RVANews

Old Liberty Valance Spot Turning into Something Not Nearly as Cool

Richard Hayes — Fri, 29 Jul 2016 14:54:55 +0000

Liberty Valance was a smoke filled western themed oasis of seasoned drunks that would come alive for karaoke and drinks in glass cowboy boots. It had a covered wagon entrance, stagecoach, jail, and more western tchotchkes than your crazy uncle's estate sale. They fought the smoking ban in restaurants but to no avail. The times changed and despite an effort to spruce up the front of the building including removal of the covered wagon, Liberty rode off into the sunset in the summer of 2011.

Image from 2011 RTD article on the closing.

In my heart I wanted to see it re-born. Perhaps that spot was magical and another themed restaurant would spring up. Pirates or knights serving me questionable steak and shrimp that never saw an ocean. Alas that dream is crushed as well. As you can see from the building permit a Game Stop is moving in. Game Stop sells and buys video games. Pirates and knights will be in the building but of the virtual variety and not the serving me a beer variety.

One would assume that spells the doom for the Game Stop in the Martin's/Target Shopping center directly behind the Liberty Valance building. Which means one more empty store front in what is becoming a ghost town of a strip mall.

Image: RTD

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Kickers face Premiere Team Swansea City in a Saturday friendly

Richard Hayes — Fri, 15 Jul 2016 16:09:17 +0000

For those of you not down with the soccer parlance a friendly is game that has no consequences. This isn't part of a tournament nor does it affect the league standings in any way.

The game taking place on Saturday only serves as a celebration of soccer and a chance for Richmonders to watch players from one of the top leagues in the world. It will be the most attended game of the year for the Richmond Kickers and if the past is any indication it will be a raucous time. The fun this year is aided by a later start. Previous friendlies at City Stadium had a midafternoon start and as a result several fans were reduced to melted pile of goo. This year kickoff is at 7 PM so the temperature should be at least bearable.

The Kickers are coming off a two game road winning streak that last of which was played on Thursday. Expect the majority of starters to be on the bench recovering from their latest game. If the past is in indication the game will be mainly played with fringe players for both teams. Pride is on the line so you can expect a hard fought match and the Kickers would be thrilled with saying they beat a Premier League team.

Swansea City played the Charlotte Independence on the 12th and won 4-0. You can check out the highlights here.

A little history on Swansea from the Richmond Kickers:

Established in 1912, the Welsh club based in Swansea, South Wales, battled for many years in the lower divisions before making a historic climb from near bankruptcy in the Fourth Division to the Premier League in 2011, becoming the first Welsh team to play in the top flight since the league’s restructure in 1992. Swansea celebrated their greatest success to date by winning the Capital One Cup in 2013, with a record-breaking 5-0 victory over Bradford City, claiming the club’s first major trophy and qualifying for the 2013-14 UEFA Europa League. Most recently, Swansea finished the 2015-16 season in 12th place in the English Premier League standings with a 12-15-11 record and 47 points.

The pregame party starts at 5:00 p.m. with live music by The Folly, RVA food trucks and over 20 craft beers on tap and the game kicks off at 7:00 p.m. Tickets ($30) are on sale now at RichmondKickers.com.

Police Memorial vandalized

Richard Hayes — Wed, 13 Jul 2016 13:26:23 +0000

Police memorial in Byrd Park was vandalized overnight. #RVA @NBC12 pic.twitter.com/FB4iLE5Wzw
— Allison Norlian (@AllisonNBC12) July 13, 2016

I would expect this to get a bunch of local coverage. We'll update when the police issue a formal statement.

Richmond police memorial statue vandalized overnight. Red spray paint across statue and "Justice For Alton." pic.twitter.com/0BB6K0nqfr
— Roxie Bustamante (@Roxie8News) July 13, 2016

Henrico leaders carefully monitoring Goochland petroleum spill

Trevor Dickerson — Fri, 08 Jul 2016 14:00:05 +0000

Henrico County officials are carefully monitoring a petroleum spill that occurred earlier this week in Goochland County, the county said in a statement this morning.

Henrico authorities were notified July 6th by Goochland County of a possible leak on a petroleum pipeline. Because the pipeline is adjacent to Tuckahoe Creek, which borders Henrico, public safety officials have had ongoing discussions to ensure residents are provided information about the incident.

The suspected leak is about 100 yards south of River Road on the Goochland side of Tuckahoe Creek. No Henrico property or waterway is directly affected.

Representatives of Plantation Pipeline, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and private contractors are on the scene, according to Henrico County.

Motorists traveling on River Road between South Gaskins Road in Henrico and Blair Road in Goochland are urged to proceed with caution and beware of construction vehicles entering and exiting the site. Temporary road closures may occur for the off-loading of equipment. Drivers are encouraged to use alternate routes if possible.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Smokin’ in the Heights this Friday

Richard Hayes — Tue, 05 Jul 2016 12:50:59 +0000

There have been a few hiccups with the Friday Food Trucks at Woodland Heights Baptist this year. The weather and the vendors have both thrown a few curveballs. This week there is a changeup. There won't be any food trucks but there will still be plenty of tasty food.

An update on the food event this Friday July 8th 5:30-8:00 PM in the Woodland Heights Baptist Church parking lot (611 W. 31st St.):
Since food trucks are committed elsewhere this coming Friday, BBQ master Dave Phillips will bring his hickory smoked delicacies to our Woodland Heights Baptist Church parking lot. We will be smoking all day Friday--feel free to drop by and say hello.
The menu is shaping up. We should have ribs, brisket, sliced and minced BBQ. Hamburgers and hotdogs will also be available. Side dishes will include barbecue beans, Carolina sweet slaw, cornbread, mac & cheese, and banana pudding. A choice of cold drinks and water will come with a plate.
There may be a dessert vendor attending as well--we're still working on those details.
Note that this is a cash only event--we cannot handle electronic/credit charges.
We have not emphasized it lately but we encourage donations of food to our food closet ministry (to the 23224 an 23225 zip codes). This will be a good time to bring some canned/boxed goods: peanut butter, spaghetti, jelly, canned corn, green beans etc. Dave plans to help the food closet by donating a portion of his profits to food closet. Thanks Dave!
If you have any questions, please let me know. Mark your calendars for this tasty event!
--Robert Johns

Perfect video example of why you need to lock your car

Richard Hayes — Tue, 05 Jul 2016 12:34:35 +0000

The video was captured in the Fan and serves as the not so subtle reminder not to leave valuables in your car and to make sure your car is locked up. People out there want your stuff.

Richmond Vegetarian Festival moved to rain date of July 9th

Richard Hayes — Tue, 05 Jul 2016 12:25:51 +0000

Update #2 -- July 5, 2016; 8:22 AM

Earlier today we posted that the clean-up is supposed to finish up on the 8th so as of right now the festival is on for the 9th.

— ∮∮∮ —

Update #1 -- June 21, 2016; 10:53 AM

Richmond continues to feel the brunt of last week's storm. This was posted on the Richmond Vegetarian Festival website:

The City of Richmond has informed us that the park will not be ready for the festival this Saturday due to the big storm this past weekend. Effective immediately we will need to use our rain date, Saturday, July 9th.

— ∮∮∮ —

Original -- June 20, 2016

This Saturday, June 25th from noon to 6PM join in the fun at the Richmond Vegetarian Festival held in the Azalea Gardens at Bryan Park.

All the usual festival fun will be there, you know food, music, speakers, local businesses and nonprofits. Admission is free and you can bring along Fido as long as he's on a leash, well behaved, and has all his shots.

It's not all about the fun there are also some charities to help out.

Change Rocks Foundation
Every year the festival chooses a local charity to highlight. This year we chose The Change Rocks Foundation. This amazing organization empowers vulnerable youth through education, capacity building and the arts. Since 2006, they have trained over 250,000 at-risk youth, sex trafficking survivors, advocates and educators in 12 countries around the world. They are in desperate need of feminine hygiene products for young women they help in other countries.
Please bring feminine hygiene products to the Change Rocks Foundation booth at the festival and learn more about them at changerocksfoundation.com.
LAMB's Basket
Also, don't forget to bring a can of vegetables to the Festival for the LAMB's Basket!
The LAMB's Basket is an emergency food pantry located in Lakeside serving the hungry of Henrico Coun

RVA News in Brick: VA makes changes on lawmakers accepting gifts

Richard Hayes — Thu, 30 Jun 2016 12:54:51 +0000

VA makes changes on lawmakers accepting gifts - NBC12 6/28/16

Older RVA News in Brick Headlines

Photo Editorial: This neighborhood has really gone into the toilet

Richard Hayes — Mon, 27 Jun 2016 12:50:20 +0000

This was dropped off on the corner of Prince Arthur and Devonshire. I didn't lift the lid.

