Early Voting, Property Tax, and UVA's Decision
Cheers RVA!
Today will be mostly sunny with a high of 70 and a low of 42. The week ahead is expected to be sunny with slightly cooler temperatures, with highs in the mid-60’s and lows possibly dipping below 40 in the evening.
the juice:
More than 650k early ballot votes have been cast in Virginia for the upcoming November election, outpacing early voting in the 2021 election by a substantial margin.
Find out who’s on the ballot and where to vote here.
the pulp:
A J.R. Tucker High School student was released by ICE last week after being detained for two months, via WWBT. Arman Momand was arrested after pleading guilty to two misdemeanors back in August. His attorney has said ICE claimed he was a threat to national security due to his traffic charge. Momand came to America in 2021 after his family received a special visa for helping the U.S. Military in Afghanistan.
An estimated 14k people took part in the second ‘Richmond for No Kings Protest’ on Saturday, according to Landon Shroder at RVAMag. The local event was organized by the 50501 Virginia, with similar rallies taking place in more than 2700 cities across the United States.
The Seventh Street Christian Church, located at the corner of Grove and Malvern Avenues, has agreed to sell the church’s land to developer Charles McFarlane, via the Richmonder. The current proposal for the site includes 24 townhomes and a four-story condo with 48 units. The development would require a special use permit, with the increased density aligning with the Code Refresh Project.
City Council last Wednesday to maintain the current property tax rate of $1.20 per $100 of assessed values. Councilmember Sarah Abubaker, who supported a reduction in the tax, expressed disappointment in the lack of community members who came to speak on behalf of lowering the rate. In her 4th district newsletter she wrote:
At the meeting, only one person stood up to ask for a lower rate. Sharing your feedback with me directly is an important part of the process and moving forward, we need to take the next step and ensure your voice is heard by the full Council as well as Administration. Crucially, while there was only one resident who spoke to lowering the tax rate to $1.16, the Administration brought in people with a vested interest in the City keeping that additional $17M in revenue, and their voices carried the night.
the dive:
Meghan Moore and Hannah Davis-Reid from VPM dive into the University of Virginia’s recent decision to reject a compact from the President’s Administration that would “require schools to adhere to a set of standards laid out by the White House in order to continue receiving federal funding”.
Opposition was swift once UVA received the document. Groups associated with the school and in Greater Charlottesville formed Voices United in Opposition. Faculty members across multiple colleges within the university made calls to reject the compact. And last week, the Faculty Senate voted 60–2 (with four members abstaining) to adopt a resolution opposing the document.
Brown University, MIT, the University of Pennsylvania and Souther California have also rejected the compact.
Read the full article here. Read the compact here.
the vibe:
It’s nice to be back in your inboxes today after feeling a bit under the weather last week.
Have a resilient day RVA!
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