Samuri Swordsmen and Bullet Discoveries
Cheers RVA!
Today will be hot. From 65 to 90. Try to stay cool and hydrated.
the juice:
The juice is the focus of the day newswise, while trying to avoid sensationalism (the pulp). The juice of the day is it’s hot:
Do you have A/C?
Does it work properly in a large building?
Do you ride a bike?
It’s April 29th and today will be hot.
the pulp:
Chesterfield Police investigating assault in Richmond National Battlefield Park, per 12 on your side.
Four rounds of hunting ammo cause Richmonder to be arrested in Turks and Caicos airport. He’s out of jail but cannot return home before a June court hearing, from channel 6.
VSU will become the first HBCU to host a U.S. presidential debate, per the Richmond Free Press.
the haps:
Christian Detres over at RVA Mag interviews a Japanese sword fighting instructor and invites him to tour the new Samuri exhibit in the VMFA.
KT: The Battle of Sekigahara. In 1600.
CD: That’s the one I’m thinking of, yeah. Which also is being popularized right now in Hulu’s re-imagining of James Clavell’s historical epic Shōgun. By the way, incredible television. It raises the hair on my arms to think that I’m standing in a room surrounded by armor that was literally on that battlefield. I’m walking around here, and I’m overhearing other people’s conversations, and at least half of them are like “oh, yeah, so this episode blah blah…” The romance of this period in Japanese history is embedded deep in the world’s consciousness now. Not just the Japanese. What an incredible export for a nation that so closely guarded its culture.
Edwin Slipek from Bizsense reviews the new exhibit as well:
But the mystery to me of the Samurai exhibition, with its swords, helmets and body armor in a limitless range of designs, is how such human artistry – and sublime beauty – can be affixed to such weapons of war. Does the art celebrate acts of war or does it provide an opposite view of human yearning for artisanship, beauty, harmony and peace in a fraught world? Art is a place to find truth and beauty when history, and apparently war, has little more to tell us.
The exhibit runs until August 4, 2024.
the dive:
Last week Petersburg City Council abruptly voted to choose Cordish Companies to build a casino in Petersburg, six months after Richmond’s referendum for a casino was voted down a second time. From the Virginia Mercury:
The city claims the letter was signed under duress as the General Assembly pressured local officials to pick a certain casino company or risk losing the project entirely. On April 17, lawmakers were in Richmond preparing to vote on a bill giving Petersburg permission to host a casino.
An unfavorable vote on that bill could have killed the project, and Petersburg officials claim they were told the legislation could be blocked if the Bally’s letter wasn’t signed.
Copy of the letter of intent to Bally’s the Petersburg City Council signed but did not send.
Other Virginia Casinos
Curious how much money Virginia’s casinos currently “bring in for the city” and where it goes? From Virginia Business:
Virginia law assesses a graduated tax on a casino’s adjusted gaming revenue (wagers minus winnings). For the month of December 2023, taxes from casino AGRs totaled $11.7 million.
The host city of Portsmouth received 7% of the Rivers Casino Portsmouth’s AGR, almost $1.7 million. Danville received 6% of its casino’s AGRs, receiving roughly $1.18 million. For the Bristol casino, 6% of its adjusted gaming revenue — roughly $725,000 last month — goes to the Regional Improvement Commission, which the General Assembly established to distribute Bristol casino tax funds throughout Southwest Virginia.
The Problem Gambling Treatment and Support Fund receives 0.8% of total taxes, about $93,800 last month. The Family and Children’s Trust Fund receives 0.2% of the monthly total, roughly $23,000 in December 2023.
the vibe:
Rainy days and Mondays always get me down. Sunny Mondays lift me up. Have a great day, RVA!