A Bryan Park Interchange Survey and Vape Shop Loopholes
Cheers RVA!
Today will be partly cloudy and hot, with a high of 94 and a low of 71, with potential scattered showers and thunderstorms.
the juice:
VDOT is assessing the Bryan Park interchange to identify solutions to safety and operational deficiencies within the interchange and on surrounding roads.
A survey is available specifically concerning proposals to widen the existing ramp from I-64/I-195 to I-95 Northbound from one lane to two lanes, and to eliminate exit 80 to Hermitage Road and Westbrook Avenue.
The second proposal is to add a roundabout with slip lanes to replace a traffic signal on Arthur Ashe Boulevard.
The survey cites data reporting previous roundabout construction has reduced crashes that result in injury by 78% and crashes that result in property damage by 44%, but also notes the proposal would require a larger footprint than the existing intersection.
Take the survey here (it takes less than 2 minutes).
the pulp:
A man who had been reported missing in the South Richmond neighborhood of Southwood was taken into custody by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Wednesday, via WTVR.
VCU student Sereen Haddad, who had previously had her degree withheld for participation in an “event that violated the student conduct code”, has won her appeal with the University and will receive her degree, via the RTD. Haddad has been a prominent Pro-Palestine supporter and the decision to withhold her degree recently garnered international attention.
the dive:
R. Anthony Harris from RVAMag dives into the recent proliferation of vape shops around the city, including an interview with the owner of the former Item 9 Head Space, which recently closed after operating for three years in the Fan.
The article references the 2018 Farm Bill, which legalized hemp and opened the door to hemp-derived cannabinoids such as Delta-8, Delta-9 and THCA, which often have the same appearance and effects of traditional cannabis but are legal under Federal law.
Quoting the owner of Item 9 Head Space Merrit, Harris writes:
“Let’s say I buy a legal pound of weed from a certified farm in North Carolina,” he explained. “It comes with paperwork that says this batch passed testing. That’s my proof of where it came from and that it’s compliant.”
Once he had that paperwork, Merritt said, there was little stopping him, or anyone, from moving unregulated or higher-THC products under the same documents.
“There’s no way for the state to prove what you’re actually selling,” he said. “You can buy one legal pound and then move 20 illegal ones under the same paperwork.”
Because most smokable cannabis products like loose flower or vape cartridges aren’t individually batch-coded or pre-packaged in tamper-proof containers, there’s no way for regulators to link a specific item on a shelf to the lab report attached to it.
The result, Merritt says, is a shadow market hiding in plain sight, where packaging and paperwork are often more performative than protective.
Read the full article here.
the vibe:
Have a blithesome day RVA!
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