Good Morning, RVA: Theoretically perfect Thursday

The weather’s bangin’, the weekend’s nigh, what else could you want?

August 7, 2014; 7:02 AM • by Ross Catrow

Good morning, RVA! It’s 71 °F, and today may be the perfect day. No pressure, day. Expect highs in the mid-80s, a clear sky, and even less humidity.

Water cooler

VCU announced that that Walmart has signed a lease for a new “Walmart on Campus” store on the 900 block of Grace Street. The 4,000 square foot store joins an ever-increasing number of national chains in that part of town and will open late this year or early next.

Uber, Lyft, and the Commonwealth of Virginia have come to a temporary agreement allowing the services to operate. Which means…Uber now exists in Richmond! Availability is spotty as they roll the service out, but you can download the app and start riding today.

In an effort to increase transparency and public trust, Richmond Public Schools has posted their check register online for all to see. It’s a lot of data to sort through (which you can dump to excel), and begs for at least a few chartsandgraphs.

Crews and cranes will begin assembling and installing a new pedestrian bridge down on the canal today. If you need to distract some children for a while, stop by tomorrow to watch a crane install the bridge.

Sports!

• Squirrels lost to Binghamton, 1-5. It’s been a week since the Flying Squirrels last won a game. Take advantage of tonight’s beautiful weather, and cheer them to victory at 7:05 PM.
• Nats manhandled the Mets, 1-7. They finish out the series at 12:35 PM today.

This morning’s longread

Does Walmart on VCU Campus Mean the End of Grace Street as We Know It?

An admittedly Gen-Xer take on Grace Street’s transformation over the last two decades.

We cut through alleys and parked illegally to shop for over-priced Doc Martins at Exile and sketch pads at Plaza Art and tattoos at Absolute Art. We walked past bums and boarded-up storefronts and whatever was happening in front of Twisters (if we weren’t headed to it) to eat cheese boards at The Village or drink coffee at The Bidder’s Suite or underage at The Hole in the Wall (allegedly). Grace Street was sketchy. It was seedy. It was rundown – and we loved it … in an ironic, pre-hipster, we swear-we’re-not-scared kind of way.

Photo by: backlightphotography

This morning’s Instagram

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