Good morning, RVA! It's 17 °F, and y’all, that is COLD. We’ll see highs above freezing today—but only just barely. Temperatures will return to their proper spot among the mid 40s tomorrow, so bundle up until then!
Water cooler
Yesterday, for only the third time in all of history, the President of the United States was impeached. For me, even though we all knew it was coming, it’s still kind of shocking and surreal. Now the process moves to the Senate where they will decide whether or not (most likely not) to remove Trump from office. Regardless of what happens in the coming weeks, Trump will forever and always be known as one of the very small number of impeached presidents. If you’re looking to follow along, impeachment.fyi continues to be the best source of news throughout this process, and I definitely recommend subscribing to their email as we move into the holiday break.
Whoa this is cool: ProPublica selected the RTD’s Patrick Wilson to participate in their Local Reporting Network which “supports accountability journalism at local news organizations.” I’m excited to see what he ends up working on—given his beat, I’d guess a state government issue.
Ned Oliver at the Virginia Mercury continues to dig into the Governor’s budget and says Northam has cut $83,000 of state funding to the United Daughters of the Confederacy for maintenance of Confederate graves. This is great news, and most likely a direct result of Brian Palmer’s work on state funding of White supremacy—I’m never not linking to his piece in Smithsonian Magazine! The spokesperson for the Sons of Confederate Veterans complains about the policy, saying, “$5 per year, come on...Cemeteries have to be maintained, it takes money to do it, and $5 a stone is nothing.” Real rich, guy! First, if it’s “nothing” go fund raise it yourself! Second, Richmond’s historically Black cemeteries, that sit literally adjacent to Confederate cemeteries, have sat neglected by the State for years by the state until very, very recently.
/r/rva wants to know where can you get mistletoe in Richmond. I am concerned, to say the least, that two commenters suggested shooting mistletoe out of a tree with a shotgun? Is that a normal thing to do? Also, did you know mistletoe is a parasitic plant?? I’ve literally never thought about this and have assumed mistletoe was a type of holly my entire life! And, honestly, this kissing-under-the-mistletoe business lacks consent and definitely needs to be cancelled or rebooted. I HAVE LEARNED SO MUCH THIS MORNING.
We did it! Tonight is the final Navy Hill Development Advisory Commission meeting! They convene tonight, for the final time, at 6:00 PM in the Richmond Government Southside Community Services Center (4100 Hull Street Road). After tonight, the Commission will begin putting together their recommendation for Council, and I have no idea when that’s due. The enabling legislation gives them 90 days after the introduction of the NoBro ordinances and appointment of the majority of the members of the commission. 90 days ago from today was September 20th, so...soon? Remember, Council has also hired an outside consultant to vet the project, and they’ve got a bunch of days to finish that work. Related: VPM’s Roberto Roldan says that study just got a bit more expensive?
Here’s an interesting thing: The Richmond Police Department will demo their new Records Management System tonight at 6:00 PM in the RPD Academy Training Room (1202 W. Graham Road). This sounds boring, even for me, but if you care about transparency, privacy, and having public data available to keep police accountable maybe think about stopping by and giving your opinion on the new system.
This morning's longread
H.Res.755: Impeaching Donald John Trump, President of the United States, for high crimes and misdemeanors
Here is the full text of House Resolution 755 which impeaches Donald Trump for high crimes and misdemeanors. It’s short, and you should read it in full.
In all of this, President Trump has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President and subversive of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice, and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States. Wherefore, President Trump, by such conduct, has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to the Constitution if allowed to remain in office, and has acted in a manner grossly incompatible with self-governance and the rule of law. President Trump thus warrants impeachment and trial, removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States.
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