Spray painting vandals hit cars in Forest Hill, UPDATE: Suspects caught on video

Richard Hayes — Fri, 24 Jun 2016 12:45:58 +0000

Update #1 -- June 24, 2016; 8:41 AM

RPD released the following statement and picture on Thursday:

Richmond Police detectives need the public’s help to identify the suspects in the attached photo and video (can be seen on Forest Hill Neighborhood Facebook) who vandalized several vehicles in the Forest Hill neighborhood this week.
In the early morning hours of Wednesday, June 22, 10 vehicles and a front door to a home were damaged by spray paint on West 43rd and West 46th streets.
Two males and a female can be seen in the video walking in the street and approaching a vehicle. The male in the rear of the group appears to be holding a can of spray paint.
Detectives ask anyone with any information about the identity of these vandals to call Third Precinct Officer Ward Hawkins at (804) 646-1940 or Crime Stoppers at 780-1000. Citizens can also text Crime Stoppers at 274637, using the key word “ITip” followed by your tip. Both Crime Stoppers methods are anonymous.

— ∮∮∮ —

Original -- June 22, 2016

David R. posted the following pictures and information about a vandalism spree in Forest Hill last night:

Last night, multiple vehicles were vandalized with pink spray paint. I was out this morning running and saw about a dozen cars that were hit. The vandals sprayed profanity and phrases like "black lives matter" and "I know what you did last summer".The paper carrier had already called the police, and several officers were out taking pictures and leaving business cards. The streets seemed to mainly be Dunston, 42nd, and 43rd. If you have any tips or need to report an incident, the number on business card from police is 804-646-1211 (third precinct). This seems to have happened between midnight and 5:00 am

Bit of advice on one of the photos:

My truck got tagged a few years back, and the body / paint shop was able to remove the "art work" with some acetone and elbow grease. There was no degradation to the clear coat.

In the same thread there is a picture of another car hit on 43rd. Photo and information by Melissa J.

Vandals damage Forest Hill Park Little Free Library

Richard Hayes — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 18:37:56 +0000

The hits keep coming, quite literally in this case. Laura Dysart sent in the pictures and informed us of the damage to the Little Free Library in Forest Hill Park.

As a result the Little Free Library in Forest Hill Park is temporarily closed until repairs can be made. As you can see the plexiglass was broken and will likely be replaced with plywood. For the time being the library is being protected by plastic. Police have been notified and took a report.

Once it reopens we'll let you know.

The suspected stick of destruction.

Images: Laura Dysart

Not another day in Paradise, Paradise Diner is shut down

Richard Hayes — Wed, 22 Jun 2016 17:31:04 +0000

The following note is placed on the front door.

EDU FAQ #005: What’s the reasoning behind closing schools?

Teresa Cole — Mon, 09 May 2016 18:42:42 +0000

Photo by: RafalZych

Emotions ran high over the now-famous proposal to close Armstrong High School and three elementary schools, as well as transfer one elementary school to a vacant building.¹ The proposal--lacking transparency about the reasons for each selection, and in all reality, a political game of chicken between RPS and City Council--had parents and teachers scared and angry. Because of the way this announcement was rolled out to the school board and the community, a lot of misinformation about the impact and effectiveness of school closings has swirled around.

The major concerns all surround impact on student learning and the actual amount of overall savings. Teachers are worried about layoffs and parents are worried about sending their kids to under-achieving, deteriorating, and overcrowded schools. A lot goes into a decision to close schools, and these announcements aren't made lightly. Names aren't picked out of a hat (at least, good grief, I hope not). After speaking with Superintendent Dana Bedden, his administration fully realizes that school closures are emotionally charged, as stakeholders are invested in their community schools. Without all of the facts, it can be easy to take the closure announcements as a personal assault. Yet, there are times when school closures are necessary and appropriate. I've met with school officials and I've spoken to concerned parents to fully understand both sides of this complicated issues. I've scoured a lot of data, including the five proposed options (PDF) laid out by the Facilities Task Force that weighed cost and complexity issues. Option 5 was adopted and always included closures from its inception.

How did this information lead us to the named schools? Let's investigate...

The Budget

In FAQ #004.1, we broke down the $18 million budget gap that RPS is facing for next school year. Some updates on this number have come out since we last spoke of that dang squirrelly operating budget.

Ralph Westbay, the retired Assistant Superintendent for Financial Services, proposed cuts at the April 18th School Board meeting that only equaled $4.9 million, including transportation, technology and staffing cuts, but had taken out school closures.² This is down from the $9.7 million in possible reductions proposed at the April 4th meeting, which was what started this whole uproar about closures in the first place. In other words folks, school closures may end up being the least of our worries.

After the General Assembly adopted the state budget, the school system only faced a $17.4 million gap. On April 18th, the school board adopted $1.2 million in savings by agreeing to modify transportation to a hub system, close two office buildings, and demolish the vacant Elkhardt Middle School building. On May 6th, City Council agreed on a mere $5.5 million in additional school funding.³ I'll do that quick math for you...the schools still need to cut $10.7 million from their operating budget to make ends meet. With only $7.7 million left from the original April 4th proposal, including closures, the City still needs to find another $3 million...from where, nobody yet knows.

With the possibility of a fully funded system now off the table, Bedden and the School Board will be forced to consider ways RPS can balance the operating budget. Bedden has made it clear that teacher pay decompression is a priority. The fate of the proposed closures is still unclear, but simply put, the math doesn't add up to keep schools open AND decompress teacher salaries next year.

And if we're being honest with ourselves, the money isn't there to do either.

Another kink thrown into this whole budgetary nightmare is that on Tuesday, May 3rd, City Council voted to appropriate funds to RPS by VDOE categories (explained in EDU FAQ #003) instead of a lump sum.⁴

Essentially, this is an attempt by the council to control how the district will spend money.⁵ They can say they funded salary decompression ($4.9 million) and funded the opening of Summer Hill Elementary ($200,000), plus gave an undesignated $327,000, but in reality, they don't have the power by law to designate how the board will spend their funds. If the board decides there are other more pressing priorities than what is listed above, they can reallocate money, as long as it is within the category to which the funds were appropriated. Because the board can't carry over funds to other categories without mayor and council approval, they have to pay even closer attention to spending to ensure they don't overspend.

With this new way of appropriation, schools will now have to ensure they stay within seven budgets instead of one. If the board wants to move funds, they are at the mercy of Mayor Jones and City Council. Oy vey! I should digress here. Because really, there is so much more I could say...like the CAO warning Council the City will likely overspend their own budget by $9 million five months before the fiscal year ends and now trying to control how the school board spends their money, too? Double, no, triple oy vey!

The Proposal

During the April 4th School Board Meeting, Westbay shared several balancing options, for a total of $9.7 million in possible reductions. We're going to work off of this proposal, here, since a new one hasn't come out and this is closest to covering the $10.7 million deficit. From the proposal, just over $3 million would come from closures, including:

the consolidation of Armstrong into John Marshall, George Wythe, and Thomas Jefferson High schools;
The consolidation of three elementary schools, Cary, Swansboro and Southampton into four other schools;⁶
Relocating Overby-Sheppard to Clark Springs;
Merging two speciality centers into two other campuses. ⁷

The Factors

I met with Bedden, Westbay, and Thomas Kranz, Assistant Superintendent for Support Services, to discuss how the decisions were made in terms of which schools would close and where consolidations would take place.

Bedden said, "Operations is what is eating up all the money on the academic side. It was a question for me of how do we stop the bleeding on the operational side." The district understands that there are a lot of inefficiencies in the operating budget, including the number of buildings, capacity issues, and rezoning. These snowball into other wasted resources in areas such as transportation and staffing, specifically those required by the Virginia Department of Education's Standards of Quality which outline the requirements that must be met by all Virginia public schools and districts.

Bedden issued a directive to Kranz to only consider certain factors as he began parsing through ways RPS could cut expenditures to balance the budget. Kranz was the only administrator present in the Facilities Task Force meetings that discussed closures--this was to ensure the committee remained impartial and to create a buffer between the Office of Superintendent and the decision-making process. He did not want to influence decisions about which schools should stay open or close based on any factors other than the criteria that was outlined. "If I start putting my emotion in, I'm human...Is it fair because I know you less? I have to go home knowing that all these faces, these bodies we are talking about are kids who at one point or another I have probably seen. They have run up and hugged me. I may not know their name anymore because I've passed them once. But that doesn't matter. But if I start playing that game, I'm as guilty as past sins of being influenced by my feelings about this school or that school....You pay me to take care of all schools."

Bedden noted it had to be a numbers game. We have to trigger the conversation by bringing the numbers up and educating people about how decisions were made, Bedden said. Specifically, Kranz outlined via email the four data points that were analyzed when determining which schools would be proposed for closure. These, plus the secondary factors, are all found in the task force's report (PDF).

Those included:

Facility condition
Land availability for building additions
Projected enrollments
Building capacity

Rankings

To pull all this data together and make some sense of it, I created a rating system. Schools received one point for each of the following criteria based on Kranz's information and the reports found on Richmond Forward. Schools with the most points (4) were the best candidates for closure:

In need of a complete renovation/replacement to overcome functional obsolescence
In need of an addition to meet program requirements, including classroom space or multipurpose space
Declining enrollment
Under 85% capacity according to RPS Functional Capacity

Southampton and Swansboro were the only elementary schools that met all four criteria, placing them at the top of the list for possible closure. Four schools had a score of three. Cary was the only one of those that would need an addition to meet program criteria. So, while the other three schools may need to be completely renovated or replaced, they don't need new construction additions. Maintenance on these buildings will continue to be deferred due to lack of funding. Then, when you factor in capacity issues, it would be the difference between moving 265 kids from Cary to one other school (Carver), versus having to split up one of the other schools between several elementaries because no school in proximity had the capacity to absorb their students. One consolidation that keeps the Cary kids together seems better than splitting a school into several other existing schools. Addition needs, paired with the steep declines in enrollment and the lowest building capacity of the four, marked Cary the prime candidate for closing over Woodville, Bellevue, and George Mason.

