Fancy Leather Furniture, Street Harassment Whistles, and Scott Elmquist Photos
Cheers RVA!
Today will be breezy and partly cloudy with a potential morning rain shower, and a high of 71. The evening is expected to cool down to a low of 33.
the juice:
An internal investigation into the City’s election office found a myriad of misconduct by top officials, with 25 of the 26 allegations substantiated in the report.
The office of Inspector General is charged with preventing fraud, waste and abuse as well as promoting efficiency in the City of Richmond’s government through objective, independent investigations.
While Chief Registrar Keith Balmer and deputy Jerry Richardson were not directly named in the report, their job titles were mentioned frequently.
Included in the misconduct were examples of wasteful spending, such as the purchase of a $2000 leather couch, and four leather chairs at $1k apiece.
Unreported claims of harassment and sexual misconduct, as well as consuming alcohol while on the job were also noted.
A total of $500k in misused funds are mentioned in the report.
Both Balmer and Richardson had their purchasing cards suspended on May 15 of this year.
Read the full report here.
the pulp:
Two Richmond Montessorri School teachers have been suspended after a toddler wandered onto Parham Road last Friday morning, via WTVR. A Henrico father, Tre Waddy, was driving down the road and rescued the toddler from oncoming traffic.
VCU is issuing “street harassment whistles” to students as part of an initiative against street harassment, which was cited as a top concern in the 2024 Perception of Safety Survey, via WWBT. The whistles are a simple tool to attract attention to catcalling, unwanted conversation, and aggressive solicitation, without VCU Police having to get directly involved, according to Major Nicole Dailey.
Jonathan Spiers from Bizsense dives into the years-long process to get a new baseball stadium in town with a two-part series.
South Richmond News reports on an opportunity to share your energy burden, the percentage of income spent on energy costs, in an effort to create an interactive map for public use showing neighborhood-level data.
Style Weekly celebrates Photographer Scott Elmquist’s lifetime achievement award with 25 memorable photos over the past 25 years.
the dive:
Forrest Brown from CNN dives into the problem of deer collisions in the United States, as compared to animals like sharks and bears which attract a lot of fear but are relatively harmless.
There are over 2.1 million deer collisions in the US annually, causing 59k injuries and over 400 deaths (as compared to shark attacks which killed 2 in 2023).
Deer collisions can occur year-round, but are more common in the spring and autumn. As crespuscular creatures, deer are most active at dawn and dusk.
The article reminds drivers to drive defensively, and not to swerve if they see a deer.
“Don’t veer for deer” a Michigan safety campaign says.
Read the full article here.
the vibe:
Have a poignant day RVA!
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Also, if you are able to control the steering at a deer, consider not braking at the moment of impact. Obviously there is unconscious reaction to the scenario that deals with all of this, but if you brake as you collide with the deer, you'll angle your car downward and it will more likely come through the windshield.