Good Morning, RVA: Astronomical events, beer winners, #rvacouncil, and wildfire pictures

At least it’s not raining?

May 9, 2016; 7:07 AM • by Ross Catrow

Good morning, RVA! It’s 57 °F and cloudy. It’s probably gonna be cloudy from now until forever which is a huge bummer since this past weekend’s sunshine was so, so nice. Oh well, at least it’s not raining (that could start up again on Wednesday, or really whenever).

Water cooler

Weather and sky conditions permitting, you can stop by the Science Museum of Virginia this morning (between 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM) to watch the transit of Mercury. This is a pretty rare celestial event, with the last one occurring in 2006, so if the clouds part for a hot second you need to zoom on over there. Note: Please do not just stare at the sun with your eyeballs. You won’t be able to see Mercury and then, after your eyes are fried, you won’t be able to see much of anything else, either.

The World Beer Cup announced their winners (PDF) this past weekend, with several Virginia breweries–and two Richmond breweries–making the cut. Lickinghole Creek took home a silver in the “Field Beer” category for their Coconut Delight. Hardwood grabbed a bronze for their Ruse in the “Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Stout” category. A couple Virignia breweries even took home gold medals in their categories, meaning that their beers of that type are some of the best in the world. Go forth and imbibe them all!

Karri Peifer says that a new restaurant will open in the old Jorge’s Cantina spot on the corner of Robinson and Floyd. I don’t think that location has quite reached Richmond Cursed status, but it’s close. Also, the future tenant plans on having copper silverware, which I learned from the Gastropod podcast definitely affects the way food tastes. Science!

It’s Richmond City Council night! Gather your family ’round for an evening full of the excitement my son calls “the boring show.” On the agenda tonight–assuming it avoids massive and sudden changes between now and then–are speed reductions on Riverside Drive and Semmes Avenue, prohibiting parking in a bike lane, and maybe Councilman Agelasto’s panhandling ordinance (introduced back in November, it just asks for a study to be conducted). I mean, fascinating stuff, you guys! Also tonight, at their informal meeting, Council will hear an update on the BRT. You can watch the formal meeting on Channel 57 at 6:00 PM and follow the #rvacouncil hashtag on Twitter. You can listen to both of the meetings (and many, many more) by subscribing to The Boring Show podcast (a real thing!).

The Boston Globe’s Big Picture has the Fort McMurray wildfire photo essay you were probably looking for.

Sports!

“Nyquist” won the 142nd Kentucky Derby. That may be a fine horse, but Suddenbreakingnews (who finished 5th) is just such a better name.

• Kickers beat the Wilmington Hammerheads FC 1-0.
• Squirrels had not the best weekend, losing three games in a row. They take on Harrisburg tonight at 6:35 PM. Richmond is now ten games back from their division leader.
• Nats also has a bad weekend and were swept by the Cubs. A fresh new series against the a Tigers begins tonight at 7:05 PM.
• Caps extended the series against the Penguins with a timely 3-1 win!

This morning’s longread

Started from the Basement Now I’m Here (Another Basement): A Rental History

A pretty twee think piece about places lived that I couldn’t stop reading for some reason!

While taking out the garbage one evening, I saw two teenagers crouching in our back alley, guns in hand. I turned off all the lights inside and sat on the floor, completely still, for a full hour. We stayed because it was the first thing that was ever ours and ours alone, and because we loved the neighborhood, our friends all around us, loved being 24 and 25 in the heat of a D.C. summer, loved the roof parties that felt like something out of a novel you once read about early adulthood, where we pressed cold beers against our sweat-soaked necks, let watermelon juice drip down our chests, our limbs too loose to climb back through the windows, down the ladders, we might never make it back to earth.

This morning’s Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/p/BFKANXQLj4K/

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May 9, 2016 7:07 AM 0