Various Pools
Cheers RVA!
Today will be cloudy with a high of 70, a 20% chance of light showers throughout the day.
the juice:
The Richmond Times-Dispatch published an article on May 13th about the separation of Virginia students by race and economic class. Reddit user emk15 was kind enough to share a summary for those of us behind the paywall:
They use Fairfield Court Elementary and Mary Munford as prime examples, citing that FCES is "89% Black and less than 1% white. It's student body is 97% economically disadvantaged". Meanwhile, Munford is "78% white and 8% black, and 13% of it's students are deemed economically disadvantaged."
The article cites a recent report from UCLA: integration in the South actually peaked in 1968 with 43% of Black students attending majority-white schools, with that number dropping to 16% by 2020.
The report also states: Over the last 30 years the proportion of schools that were intensely segregated (with zero to 10% whites) has nearly tripled, rising from 7.4% to 20%. These schools are now doubly segregated by race and poverty with an average of 78% poor students.
the pulp:
Petersburg officials say they won’t release the winning proposal for planned casino project from the Mercury
622-acre data center project in Varina greenlit by Henrico Board of Supervisors from channel 8
All of Richmond’s pools will be open May 25 - 27, from noon to 7 pm, via RVA Parks and Recreation’s X account. Which means ‘Ride and Dive', Richmond’s annual group ride to every public pool in Richmond, is just 108 days away!
the cycle:
The Department of Public Works held their Street Safety Symposium Tuesday evening. Here is the action plan for 2024, ‘Richmond Connects’. This chart from the plan compares city districts by non-auto access to jobs and communities where non-auto access to jobs is most needed:
I appreciated this quote from Brock Hall, a citizen who attended the meeting:
Things like roundabouts or breaking up street lines. Transit and zoning are the same thing. It’s about where people are and where they are going. People act like they are separate things but really they aren’t.
Twenty-four people died on Richmond roads in 2023. While Public Works director Bobby Vincent emphasizes changing people’s behavior like following speed limits and paying attention, I believe engineering solutions can have a greater impact on road safety. When the road feels narrow, we naturally slow down and pay more attention. When the road feels wide open, we sense being on a highway.
the dive:
RvaMag’s Christian Detres sits down with mayoral candidate Danny Avula for his final interview of the five current candidates for mayor. His campaign’s website describe him as a “trusted Public Health Leader, Pediatrician, and longtime Richmonder.”
Avula led the COVID mission in Virginia, coordinating vaccine rollouts across the state. He was born in India, graduated high school in Northern Virginia at the age of 16 and attended UVA for undergrad. He is married with 5 children, and uses words like ‘concomitantly’.
He talks about his experience working with poor communities in Richmond in a public health capacity. He sees many of the same problems the other candidates identify, like inefficiencies in city services including inefficient permitting. He offers the solution of setting numerical and timely goals, and diagnosing the problems if goals are not met.
How he sees the role of mayor:
In the last two and a half years, I’ve been running a $2.6 billion agency at the state level, with recognition that we needed to make huge investments in IT infrastructure. I think we forget that what we’re hiring in our next mayor is a CEO of a $1 billion public serving agency that has to deliver services.
I encourage residents of Richmond (who intend to vote!) to read the full interview. Detres asks tough questions and isn’t afraid to push back.
the vibe:
Is today Mercury? Middle? Water day? Four days from Saturday? The fourth day? Day 3? It’s Wednesday! Have a great day RVA!
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