May 2 Newsletter: Reinventing doggy daycare

Weather: High of 86 and humid as a summer-like weekend begins.

On this date in 1981, Prince Charles speaks at William & Mary to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Yorktown. (more)

Woofy Wellness Ranch seeks to reinvent doggy daycare by making it educational

Have you seen the Woofy Bus around town? It picks up dogs from their homes and takes them to a "day school" for our four-legged friends.

Owner Jeff Kellogg wanted to reinvent the business model.

Read more on the facility, and why there are no toys or playscapes, here.

Richmond cuts 200 seats in Head Start program as it struggles to get eligible families to enroll

The city has an estimated 5,700 young children living below the federal poverty level, but has struggled to get those families to sign up for Head Start, a program providing free education and care.

Because of that, the school board is cutting the number of seats it offers, noting that low participation triggers federal funding cuts. But some say it's time for RPS to rethink how it manages the program.

“It’s not as though you can’t enroll families," said a former provider. "It might just be you can’t enroll families the way RPS has been working to enroll families.” 

• The money freed up from the cuts will go in part towards providing transportation to families to help them participate.
• Some money will also go towards raising worker pay to be more competitive.

Read more on the program, and where the cuts are being made, here.

City Council’s apparent $50K budget boost for Michelle Mosby’s nonprofit was an error, official says

When the council published a document online this week formalizing its budget decisions, the spreadsheet indicated $50,000 would go to the nonprofit run by former mayoral candidate Michelle Mosby. 

• That hadn't been voted on during the budget session.
• After The Richmonder asked about the appearance of funding the council didn’t approve, the spreadsheet on the council website was altered, and an official said it was an error.

Read more here.

Also today:

City will reduce the number of purchasing cards by 80%, reset program

The city has contracted with the Institute for Public Procurement to conduct an independent assessment of the program.

The RichmonderMichael Phillips

In other news

• Bon Air juvenile center fires point to broader problems (VPM)
• YMCA bus driver arrested for DUI had nearly 3.5 times legal alcohol limit, police say (CBS 6)
• Youngkin aide steps down amid controversy over GOP’s lieutenant governor candidate (Politico)

The editor's desk

It was fun to take the Historic Garden Week tour through Bellevue, a community originally planned by wealthy Richmonder Lewis Ginter, but paused during his lifetime due to economic conditions.

Ginter moved to New York for a time, but then returned to Richmond because it was more affordable. Some things never change.

Michael Phillips, founding editor
mphillips@richmonder.org

Sent this by a friend? Sign up for our free thrice-weekly newsletter here.

Want to support The Richmonder? Become a donor for $9.99 a month and keep quality local journalism in the community.