Good morning, RVA! It's 53 °F, and we're looking at what could be a pretty excellent week of weather. Today expect highs in the 70s with lots of sunshine, and expect that for the next bunch of days, too. Make a plan to get outside and take advantage of this wonderful fall week.
Water cooler
As of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 1,067↗️ new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealth and 3↘️ new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 75↘️ new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 38, Henrico: 23, and Richmond: 14). Since this pandemic began, 379 people have died in the Richmond region. The average number of statewide new reported cases over the last three days broke 1,000 for the first time since September 19th. It's odd that that should happen over a weekend when, typically, VDH reports fewer cases. Something to keep an eye on, I guess.
The City's Planning Commission meets today at 1:30 PM and will vote on Richmond 300. If you've got last-minute thoughts or want to drop a note of support for all of the literal years of hard work that went into this update to our City's master plan, please email <PDRLandUseAdmin@richmondgov.com data-preserve-html-node="true"> by 10:00 AM today. Honestly, it's kind of surreal that this whole process is coming to a close—I've been writing about Richmond 300 in this space for over three years now. Here's what I said back on July 11th, 2017: "As you can probably guess, I'm super excited about this and can't wait to attend public meetings, leave comments, and read PDFs. But! The Master Plan process is not only for insufferable city nerds like myself! The kickoff event will take place on July 18th from 10:00 AM–10:30 AM at the City Hall Observation Deck, after which city staff will host an activity 'asking individuals to write what they love about Richmond.' This is a thing anyone can do—insufferable or not!" I did end up attending meetings, leaving comments, and reading PDFs—and I hope, that at some point in the last three years, you found the time and interest to participate, too. The way Richmond 300 involved Richmonders (insufferable and otherwise) is a model to build from, and I hope we'll see more of it in the future. Congratulations team, and now let's get this thing passed!
I ended the previous paragraph so rah-rah Richmond that it felt weird to continue with the rest of Planning Commissions agenda, so I'll do that here. Keep your eyes on ORD. 2020-205, which will authorize an interesting little set of apartments across from Maggie Walker High School; ORD. 2020-209, which will adjust the B-3 zoning district to make it less car-centric; and ORD. 2020-213 which I need to learn more about but I think would allow the City to use existing funds associated with the Devil's Half Acre project to purchase the property on the northeast corner of Hospital and 5th. Why that particular property? From the Staff Report: "The City of Richmond purchased the land in 1799 and by ordinance, in 1816, established a public burying ground – 'one acre for the free people of colour, and one for slaves.'” Over the years, both the City and the State built roads and railroads through and around the property, and today it sits largely forgotten and abandoned. This area should ring a transportation bell or two, because the proposed DC2RVA high-speed rail project plans on, once again, running right through the very same property. I wonder what impact, if any, passing this paper will have on that very big, very expensive federal transportation project. Also, the DC2RVA website seems to have vanished, otherwise I'd link you to the document that talks about how they'll preserve cultural resources adjacent to the railroad.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch has posted their 6th District questionnaires for both School Board and City Council. Read that 6th District Council questionnaire, regardless of where you live! Lots of contrast between the two candidates, which is not something you always see in these things. I really love how Candidate Chipman flips the framing of the final, kind-of-eyerolly question: "Do you believe Mayor Levar Stoney deserves a second term? Why or why not? The upcoming mayoral election is not about what Levar Stoney deserves. The question in both the 6th District council race and the mayoral race is what type of leadership do the people of Richmond deserve?"
Also in the RTD, Ali Rockett and Reed Williams look at the rise in murder and gun violence over the last few months and throughout the pandemic. Given my current feelings about the Richmond Police Department, there's a lot in this piece for me to unpack—especially how escalating real-world violence is a possible knock-on effect of virtual learning. This stuff is complicated.
The New York Times reports that "the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the largest humanities philanthropy in the United States, has pledged to spend $250 million over five years to help reimagine the country’s approach to monuments and memorials, in an effort to better reflect the nation’s diversity and highlight buried or marginalized stories." For context, the foundation has already given $5 million to support the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, a shockingly awe-inducing memorial honoring lynching victims. I'm pretty sure I can think of at least one mid-sized city that has a ton of monuments and memorials that need reimagining and would be a perfect fit for a substantial portion of that $250 million. Given Richmond's role in the long history of America's racism, I think we could use something shockingly awe-inducing to help tell that story.
This morning's longread
"PEN15" Has The Most Painfully Authentic Gay Teen Storyline I’ve Ever Seen On TV
I think PEN15 is one of the best-written shows out there.
Everyone in middle school, and in PEN15, is so caught up in their own pain, their own self-inflicted trauma, that they can barely notice anyone else’s. When Gabe ends things with Maya, it’s not because he’s suddenly accepted himself and is ready for some big Hollywood moment with a boy. We know the rest of middle school will probably be just as awful for him, not to mention high school. And just like Maya, he’s probably going to hate himself for a long time to come. After all, kids can be mean to each other, but deep down they’re the meanest to themselves.
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