham Moomaw at the RTD (scroll back through his twitter feed if you're interested in even more videos, pictures, and in-the-moment thoughts). Before the rally, though, Mallory Noe-Payne recorded this interview with a man about his experience at a Klan rally in 1967. It's worth a listen.
Richmond's School Board will consider their part of the Mayor's Education Compact next week. This means that if you'd like to tell your elected representatives (Mayor, City Council, and School Board) how you want them to proceed with the Compact, now is the time! If you're still confused about the whats and whys of the whole thing, I highly recommend this piece from Garet Prior over at Richmond Forward. Public hearings on the Compact will be held on July 17th at School Board and July 24th at City Council. Stay tuned!
Read this piece by Samantha Willis in Richmond Magazine about Girls for a Change, a nonprofit whose mission is to "support and inspire black girls and other girls of color to visualize their bright futures and potential through discovery, development, and social change." Learn more about Girls for a Change on their website.
Development continues on Brookland Park Boulevard. Richmond BizSense has the word that an investor and developer bought up eight storefronts on the same block. This is the part of the blurb where I have to mention that the new 30-minute bus coming to Brookland Park Boulevard is going to be a Big Deal. Ultimately, I can see this route (the #20) connecting two of the City's very dense and walkable shopping districts—Carytown and Brookland Park Boulevard.
Halle Parker at the RTD has a depressing look at some of the local restaurants closed due fires this year. Fire is terrifying and the recent one at the Tobacco Company sounds really bad. We're lucky that no one was seriously injured and firefighters were able to contain the blaze in such an old and dense part of town.
There's a new episode of Sam and Ross Like Things for you to listen to—it's the podcast where Sam and I talk about two things we really enjoy. Think of it as a fortnightly dose of positivity. This go-around we like: A good Rueben and apologizing.
Sports!
- Squirrels dropped two of three against Bowie. They'll return home on Thursday.
- Kickers fell to FC Cincinnati, 0-2.
- Nats went 2-1 against Atlanta over the weekend and have the day off today.
This morning's longread
What football will look like in the future
Y'all, I am loving this really weird piece of ongoing internet science fiction that's ostensibly about football. Part 10 just dropped today.
OK so it's July 2nd, 17776. We are in ... we are just about a mile east of Seward, Nebraska, driving eastbound on McKelvie Road. We're following Wyoming running back Nancy McGunnell, who is now about 82, 83 percent of the way across the state. This game's been tied at 24-24 for about a year. Right now, McGunnell and Wyoming have the best chance they've had in a while to put this one away. As the crow flies, she's only about 117,000 yards from the goal line.