Wondering what happening at the Virginia Capitol on Monday? The ban on guns at protests in the city were not enforced by the Richmond Police despite several militias open carrying assault rifles downtown. At the same time, a cookout at Marcus-David Peters Circle was broken up by Richmond Police, who arrested one Black man playing the trombone and confiscated another Black man's concealed firearm. We've got the story on the inequitable enforcement of this ban here.

You can read Part 2, which looks at the media's role in uplifting white supremacists, in this story.

In early April, months after a new Coronavirus disease forced China on January 23 to lock down Wuhan, a city of over 11 million people, US health experts reversed course. For the months of February and March health experts did not recommend the general public wear masks, as they regularly do in South Korea and Japan, because they said such mask usage would not effectively stop the spread of COVID-19. Don't buy masks, the experts warned us: they only work for trained medical professionals and not the general public who lack the expertise necessary for effective mask wearing.

In early April, however, they began claiming that if everyone covered their mouth and nose that it could, in fact, help slow the spread of the highly contagious respiratory virus - a vindication of the Asian practice. A mask boom ensued, with an entire cottage industry created overnight. Formerly employed workers fired up their previously unused sewing machines to craft custom masks for local patriots, shoppers and protesters.

I immediately realized the limitations of the homemade mask production system. This would create large gaps in the mask wearing public among those who could not afford to purchase boutique Etsy masks, nor had the foresight to purchase them before superstitious Americans cleaned out the existing mask supply despite lacking a credentialed face-covering certification. Something must be done, I thought. Then, it dawned on me: the solution was obvious. I would send masks to everyone in Virginia!

I sat down at my kitchen table and drafted a press release detailing my plan to have my wife make masks for each of Virginia's eight million residents and deliver them to their home address. When I got up to refill my coffee, my wife happened to walk by and read the press release I was writing. "We're not f---ing doing that" she exclaimed and threw it in the trash. Thus is my wife responsible for thousands of Covid infections in the commonwealth.

A new gun control measure was passed by Richmond city council that will “prohibit the possession, carrying or transportation of any firearms in any public street, road, alley, sidewalk, public right-of-way or any open public space when it is being used by, or is adjacent to, an event that requires a city permit.” https://www.nbc12.com/2020/09/08/richmond-city-council-unanimously-passes-stoneys-gun-control-measure/

From the Richmond website:

you must obtain a Special Events Conditional Use Permit if your event meets any one or more of the following criteria:

300 or more people will participate
It will be publicly advertised
It will involve sales of food, beverages or merchandise
It will make use of amplified sound, airborne objects, fireworks, or carnival-type attractions
It will have an impact on streets, roads, right-of-ways or adjacent private property
Applications for a Special Events Conditional Use Permit must be completed and submitted at least 45 days prior to your event. https://apps.richmondgov.com/applications/SpecialEvents/Default.aspx

By the letter of the ordinance, theoretically, say I folded a paper airplane and flew it in a public park. Now this is an "event" that "made use of" an "airborne object." That makes this an event that requires a public permit. Now no one could lawfully carry a firearm on any public property adjacent to this public park. Or, if a resident were carrying a boombox, would this count as amplified sound, make it an event requiring permitting, and similarly make it impossible to lawfully possess a firearm in that public space or any adjacent public space? Does this not make it unreasonably difficult to lawfully possess a firearm within the city of Richmond, given the broad and ambiguous definitions of what constitute an event requiring a permit?

Given that this city ordinance makes it almost impossible for a city resident to legally possess a firearm while transporting to and from private property, or possessing it for the purposes of self defense, could that possibly mean that this ordinance, as currently written, is unconstitutional?

I have never, ever, had a package marked “delayed” from USPS. When my mail has arrived after the scheduled delivery, which has been often, it has been marked “undeliverable,” “withheld at request of customer,” “mailbox inaccessible” and a variety of other “codes.” The package will often arrive the next day, or the day after. The most inconvenient, however, is when it is simply marked “delivered.” This one always throws me for a loop - I don’t know if the package has been stolen off my porch or delivered to the wrong address.

About a year ago, I had a package marked “delivered” when no package was in fact delivered and I went to my local office to investigate. First I went to the office associated with my zip code, a small post office on Brookland Park Boulevard. This post office has a notorious reputation in its Google reviews. You have to read them for yourself, or you would never believe me. They are all about one postal worker who does not suffer fools. I believe I met the man from the reviews. He informed me, in the manner of a Victorian era teacher scolding a mischievous student, that no packages are delivered out of the location and that I needed to go to the main office on Brook road to speak to the Northside Supervisor.

I went to the Brook Rd location and waited in line to speak to one of the clerks. I briefly explained that I had just come from the Brookland Park Boulevard location and that the gentleman there had told me to ask for the Northside Supervisor. The clerk told me that the Northside Supervisor was on a conference call and wasn’t available, but I could leave my number and she would call me. I asked if there was anyone I could speak to. The clerk asked me to write my name, address and package tracking number on a slip of scrap paper and took it away to the back somewhere. She then returned and asked me to wait in the lobby til her supervisor, but not the Northside Supervisor, was free to speak with me.