The high school process appears to be a little different. Armstrong actually ranked the second lowest of the high schools. It has steady enrollment and is near the desired 85% capacity. It only needs moderate repairs. John Marshall, Thomas Jefferson, and Wythe all rank much higher, as they all have declining enrollments, under 70% capacity, and are in need of major repairs.

So, how did Armstrong end up on the chopping block? One thing that often goes unmentioned is that the Armstrong building is actually in Henrico County. Perhaps this played into the decision? Other factors that people cower from discussing include the fact that Armstrong has the largest concentration of public housing and poverty (80% overall and 100% of their African American population), the least amount of diversity (96.4% African American), the lowest achievement scores, the lowest graduation rates (80%), and a concerning attendance rate (70%). And while these weren't officially considered in the decision, we can't pretend they don't matter.

Looking at each criteria separately will help us better understand how they impacted the decision-making process.

Facility Conditions

Kranz said via email that the Facilities Task Force looked at each school in the district to determine how much money would be needed to bring schools up to a base facility level. These levels were based on the four newest buildings in RPS: Oak Grove and Broad Rock Elementary, Martin Luther King Jr. Middle, and Huguenot High. Buildings were coded into four categories: complete renovation/replacement, major renovation, moderate renovation, or minor renovation.⁸ The results of these findings aren't shocking when you consider that 81.4% of RPS schools are more than 20 years old, a third are more than 50 years old, and another third are more than 70 years old. Seven elementary schools were listed as needing complete renovation/replacement, including Swansboro and Southampton. According to the Capital Improvement Plan (PDF), Swansboro alone needs $800,000 in renovations over the next five years, including electrical, roof, and HVAC repairs. Compare that to the Facilities Needs Report, and Swansboro actually needs closer to $8 million dollars to meet program requirements and bring the building up to a base facility level.⁹ I asked Garet Prior from Richmond Forward via email about the difference. He stated that the CIP includes only those items essential to safety and health, while the full task force report includes everything from essential items to aesthetic upgrades, including windows, flooring, and lighting, which are necessary to bring the building up to base levels.

The schools that would absorb students from Swansboro and Southampton only need moderate (Redd), minor (Fisher), or no renovations (Blackwell). North of the river, Cary only needs minor renovations while Carver needs major renovations. Therefore, condition alone was not enough to put Cary on the chopping block.

As for the high schools, Armstrong only has CIP needs totaling $2.9 million and needs moderate improvements to meet base levels totaling almost $24 million. This is the least of any of the other three high schools, two of which come in over $30 million. That said, it doesn't actually make sense to drop money into a building that isn't actually in Richmond City.

Additions

This is an interesting piece to me. Why do buildings need additions if they're under capacity? Kranz said via email, "We looked at whether the current school site had sufficient land available to add to the school. One of the primary assumptions of the Facilities Task Force was that new schools would be built to handle a larger enrollment. For elementary schools, we used an RPS Functional Capacity of 1,000 students, for middle schools we used an RPS Functional Capacity of 1,500 students and for the high schools we used an RPS Functional Capacity of 2,000 students." In other words, in order to bring current buildings up to base facilities level, they had to consider whether schools who didn't have this capacity had the available space to add additions and how much additional space would be needed for each.

Declining Enrollments

All of the proposed elementary schools have seen declining enrollments, between 8% and 12%. Cary's decline was significantly below projections last year, and if the trend continues, Kranz said, we could see Cary fall below 200 students in the upcoming school year. The reality is, though, that 17 of the district's 27 elementary schools have declining enrollments. Of the 10 showing growth, seven are located south of the river. North of the river, there are 13 elementary schools and one preschool program housed in the Ginter Park Annex. Of these, only two elementary schools and the preschool have shown growth. The biggest declines in the district are taking place north of the river, with seven of the 11 schools losing anywhere from 5% to 19% of their enrollment.

High schools are faring no better. All but three of the City's high schools have declining enrollment. Huguenot, which has a brand new building, Community, which is a speciality school, and Armstrong all saw growth last year. I should mention that Armstrong's growth was negligible, increasing by only two students. We should also mention that of the 974 students enrolled at Armstrong, over 300 are bussed in, many driving past Wythe to get to Armstrong each day. Of the remaining four high schools, three saw only between 3% and 4% declines. Thomas Jefferson, though, declined by nearly 14%, losing approximately 100 students.

There are dire consequences for dwindling districts. These declines mean decreased funding, which impacts the ability to maintain top teacher talent, as well as provide services and programming for students. But wait; there's more!

Capacity

Capacity refers to the number of students in a building divided by the number of students a building could potentially hold based on classroom space and a standard pupil/teacher ratio. In other words, if a school has 50 classrooms and the standard is 24 kids to each classroom, the building capacity would be 1,200 kids. If I only have 600 kids enrolled, capacity is at 50%.

Let's move to analogy...one where money is not a factor. A family has nine kids. When they purchase their home, they need a big house, one with ten bedrooms. As the first five kids grow up and move away, they don't need that big house anymore. So, they downsize. See where I'm going with this?

Based off of RPS Functional Capacity, RPS has a total of 924 open seats in elementary schools north of the river and approximately 2,067 seats in the high schools. Interestingly enough, the south side elementaries are over capacity, with approximately 379 more students than they have seats according to their Functional Capacity. This does not mean RPS is out of compliance for state-mandated pupil-to-teacher ratios. Functional Capacity is well below state capacity numbers, and only two elementaries come anywhere close (and slightly exceed) state capacity numbers. What it does mean is that RPS's house is too big. And since rezoning is out of their purview, this is where rightsizing a district comes in. Declining enrollments lead to school districts operating the same amount of square footage for less students. More money per student goes to operating buildings that aren't housing anywhere near the number of students they could. Much like we may move out of our large houses once our kids move away to help cut down on utilities and decrease our mortgages, schools needs to begin the laborious task of downsizing when the kids don't enroll, especially in times of budget crisis.

All of the proposed elementary schools are below the ideal 85% functional capacity, as are three of the four schools set to absorb students. Redd is the only one not below capacity, growing from 92.7% to 93.7% in the last two school years. Preliminary numbers show that consolidation will push Blackwell, Fisher, and Redd over 100% of functional capacity. Carver would approach 95% if Cary students were moved. Many have questioned why students wouldn't be rerouted to a closer school, such as Fox, which Cary students would have to bypass to get to Carver. During this school year, Fox is already at 110% functional capacity. Adding an additional 250-plus kids would push them well beyond any other school's capacity numbers. The only way to remedy that would be rezoning and, well, School Board has sole rezoning authority.

Splitting Armstrong between the three schools, assuming a straight split--which of course likely won't happen--won't push any school over 100%, but will push both Marshall and Wythe into the 90s, while Thomas Jefferson will still be under the 85% benchmark.

None of this is inherently bad, in fact, this is what rightsizing a district looks like. Remember that analogy above about moving to a house that is appropriate for your family based on the size of your family? Well, this is what RPS is looking to do by closing schools, moving kids into schools with space, and eliminating the empty seats to create efficiency and appropriate use of funds.

So What Now

All of this, taken together, is a lot to digest. As we look over the facts and data, we will have to make tough decisions about what we are willing to support and what we believe is right. This answer may not be the same for all of us. What we will all have to agree on is that somewhere in the budget RPS will need to find $10.7 million dollars in cuts. And as of right now, the answer to this remains to be seen.

— ∮∮∮ —

Read the rest of our EDU FAQ and/or come to RVANews Live and talk about it in person!

Some are reporting they proposed to close four elementary schools. This is incorrect. RPS proposed Overby-Sheppard be moved to the empty Clark Springs Elementary School building. It is not being consolidated with another school. The other three schools are Cary, Swansboro, and Southampton. ↩
Staffing cuts were proposed positions that had not yet been filled. ↩
The rest of the $9 million is for capital improvements. ↩
To keep from boring you with state code stuff, you can read up on this more, only if you want to feel a pop in your head...Universal Citation: Virginia Code 22.1-94 (2014) and Universal Citation: Virginia Code 22.1-115 (2014). Don't say I didn't warn you. ↩
I smell a rat. ↩
For more information about the proposal, including where the additional 6 million would come from, check out Board Docs. ↩
No specific schools were named. Early guesses include moving Open to Community, which is currently at 25% capacity. ↩
For a full description of these designations, look at this report. Full descriptions are on the last page. ↩
We have waded through the facilities budget in EDU FAQ#004.2 but if you want to really dig into the base facilities levels, Richmond Forward has the District-Wide Educational Specifications posted, as well as the specs for each new school. ↩

Flashback Friday: Intersection of Parham & Three Chopt Roads

Trevor Dickerson — Fri, 06 May 2016 13:09:21 +0000

What’s the Plan: Bike share

Ross Catrow — Thu, 24 Mar 2016 17:16:01 +0000

A long while back, Richmond announced it would implement a bike-share system downtown. The plan was to roll out the system ahead of the Big Bike Race™ for all to see and glory in while seeing and glorying alongside thousands of other like-minded bikers. Well, as with a few other City plans, the timing didn't work out. We ended up with about eight total bikes at one station--more of a technology demo than anything else.

