Good Morning, RVA: Folk Fest Friday

Big, huge weekend ahead, folks.

October 9, 2015; 7:10 AM • by Ross Catrow

Photo by: b__watkins

Good morning, RVA! It’s 61 °F, and highs today could top 80 °F. Let’s celebrate this fantastic weather by inviting thousands of people to our town to hang out down by the river and listen to amazing music from around the world while eating and drinking delicious local fare. DONE AND DONE.

Water cooler

Ned Oliver has the big news from the recent public meeting about the new development coming to the GRTC bus barn. I won’t spoil it, but you can probably guess what they have planned for the space–they will keep the existing structures though, which is cool. Mark Robinson from Richmond Magazine tweeted a teensy picture of a premature architectural drawing that will, for now, have to serve as your preview.

I couldn’t resist and wrote about the new roundabout improvements coming to the intersection of Monument and Allen (aka the Robert E. Lee monument). Construction starts today, so if that’s part of your commute, watch for occasional lane closures in the near future and a safer trip into work in a couple months!

This story about Henrico’s Tuckahoe Middle needing $28 million in repairs and upgrades–but for things like new sidewalks and nicer windows–makes me feel complex emotions. Across the arbitrary county border, Richmond Public Schools needs $35 million for critical maintenance (PDF) across almost every school for things like “roofs” and “heat.” It shouldn’t be about us vs. them, all kids should have great and functional schools, but dang y’all.

The Folk Festival begins tonight and continues throughout the weekend. Here’s everything you need to know, and here’s a fascinating piece on Bolivian Dance Parade, which has two of my three favorite things in it already!

The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to the National Dialogue Quartet in Tunisia.

I spent most of yesterday reading PDFs about roundabouts, so I didn’t have a chance to follow the news about potential Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy abruptly withdrawing his name from the race. HuffPo tells me that it’s related to a potential sex scandal, which would be amusing if we weren’t talking about actual people and their families and the person two heart attacks away from the presidency. Vox has a more balanced take.

Sports!

• Hokies host N.C. State in a rare Friday night game, tonight at 8:00 PM on ESPN.
• Wahoos kick off against Pittsburgh at 12:30 PM on ESPN3.
• Spiders head to Kingston, Rhode Island to take on the Rams host Elon at 6:00 PM.
• Washington faces the Falcons Sunday at 1:00 PM in the Georgia Dome.

This morning’s longread

The Passion of Nicki Minaj

Here’s a weirdly written profile of Nicki Minaj that ends with the reporter getting kicked out of the interview after trying to pin the Drake-Meek beef on Nicki. The whole thing is oddly focused on Minaj’s appearance despite some of the weighty and serious topics being discussed.

She pointed my way, her extended arm all I could see other than the diamonds glinting in her ears. This wasn’t over yet. ”That’s the typical thing that women do. What did you putting me down right there do for you?” she asked. ”Women blame women for things that have nothing to do with them. I really want to know why — as a matter of fact, I don’t. Can we move on, do you have anything else to ask?” she continued. ”To put down a woman for something that men do, as if they’re children and I’m responsible, has nothing to do with you asking stupid questions, because you know that’s not just a stupid question. That’s a premeditated thing you just did.” She called me ”rude” and ”a troublemaker,” said ”Do not speak to me like I’m stupid or beneath you in any way” and, at last, declared, ”I don’t care to speak to you anymore.”

This morning’s Instagram

Foggy Carillon sunrise #RVA #JamesRiver #JRPS #VisitRichmond #VisitVirginia #rvanews #PonyPasture #monochrome #blackandwhite #TeamCanon #fog #sunrise #ig_nature #ig_captures #ig_virginia #sunrise #NeverStopExploring #ItsAmazingOutThere #water_shots #water #river #HowDoYouRiver @jravirginia

A photo posted by vintage_rva (@vintage_rva) on Oct 8, 2015 at 8:48pm PDT

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October 9, 2015 7:10 AM 1