Good morning, RVA! It's 30 °F, and temperatures are on the up and up for the rest of the week. Expect highs in the mid 50s today, followed by a couple of days in the 60s. Looking deep into the 10-day forecast and, as of right now, there are at least two, truly cold days with highs either below freezing or right at the mark. I think winter may actually be coming, eventually!
Water cooler
Yesterday, the Governor delivered his 2024 State of the Commonwealth address, and, if you must, you can read the text as prepared or watch the whole thing over on YouTube. If that seems like a lot, you can just read Graham Moomaw’s summary at the Virginia Mercury. Honestly, you won’t find anything too surprising in there, as the Governor doesn’t have a whole lot of leverage to advance his agenda into the Democratically-controlled General Assembly. This bit from Moomaw gets it about right: “New Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, said the speech left him and other Democrats feeling Youngkin remains more interested in campaign slogans than serious policymaking. ‘A lot of the policy proposals we heard tonight were all dependent on a magic money tree growing somewhere on Capitol Square,’ Surovell said in an interview.”
Mike Platania at Richmond BizSense reports that the folks whoa have bought the building with all the murals on it down by the Canal Walk (officially the Haxall Canal Hydro Plant) plan on filling it with racquet sports, specifically padel. I think this is mostly old news, but, previously I imagined all of the courts and restaurants and whatnots inside the building, preserving the Canal Walk and the murals. Now I’m not so sure. I’d like to learn more about this, especially any plans for keeping public access open through that portion of the canal.
Winter-weather river rats, please stay out of the James River for at least the next couple of days! TheRichmond-Westham flood gauge show water levels cresting this morning at 16 feet, just into the red, or “moderate”, flood stage. Only experts should screw around with the river when it’s this dangerous, but, even then, maybe just don’t. Please play it safe and avoid giving our emergency rescue personnel an excuse to put on their cold-weather wetsuits. P.S. The live river video from the Friends of the James River Park website this morning is both scary and beautiful.
It exists! Del. Joshua Thomas has filed HB 748, which would create an e-bike rebate program in Virginia. It’s mostly foolish to link to a bill on the second day of the General Assembly session, as most proposed legislation dies a quick and unexpected death early on in the process. However, I do think it’s interesting to at least see what kind of e-bike rebate legislators consider possible. This particular one would set the rebate at $500 toward purchase of a new e-bike ($1,100 for folks with incomes below 300% of the federal poverty limit), and an additional $300 for cargo bikes. That’s pretty good, and would get you a steep discount on an entry level bike or a big chunk of savings on something more expensive (although qualifying bikes must have a MSRP of less than $6,000). I’ll keep an eye on this bill as the session progresses, but I am officially Not Getting My Hopes Up Too Much.
Tonight at 6:00 PM, the Virginia Capital Trail Foundation and Journeyman’s Adventure Co. (115 N. 18th Street) will host a presentation by Yasmine Idriss, who recently completed a solo bike tour of Iceland—and, in doing so, was the first Arab woman to cycle Iceland’s Ring Road. That’s over 800 miles) of, I’m assuming, very beautiful riding around the entire country of Iceland. Amazing! If you’ve ever wondered how to combine your twin interests of biking and camping into one, mega interest, stop by tonight and learn more about bikepacking (but maybe don’t expect all bikepacking trips to be as challenging or otherworldly as Idriss’s). The event is free, and you can RSVP here.
Also tonight, from 6:15 PM to 7:30 PM, Housing Opportunities Made Equal (626 E. Broad Street, Floor 3) will drop a new report about home values, displacement, and racial inequality in Richmond. They invite you to come out, learn about their preliminary findings, and then discuss potential solutions. It sounds like a lot of fun—at least the sort of fun that resonates with readers of this email, I’m sure. If you can’t make it tonight, HOME will hold a similar event this coming Saturday, from 1:15 PM to 2:30 PM at the Broad Rock Library (4820 Old Warwick Road).
This morning's longread
What’s With All the Different Salts? Here’s How to Use Them.
Yes, Melissa Clark, tell me, what _is_ with all the different salts. Turns out, they’re all pretty similar if you’re cooking with them; their differences mostly shine when used to finish off a dish. Regardless, salt is fascinating, and this article made me finally put Salt: A World History on my reading list.
Cookbook and recipe writers began calling for different varieties — sometimes, maddeningly, in the same recipe. A growing subset of hard-core salt-tooths carry rarefied crystals in tins the size of a thumb, at the ready in a pocket or purse to calibrate any restaurant dish to their own personal ideal of salinity. Today, these select salts are easier to find than ever before, both in supermarkets and online. But being this spoiled by choice can be confusing. Are fine sea salt and table salt interchangeable? Can you finish a dish that calls for flaky Maldon with coarse sea salt from a grinder instead? And why do various brands of kosher salt — Morton’s and Diamond Crystal, for example — have such different levels of salinity? To help break it all down, here’s a salt primer.
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Picture of the Day
My life for the foreseeable future as travel volleyball season begins in earnest.