The Big Bike Race™ has come and gone, and now it's time for real-deal implementation of our city's first bike share program. Here's the plan!

— ∮∮∮ —

What even is a bike-share system?

Basically rentable bikes. Stations containing a bunch of bikes are thoughtfully scattered across the city, and users pay at the station to rent one of the bikes, ride it around for awhile, and return it to another station. Bike shares solve a bunch of knotty "last mile" problems--like, say you wanted to plan a pub crawl along the BRT route, you could use the bike share system to get over to some of the more off-the-route places (like Strangeways). Or maybe it's a lovely spring day and you just want to ride a bike to your next meeting but didn't ride a bike to work. Or maybe you're headed out for a night on the town and don't want to deal with parking. That kind of stuff.

And you really do need to be thoughtful when choosing station locations: Too spread apart and the bikes are always a little too far away to be useful; too compact and there aren't enough useful destinations for people to bike to. Take a look at the map of Minneapolis's (successful) system to get an idea about station density.

So, what's our bike-share system going to look like?

Richmond's bike-share system will be provided by Bewegen. They're a newish company to the bike-share world, but recently launched Birmingham, Alabama's new Zyp BikeShare. The bikes look like this:

They're definitely not sleek road bikes or aggressive mountain bikes. They're cruisers that'd be perfect for running errands around town--which is great because that's exactly what they're for!¹ They're also "smart" bikes, so they've got all the bells (literal) and whistles (figurative) like GPS, a display for stats/info, and LED lights.

You'll be able to find these guys docked at 20 stations around Richmond, mostly downtown and in the Fan. Here's the proposed map of station locations that went out with the RFP:

Yes, that is more than 20 stations, but while balancing cost, quality, and size of the system, something had to give to stay within the budget.² According to Jakob Helmboldt--the city's Pedestrian, Bicycle, and Trails Coordinator--money exists for an expansion possibly as soon as next year after the winter slow season. So after this first round gets on the ground and the experts at Bewegen have had a chance to analyze a handful of months of useage data, they'll have a better idea of where to unload Phase 2.

A bonus to all of the whizbang techonology embedded in each bike, is that the stations are fairly dumb, which makes picking them up and plopping them down (in more useful locations) a pretty simple process.

What's it gonna cost me?

The goal for Richmond's bike-share system is self sustainability through three source of revenue: 1) Sponsorship,³ 2) Advertising on the stations, and 3) User fees.

The prices we, the users, will see have yet to be announced, but we can look at similar systems to get a ballpark. Here's how Birmingham's system works (remember, it's by the same company that's doing Richmond's system):

$75 annual membership fee gets you unlimited rides, the first 45 minutes of which are free. After that there's a $2 fee for the next 30 minutes, and after that there's a $4 fee for each additional 30 minutes.
$6 day pass gets you unlimited rides for a single day, the first 45 minutes of each ride are included (same overage fees as above).
$20 week pass get you unlimited rides for a week, the first 45 minutes of each ride are included (same overage fees as above).

The simplest answer to "how much does it cost" is "six bucks." Division tells me that if you plan on bike sharing once a month, it's probably best to just get the annual membership.

City Council will have to approve the final costs.

Who's in charge here?

Bike shares are way more involved than just throwing some bikes out onto the street and riding another, separate bike off into the sunset. You've got to account for bicycle maintenance, redistributing the bikes,⁴ customer support for all the technology bits, payment processing--all kinds of stuff. It's a lot to take on. Luckily the fine folks at Bewegen are running the system for the first year through a 3rd-party company that they work with.⁵

When's it gonna exist?

The City and Bewegen are working on branding as we speak. Usually it takes about five months to get all the pieces in the right places, so look for brightly-colored bikes (color TBD) and their stations to start popping up this summer.

Answers to random questions people told me to ask Jakob while I had him on the phone

Are there helmets? Actually, I wouldn't ever put on a helmet that'd been on someone else's head.

No, bike share is exclusively BYO Helmet.⁶

What happens if I get a flat tire?

You can ping the maintenance people from the app (or maybe even from the bike itself) and they'll come out and fix it. In the mean time, you can walk yourself over to the nearest docking station and pick up a different bike.

Didn't Aaron Williams write about bike share in his 100 Days project?

Yes, he did, one year before the Big Bike Race™. Hey, better late than never?

I already have a bike.

Cool! But even if you're already a bike person, you can probably find room for bike share in your life. Did you carpool into work but want to bike home? Are you a boring old person and need to go home while your wild, young friends continue to party?

Man, if only there were a long PDF I could read for a couple hours about a success bike share system somewhere else in the country.

You are in luck! This Five-year Assessment & Strategic Plan from Minneapolis's Nice Ride bike-share system is fascinating and totally readable.

This sounds great, how do I, like...do something?

When Bewgen launched in Birmingham, they had a "Shyfter" early adopter program. One would think they'll have something similar in Richmond. Also keep an ear out for some good ol' public meetings before the system launches--those are usually good places to get involved.

Birmingham's bikes have electric pedal assist that'll help you pedal up all of Birmingham's theoretical hills. Richmond's bikes will not, but can be upgraded at a later date. ↩
Funding has generously been provided by a grant from the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program ↩
In other cities, Birmingham and Minneapolis included, Big Healthcare has come on board to help sponsor the system. In return, the back wheel of each bike usually sports some healthcare industry branding. ↩
People love riding bikes down hills, but not so much riding them up hills. Bike-share bikes tend to collect at the bottom and need to be redistribute by driving them around in a van. ↩
Helmboldt tells me they'll make it a priority to hire veterans. ↩
Actually, helmet dispensers exist, and Seattle has big piles of free helmets due to their mandatory helmet law. ↩

Mark Jackson-Silver—2016 Richmond Homicide #3

RVANews staff — Sat, 16 Jan 2016 04:49:36 +0000

We're calling this "Homicide #3" because it is the third confirmed homicide committed within city liimts in 2016.

Update #2 -- January 15, 2016; 11:48 PM

Funeral, viewing, and interment information is now included below.

— ∮∮∮ —

Update #1 -- January 12, 2016; 11:04 PM

A person was arrested and charged with this homicide. We've updated investigation information below!

— ∮∮∮ —

Original -- January 12, 2016

Victim

Mark Jackson-Silver, 19 from the 1300 block of Jennie Scher Road.

A public viewing will be held on Sunday, January 24th, 2016 at Hope Christian Ministries (5300 W. Marshall Road), followed by a 3:00 PM funeral service. Interment will take place on Monday, January 25th at 12:00 PM at Evergreen Cemetery.

The incident

This is the third confirmed homicide in one week, and the second for Southside.

Where: 6500 Block of Midlothian Turnpike on Southside.
When: Thursday, January 7th, police were called to a call around 1:00 AM.
Weapon: One apparent gunshot wound. Jackson-Silver died from his injuries at the hospital.

The investigation

RPD arrested Alvin Ruffin, Jr., 25, of the 1200 block of E. Marshall Street on January 7th on charge of shooting in commission of a felony. On January 11th, he was charged with voluntary manslaughter. The law sure is a confusing place.

— ∮∮∮ —

Got a tip?

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call Major Crimes Detective A. Sleem at 804.646.3871 or Crime Stoppers at 804.780.1000. Citizens can also text Crime Stoppers at 274637, using the key word "ITip" followed by your tip. Both Crime Stoppers methods are anonymous.

— ∮∮∮ —

View all 2016 homicides here.

A true account of the life-changing magic of tidying up

Sarah Fought — Tue, 05 Jan 2016 14:38:39 +0000

Original -- April 27, 2015

What follows is the journey of Sarah Fought--lovable, thoughtful, former borderline-hoarder--as she discovered how to change her life through the KonMari method. If you're unfamiliar, take a second to read up on it--or don't. Sarah will explain the principles. And trust us, here at RVANews, we are believers. KonMari forever!

Do you remember how Mister Rogers' Neighborhood started each episode?

"It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood," Fred Rogers would sing as he walked through the door. He followed the most predictable yet delightful routine. First, he would swap his dress coat for a cardigan that he zipped up over his tie, all the while, still singing. Then, he would sit on a bench and playfully swap his work shoes for his sneaks as he ended his song with, "Won't you be my neighbor?" He smiled at us through that TV, and we knew that he meant it. He was a happy man.

Without fail and, I believe, intentionally on his part, he modeled these joyful rituals over and over again for children of my generation because ultimately, living within the repeating rhythms of the natural world allows children and all human beings to thrive.

KonMari feels like the intro to Mister Rogers.

KonMari also feels like gardening, I imagine.

KonMari is the taking care of beloved things.

To me, KonMari feels like summer camp. There are still the necessary routines, responsibilities and expectations of life but most of the time is time to play.

KonMari is where you get to be yourself.

KonMari is Cheers.

KonMari is the good life.

KonMari is vacation mode.

KonMari is letting go.

KonMari is breathing easy.

KonMari is becoming present.

KonMari is a meditation.

KonMari is forgiveness.

KonMari is bonsai.