I stood in the lobby for about an hour. Finally a woman came out of the office door and I explained my situation. She had the scrap paper I had filled out for the clerk. She said my package was marked “delivered.” I said I knew it was marked delivered, but it wasn’t delivered. I added that I had been on my porch at the time it had been marked “delivered,” which was 7PM so I knew that it wasn’t delivered. She asked if I had opened an investigation, I responded that I hadn’t. She said she would ask the carrier about it and call me. I knew from my online research that they could look up the GPS coordinates where the delivery was scanned, and I asked her for the coordinates. She responded that she couldn’t look it up, but “customer care” could, and gave me the 800 number.

I thanked her and went back to my car, where I called the 800 number. Someone answered and after a brief conversation, they responded that actually, customer care could not look up the GPS coordinates, only the local branch could do that. I thanked them and went back into the Brook Rd. Branch to follow up. I waited in line again, and told the clerk what had transpired and again asked to speak to the Northside Supervisor. I was informed that the Northside Supervisor was now on lunch. I said I would wait. The clerk strongly discouraged me from doing that, saying that it could be hours before the supervisor returned, or that they may not come back at all that day as they were visiting other branches. Okay then, I said, but let me talk to someone about my package. Once again I was instructed to write my name, address and tracking information down on a slip of paper. The slip went with the clerk to an office in the back, and I was told to wait in the lobby.

I again waited for at least 45 minutes in the lobby til the manager, who was in a position of some authority but not the Northside Supervisor, came to the door. She had a printout of my package’s tracking information. I told her that customer care said they couldn’t look up GPS coordinates, that only the branch could do that. I recall her saying “I don’t know why they told you that….” She said she would “try to look it up.” She left for another 15 minutes and came back with a printout that showed that the package had been scanned at my address. She again offered to open an investigation and speak to the mail carrier. I asked if there was an investigation number, or any reference number for the investigation. She only repeated that she would speak to the carrier. I was ultimately forced to leave it at that. The package mysteriously arrived the next day.

On another occasion, more or less the same exact thing transpired, except that the package was lost and never arrived. On this occasion, instead of lying to me about who could look up GPS scans, I was lied to about which branch the package had been delivered from. Whoever answers the phone at Customer Care, apparently, is not in on whatever shenanigans are transpiring at the Brook Rd UPSP branch. I don’t mind that the USPS has delayed packages. Of course things happen. What I mind is that they are, as a matter of routine, fraudulently labelling packages as anything but delayed. Not only is this confusing for the individual customer, but this results in erroneous data. This makes it look like mail is being delivered on time when in fact it isn’t. The decision makers within any institution must have accurate data in order to make good decisions.

It was clear from my interactions with my local Post Office that the people who are in charge there don’t feel accountable to their customers in the least. They mislabel undelivered packages on a routine basis and lie to their customers to cover up the fact. They do, I admit, get 99% of the mail delivered, and more often than not, they deliver it on time. But they have no interest in accurately collecting data on exactly where your mail is and exactly when it was delivered. There is no other institution or business in my life that has exhibited such bald contempt for my questions and concerns. Given that the United States Postal Service does not care about me nor do they care about the public’s need for accurate data, I would never trust them with my ballot. Just like my “delivered” packages, I might never find out what happened to my vote.

When I moved in there was a house in my neighborhood with a nice family living in it. This house was in the best condition on the block. It had new vinyl siding, a brand new roof, replacement double pane windows etc. Then the family moved out one day. It then sat empty for two years. Some folks came by on a regular basis to mow the lawn so I asked them what was up with the house. They told me that RRHA owned the house.

I later found out from another neighbor that the family that moved had been kicked out by RRHA, and that they had been kicked out of the same home once before - so that the house could be renovated. It also came up that one of the family members worked for RRHA. I think it's a shame they were kicked out just to have the home sit empty for 2 years.

So then last fall, I see some folks come by and start looking at the house. I asked them what's up and they tell me that RRHA has deeded the house to Habitat for Humanity. I learn that Habitat for Humanity will house volunteers in the house for a time while they work on other projects, then they will fix up the house and sell it to a volunteer. Sure enough, a bunch of volunteers indeed moved into the house.

Last winter, I wake up on the middle of the night to find a few fire trucks out there putting out a fire in the house. The fire had burned through the wall downstairs and was covered with a sheet of plywood. It then sat empty like that for months. This fire was mentioned in the news and the news mentioned that a few residents had been displaced but curiously, it never mentioned that the house was owned by Habitat for Humanity nor that the displaced residents were volunteers.

Then a few months ago they started a total teardown of the house. Down to the studs. The vinyl siding was torn off, the old asbestos siding was removed by a professional company. The sheathing was torn off. The windows were replaced, even though it already had energy efficient replacement windows. And now, a pallet of shingles has been dropped off, even though this house has practically a brand new roof.

I know, better than anyone, that there are a lot of things that I don't understand. But what on earth is RRHA's reasoning for letting a perfectly good house sit empty for two years? What is Habitat for Humanity's reason for a total reno of a recently renovated house that was in very good condition?

Lots of businesses locally received millions in SBA Paycheck Protection loans, including Woodfin with over 5 Million. Capital Ale House received a loan between 1 and 2 million, Apple Eight Hospitality Management (owns the downtown Marriott) received over 5 million, James River Air received over 1 million....

Check out who got the loans at https://www.openthebooks.com/maps/?Map=90013&MapType=Pin&Zip=23222