Labor Deficiencies and a Rodent Litter
Labor Deficiencies and a Rodent Litter
Cheers RVA!
Today we’ll see highs in the upper 80’s, with scattered afternoon thunderstorms. Gusty winds and even hail are possible.
the juice:
Virginia Teacher pay gets 3% bump, but Youngkin vetoed legislation that would have put VA teacher pay at the national average, from the Mercury.
The Commonwealth had 4000 teacher vacancies at the start of the school year, 200 in Richmond alone. Youngkin and proponents of the bill disagreed on how to accurately assess average national teacher salaries (65k v 71k).
In capitalist systems with efficient labor markets increasing wages may attract more candidates to teach.
RPS has been increasing their bonuses for new hires over the last few years, specifically at high-need schools.
the pulp:
The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission’s report on VCU Health losing $80 million on the Clay Street project will be released soon, from channel 8. VCU Health noted the loss was less than 2.5% of it’s annual budget.
Man found shot dead inside home in South Richmond, from channel 8. South Richmond had only 2 homicides up until May 9, 2024, compared to 17 in the same time frame in 2023. Sadly, this is the third shooting death in the area in the past two weeks.
Richmond School Board upcoming elections: 5 candidates running unopposed for the nine-seat body, per VPM. School Board members receive a $10k/yr salary, but that number will double to $20k/yr beginning in 2025.
Shout out to the CheersRva reader who sent me this story about the birth of baby capybaras at the Metro Zoo! Capybaras are semiaquatic mammals, native to South America, and the largest living rodents. It was the first capy litter at the zoo in 15 years, per 12 on your side.
the cycle:
Channel 6 dives into developments of the “I-95” of biking and hiking, the 43 mile Fall Line Trail that will connect Ashland to Petersburg via a shared-use path.
With Virginia passing it’s new budget, 7.5 million was unused from the Virginia trails office and will be put towards the Fall Line Trail, bringing the total fundraising to $280 million of the roughly $400 million total needed.
Moreover, construction is barely underway, according to Sportsbacker’s Tyndall. (I really wanted to use the word ‘moreover’ as a shout out to my British English readers)
While the Capitol Trail is used in a variety of ways, many folk like to drive to a specific point along the trail and then bike/walk/skate etc.
The Fall Line Trail envisions connecting neighborhoods, and providing the infrastructure for folk to commute, shop, and socialize via trail proximal to their residences:
43 miles of trail connecting communities, schools, and jobs across 7 localities
Here’s a local example of what happens at intersections of people in cars and people not in cars:
Lombardy and Broad, one of the main North/South bike lane routes in the city.
Thankfully the skateboarder was alright and pretty chill. The car turning left clearly was trying to push it and didn’t yield to the crosswalk. The skater disobeyed the crosswalk signal. Reddit has the full scoop:
the vibe:
Have a safe and great day RVA!
If you’ve made it this far, let me know what you think @CheersRVA. Help me out by asking a friend to subscribe.
Don't miss what's next. Subscribe to Cheers RVA!:
Subscribe