Good morning, RVA! It's 36 °F, and today expect more of the same: Sunshine and highs near 50 °F. Honestly, that’s pretty chill for the first week in December. Enjoy!
Water cooler
Y’all! I was in a transit video! The fine folks at TransitCenter came to Richmond a couple months ago to learn about our pretty incredible public transportation momentum and spoke to a bunch of transit and transit-adjacent people. We’re doing a heckuva thing in Richmond, and it’s fun to watch other cities look to follow in our footsteps.
You love to see it: Now, with the New Democratic Majority, Governor Ralph Northam has backed off the proposed Medicaid work requirement. This requirement was ostensibly part of the agreement that got some Republicans in the General Assembly to originally vote for the expansion (not the fact that thousands of people in their districts would have access to health care, but, whatever). Then those Republicans lost a bunch of elections, and now here we are. Michael Martz at the Richmond Times-Dispatch has the details, and this great quote from the Governor: “Given the changed makeup of the General Assembly and based on conversations with new leadership, it is unlikely Virginia will move forward with funding a program that could cause tens of thousands of Virginians to lose health care coverage.”
The City’s Urban Design Committee will meet today and hear about the Brown’s Island Improvement Plan (PDF). This is the second plan like this I’ve seen from 3North—the first was for the Pump House—and I think they’re a lot of fun. I really enjoy how they take a bunch of qualitative stuff from a charette or two and work them into “palettes” for themes, plants, landscape features, and experiences. It’s a good way to explore a place’s vibe. Aside from that meta level stuff, the plan includes a bunch of interesting maps of the area and potential uses for different locations around the island. It’s a good PDF!
The Bonfire T-shirt people have resurrected their typographic neighborhood-name shirts, which almost certainly would make good gifts—holiday or otherwise—for a person or two in your life. As with almost everything like this in Richmond, there’s a lack of Southside representation. I think about this tweet from 8th District City Council Candidate Amy Wentz pretty regularly; Neighborhoods like Blackwell, Bellmeade, and Walmsley rarely show up in fun design projects. Hoenstly, 9th District’s Councilmember Jones could probably talk your ear off about how Southside neighborhoods rarely show up in fun City project, too.
“Sauer Center development lands another tenant” says Mike Platania at Richmond BizSense. Spoiler: It is NOT a Trader Joe’s.
The Superintendent’s plan to create theme-based middle and high schools kicks off tonight at MLK Middle School (1000 Mosby Street) at 6:00 PM. MLK and Henderson will both host STEM academies in the 2020 school year, and this is your opportunity—and students, too!—to get involved on the ground floor. The District will host a similar meeting at Henderson Middle (4319 Old Brook Road) on December 10th at 6:00 PM.
This morning's longread
My Thoughts on Rezoning
Take a minute to read this post by Richmond’s 1st District School Board Rep Liz Doerr. Less because you’ll learn some things about Richmond Public School’s ongoing rezoning process, and more because this kind of thoughtful transparency is something I want out of all of my elected officials. Especially at the local level, every elected official should similarly communicate to their constituents.
As we have all learned, rezoning is not a simple matter. I have spent the last six months listening to the community recording notes from over 500 different individual conversations and emails. I have met with local and national experts on integration and rezoning. I have spent almost every weeknight evening in your homes listening to your concerns, hopes and dreams. I have sent weekly updates on where we are in the process. I have had in-school meetings with teachers and administrators to ensure I receive the full teacher, staff and principal perspective. It has been a pleasure getting to know more of you across our wonderful city. I arrived at my decision balancing the following sometimes competing priorities/realities:
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