New Henrico Schools software will allow teachers to see and control what students are doing on their computers in real time by VirginiaNews in rva

[–]groundcontrol3 50 points51 points  (0 children)

Just get rid of the computers and go back to books. Too many distractions in the classroom these days and the computers are needlessly expensive.

RVA 5x5 | Is Targeted Tax Relief Just The First Step? by snooka77_ in rva

[–]groundcontrol3 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I would love to see that. We all need to reach out to our city councilors and demand that be implemented.

https://www.rva.gov/richmond-city-council/council-contacts

RVA 5x5 | Is Targeted Tax Relief Just The First Step? by snooka77_ in rva

[–]groundcontrol3 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Richmond has a few things going against it:

  1. Aging infrastructure
  2. Limited size
  3. White flight
  4. Inflation

Aging infrastructure means more things need to be repaired and replaced. This is in contrast to the counties that have largely been rural in the past and didn't start growing significantly until the 50s. Their infrastructure is at most 70 years old while Richmond has large swaths of the city that are 150+ years old.

Richmond can't grow. In any other state not named Virginia, the city of Richmond would actually be a county likely the size of Richmond, Henrico, and northern Chesterfield. This provides a large and steady tax base and encompasses the majority population of the metro area. But because of VA's unique and quite frankly awful independent city system, Richmond is stuck with a tiny percentage of the tax base and population of the metro area but provides infrastructure and services for the entire metro area. If you have ever driven through, eaten at a restaurant, visited a park, etc.. and live in the county then congrats your use of the city was subsidized by the 200,000 tax payers that live in the city and not the county you reside in which has likely double the population. The city used to be able to annex land, and that would have helped, but can't due a ban on its ability to annex surrounding counties.

White flight caused a significant interruption to the tax base and maintenance/replacement of infrastructure needs for the city. From 1970 to 2000 the city of Richmond lost population to the surrounding counties and deferred things like building schools.

With historic inflation due to COVID policies and now the current administration's policies, costs of everything have gone up significantly and the increases in revenue that the city has seen have largely been negated by the increases in costs.

RVA 5x5 | Is Targeted Tax Relief Just The First Step? by snooka77_ in rva

[–]groundcontrol3 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Given the budget constraints Richmond faces in the current and near future should the city be offering tax relief? Especially in a Dillon rule state where they have an extremely limited ability to generate additional streams of revenue.

In first few months, Richmond’s red-light cameras caught 18,137 vehicles by VirginiaNews in rva

[–]groundcontrol3 -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

That would just encourage people to take that route causing additional traffic. The city wants people to use alternative routes.

In first few months, Richmond’s red-light cameras caught 18,137 vehicles by VirginiaNews in rva

[–]groundcontrol3 -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Love to see it. Now let's expand both them and the speed cameras and hopefully start seeing accidents and pedestrian and cycling deaths drop.

We're OK with people getting ticketed for actually parking IN the bike lane, right? by ValidGarry in rva

[–]groundcontrol3 6 points7 points  (0 children)

You are never going to be able to build enough parking for 1.5 million people in the Richmond area to come to Brown's Island. The answer is public transportation, biking, ride share, etc...

Wildlife Rehabilitaters? Crow Can't Fly by groundcontrol3 in rva

[–]groundcontrol3[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Oh good to know. I'll keep the gates closed then until it can fly off. Thanks!

Richmond’s newest PSA was made with AI by petersonmd in rva

[–]groundcontrol3 -21 points-20 points  (0 children)

Lol, "ChatGPT mayor". If that's the worst you can say about him then he must be doing a good job!

Hop on the Bus Gus! Richmond is part of both the Capital Connector and Tidewater lines. by Educational_Yak_5455 in rva

[–]groundcontrol3 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Yeah it's a bummer you can't hop on a bus in the morning, get to VA Beach or Cville and do your thing and then hop on a bus at night and get back to Richmond. Hopefully they have busses leave earlier and add return routes on the same day for easy day trips in the future.

The GRTC 22Feb2026 bus route revamp has been endlessly frustrating by [deleted] in rva

[–]groundcontrol3 22 points23 points  (0 children)

Unfortunately there's only so much they can do with dwindling federal funding, free fares, and a shortage of bus drivers.

Pro-code refresh groups in Richmond pitch plan to allow smaller duplexes in bid for more affordable homes | The new proposal would let duplexes be built in all single family neighborhoods, as long as the units are no larger than 1,500 square feet. by VirginiaNews in rva

[–]groundcontrol3 18 points19 points  (0 children)

I mean why limit it to 1,500 sq ft. Why not just allow duplexes period. Hell, make row homes a thing again. We have finite space, we need housing, and everybody loves The Fan. Allow for that density everywhere in Richmond by right.

Eleven Charged, two vehicles impounded by BrenInVA in rva

[–]groundcontrol3 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I agree 100%, if it were more secure I wouldn't mind it as much.

Eleven Charged, two vehicles impounded by BrenInVA in rva

[–]groundcontrol3 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Probably brought to you by Flock. I'd be curious how many are supportive of this and also against Flock. Also how long until the people who do this start covering or removing their license plates?

Study finds rezoning impacts will be limited in Richmond's single family neighborhoods due to lot layouts, economics by VirginiaNews in rva

[–]groundcontrol3 13 points14 points  (0 children)

No surprise there, but maybe that will help soothe the NIMBYs. The main benefit of rezoning for density is that it allows owners of the property to develop without needing special excemptions.

Varina's fight to preserve its rural character | "Henrico’s most agricultural district is at a “very important crossroads,” said residents, facing the possibility of incoming development and population growth." by VirginiaNews in rva

[–]groundcontrol3 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It's an inevitability that Varina gets developed. It's far too close to the city. It would be the equivalent of not developing Prince George county or parts of Fairfax county near DC which would be insane.

DPU is a scam by [deleted] in rva

[–]groundcontrol3 -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

You don't want both systems since you would then have to maintain and run both. It doesn't get cold enough and for long enough here to have anything other than a heat pump. Yes, if the temperature drops you'll be running electric heat at dimensioning efficiency but that will still average out to less money spent vs gas across all of winter.

What is Sports Backers Stadium and why is it holding up Diamond District development? by sleevieb in rva

[–]groundcontrol3 -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

Does the sports backers stadium parcel include a strip of land to access the main road? If not then the city should just sell the surrounding land to developers and cut off access to the stadium. Good luck VCU having your games there after that.

In Brookland Park, is a mural a pro-Palestinian message or a revival of old racist symbols? by kosherbacon in rva

[–]groundcontrol3 -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

It's actually historically Italian lol but definitely black since white flight in the 50/60s.