Good morning, RVA! It's 46 °F, and we've got another great fall day ahead of us. Rain moves into the region tomorrow, so get out there and enjoy today before things get soggy.
Water cooler
Tonight at 6:00 PM, RVA Rapid Transit will host a public comment workshop—both in-person (at the Main Library (101 E. Franklin Street)) and virtual). I think putting on a workshop like this is a really smart idea. Lots of folks want to do a public comment but aren't sure what exactly to say and, maybe more importantly, what not to say. Now you've got someone willing to help with exactly that!
If you can't make it tonight, though, here are Ross's Top Three Tips For Lazy But Effective Email Public Comments:
- Remind them that you're a constituent. Start your email declaring your bonafides: "I've lived in the 3rd District for 15 years, and I'm a proud RPS parent." It might feel gross, but feel free to throw in things like "I'm a homeowner." or "I run a small business in the city."—anything that establishes you as a Serious Voter. The opposite applies, too. Don't lead with something that autosorts you into an easily ignored bucket: "I haven't driven a car for eight years and believe all parking lots should be destroyed."
- Keep it short. Reference the thing you support, say you support it, and then ask for their support: "I'm writing today in support of ORD. 2022-123, which would ban gas-powered leaf blowers in Richmond, and ask that you vote in favor of ORD. 2022-123 at the October 17th City Council meeting." Go ahead and add a sentence or two about the reasons for your support, but keep it boring and flat: "Gas powered leaf blowers are too loud and disturb our city's families while also emitting a dangerous amount of greenhouse gases." There are certainly times that a moving personal anecdote can be an effective tool, but, let's be honest, that takes time and skill to write—of which I often have neither!
- Copy the liaison. If you're writing to your City Council rep, make sure to copy their liaison. If you're writing to a bigger wig who has more staff, take a couple second to think through who to add to the CC line. Don't over CC, though! There are times to blast everyone you can find an email address for, but most times are not those times.
Anyway, go to RVA Rapid Transit's event tonight tonight and get some non-lazy tips, because writing/giving an effective public comment is a great life skill. Once you master it, you've got a tool you can use to support all sorts of things.
Pulitzer Prize Winner Michael Paul Williams writes about that Department of Criminal Justice Services report that showed clear racial disparities in traffic stops but shrugged its shoulders about why such a thing could be happening across the Commonwealth. I love how Williams flips the data here: "Among 152 local agencies in cities and counties in Virginia, more than 30% had a 'high overrepresentation' in stops of Black drivers...At the other end of the spectrum, nearly 90% of those agencies had 'no overrepresentation' in stops of white drivers." Certainly seems like a problem! MPW also talks to Delegate Don. Scott, who had this good quote: "We know what the issues are. These issues are as old as 1619...[Youngkin] has some information. He has an opportunity to do something about it, as opposed to pretending it doesn’t exist."
AXIOS Richmond, written by two former RTD reporters, has a depressing story about the RTD’s subscription numbers: "The Richmond Times-Dispatch shed nearly 50,000 subscribers over the last ten years." Yikes, that's a big number. While digital subscriptions have increased over the last couple of years, the paper has just over half of the subscribers it had back in 2012. There are lots of different reasons for this, but, whatever you think about the Richmond Times-Dispatch or newspapers generally, paid, full-time journalists that cover our region's important issues are absolutely critical. Fewer reporters at the RTD isn't good for anyone.
Jack Jacobs at Richmond BizSense reports that the Virginia Repertory Theatre has officially bought the Scottish Rite Temple on Hermitage Road. Virginia Rep plans on using the enormous space (45,000 square feet with a 650-seat theatre) as their home base and will host shows, for sure, but also theatre camps and workshops. Performances will open in the new space as soon as December, which seems bananas fast. Now that the paperwork's all signed, someone should work with Virginia Rep and the nearby Shriner's Center to depave some of that enormous parking lot—plenty of cool opportunity back there!
Via /r/rva, Where can you get the best meal for two under $20 in Richmond? The top comment is probably my answer, too.
This morning's longread
Texas Pete is a North Carolinian, and he’s being sued
Well this was a lovely and enjoyable piece about the true (misleading) history of Texas Pete.
If you really want to check someone’s North Carolina cred, ask them where Texas Pete hot sauce is made. They might be able to figure out through context clues and stammer out “Uh, North Carolina?” like a nervous Jeopardy! contestant. The correct, informed, confident answer is Winston-Salem. This has always been the case. And yet, Texas Pete. Texas is right there in the name. Its logo is a dude in a cowboy hat twirlin’ a lasso. There is nothing about this product that conjures any sort of North Carolina feeling. There’s only one real clue that this product isn’t as yee-haw and giddy-yup as it seems: If you turn it over and look at the label, you’ll notice that it’s made by T.W. Garner Food Co. of Winston-Salem. Most people, when I’ve told them this, let this information roll around their brains for a second or two before saying “Huh!” A few people might keep talking about it. Most, though, let it go. Some guy in Los Angeles did not let it go. He has filed a a federal class action lawsuit over it. He has, his lawyers solemnly declare, been deceived.
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Picture of the Day
I was weirdly mesmerized by this sign in Carytown.