If these don't sound like things that you want in your life, you probably don't need to keep reading. But, if your heart is telling you that your day-to-day craves simplicity and honesty, trust me when I say that just a few months ago, never in my wildest of wild dreams would I have imagined anyone asking me to share advice about tidying, except for maybe contribution to an article about what not to do. But, here I am, able to share my story of spending time over the last three months of my life, coming face to face with every single thing that I owned.

The first day of KonMari is for the clothing, shoes, and bags category. Take everything out and put it all in a pile on the ground. This visual information is daunting. Coming face to face with my own excess was in moments troubling. It made letting things go easier, though. To begin, give a shout out to the house itself and start deciding if things spark joy, or not.

My own little life museum

One of my favorite childhood books, Mooch the Messy, was about a rat who loved his messy life. All my life I have been labeled, rightly so, as the messy one. Chores were such a bore and a waste of time to me--I would rather be doing a million other, more awesome things. I liked my messy ways just fine.

Since moving to our little brick rancher on the South Side of Richmond in a sleepy old neighborhood tucked between a golf course and the James River Park System, I have viewed my home as a constant work in progress. There was too much stuff for our space and the storage areas were filled up so much so that it was difficult to walk into them. There were stashes of clothes that didn't fit, food we wouldn't eat, teenage photos of myself that I felt ashamed of sharing, random wires without homes, art supplies I hadn't touched since college, bins, boxes and trunks full of tax files, journals of angst with lots of childhood ephemera thrown in.

I had compiled my own little life museum. But, why? Why move these things from city to city, boyfriend to boyfriend to husband, job to job, and life to life?

In the words of Sturgill Simpson, "Just let go."

My husband, Rickey, has been helping me with these memory-hoarding tendencies for a while now, since we first met, really. We have moved together three times, and he's cleverly treated each move as a strategic time to talk me out of some of my attachments. He's good at leaving the past in the past and he already knew just how great it feels when you discard something that no longer serves a purpose. He has been on this path for many years. He is one of the great teachers of my life.

Storage is a huge part of the KonMari method. There are instructions for how to fold and hang clothing as well as store in dressers and closets. My clothes have stayed pretty much just like this since mid-January. Every single item must have a place to live. The shoes live in their apartments. Some have roommates, some live alone.

He urged me to allow empty space when we first bought our home but instead, I did the opposite. I took over closets, sheds, dressers, cars, porches and utility rooms. There was no hideaway from Mooch the Messy. If there was space, I was likely to fill it.

I've apologized a trillion times since I started the KonMari method. He, of course, always accepted and loved me just as I am, anyhow.

"I'm gonna love you til the wheels come off." --Tom Waits

Everybody needs a hideaway. Everyone needs to spend some time with themselves, breathing, and just being surrounded by the beauty they love.

I can tell that Rickey is amazed, relieved, and happy that I have turned this new leaf over. I'm still Mooch the Messy deep down but with far less things to manage, even Mooch can find her keys, these days.

Three months later, things are still leaving our home.

Cleaning and maintaining my house used to feel arduous and I often left tasks unfinished. Dishes would stay piled on counters for days. I would spread projects across the dining room table all week long. We lived like nomads in our own space. I have moved my messes from room to room and from house to house since I can remember.

My filing cabinet, pre-KonMari. After clothing comes books and then papers. Papers never really spark joy, so Kondo says throw them away. You can always look things up online later. Keep only the absolute necessary documents and store those in plastic sheets in a binder. So, this is what I did. Finally, permission to remove papers from my life. I am not an admin person and I have struggled so much to keep my documents organized, as you can see.

Now I can clearly see that mine was, in many ways, a life out of balance, and I had no idea how to ever actually make a change. I didn't believe that it was in my nature. I had resigned myself to a life of clutter and disarray. I was Mooch the Messy, incarnate.

Enter Marie Kondo and the KonMari method

Little did I know, one Saturday morning lounging with coffee on the couch in my pajamas looking at my social media stuff that my life was about to change, forever. I clicked a link to an excerpt on Slate from Marie Kondo's book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up.

Immediately after reading, I downloaded the book to my kindle and devoured it by late afternoon. I was so moved by the KonMari way that I resolved to begin my first category bright and early that next morning and get er' done.

I don't even miss any of these things. I do not feel regret at letting these things go on to their next lives. They want to spark joy, elsewhere. They do not want to gather dust in the attic or become a burden. The lightness that I experienced after dropping off that post-yard-sale load of stuff is hard to recount in words. When I arrived home, I knew that my real task wasn't only to let go of things but to allow the people of my past to go as well.

I felt compelled to start the process as soon as I understood the method and have continued to feel compelled all along, as though I am participating in a sacred rite of passage, being moved by unseen forces. There is a spirituality present during the KonMari experience, if you want there to be.

Somehow, I know that I will find homes for each and every thing that I own, and I always knew that I would from the start. The things themselves will tell me where they want and need to go. It's sort of like going into labor and knowing that the best way to get there is to accept it and go through it. Once the baby is born, the real fun can begin!

KonMari is a birthing.

The den is not a disaster, these days. This room is the coziest one. Flags live in here, together. Family photos go in here. Owls, fish, patterns on fabric, fires and lamplight are here. Another amazing concept that I discovered during this KonMari phase of life is that of Hygge. The Scandinavian people use this word to describe the feeling of watching the snow fall out the windows, snuggled in warm blankets, drinking a hot chocolate. I am a summer girl, and so Hygge is helping me to understand that there is a season for all things. Winter is a time for writing, reflection, for family and coziness. Making the everyday, special, even if that day is freezing cold.

Marie Kondo claims that if you feel that this book was written just for you, then you are correct and that fate has brought you to this book. I believe that remarkable statement to be absolutely true.

Loose change is gathered in one place and then it needs to be spent or it needs to head to the bank. KonMari initially made me some money between my yard sale and my coin collection.

I needed a reminder that I am already the person I was hoping to become. If we focus on joy, we keep the best of ourselves and let the other parts go. We forgive ourselves and we forgive others. We edit our past by the gentle carving away of the hurt parts and leaving only the happy memories to be what we think upon and nurture.

"It's never too late to have a happy childhood." -- Tom Robbins

Kondo guides us through our attachments to the objects of our lives and her path is absolute perfection. It is simple, healing and empowering. It promotes self-efficacy and mindfulness. It relies on gut feeling rather than arbitrary rules. Her method stays the same for everyone but the results vary greatly from person to person.

To each his own.

I have had a postcard collection since I was two years old. As I started entering the sentimental categories, I realized that some things still sparked joy and some things sparked sadness and regret and had to leave my life as soon as possible. The postcards get to stay. I love them still. I store them in two wooden wine boxes and visiting friends help me to curate shows for the postcard gallery I added to my house. Just this morning, a friend and fellow KonMarier, sent me a message that she found a postcard rack at a rummage sale. This is KonMari magic. The answers will present themselves at the right time. All that was released, comes back in a new way.

— ∮∮∮ —

Release me, past. I release you.

KonMari is super simple. Focus only on what to keep rather than what to discard. Ask yourself the same question for every single thing that you own as you hold each item in your hands. Sort through things by specific categories following a very specific order.

Does this spark joy?

Ask that very same question over and over and over again. Then, feel the magic unfurl. Let the healing begin and let every other non-joy-sparking thing go away.

Give gratitude for the purpose served and the time spent together. Wish them each well on their journey to the next person and/or place and remove them from your home as soon as possible.

I literally hugged a sweatshirt goodbye that first day. I hugged my sweatshirt because I needed to hug my past self and finally say goodbye to her. She is already long gone. Let her go. She grew up. She found true love. She found motherhood, she found mindfulness. She is me, now.

I have made mistakes. I have hurt people. I am asking for forgiveness. There have been times that I was terribly careless with the hearts of people that I used to know. I am sorry, friends and lovers. I loved you so imperfectly.

After the yard sale, I had a completely empty room. This room is the breathing room now. It is a place for dancing, singing, reading, rolling, meditating, looking at art, listening to the birds sing in the morning and for plants to live. It feels like a sacred room. I burn candles and I hang art here. I give myself time to just breathe, here.

The second stage is to store things together by categories and give every single joy-sparking thing that you love a special place to call home. But, finish discarding first.

It's easier than you may think.

It feels so good to do it. I felt as if I could breathe easier. I felt like a weight was lifted off of me.

KonMari feels like a ceremony and a celebration.

KonMari is an act of love.

It does take lots of time and patience and gumption, like most good things.

Tidy up once, perfectly and you will never have to do it again, Marie Kondo promised. I started this process three months ago and I am proof that she is the real deal. She is a hero of mine. She freed me from the traveling life museum I had built around me, trapping me in.

Nothing wants to sit in an old box filled to the brim, in a too hot or too cold attic for 20 years and never even be held by a person or used for any intended purpose or even re-purposed. Our things want to be of use to us and if they aren't useful or at the very least, attractive, they are taking up space and adding untold sums of mental weight. They want to be freed from the life museum prison. They want at least a chance to have another go at making someone happy. Let them go!

Too many coolers. Too many of a lot of things.We saved three of these, small, medium and large.

"Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful."- William Morris

The magic is what happens when we trust in this method and really, truly say goodbye for good to physical things as well as emotional things. We have to hug goodbye to our old selves if we want our current selves to be free in each new moment.

