Black Friday 🏷️ Subscription SALE!🎅🏽Soul Santa is Coming to Town; JD Spain, Sr. Swearing In; Close to Half a Million Wasted in Richmond; Data Center OpEd
🚩 26 days until Dec. 25 🎅🏽 Christmas + Hanukkah and 27 days until Kwanzaa
🚩 40 days until the Virginia General Assembly convenes on Jan. 8, 2025
🚩 52 days until Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, 2025
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Richmond: 🎅🏽 Soul Santa is Coming to Town!
On Saturday, Nov. 30 from 11 a.m to 3 p.m. at the Black History Museum & Cultural Center of Virginia (BHMVA) in Richmond is welcoming children from the community to visit with Soul Santa! The Black History Museum is located at 122 W Leigh St, Richmond, Va. There is currently construction taking place on Leigh Street but parking is available nearby.
“While at the museum, children and families are invited to hear Christmas stories, participate in arts and crafts activities, and have a little treat! Each child who visits can have a photo made with Soul Santa to take home,” their press release reads. This is a free community program but registration required.
Arlington County Board: JD Spain, Sr. Swearing In
Member-Elect JD Spain, Sr. will be sworn in to the Arlington County Board on December 14. Many of his supporters in Arlington are thrilled to see Spain’s hard work pay off. Spain, a veteran of the U.S. Marines, has been an active member of the Arlington community for many years as a a former President of the Arlington NAACP.
The Christmas Season Begins
People are expected to spend up to $989 billion this holiday season — a record. The National Retail Federation predicts retail sales this winter will be up to 3.5% higher than last year. So far in November, shoppers have spent 9.6% more just on online purchases, according to Adobe Analytics, which tracks transactions. — WHRO, Nov. 27, 2024
OPED on Data Centers in Virginia in RTD
Chris Miller: Virginia is the data center capital of the world with more than 470 data centers statewide and 150 concentrated primarily in Loudoun County. Each of these data centers consumes as much power as a small city. This has created a huge increase in future electricity infrastructure needs, with projections ranging as high as 45 gigawatts in 2040, which is more than double the current size of our state’s entire system. It will require more expensive generation and transmission systems — the costs of which will be primarily shouldered by Virginia’s ratepayers. READ ENTIRE
Richmond Free Press: Election Office Wasted Close to $500,000
The November 27 front page of the historic Richmond Free Press details the fiasco involving wasteful spending by Richmond’s General Registrar Keith Balmer and the Office of Elections. Incredibly, Balmer has not been fired.
On Nov. 26, Richmond Inspector General James Osuna released the results of an investigation into allegations of questionable spending in the city’s Office of Elections. The report by the Richmond Inspector General can be read here.
Richmond Free Press: About $500,000 in wasted expenses was one of many revelations in a report released Monday following a months long investigation into allegations of misconduct by Richmond’s General Registrar Keith Balmer and the Office of Elections. The report, completed by the Richmond Office of the Inspector General led by James Osuna, cites Balmer and the office with 25 counts of waste, fraud and abuse of city funds, resources and authority. READ ENTIRE
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