Good morning, RVA! It's 31 °F, and it snowed, kind of. Today you can expect temperatures right around freezing with some off-and-on rain—which is annoying and not at all a wintery delight. If you’ve got to travel this morning, stay alert because the National Weather Service has extended the Winter Weather Advisory until 11:00 AM. Additionally, schools across the region have delayed starts, so also keep an eye out for wayward children circulating at odd times of the day.
Water cooler
VPM’s Conner Scribner reports on two tax-related bills that Richmond-area elected officials hope to push through the General Assembly this year. Tax policy sounds boring, but!, both of these bills focus on keeping housing affordable, which is not boring at all. Also, I think you should read this article more to learn about the impact the Dillon Rule has on how localities govern than anything else. Are you a city or county that wants to offer real estate tax exemptions to folks with lower incomes? Too bad! You have to first amend the entire state constitution to do that!
Despite the snowy(ish) weather, I think both Planning Commission and Council’s Land Use, Housing and Transportation commmittee should still meet today—but keep an eye on the timing as City Hall won’t open until 10:00 AM. At each meting they’ll deal with what I think is creating a new, less irritating way to get from the T. Tyler Potterfield Bridge over to Semmes Avenue by foot or bike without having to mess around in the Trustist parking lot. Planning Commission will consider ORD. 2024-005, which accepts a bunch of money from the Central Virginia Transportation Authority for a project called the “Manchester Connection to James River - Ped/Bike.” While the Land Use, Housing and Transportation committee will look at ORD. 2023-358, which provides funding for the same project to build “a ten-foot shared use path with two-foot shoulders and a new pedestrian bridge over the Norfolk Southern Railroad tracks.” Neither of the ordinances or the associated papers includes a map, so my brain can’t really visualize what’s going on here—but I’m pretty sure it sounds like an upgrade. If you’ve got a map or diagram and are willing to share, please send it along!
The RTD’s editorial board decided to weigh in on the recent meals tax shenanigans in Richmond. I disagree with a lot of their framing—or at least think it lacks the necessary historical context. However, I do think it’s interesting that that they too, in addition to Pulitzer Prize Winner Michael Paul Williams, have started advocating for moving away from Richmond’s current system of government: “With Stoney gearing up for a gubernatorial run in 2025, and the city’s election of a new mayor and City Council later this year, it’s time to revisit the city charter. City Council has already begun the process, and its City Charter Commission made nearly 100 recommendations in August. Chief among them: giving Council a bigger role in hiring and firing the CAO.” While that’s not a full-throated argument for ditching our existing strong mayor system, this specific change would definitely give City Council some more power and some more control over the City’s administration. We’ll have to wait on that, though, because none of the more interesting changes to the Charter will happen during this year’s General Assembly session (remember, the City needs permission from the GA for any and all things, see the above Dillon Rule discussion). What I am interested in learning this year, though, is if any of the folks who end up running for City Council add a “Charter Changes” plank to their platforms.
Via /r/rva, “What’s your favorite off-the-beaten-path spot in Richmond?” Tap through for some good suggestions, including the ice at Bernies, some of RVA’s freshwater springs, and the top floor of City Hall.
This morning's longread
Why Platformer is leaving Substack
I’m super interested in how Substack has decided to (or decided not to) deal with Nazis on their platform. Not so much because I use Substack or had planned on switching to Substack (I don’t and I’m not), but because this is their attempt at setting the norms of what’s acceptable on these new platforms rushing to fill the gap left by Twitter. This—letting Nazis monetize hate through their service—is definitely not it.
But as I wrote earlier this week, Substack’s aspirations now go far beyond web hosting. It touts the value of its network of publications as a primary reason to use its product, and has built several tools to promote that network. It encourages writers to recommend other Substack publications. It sends out a weekly digest of publications for readers to consider subscribing to. And last year it launched a Twitter-like social network called Notes that highlights posts from around the network, regardless of whether you follow those writers or not. Not all of you use these features. Some of you might not have seen them. But I can speak to their effectiveness: In 2023, we added more than 70,000 free subscribers. While I would love to credit that growth exclusively to our journalism and analysis, I believe we have seen firsthand how quickly and aggressively tools like these can grow a publication. And if Substack can grow a publication like ours that quickly, it can grow other kinds of publications, too.
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Picture of the Day
A new leaf is always a joy.