I ended up ceremoniously burning most of my journals that had been traveling around with me for a decade or so. Once I sat down to look through them, I realized within a few moments that most of the writing wasn't happy. I used to write to work out my feelings and I guess I still do, except now, I feel very differently. I feel a lot better. I want to keep it that way.

This is Rickey's bonsai tree. He had been loving on this thing since I've known him. It started as a cutting from a much larger tree that he let go a few years ago. He is a nurturer of life. It lives here, above the fridge.

Once I began to release things, the energy was transformed and renewed. Space was created for other things to come into my life. The me that I have been made a way for the person that I am now. I have learned and grown from those past mistakes and regrets. What more is there to do? This is the human experience. Our failures of the past make us the humans that we are. Live a little and then live some more.

The inside of the closet is a place for the secret treasures of your heart. Things that spark joy, but maybe only for you. I made another collage of some of the paper things I have held onto. Photos, cards, magazine pages and pieces of art live in here. Every time I open my closet, I feel so happy. This will change, too. Every room and space lives in constant flow. Does it spark joy? If it no longer does, it leaves. Things come and other things go. Change is the nature of things.

I am finding balance and alignment for the first time in my thirty five years and what it took was finally and permanently letting go of a whole lot of my own stuff.

KonMari is like sailing. It feels wild and free yet calm, steady and deliberate. It's like kayaking, too.

KonMari is like running a river.

This is my memory jar. I tore and cut out things I found in my journals, sketchbooks, old cards, letters and school papers. This is a jar of my happiest documented memories.

KonMari is a joyful path through the layers of living that have built up and obscured the endless possibilities that dwell only in the present moment.

Some of the moments of the past year have brought me to my knees. We lost some of our very dear friends. One of these losses was sudden, unexpected and it still hurts, sometimes. It sent me spinning for a while. I spun out into some unexpected places.

It is fun to place all the things you love together and to find them the perfect places to call home. I made a dream catcher for my earrings and sunglasses to hang from. I let my son choose my earrings each day. It's been a wonderfully fun addition to my morning routine.

The biggest lesson that I have learned is that we are not so much afraid to let the stuff go. We are afraid to let the people go. There is something that causes us suffering in this life and that thing is attachment. The only way to ease suffering is to contemplate impermanence. Change is the nature of things. The only way to end suffering is to be present in the moment.

"Imagine all the people, living for today."-- John Lennon

Bukowski has a poem called "The Laughing Heart" with this line that has been my mantra for many years now. KonMari allowed me to embody this statement by taking responsibility for my choices and by working my way through the remnants of the remnants of the life I've already lived. "The Gods will offer you chances, know them, take them," he says.

I held a yard sale at the end of that first week of KonMaring. I discarded at least half of my belongings, maybe more. At the end of the day, once I dropped my second truck load off at the Love of Jesus Thrift on Midlothian Turnpike, I felt euphoric. I did have a fat stack of cash in my pocket but even if I had just held a yard free, I would have still felt this lightness of being.

You have to do this process as quickly as you can. I got lucky and had a string of snow days at home when I was in the thick of discarding. I moved through my home with a swiftness, I built momentum. Each catergory was easier so that by the time I arrived to the final one, sentimental things, I was a graduate of letting go university. I was methodical. I followed the exact path Kondo lead me down. She was my teacher.

KonMari is like pulling off a band aid.

KonMari is a tornado that loves you.

My studio is still a room in progress. I have a writing desk and a wooden drafting table, given to me by one of my life mentors and teachers, Dr. Pam Taylor. I have known some beautiful people in this life and having their things in my day to day life, gives me love. This is my own sacred space to meditate, to read, to write, to paint, to sew, to make things that spark joy for others.

Since that first day in January, I have documented and shared almost every step of my KonMari journey through photos and captions on instagram and through writing on my website.

I could not keep to myself what was happening in my heart and in my home each time I took on another category. With each decision made to keep or discard, I took another step toward embracing the sacred mystery of this life I have been given.

"Instructions for living a life: Pay attention, be astonished, tell about it." -- Mary Oliver

My KonMari journey is almost complete. Things are still finding their homes. The last few items that can't find a suitable place to live or a purpose here, are destined for the door. It becomes very clear that if you can't find a place for something in your life, then you no longer have room for it.

Those things that hold memories of those loved and lost now have a home in a shrine, above the top shelves of the cabinets in our laundry room. Every thing finds it's way home in KonMari.

Storage is not the answer, letting go is.

I don't know if this book is for everyone or not but it was meant for me. If life feels out of balance, even a little bit, then this book may be meant for you, too.

This is a collage of all of my collages over the years. My plan is to keep this as a work in progress on my wall. As I find other images that speak to me, I can cover up old ones that are losing their hold on me. I have a tropical dream.

The daily routines, rhythms, and rituals I am currently building for my life allow time for the freedom to follow some of Thoreau's advice and "go confidently in the direction of my dreams," to live a life only I can imagine for myself.

"How we spend our days, is of course, how we spend our lives." -- Annie Dillard.

Marie Kondo says that when you get home, greet your house itself. Say hello and give thanks. You will feel the home respond and it will feel like a breeze passing through. When we walk through our home, now, we do feel this way. We love our home and our home loves us. I think we were destined for each other. I have set myself on the task of clearing out the back reaches of the attic, that were filled with things of the past, the past owners and past lives of this home. Our homes should be a power spot. Our homes should feel like sacred places, not storage facilities.

I have embraced the truth that it is within my ability to change my own mind. I can choose a life lived through mindfulness and I can literally change the way my brain works, going forward. I will take time to breathe and be. I will be joyful. I will seek awe. I will be grateful.

"So, please use your life well. It truly is like having a bucket of gold dust with a little hole in the bottom." -- Dr. Dan Perdue

I don't want to waste the treasure of this life. I want to savor the moments of this gold dust life. I want my life to shine.

The way is compassion, please hear me.

Thank you, Marie Kondo.

Richmond, Virginia: The original beer can testing ground

Jamison Davis — Mon, 13 Jul 2015 16:00:16 +0000

Photo by: Bryan2

The beer can. That most unassuming and humblest of drinking vessels. What's the deal with this 12-ounce contraption? What's its story? And what does Richmond have to do with it?

By the late 19th century, mass distribution had turned canned foods into grocery store norms across the nation, but it wasn't until 1909 that the first attempt at canning beer occurred.

The idea of beer cans held many potential advantages over bottles: they would be easier to transport, would take less time to chill, and best of all, wouldn't expose beer to sunlight, which leads to the dreaded skunking effect.

However, there was a pretty major disadvantage for the cans of the early 1900s: unlike the foodstuffs traversing the country unscathed, beer is carbonated. This carbonation creates internal forces of up to 80 pounds per square inch, and, well, the flimsy tin cans just couldn't handle the pressure...literally. Experiments led to quite a few exploded cans with sticky floors (read: frat house kegger) and ultimately, the idea was shelved.

Fast forward a few non-beer-friendly years (1919-1933 to be precise), and the good folks at American Can Company had finally figured it out. By developing a tin can reinforced with steel, the internal pressure was no longer the crippling blow it once was to the idea.

But like most things, solving one problem creates another. People soon realized that beer packaged in metal ended up tasting metallic. Taking a page from keg designs, inventors coated the inside of cans with pine tar-like substance known as brewer's pitch. This coating insulated the beer from the can walls, thus eliminating the tinny taste. These became known as "keglined" cans.

With the repeal of the 18th Amendment and the end of Prohibition, brewers were looking for some way to invigorate the scene, and American Can Co. knew the time was right to strike with this innovative new product.

It was the Gottfried Krueger Brewery, from Newark, N.J., that would ultimately partner with American Can Co. and test their luck with this whole beer can thing.

This is all well and good, you say, but what does this have to do with Richmond?

Eighty years ago, on January 24th, 1935, Krueger's, somewhat hesitant to be the first brewer to sell in cans, decided it was a bit too risky to release the product in their own regional market. Instead, they delivered flat top cans of Krueger's Finest Beer and Krueger's Cream Ale to our fair city.

To say it was a success would be an understatement. The cans quickly sold out and garnered a 91% approval rating--and with that, the Richmond market greenlit what would eventually account for half of the current $20 billion U.S. beer industry. The can was an instant success story!

Within three months of its release, Krueger's leap of faith had it competing with the "big three" national brewers: Anheuser-Busch, Pabst, and Schlitz. Distributors and consumers across the nation were eager to get their hands on the product. Pabst took notice, and by August 1935 they had followed suit. Much to future Richmond's chagrin, Pabst opted to begin canning their "Export" beer in lieu of the local favorite, PBR. Pabst's Blue Ribbon would remain reserved for bottles for the time being.

It's unwise to muck with perfection. Not too much changed in the next thirty years for the ever popular beer can. A few variations of cone-top cans hit the scene, and aluminum was introduced in 1958, but overall the tin/steel flat tops dominated the market.

Since their creation in the 1930s, flat top cans were opened with church keys--strips of metal with sharp bills to punch holes in the can's lid. Without this apparatus, beer lovers needed to get creative when opening their beverages, which led to Virginia once again becoming the test ground for beer can "paraphernalia" in the Spring of 1962.

