Good morning, RVA! It's 66 °F, and highs today will stay in the lower 80s with less of that summertime humidity. Not to jinx it, but NBC12's Andrew Freiden calls today "a taste of autumn!"?? I will try to play it totally cool and not let The Weather know just how excited I am about fall in Richmond. Flannels! Sweaters! Boots! Jeans jackets!
Water cooler
Today the City's Urban Design Committee will consider the final plans for the “temporary” landscaping at Marcus-David Peters Circle aka the Lee Circle. I've got four loosely related thoughts! First, if you can read landscape diagrams, you can check out what they’ve got planned here. It's a lot of plants of varying size and scale, plus some mulchy paths to wander through. Once everything gets established in a few years, I think this might could be a really nice place to sit and read a book. Second, I think you should consider the meaning of the word "temporary" on a broader scale, like, at least a few of years and maybe more. There's almost no momentum behind reimagining Monument Avenue at the moment, so who knows how long until that process even starts. Also, the plants proposed for the circle includes several, actual trees, so it feels like this is at least a couple-years plan. Third, I think there's an irrigation system in that circle? It's mentioned in the project narrative and would be welcome news since the trees planted at Stuart Circle, just a block away, have already baked to death in the hot summer sun. Fourth, the City has said a couple of time now that the horrible fence surrounding the circle will come down after the new plants get settled. Pending all the necessary approvals, City crews could get started on this work in just a couple of weeks! Maybe we'll see the fence come down by November?
WTVR has a few more reactions from the City's Councilmembers about their recent closed-door meeting with Richmond’s Chief of Police. I think it's fascinating that Councilmember Trammell—arguably the most pro-cop local legislator—is out here suggesting that Council pass an official resolution of no confidence in the Chief.
Ha, good lede from Graham Moomaw and Charlie Paullin at the Virginia Mercury: "After taking no action Wednesday on the main piece of business that brought lawmakers back to Richmond, the Virginia General Assembly got into a new fight over how to leave town." The GA reconvened to, ostensibly, appoint a judge to the State Corporation Commission but clearly did not get that done. But maybe it still will? Or maybe the governor will just appoint a judge in the off season? It feels like there's a lot of political strategy going on at the moment, which stresses me out, and I guess we'll soon learn if folks are just disorganized or if they have plans within plans within plans.
Tonight at 6:30 PM, St. Stephen's Episcopal Church (6000 Grove Avenue, in the large fellowship hall) will host a conversation with Dr. Jeremy Hoffman, chief climate scientist at the Science Museum of Virginia, and Amy Wentz, co-founder and co-director of Southside Releaf. The two—who are some of my favorite Richmonders—will discuss "the ways that urban heat, climate change, and racial inequality are connected in our city." Maybe take advantage of tonight's stellar weather and take a climate-friendly bike ride over there?
Richmond Brunch Weekend returns! This weekend (Saturday and Sunday) you can eat brunch at any restaurant from this enormous list and help raise money for the Richmond SPCA. Heck, if you hate brunch but still want to help out the SPCA, you can go ahead and donate to them directly. The word "brunch" has now lost all meaning to me. Brunch brunch brunch.
This morning's longread
The Work You Do, the Person You Are
Unsurprisingly, I really enjoyed this 2017 piece in the New Yorker by actual Toni Morrison. As we turn the corner on 2022 and head into the end of the year, this is good advice to think on!
Still, I had trouble summoning the courage to discuss or object to the increasing demands She made. And I knew that if I told my mother how unhappy I was she would tell me to quit. Then one day, alone in the kitchen with my father, I let drop a few whines about the job. I gave him details, examples of what troubled me, yet although he listened intently, I saw no sympathy in his eyes. No “Oh, you poor little thing.” Perhaps he understood that what I wanted was a solution to the job, not an escape from it. In any case, he put down his cup of coffee and said, “Listen. You don’t live there. You live here. With your people. Go to work. Get your money. And come on home.”
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