Good morning, RVA! It's 51 °F now, but temperatures will head back up in the 80s later today. Enjoy—like, really get out there and take part—because, over the next 24 hours, highs drop a full 20 degrees. We might could see a little bit of rain tomorrow, to go with those cooler temperatures, and then we’ll ride straight on through to a fairly brisk weekend. Should be decidedly fall-like for the next couple of days!
Water cooler
Earlier this week, RPS’s School Board met for a regularly scheduled meeting, and, while they discussed real and important items worth writing about, I mostly want to focus on how this School Board breaks our local media coverage. First, watch for yourself a portion of this past Monday’s meeting—things heat up around 1:37:00 and then really go off the rails around 1:47:00. Second, read a typical example of the coverage of that same meeting from WRIC. As you read, think about the language used to describe what you just watched. Does “fiery debate” describe the School Board’s behavior? Do the actions taken by the Board feel accurately represented by the incredibly passive-voiced “that motion was rejected”? Not at all! Whether its a desire to remain unbiased, a lack of experience and time on the public-school beat, or simply a need to cut an incredibly complicated moment down into a two-minute story, much of our local school reporting doesn’t focus on the simple and critical fact that Richmond’s School Board is broken. As a result, Richmonders aren’t able to effectively advocate for progress, and they definitely lack the information needed moving into the 2024 election season. Media critic Jay Rosen talks a lot about how national election coverage should tell voters “not the odds, but the stakes.” I think we need a version of that for local education reporting. Tell voters what the stakes are for public education in this coming School Board election—because I’m not sure the District can handle another four years at this level of dysfunction.
Update! GRTC’s LINK Microtransit pilot is now up and running in the Northside. To give it a whirl, download the GRTC On The Go app and book yourself a ride. Just like the rest of GRTC service, LINK is fare-free.
Mike Platania at Richmond BizSense reports that, with the new WayGone Brewery opening out on Patterson Avenue, the region now hosts 46 breweries. That’s WayMore than I would have guessed!
Tonight, continuing the recent stretch of weird and cool events at The Byrd, you can watch a screening of The Room with actual Greg Sestero. You may know Sestero from his role as Mark in The Room and as the author of The Disaster Artist (aka Dave Franco from the film of the same name). I enjoy all the “Oh hi, Mark”s I’ve seen in the promotion of this event.
This coming Sunday, from 12:00–5:00 PM, Better Housing Coalition and Hardywood will host the seventh annual Gingerbread House Challenge. The event combines three classic flavors: the release of Hardywood’s Gingerbread Stout, raising money for affordable housing, and food-based architecture. And it really is architecture; we’re not talking about some boxy four-walls-and-a-roof structure made from a kit, these are, like, full on works of art. Tap through, watch the video, and wonder how people are so talented at the randomest stuff. I love it! All proceeds from the event benefit the Better Housing Coalition and their work to bring more affordable housing to Richmond. Stop by and check it out!
Logistical note! As mentioned on Monday, it’s a weird week holidaywise. Tomorrow, the Commonwealth of Virginia celebrates Veterans Day, which means I’ll also take the day off to sleep in a bit, sit quietly in my living room, drink slightly more coffee, and, later in the day, do a bunch of laundry. I hope you have a similarly relaxing weekend, which, by the way, one quick weekend reminder: Thousands of runners will fill many, many streets on Saturday morning for the Richmond Marathon. Make sure you check out the course map if you plan on cheering on the folks intentionally running 26 miles (or if you plan on attempting to leave your house at some point before lunch)!
This morning's longread
The Hesitancy of Western Massachusetts to Address Traffic Deaths Is a Warning to All
Oof, I feel seen—and not in a good way—by this article about how towns in western Massachusetts fail to quickly respond to traffic deaths and known dangerous streets.
In the wake of yet another death on State Street, the city finally took some action. In the way we have been calling for for years, they went out with cones and barrels and rapidly iterated a design that slowed traffic and dramatically improved safety. “It went a lot better than I thought it would,” DPW Director Christopher Cignoli was quoted as saying. “I thought we’d be picking up barrels all over western Massachusetts.” It should not have taken numerous deaths, but at least it seemed like Springifled was finally making progress. That was in late 2021, after we recorded a podcast interpreting engineering speak for the public officials in Springfield. Then the cones and barrels that worked so well went away. Then nothing.
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Picture of the Day
So much potential in a blank page!
