Good morning, RVA! It's 31 °F, and highs today will take us way past the frozone and into the upper 40s—should see a fair bit of sun, too.
Water cooler
Ask promised, and thanks to the handful of folks that sent this my way in several different forms, here are City Council’s new standing committees and other appointments (PDF). The Education and Human Services committee is all new, and, close to my heart, the Land Use, Housing and Transportation committee has switched out Councilmember Larson for Councilmember Jones. Also of note, Councilmember Addison will now represent Council on the Safe and Healthy Streets Commission, replacing Councilmember Trammell.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch’s Mark Robinson has your regularly-scheduled check-in on the proposed Coliseum redevelopment project. There’s no new news, other than just that: There’s no new news. We’re all just still waiting around for the final details of the proposal to be made public. Meanwhile, Jonathan Spiers at Richmond BizSense says Tom Farrell gave a presentation about the project to the Greater Richmond Association for Commercial Real Estate at...the Country Club of Virginia. I get that the CCV is—like it or not—probably where people involved in an association for commercial real estate in Richmond hang out, but, dang, that’s a bad look.
Patrick Wilson at the RTD says that the Virginia Senate passed the Equal Rights Amendment yesterday. Due to the bicameral nature of Virginia’s government, the bill still has to pass the House—so don’t get your hopes sky-high just yet. You could, however, give your House representative a ring-a-ling (aka send them an email).
Due to President Trump’s government shutdown, Virginia’s SNAP recipients will get their February benefits this coming Thursday. After February...who knows. Katie O’Connor at the Virginia Mercury has the details. Also, speaking of President Trump’s government shutdown, Representative Spanberger has a column in the paper today about that very thing.
Hillary Langford writing for Style Weekly took herself on a gluten-free pizza crawl: Five pizza spots in three hours and not a strand(?) of gluten to be found! Maybe you or your gluten-intolerant friends will find this a useful resource?
Style also has a review of local jazz dude Taylor Barnett’s new album Loose Ends . Barnett’s a member of No BS!, if that whets your whistle, and you can listen to the new album over on Apple Music.
This morning and this evening you can avail yourself of two more Richmond 300 parking meetings. From 8:30–10:00 AM at Studio Two Three (3300 W. Clay Street) you can catch the Scott’s Addition meeting—which will also include a conversation about “circulation” that I assume means figuring out what to do with all the counterintuitive one-way streets in that part of town. Then, this evening, head on over to Plant Zero (Zero E. 4th Street) from 6:00–7:30 PM for some Manchester parking chats.
This morning's longread
The KFC Chicken Sandwich That Ate Pakistan
I learned so much.
I speak instead of the Zinger burger made by KFC, the American fried chicken franchise synonymous with buckets and binges. The Zinger is a batter-coated, fried patty in a bun, with a slice of lettuce and mayo and cheese. The Zinger sold in Pakistan doesn’t have the zing of spice one would associate with the name. The patty is fairly mild, though KFC did try a spicier version that didn’t take off. But this is not a mere burger; indeed, purists would argue it’s not a burger at all. In Karachi, the Zinger is a symbol of urban aspirations and dreams, a burger that sustains a city constantly in flux. It’s not just a burger. It’s Karachi’s burger.
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