Good morning, RVA! It's 54 °F, and today you can expect more of the same! Get ready for temperatures in the 60s, rain here or there, and lots of time to spend pensively staring out of the window. Warmer temperatures, at least, should arrive tomorrow.
Water cooler
As of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 763 new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealth and 33 new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 103 new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 57, Henrico: 22, and Richmond: 35). Since this pandemic began, 162 people have died in the Richmond region. That's four days in the last week with over 100 new cases in Richmond, Henrico, and Chesterfield combined. Before this week, that'd only happened once—back on May 7th. We know Mayor Stoney has his eye on the data, but I wonder what folks in Chesterfield are thinking as they watch their percent positivity numbers creep upwards. Look at that graph, you can call it flat if you want, but it certainly doesn't show a fortnight of decrease. If I lived in Chesterfield, which I do not, I might send my Supervisor and County Manager an email with a question or two.
Today, City Council's Finance and Economic Development committee meets at 1:00 PM. I typically never ever talk about this committee because who even understands how money works?? However, this afternoon they'll consider Councilmember Gray's RES. 2020-R026 (PDF) which would set up a restaurant-only grant program in the City of Richmond. If I'm reading it right, it returns to restaurants any meals taxes they paid/will pay in March, April, May, and June—minus the bit of meals tax that go toward schools. It also would give restaurants back half of their BPOL tax over that same time period. Again, just cue up and insert my rant about how relief policies are good but we should be holistic in designing them so that other service industry businesses are not excluded. The Mayor's administration put together an Administrative Impact Statement (PDF) on this resolution, which puts it bluntly: "The program would potentially have a multi-million dollar negative impact on the FY2020 general fund during uncertain economic times without any identified funding source, and add an administrative burden to implement." Remember, RES. 2020-R026 is a non-binding resolution that just asks the mayor to submit the budget amendment ordinances necessary to create this program.
Ben Dennis from WRIC reports that a driver sped off the 95 South exit onto Broad Street, jumped the median, and crashed into a Pulse bus last night. Dennis says three people on the bus were injured. What a terrifying and absolutely preventable situation. If you've ever taken that off-ramp, you know it's singularly designed for speed. It's practically a runway (pictured above in 2017) that literally ends in a crosswalk used by tons of hospital staff. The State could do all sorts of things to slow drivers down as they rocket off the highway into our City. The State could (finally) create a safe way for folks to walk on that part of Broad Street without crossing two highway ramps. They choose not to, and so stuff like this happens and will continue to happen.
/r/rva says that Dominion will IMPLODE their old building on Saturday, May 30th, at 7:00 AM. This is the first I've seen a scheduled time, and sounds like if you're fixing to watch an enormous building get blown up, you'll have to wake up pretty early. Obviously most of Downtown will be closed off, but there are definitely some pretty choice spots to watch from if you think about it for a second.
Remember sports and arenas and athletic bands and stuff? Good times. To help you remember the good times, here's a recording posted on the GWAR YouTube of the VCU Peppas covering GWAR's "Saddam A Go Go." This is good and peak Richmond, but, dang. It reminds me of college basketball, and now I'm sad. Thanks to /r/rva for this morning rollercoaster of emotions.
This morning's patron longread
Ahmaud Arbery Holds Us Accountable
Submitted by Patron Erin. Another beautifully written piece. This one's tough to read, but it's important that you do so.
Ahmaud’s birthright to this particular place is strong. His people’s fight to maintain their ownership of this particular place is resolute. The dignity and kindness and richness of culture that they have imprinted on this place is indelible. And while that doesn’t give him any greater right to life and justice than any other human anywhere, it does highlight the depravity of any argument that white men had a right to confront him with guns and end his life simply because he was a black man who stood his ground in their neighborhood, because he didn’t explain and supplicate himself to them. But nobody belonged to this particular place more than Ahmaud Arbery.
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