Resignations, Union Rep Unpaid Leave, Another Rosie's, and Brain Rot
Cheers RVA!
Today will be partly cloudy, windy, with a high of 45 and a low of 23 in the evening.
the juice:
Two top officials in the City Election Office have resigned after a report released last Monday by the Inspector General substantiated multiple allegations of misuse of city funds.
Registrar Keith Balmer resigned Wednesday after meeting with the Electoral Board in a closed session.
Electoral Board Chair Starlet Stevens said they would have had him removed if he did not resign.
Deputy Registrar Jerry Richardson also resigned Wednesday.
the pulp:
A 16-year-old student was stabbed in the neck at Henrico High School yesterday and is currently in stable condition after surgery, via WTVR. Henrico Police say the isolated altercation occurred around 12:30 in a breezeway on school grounds.
RPS approved and amended a policy regarding unpaid leave for union representatives. From the RPS Direct Newsletter:
After discussion, the Board amended and approved a policy granting a designee from each School Board-recognized exclusive representative two days of unpaid leave per month to engage in union-related activities. RPS has seven collective bargaining units represented by four exclusive representatives, and this policy ensures designated representatives have time to fulfill their union leadership responsibilities.
Henrico County residents will have a chance to discuss the Rosie's Gaming Emporium proposed in the Staples Mill Shopping Center during a community meeting tonight at 6 pm at the Recreation and Parks headquarters, via the Citizen.
the dive:
Oxford Dictionary’s word of the year is “brain rot”, with usage of the term increasing 230% from 2023 to 2024.
The term “describes the overconsumption of material or content to the point that it deteriorates one’s mental state.”
The word was first used by Henry David Thoreau in his 1854 book Walden.
While railing against oversimplication, Thoreau wrote:
Why level downward to our dullest perception always, and praise that as common sense?
He finished the paragraph to ask:
While England endeavors to cure the potato-rot, will not any endeavor to cure the brain-rot, which prevails so much more widely and fatally?
In today’s times, brain rot is a reflection of the worry that endless consumption of TikTok videos, news and social media, also known as “doomscrolling”, is numbing the brain.
Read more about brain rot in an article from Smithsonian Magazine here.
the vibe:
Have a fruitful day RVA!
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