Good morning, RVA! It's 54 °F, and what a wonderful fall day we’ve got a head of us. Expect highs in the mid 60s and a couple of clouds here or there.
Water cooler
The Richmond Police Department is reporting that Tahad K. Bailey, 26, was fatally shot on the 1500 block of N. 21st Street on Monday. After police arrived, Bailey was taken to the hospital where he died of his injuries.
Style Weekly’s annual Top 40 Under 40 list is out, and it’s a good one. This year’s list is filled with people I know, people I admire, and people I have been lucky enough to work with—I even see a couple Good Morning, RVA patrons. I really recommend reading about all 40 of these Richmonders. Its a great way to make a list of people to meet, causes to support, and businesses to visit. Good work, everyone, and I can’t wait to see what y’all do next.
We’ve got a new post up on StreetsCred and we were mad when we wrote it. A certain local TV station ran a piece sensationalizing the recent bus-involved fatal crash, asking in their most intense, most gravel-laced voice: “IS THE PULSE SAFE???” I get and acknowledge the concept of “if it bleeds, it leads,” but, where is the 🚨SPECIAL REPORT🚨 coverage of the 16 people killed and 242 people injured by drivers in our region? Is that not bloody enough? Why now are they suddenly concerned with the safety of our streets? This kind of “news” is a distraction from fixing our streets and enforcing our existing traffic laws.
Justin Mattingly and Michael Martz at the Richmond Times-Dispatch have a piece on the state education budget that says $300 million more should go towards schools next year—and that’s on top of the almost one billion more recommended by the Virginia Board of Education earlier this month. First, I love that this line from the Commonwealth Institute is now a regularly occurring character in reporting on education funding: “State spending per student is currently down about 8% compared with before the Great Recession.” Second, when we get to the state’s budget season, it’ll be important to remember that this $300 million is an entirely separate thing from the Virginia Board of Education’s billion bucks. I don’t want to see a single legislator, especially a Democrat, doing shady math and subtracting $300 million right off the top of the total amount of funding needed for schools. We’ve got our eyes on you!
Richmond BizSense’s Mike Platania has some scooter news and says that permitting requirements and the “regulatory environment” have kept two additional scooter vendors from launching their fleets on our streets. I do not know why Richmond landed on an atypical permiting and fee structure for dockless vehicles, but at least we have two operators in town (for now). However, I do want to point out that neither Bird nor Bolt deploy scooters on the Southside or in most of the East End, leaving those areas micromobiity deserts. Both companies were required to submit an equity plan as part of their permit application, and I’d sure love to read those PDFs.
C. Suarez Rojas in the RTD says Henrico will consider creating a partnership with the Maggie Walker Community Land Trust as the county’s land bank 💸. A land trust and a land bank are different things, and, in our case, the trust operates as the bank—which is confusing, I know. While a land trust focuses on creating affordable housing and keeping it that way, a land bank works to turn blighted properties into thriving ones. That can mean housing or some other use entirely. Here’s a good land bank FAQ if you’d like to read more.
There’s another Richmond 300 forum tonight, this one at Mary Munford Elementary School (211 Westmoreland Avenue) from 6:00–7:30 PM. Remember, if you haven’t already, take a couple of minutes to fill out a neighborhood survey related to a place you live, work, or play. It’s totally OK to fill out more than one survey—you exist in more than one part of town on the regular, right?
Finally, a small birthday shoutout to my wife, Valerie. She’s awesome, supportive, and hears more about bikes, and buses, and zoning from me than y’all do—if you can even imagine such a thing.
This morning's patron longread
Contemplating America's Love Affair With The Car
Submitted by Patron Mark. Richmond has a small cameo in this All Things Considered from a while back. People love their dang cars, I tell you what.
Millions of Americans are on the road today, driving home from Thanksgiving festivities. And guest host Robert Smith talks to a few of them at a welcome center off I-95 in Maryland. The topic? America's love affair with the car — despite the danger it provides. He also consults Catherine Lutz, an anthropologist and author of the new book Carjacked.
If you’d like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol’ Patreon.