Good morning, RVA! It's 54 °F, and, today, summerish temperatures return! Expect highs in the 80s this afternoon and for them to stretch on through next week. Are these record highs? Probably! Am I recovering from a fall cold? Yes! Will I still try to get out into the forest on my bicycle despite probably needing to rest? We’ll see!
Water cooler
Remember last year when the Governor wanted to create permanent tax cuts for the wealthy but didn’t have the votes and settled instead for one-time rebates, $200 for individuals and $400 for families? Well, the Department of Taxation has set up a website to check if you’re eligible for those rebates (you gotta create an account first), and says the checks should hit your mailbox before December. The Cynical Part of Me raises an eyebrow at the near-election timing of this launch. The Regular Part of Me knows that the General Assembly just passed its budget a hot second ago and casual-sounding things like “setting up a website to check if you’re eligible” are actually huge projects for already overworked teams. Looking ahead, and given all the press releases I get from Youngkin’s team about the Commonwealth’s surging revenue, I’d guess those permanent tax cuts for the wealthy will make a return in this coming year’s budget, too. Just another reason why the November 7th election—in just 12 days!—is so very important. Make sure you’ve got a plan to vote, OK?
In other state government news, Ben Paviour at VPM reports on the ongoing mess at the Department of Elections and their decision to remove thousands of folks from the voter rolls. It’s hard to tell what’s actually going on here, and I’d argue that’s probably part of the point. Skip the confusion, and tap straight on through to the Department of Elections website to check your voter registration status right now.
Also at VPM, Jahd Khalil writes about Republicans’ plans to ban abortion should they win control of the General Assembly next month (see above about voting!). Khalil links to this recent survey by CNU’s Wason Center, which asked potential voters a bunch of questions about their Top Issues heading into this election. Tap through and dig into the data, because it’s fascinating. While folks support a handful of liberal issues—like keeping abortion legal, teaching kids about racism in public schools, retail marijuana sales, and not banning books—they’re basically split on whether they’ll vote for a Democrat or a Republican. Pulitzer Prize Winner Michael Paul Williams has more on the survey results, including this bit: “When likely voters were asked who they trusted most to make the right decisions for children in K-12 public schools, 81% of respondents trusted teachers “somewhat” or “a lot” — more so than school administrators (67%), local school boards (59%) and state government (55%). That’s right: teachers were deemed more trustworthy than the school boards micromanaging education.” Standard caveats apply about how do surveys even work in a world where no one answers their phone, but still, fascinating!
It’s not all just state-level elections popping up on ballots, some of us get to vote for local candidates, too. If you’re a Henrico resident cast your web browsers back over to the RTD where Sean Jones has put together a nice overview of the 10 candidates running for the Board of Supervisors.
Eileen Mellon at Richmond Magazine sat down with Nathan Hughes, a real estate agent who’s worked with local restauranteurs for decades, to talk about cursed restaurant spots. Hughes tries to explain that actual things—like location, foot traffic, and layout—probably contribute more to a restaurant’s success than fake things like curses. Likely story, Hughes!
Reminder: Breakaway RVA will host their final chill, informative, and fun group bike ride tonight. Meet at Scuffletown Park at 5:45 PM, wheels up at 6:00 PM!
Tonight, at 6:00 PM, the YWCA host the 27th annual Remember My Name memorial at Cedar Street Baptist Church (2301 Cedar Street). This memorial gives friends, family, and community members a chance to commemorate those who have lost their lives due to domestic violence and intimate partner violence. According to the YWCA, “nearly one-third of all homicides in Virginia are attributed to domestic or intimate partner violence.” You can learn more and register (to help with the headcount) over on the website.
This morning's longread
Naked beneath Our Clothes
I loved this essay on nakedness and bodies and how we’re so weird about both. Everyone’s got a body, and we’ve done a lot of really gross societal work to make sure we’ve all got thoughts on those bodies—the ones that belong to other people, sure, but mostly the one that belongs to us.
Seeing other naked bodies, though, did not make me feel disrespectful. It was wondrous. The shared ease made being human more palatable. And I soon realized there is nothing exhibitionist about being naked. People look you in the eye; nobody stares at the rest of you. Nothing is new, shocking, revelatory. All the lumps and bumps, moles and birthmarks, scars and stretch marks are on display, and the need to conceal your own drops away. Nakedness, done right, has no ego. There are problems with exposing the body, of course, but there are also problems in cultures that conceal. The more artfully we cover our bodies, the more mystique there is. But the more mystique there is, the greater the desire to own, steal, guard, or violate that alluring, luring, concealed body. The paradox is built in.
If you’d like to suggest a longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol’ Patreon.
Picture of the Day
These mushrooms understand dense housing.
