A State of Emergency and the State of the James
Cheers RVA!
Today will be mostly sunny with a high of 64 and a low of 38. The weekend is expected to be a bit more cloudy with highs in the low 60’s.
the juice:
Governor Youngkin declared a state of emergency to provide hunger relief as the federal government shutdown may cause SNAP benefits to run out for over 850k Virginians, including 172k residents in central Virginia.
On Wednesday the executive director of the Federation of Virginia Food Banks stated food banks would not be able to fill the gap if SNAP benefits ran out.
the pulp:
A bicyclist died after being struck by a motor vehicle on the 1500 block of West Broad Street on Thursday afternoon, via WWBT. The RPD crash team responded and determined a sedan traveling southbound attempted to turn right onto Broad from Bowe Street and hit the cyclist who was traveling east on Broad across the intersection. The driver remained at the scene and is cooperating with investigators.
The James River Association released their biennial State of the James report giving the river a grade of “B” with a score of 68%, according to RVAHub. Upstream indicators like stream health, smallmouth bass, and riparian buffers saw increased scores. Underwater grasses, oysters, and tidal water quality declined in the last two years.
the dive:
Jahd Kahlil and Dawnthea Lisco from VPM dive into a push by the General Assembly to join the restricting trend occurring across the nation ahead of the 2026 midterms:
A general election using new congressional maps likely would not occur until next fall at the earliest: Virginia currently draws its electoral maps through a bipartisan redistricting commission, and changing that process would require a state constitutional amendment.
State law requires two consecutive passages of potential amendments to the Virginia Constitution by the General Assembly, with an election between them, before voters can ratify or reject the measure via ballot referendum. Democrats’ efforts for an accelerated timeline would require parliamentary maneuvers in order to be in place for the 2026 federal midterms.
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Read the full article here.
the vibe:
Have an unhurried day RVA!
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