June 9 Newsletter: Avula feeling peachy about new CAO
Weather: More of the same all week — hot and muggy, with very occasional showers.
On this date in 1967, State Senator Lloyd C. Bird asks for primary elections to be moved to September, noting that many residents are on vacation during the summer months.
Avula appoints Atlanta official as Richmond’s next CAO
City Council will (presumably) approve Odie Donald II as Richmond's Chief Administrative Officer during tonight's meeting.
He'll make $365,000 and start on July 9, pending sign-off from City Council. He's got arguably the most important job in local government, overseeing 4,000 employees with a general fund budget of more than $1 billion a year.
Read more of his background here.
Bluebird boxes are helping reverse a decades-long decline
Eastern bluebirds were approaching extinction in the 1970s, but restoration missions like the ones around Richmond have been successful.
- Bluebird boxes are time-intensive, with monitors committing to checking at least once a week during the laying season.
- Bluebirds aren't just good looking, they also have a voracious appetite for mosquitos.
Read more about the local volunteers here.
Avula taps state official to lead gun violence prevention office
On National Gun Violence Awareness Day, the mayor announced his pick to lead the city's Office of Gun Violence Prevention.
- Greg Hopkins, who currently coordinates the state's Safer Communities and Juvenile Justice Program, will assume the role. Read more here.
Also: Summer crime clampdown begins for police, housing authority
For the third year, police will launch Operation Safe Summer, a comprehensive plan to reduce violence during a time of year when crime traditionally increases. The city's housing authority is also launching a program of its own. Read more here.
Also today in The Richmonder
As school board settles in, early self-evaluation calls for more input into budget process
Like their City Council counterparts, the school board would like to see changes made to the budgeting process in Year 2, but gave itself high marks for cooperation — a key pledge many members campaigned on.
KavaClub will close at the end of the month
The business faced scrutiny from the beginning, and was required to agree to certain restrictions from the Virginia Department of Health to operate.
In other news
- Richmond names its new top election official, but he won’t start until after June primaries (8 News)
- Chesterfield zoning project moves toward updating decades-old ordinance (Times-Dispatch)
- United Daughters of the Confederacy hopes lawsuit will lead to arrests (WRVA)
The editor's desk
Welcome to Richmond, Odie Donald II. We need you to clean some stuff up in city government, but it's also good to finally have somebody who can see eye-to-eye (literally) with Glenn Youngkin.
Michael Phillips, founding editor
mphillips@richmonder.org
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