A get-together was actually getting together, and no one had remembered to bring their church key. A gentleman, who happened to be a metal worker, spent most of the day piercing flat tops with the bumper of his car and would create pull tab cans out of equal parts frustration and necessity. A short time later, Iron City Brewing Company of Pittsburgh was the first brewery to test the product. Coincidentally, it was Virginia that was chosen as a market--Virginians were once again on the forefront of the beer can game.

Pull tabs were a beer drinker's dream come true. No longer were beer lovers dependent on church keys, they simply had to lift a tab and pull. Again, as with earlier aspects of the beer can's development, there were flaws with the design. While these cans weren't exploding or making beer taste like metal, they proved to be disastrous for the environment. The pulled-off tabs littered roadsides, trashed beaches, and even injured people and animals who accidentally swallowed them.

1976 rolled around and yet again, it's Richmond who's innovating beer can technology. To remedy the pull tab fiasco, Reynolds Metal Company introduced the "Stay-on-Tab," which was deemed the next step in the evolution of the beer can. Unlike its predecessors, this can was 100 percent recyclable and required zero assistance from church keys or car bumpers!

It's this aluminum masterpiece we all know and love today.

So the next time you're shotgunning that Natty Light or enjoying a Hardywood Cream Ale, take pride that Richmond's had a huge influence on how it got in your hand.

— ∮∮∮ —

Enjoyed this read and want to learn more about the Virginia connection to all things booze? The Virginia Historical Society's History on Tap crew is geared up to provide a Behind the Scenes tour entitled "Bottoms Up: Ales, Ciders, and Taverns from Virginia's Fermented Past" on September 26th, 2015, 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM. $17 ($10 for members).

African Americans and Indians: A Complex History

Capital News Service — Tue, 26 May 2015 19:00:05 +0000

By Janeal Downs and Cameron Vigliano | Capital News Service

Janeal Downs and Cameron Vigliano, VCU students and part of the Capital News Service, did a three-part special report on Native Americans in Virginia. We found it utterly fascinating and suggest you read the other two as companion pieces to this one. Feeling perplexed about what to call America's indigenous tribes? You've got some options, and this will explain why they're termed multiple things in the articles.

After Christopher Columbus "discovered" America, Europeans drove the Indians from their land and even enslaved them, but it was Africans who would endure the brunt of slavery.

As Virginia Indian tribes seek federal recognition, some African-American groups are focusing not on the two races' shared history of mistreatment but on historical discrimination by Native Americans.

That is because the Pamunkey tribe and perhaps others prohibited their members from intermarrying with African-Americans.

U.S. Rep. Robert C. "Bobby" Scott, D-Va., says he has supported the efforts of Virginia tribes fighting for years for federal recognition through the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs or congressional action.

"However, the BIA should take any accusations of civil rights violations seriously when considering granting federal recognition," Scott said. "When evidence came to light that the Pamunkey once had discriminatory laws, the bureau should have conducted a more thorough review to accurately assess the impact these now repealed discriminatory laws had on the tribe."

If the review clearly shows the tribe has reformed its laws and has not recently practiced discrimination, the recognition process should move forward, Scott said. "If that happens to be the case, then the Pamunkey should be recognized accordingly."

Gregory Smithers, associate professor of history at Virginia Commonwealth University, said the Pamunkey tribe's marriage rule should be put into historical context. It mirrored Jim Crow laws and Virginia's Racial Integrity Act of 1924, which prohibited intermarriage between white and black people.

Walter Plecker, the state official in charge of overseeing racial purity, declared that Native Americans no longer existed in Virginia because they were all mixed with African Americans. So the Pamunkey reacted with their own laws.

The Pamunkey, and other tribes such as the Nottoway, had a long history of intermarriage with African Americans. But after Plecker's decree, they began to make an effort to distinguish between who was full Native American and who was mixed.

"Part of this goes back to a long and complicated history where African Americans and Native Americans haven't always formed coalitions to fight against racial injustice," Smithers said.

The history between Native Americans and African Americans has been more complicated on the East Coast than on the West Coast, noted Staysea McCutheon, a member of the Shinnecock tribe in Southampton, N.Y.

"The West Coast was able to maintain their identity longer than the East Coast because the Mayflower didn't hit the West Coast," McCutheon said. "So when they brought the slaves, they didn't bring them around California; they brought them on the East Coast ... That's why we look the way we look."

On the East Coast, there was much more intermarriage between Native Americans and African Americans. Indians often took in runaway slaves and hid them. This led to intermarriage, and their children often became tribal members.

Some tribes are seeking to oust members who aren't "Native American enough." In the past 10 years, the Cherokee have removed hundreds of people from their roll because their ancestors were African-American.

"Now you're telling them that they're no longer wanted," McCutheon said. "But it's not that you're telling them they're no longer wanted because you're not native; you're not wanted because you're black. That's a problem."

TIP! You can officiate someone’s wedding!

Susan Howson — Fri, 15 May 2015 11:00:47 +0000

It's not that hard and doesn't involve religious-ordination online! In fact, I recommend doing it this way in the City of Richmond and not bothering proving that you're a minister of the First Atheist Church (in North Carolina, however, they make you jump through no hoops if you're an atheist minister, and you can just sign marriage licenses all day long).

But the process seems confusing, as the city's website (sorry, City) gives you its classic runaround. And calling...hoo, boy!...you will be passed around more times than a marijuana cigarette on that big Grateful Dead rock in the middle of the river.

Here's what you really needs to do in order to become a one-time civil celebrant for people who should already have their marriage license at this point.

Write a letter stating that you are petitioning to be approved as a one-time civil celebrant...
For Person X and Person Y (full legal names)
On Z date...
For this reason (try "They don't want to be married inside the church, and they love me and I'm good at it."), and this is my relationship to them (try "Friend of family").
Include your address and phone number. You will need to reside within city limits for this to be possible.
Include a check for $56.
Send to:
Civil Section of the Circuit Court
John Marshall Courts Building
400 N. 9th Street
Richmond VA 23219
Wait for follow-up call. This may or may not actually happen. I recommend calling as soon as that check is deposited. Call (804) 646-6505 and say you are following up on your petition to become a one-time civil celebrant. That terminology is important, otherwise confusion will reign, for some reason. Once they tell you that the judge has signed off, you just go to Room 102 of the John Marshall Courts Building and sign a bond that says you will only use your power for good (otherwise they'll charge you $500--still not clear on how you can use it for bad), and skedaddle.
Perform marriage ceremony, which really only MUST include a "declaration of intent," in that someone has to promise something eternal to someone else, and vice versa.
Sign their marriage license and mail or deliver it back to the Circuit Court clerk.

Fairly easy! Writing a tear-inducing wedding ceremony? That part is all you.

Civil War: The dead from Gettysburg return home

Phil Williams — Tue, 16 Jul 2013 10:57:11 +0000

It’s a little hard to imagine Gettysburg after the three days of fighting that took place there in July of 1863. Thousands of dead soldiers and horses littered the battlefield, and a horrible stench filled the town and surrounding area. Rains that followed the battle washed away the shallow graves that had been dug for fallen soldiers, and an even greater number of dead soldiers had never been buried at all. Diaries of townspeople and those left behind to “clean up” told of the horrible aftermath of the battle.

With the battle taking place so far into Union territory, burying the dead fell to the responsibility of those with Union sympathies. In the months after the battle, many Union soldiers were disinterred and laid to rest in their home states or in the Soldiers’ National Cemetery at Gettysburg (the cemetery to which Lincoln gave his famous “Gettysburg Address” as a dedication). Confederate soldiers were largely buried individually where they fell, or in mass, shallow, unmarked graves at various locations on the battlefield. While the Union soldiers found their final resting place in a few months, the vast majority of the Confederates would remain buried on the battlefield for nine more years.

It wasn’t until 1871 that real efforts began to bring the dead Confederate soldiers home. Many organizations like Richmond’s own Hollywood Memorial Association raised funds to reinter the soldiers in cemeteries in their home states. However, this was quite a daunting task, as there were no official burial records. Much of the credit for the effort goes to two men: Dr. Rufus Weaver, the man contracted to supervise the effort, and Dr. John W.C. O’Neal, a Virginian who lived in Gettysburg and had documented numerous places where Confederate soldiers were buried in and around the town.

Dr. Weaver’s efforts over a three year period would result in the reinterment of of 3,320 soldiers, the vast majority of which were unidentified and laid to rest in Hollywood Cemetery. Dr. Weaver personally supervised the efforts and insisted on handling the remains himself to ensure the greatest care was taken. His father, Samuel Weaver, had supervised the reinterment of the Union dead after the battle, so he likely saw this task as a matter of family duty passed down to him.

On June 15th, 1872 a ship arrived at Rockett’s Landing with several boxes containing Confederate soldiers from Gettysburg. After the boxes were unloaded, fifteen wagons carried the Confederate dead from Rockett’s through the city in a funeral procession, each wagon escorted by two Confederate veterans. The wagons rode slowly past businesses and buildings draped in black cloth on the way to Hollywood Cemetery. A witness of the procession said that “many eyes were filled with tears and many a soldier’s widow and orphan turned away from the scene to hide emotion.”

