The Water Crisis Fund, Ripple Rays, and Stroad Safety
Cheers RVA!
Expect rain showers off and on today with a high of 63 and a low of 47. The weekend is looking a bit cooler with variable clouds and highs near 50.
the juice:
VCU Health and Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU have suspended gender-affirming care for those under 19 years old.
Per the website:
VCU Health and Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU have suspended gender-affirming medication and gender-affirming surgical procedures for those under 19 years old in response to clear guidance from the state provided to VCU. We are committed to ensuring that we’re always delivering care in accordance with the law. Appointments will be maintained to discuss specific care options for patients in compliance with the most recent guidance.
According to the AP, Denver Health in Colorado and Children’s National Hospital in Washington DC have also stopped providing gender-affirming care.
the pulp:
A Celebration of Life for Henry L. Marsh, III, will be held on Saturday at 1 pm at the St. Paul’s Baptist Church, located at 4247 Creighton Road.
The Water Crisis Fund will begin accepting applications for those impacted by the outage who have “demonstrated financial need”. Specific details on who will qualify and how much assistance they will receive are still being worked out. The Richmonder reports the fund has received about $650k in city money so far.
A new Grateful Dead-themed bar, Ripple Rays, has opened in Carytown at the location of the former Weezie’s and Town Hall, from Bizsense. Owner Katie Jarvis said they are hoping to bring in musical acts from all genres.
the dive:
A recent article in Strongtowns noted that actor Timothe Chalamet was spotted rolling up to a movie premiere on a Lime (a type of shared e-bike) after the car he was riding in got stuck in traffic, with the purpose of the story being that with a rethinking of how we move, alternatives can be faster and more efficient for everyone.
Michael Durand-Wood explains how transportation engineers often prioritize high speeds above all, no matter what. But there is a realization that there is a place for high speeds (roads) and a place for low speeds (streets).
The article suggests that in places where people walk, work, live, shop, play and go to school, the traffic speeds should be slow, so slow that traffic signals aren’t even needed.
Quoting a 2021 book, Confessions of a Recovering Engineer by Charles L. Marohn Jr.:
“I find traffic signals maddening, perhaps the most casual waste of time and resources to come out of the practice of civil engineering. If I could, I would eliminate every traffic signal in every city in North America; just rip them out and throw them in a landfill.
Traffic signals are only necessary because of the speed of traffic. If traffic moved slower, say a neighborhood-friendly speed of 10 or 15 mph, traffic signals would become largely unnecessary.
Here is the maddening part: If traffic could flow freely at neighborhood speeds with no traffic signals and red lights to impede it, if people could navigate along city streets at 10 to 15 mph — speeds that might result in a fender bender but rarely a fatality or serious injury — most people would arrive at their destination quicker.”
Read the full article here.
the vibe:
Richmond Mayor Marsh playing tennis on N. 6th Street in the summer of 1977.
Have an inspiring day RVA!
Feel free to reply to this email with any comments or questions. If you enjoy this newsletter please share it, and thank you for reading.