Tiny number of voters though

Second Tuckahoe YMCA - they have a separate lap pool from the fun pool so lots of family swim time.

Before the pandemic/summer of 2020, we literally had the best murder close rate in US cities: https://www.nbc12.com/story/38684549/washington-post-study-richmond-has-highest-homicide-clearance-rate-of-us-cities/?outputType=amp

I watched one of his videos of him harrassing people outside the Richmond Ballet school. I think he’s figured out he gets “good” filmed responses when he goes to places where kids are. Despicable!

Or maybe just don’t have kids if you can’t provide those things?

The police need to majorally crack down on speeding and reckless driving.

I also don’t have an opinion on what happens in Petersburg. That’s for them to decide, and I don’t have a good grasp on Petersburg’s needs.

It’s trashy and hurts the poor the most. The gambling market is over saturated at this point, so all of their big economic and job projections are WAY overstated. It will just cannibalize entertainment dollars from other places, so who knows if it will actually bring that much extra city money? I also object to some random people from Maryland trying to change our city in such a big way - they have no roots here. Richmond is awesome because of our local, homegrown vibe. I also really hate that the casino people have bought the city council and mayor. It was really amazing that we were able to vote this down in the face of all that money spent by the casino to force their agenda down our throats. I also really don’t like that the casino people turned it into a racial issue (when it wasn’t going their way). Very divisive. A lot of the black community was against it too - they didn’t need to make it racial, but they did because they’re sleazy.

It is really, really loud.

I’m a pretty good speller, and I have to look up how to spell Shock the Hoe every time, give her a break 😂

Here's an example, I'm thinking about a family I used to know. They cooked a lot of pasta with meat sauce - easy, quick, feeds a lot, makes for easy leftovers. So keep the same pasta, switch to a non-meat marinara - same price so far. Instead of the ground beef, add in two cans of chickpeas. So same cooking time, still feeds a lot, same cooking skill, but the chickpeas are cheaper than the beef, so you come out ahead. It really is that easy.

I've been a vegetarian most of my life, and am pretty much vegan at this point. Vegan food is so much cheaper, esp with the current inflationary trends. Meat, eggs inflation? Doesn't affect me at all. The processed vegan/vegetarian stuff can be pricey (like organic vegan frozen meals, fancy protein powders, specialty nut-based milks, etc). But those are a small part of most vegan's food choices. Beans, rice, pasta, potatos, and veggies are cheap! I think the thing that can be an issue is that being veggie does often mean you will cook more. And having the time and space to cook can be considered a luxury. But cooking most of your meals yourself is also one of the best ways to save money. And you can batch cook and freeze things to save some time. But poorer people sometimes have more chaotic lives, so I do get the idea that it's hard to be a picky eater when you have less money. If you're vegan, you can't just go through the drive through for dinner when life gets complicated. Well maybe, I guess you could get a salad and apple juice at mcdonalds or something, but it's hard to get a complete vegan fast food meal. Maybe Subway? I will say, most poorer people I know do cook most of their meals, so becoming vegan for them would be switching out meat/dairy/eggs for beans so that would be cheaper and not be extra cooking time.

Yep! Doc is fantastic, office staff and procedures are awful. For about six months, their after hours number didn’t work (!!!). Kept telling them about it, gave me attitude. They leave early too. I had a prescription issue one Friday afternoon (the visit was that morning) and called a half hour before closing - crickets. No way to leave a message, no after hours nurse, etc. Ended up going to patient first that night, and turns out they misdiagnosed me. This all could have been figured out if they hadn’t left early and had a functioning after hours procedure. I did decide to switch docs, and found one. I’m in month 4 of my 7 month wait for my first appt 😂

Also, welcome, we need more doctors/medical staff here, haha.

Whoa, two of the areas you mentioned are extremely block by block (Church Hill 21st to 29th street) and Manchester/Hillside Court. I wouldn't recommend those areas for out-of-town people completely unfamiliar with the area. You might be ok safety wise, or you may end up being in a section where it's barely safe to be inside your house. Those are more advanced choices for people who already live nearby and can sus things out. Honestly, I would aim for a suburb further out - there's a reason the areas you're touring are more affordable, and it is safety reasons. Again, there will some blocks that will be ok in Church Hill or the Manchester area, but it can be hard to figure that out from afar.

Whatever it takes to keep it out of Richmond

He puts this out about once a week or so - great little local news analysis. Either can go to the site, or get it by email:

https://rva5x5.substack.com

I really hope Jon Baliles runs - he would be an amazing, unifying mayor. Really understands the city on a logistical level. Do you read his 5x5 newsletter?

I wish we the actual people of Richmond could send a request for what we want to the General Assembly. Doubt the casino would be top of the list. Bet something related to more state funding for schools, teachers, and roads would be . . .

Oh no, is he going to run for mayor? He’s so terrible, def not smart and ethical enough for that. He’s such a divider in the community, very us vs them. Was hoping he’d go into the general assembly where he would do less damage since he’d be one of many.

Agree he’s better than Jones, but that is way too low a bar to clear.

What? Our roads and infrastructure are no better, schools are literally on fire, his handling of the monuments was terrible and caused tons of division in the community. He promised us a nuts and bolts boring mayor and instead we got a divisive, political, big development over the wishes of the people guy (Navy Hill, casino). He’s spending a ton of time doing things to further his career and ambition, not our city (like that ridiculous black mayor group he’s the head of). I’ve also found him very divisive - he showed his true colors when he said people were racist if they didn’t vote for the casino. I’m also really worried he’s majorally kicking the can down the road with the combined sewer issue. This is going to be a huge financial drain on the city and we need to start tackling this soon. Instead, we get nonsense like Richmond Real (which to me has strong overtones that if you don’t look like Stoney, you’re not “real” Richmond). I can’t believe that under his leadership, our school system has gotten worse. Our community used to have a very respected police force, and that trust was shattered. He’s the one appointing the leaders of these institutions.

It sounds like you’re meeting people, so that’s good. If you click with someone, are you taking it to the next level by asking them on a friend date? I would suggest some sort of activity you like to do, nothing too serious. So if you were planning to go to a few stores in Carytown Saturday, ask them along. Or if there’s a movie you want to see some afternoon, or go play frisbee in the park. Even better is something you both like to do. Don’t ask to meet for coffee, a drink, or a meal - that can be too serious and real date-like, mainly because those activities are focused on talking.

Also would support Joe Morissey going federal, because the national media would have so much fun with him! He needs a bigger audience!