About 2,000 of Gettysburg’s unknown Confederate dead still rest in Hollywood Cemetery in a spot known as Gettysburg Hill. Many of the Virginians who fell during Pickett’s Charge lay only a few yards away from the resting place of Pickett himself, a decision he made before he passed--to be near his division who fell at Gettysburg. Dr. Weaver’s tireless work gave thousands of Confederate soldiers a proper burial and a home in Hollywood Cemetery, but an unknown number of Confederate dead still lay buried on the fields at Gettysburg, undiscovered, their graves lost to the passing of history.

The history (and love) of the ‘Virginia is for Lovers’ campaign

Nathan Cushing — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 11:44:50 +0000

In 1969, the Virginia State Travel Service placed an advertisement in the July issue of Modern Bride magazine featuring a slogan that would later make advertising history: Virginia is for Lovers. Officials at the state's travel service wanted young adults to be the next generation of Virginia tourists, and Lovers seemed like the perfect theme to entice them.

The first "Virginia is for Lovers" advertisement in Modern Bride, June 1969.

The reason? Love really was all around in the late 1960s. Erich Segal's Love Story was a #1 New York Times Bestseller, Jacqueline Susann's novel The Love Machine was a reader favorite, and Woodstock drew over 300,000 young Boomers to celebrate peace, love, and music.

It was a copywriter named Robin McLaughlin of Martin & Woltz Inc.--the Richmond advertising company that would later become The Martin Agency--who coined the famed slogan.

Originally, the iconic phrase included modifiers: "Virginia is for beach lovers" would, for example, accompany an advertisement for Virginia Beach; an ad showcasing the Shenandoah Mountains would read "Virginia is for mountain lovers," etc. But the agency felt the general "Virginia is for Lovers" was more evocative. They removed the modifiers, and premiered the simplified version in Modern Bride nearly 45 years ago.

"We were, at that time, a local agency,"¹ said John Adams, Martin Agency chairman and departing CEO, who has worked at the agency for nearly 40 years. "The opportunity to do something that was useful to our home state was really wonderful."

On the legacy the slogan has had on the agency, he said only a few individual ad campaigns have made people take serious notice of the agency, ads that helped propel the company's prestige in the advertising world.² "The first of those propelling [ads] was the 'Virginia is for Lovers' campaign," Smith said.

http://youtu.be/4BNld20v0ro

(1989 Virginia is for Lovers commercial)

Diane Béchamps, the Vice President of Marketing at the Virginia Tourism Corporation (VTC),³ said, "People just think it's a fun and cool way of reminding people that vacationing is about the emotional bond" that's forged. "Love is at the heart of every Virginia vacation," she said.

According to her, the VTC spends roughly $9 million annually on tourism marketing--eighth most among US states. That marketing earns a hefty return: Béchamps said that, in 2011, tourists spent approximately $20 billion across the Commonwealth, producing $1.3 billion in state and local taxes.⁴

In 2009, "Virginia is for Lovers" was inducted into the Madison Avenue Advertising Walk of Fame, joining other famed advertising initiatives like the Budweiser Clydesdales and the "Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there" slogan. Also in that year, Forbes named the phrase one of the top-ten tourism marketing campaigns.

Adams said, "It is a rare example of being able to develop a product that endures over a period of time." He said the stamina of the "Virginia is for Lovers" campaign is "quite, quite remarkable."

Even as the slogan approaches a half-century of life, it's celebrity status still makes it an invaluable commodity to Virginia tourism, one that the VTC has no interest in retiring.

"We would never want to change it because it has enormous brand equity," Diane Béchamps said. "We would be crazy not to continue using it."

Governor wants tourists to "love" Virginia; RVANews

— ∮∮∮ —

Footnotes

While still based in Richmond, the agency also has offices in New York City. ↩
He mentioned Wrangler jeans, Mercedes Benz, and Wal-Mart as being other ads that earned the agency attention among leading advertisers. ↩
Formerly the Virginia State Travel Service. ↩
Béchamps also said that for every $1 Virginia puts into tourism advertising, the state receives $5 in return. Roughly 207,000 Virginians are employed, in some way, as a result of the Commonwealth’s tourism market. ↩

photos/images courtesy of the Virginia Tourism Corporation

Jimmy Ghaphery – Path

Dean Christesen — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 20:16:01 +0000

Jimmy Ghaphery
Path
Music Is Big Place, 2010

By complete coincidence after posting a review of Ghaphery/Bivins/Davis's Impermanence on Monday, I learned today that saxophonist Jimmy Ghaphery just put out a new solo saxophone release. I gave a listen, really enjoyed it, and decided it might as well be Jimmy Ghaphery Week on RVAJazz.

As I mentioned before, his trio New Loft is obsessed with self documentation and makes available most of their improvised jams online at the Internet Archive. So does Ghaphery, and that's where his latest release is available for free download and streaming. The release is called Path and is inspired by -- and even features noises from -- a neighborhood path and its surroundings. He writes,

The path in the woods behind my house is not terribly efficient in terms of mileage from point A to B, winding around trees, hugging a creek, branches to overlooks. My fifth solo release at best shares some of these characteristics. While still focused on solo acoustic improvisation (sax and flute), other sounds have found their way into to some of these tracks. These include ambient nature, distant mike placement, a percussionist (Will Bryce), multi-tracking and manipulation via Audacity. Enough with the process, paths are meant to be walked not mapped.

The very first piece, especially, has interesting effects due to distant microphone placement. A mic placed in the front yard picks up his chirps and squeaks as he literally walks the perimeter of his entire house. Really pretty stuff.

Will Bryce -- who played with Ghaphery at the front doors of the last Musicircus (photo) -- plays djembe, doumbek, and other hand percussion on some of the tracks, like "Powhite Stomp."

Multi-tracked saxophone and flute takes coalesce into interesting pieces, too. Although they are improvised, there's a certain sense of preconception when adding on layers; by the third and fourth overdubbed layers, the player can probably remember or sense what's coming next, since he was the one who played it. Pieces like "Sax Q Blend," which features at least one saxophone blowing over consonant chordal structures, stand out from the totally improvised solo tracks so that in listening down the playlist, there's no lack of variety. Total improv and semi-improv bleed into one another, and it truly doesn't matter which is which.

Listen:

Tracks: Front Yard, Sax Q Blend, Sax Cricket Car, Scree, Flute Blend, Sax Blend 3, Pulleys, Sax Blend, Sax Cricket Car Duet, Fish King, Shlap, Sax Blend Remix, Sax Blend 2, Powhite Stomp, Full of Life.

Personnel: Jimmy Ghaphery: alto saxophone, flute; Will Bryce: percussion.

Listen to Path at the Internet Archive

RVANews

Old Liberty Valance Spot Turning into Something Not Nearly as Cool

Image from 2011 RTD article on the closing.

Kickers face Premiere Team Swansea City in a Saturday friendly

Police Memorial vandalized

Henrico leaders carefully monitoring Goochland petroleum spill

Smokin’ in the Heights this Friday

Perfect video example of why you need to lock your car

Richmond Vegetarian Festival moved to rain date of July 9th

RVA News in Brick: VA makes changes on lawmakers accepting gifts

Photo Editorial: This neighborhood has really gone into the toilet

Spray painting vandals hit cars in Forest Hill, UPDATE: Suspects caught on video

Vandals damage Forest Hill Park Little Free Library

Not another day in Paradise, Paradise Diner is shut down

EDU FAQ #005: What’s the reasoning behind closing schools?

The Budget

The Proposal

The Factors

Rankings

Facility Conditions

Additions

Declining Enrollments

Capacity

So What Now

Flashback Friday: Intersection of Parham & Three Chopt Roads

What’s the Plan: Bike share

What even is a bike-share system?

So, what's our bike-share system going to look like?

What's it gonna cost me?

Who's in charge here?

When's it gonna exist?

Answers to random questions people told me to ask Jakob while I had him on the phone

Are there helmets? Actually, I wouldn't ever put on a helmet that'd been on someone else's head.

What happens if I get a flat tire?

Didn't Aaron Williams write about bike share in his 100 Days project?

I already have a bike.

Man, if only there were a long PDF I could read for a couple hours about a success bike share system somewhere else in the country.

This sounds great, how do I, like...do something?

Mark Jackson-Silver—2016 Richmond Homicide #3

Victim

The incident

The investigation

Got a tip?

A true account of the life-changing magic of tidying up

My own little life museum

"I'm gonna love you til the wheels come off." --Tom Waits

Enter Marie Kondo and the KonMari method

"It's never too late to have a happy childhood." -- Tom Robbins

Release me, past. I release you.

"Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful."- William Morris

"Imagine all the people, living for today."-- John Lennon

"Instructions for living a life: Pay attention, be astonished, tell about it." -- Mary Oliver

"How we spend our days, is of course, how we spend our lives." -- Annie Dillard.

"So, please use your life well. It truly is like having a bucket of gold dust with a little hole in the bottom." -- Dr. Dan Perdue

Richmond, Virginia: The original beer can testing ground

African Americans and Indians: A Complex History

TIP! You can officiate someone’s wedding!

Civil War: The dead from Gettysburg return home

The history (and love) of the ‘Virginia is for Lovers’ campaign

Related

Footnotes

Jimmy Ghaphery – Path

Listen: