Community
M&T Bank Butterflies Live Takes Flight this Saturday at Lewis Ginter Garden
After a two-year hiatus, the butterflies are back and we have a sneak peek at these amazingly diverse and beautiful creatures.
What you need to know before you go.
- M&T Bank Butterflies Live runs from April 16th to October 10th and admission is included with your Lewis Ginter Garden Admission, $8 – $17 non-members, free for members.
- The exhibit is open 9 am to 5 pm daily with extended hours on Wednesday Alfresco which runs May 18th – September
- The butterflies are located in the North Wing of the Conservatory (the big glass building) and you’ll be able to walk amongst them as they feed on plants and at feeding stations.
- There will be hundreds of butterflies in the Conservatory with a focus on the tropical species but if you know your butterflies you’ll see some natives flitting about.
- Twice daily, once in the morning and once in the afternoon, new butterflies are released.
This was Thursday’s morning release.
- You’ll want to go more than once. The butterflies you see in April will be different from what you’ll see in May and July.
- If you want to see butterflies flying head over on a sunny day. If you want to see butterflies being a bit more chill and resting then a cloudy day is for you. I speak from experience trying to get a picture of a butterfly flying is very hard. Even on a sunny day, they will often land on branches, flowers, feeding stations, and even humans.
One of the few in flight and in focus shots I managed.
Proof that they’ll land on humans. They will be attracted to bright colors. Sweat will also attract butterflies.
- Don’t try to touch the butterflies. While it’s a myth that a single touch of the wing can prevent a butterfly from flying it’s still not good for them and you wouldn’t want an accident.
- Watch your step and of course your children’s step. The butterflies will land on the ground to drink water and rest. The foot of even the smallest child would crush a butterfly.
Look down when you move around. Some butterflies’ camouflage works against them in this environment.
Apologies in advance for not getting the names of all the butterflies you’ll see in this post.
The Peacock Butterfly looks a little plain from this side.
The other side of the Peacock Butterfly.
One of the feeding stations.
This is the massive Atlas Moth. Notice the top of their wings that mimic snake heads.
This image was swiped from Wikipedia to give you an idea of scale of the Atlas Moth. Don’t worry they have their own container and won’t be landing on you.
The Emergence Room where all the butterflies emerge from their chrysalises is off-limits to the general public but we were lucky enough to get an invite and see where the butterflies transform.
This is the a 7–8 cm long papery cocoon interwoven with desiccated leaves and attach it to a twig using a strand of silk of the Atlas Moth.
This is the chrysalis from which the moth will emerge.
Tropical butterflies will emerge from these chrysalises.
Native butterflies will emerge from these chrysalises. You can see some already out.
Government
City hosting public meeting on replacement of Byrd Park Reservoir roof
The Byrd Park Reservoir was built in 1876 and has been serving the City of Richmond residents and surrounding counties continuously since then. The Reservoir operates as two finished water tanks. Upgrades and maintenance have occurred over the years to ensure peak operating capacity.
The City of Richmond Department of Public Utilities invites residents, commuters, and visitors who utilize areas around Byrd Park to attend a public meeting to learn more about the new phase of the Byrd Park Reservoir Roof Replacement Project. The meeting is from 6 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 23, at the Byrd Park Roundhouse at 621 Westover Road.
The Byrd Park Reservoir was built in 1876 and has been serving the City of Richmond residents and surrounding counties continuously since then. The Reservoir operates as two finished water tanks. Upgrades and maintenance have occurred over the years to ensure peak operating capacity. DPU is in the process of additional upgrades to improve the distribution system reliability and increase the operational flexibility of facilities associated with the reservoir. The concrete roofs are reaching the end of their useful life and will be replaced by two new aluminum roofs.
Construction will be sequenced to maintain the use of the park and will take place within a fenced area, with boundaries shifting as the work progresses. Access to the rest of the park and its trails will be open to the public.
Attendees of the public meeting can expect to learn more about the scope and review project plans.
For more details about this project, visit the project page here.
Community
Tacos, Tattoos, and Beer
I doubt any spots are left but you can still swing by and get some killer tacos on Tuesday.
Love tattoos? Love free tacos?
We’re celebrating our 2 year anniversary with a block party @true_tattoo_rva where if you get a TBT or Taco related flash piece you’ll get free tacos from us for life
We’ll drop the flash sheet on Tuesday (3/14)
Just show us your dope ink when you purchase two tacos, and we’ll give you the third one for free
On Tuesday, March 14th, we’ll start booking slots, and we’ll have walk-ins the day of the event. Call @true_tattoo_rva to book appointments
We’ll be on-site slinging tacos and vibes with our amigos @capsoulbrewing pouring up suds.
We’ll have raffles and prizes available from our amigos as well!
Downtown
Feds identify ‘significant’ ongoing concerns with Virginia special education
After failing to meet federal requirements to support students with disabilities in 2020, the Virginia Department of Education will remain under further review by the federal government after continuing to fall short in monitoring and responding to complaints against school districts, according to a letter from the U.S. Department of Education.
By Nathaniel Cline
After failing to meet federal requirements to support students with disabilities in 2020, the Virginia Department of Education will remain under further review by the federal government after continuing to fall short in monitoring and responding to complaints against school districts, according to a letter from the U.S. Department of Education.
“We have significant new or continued areas of concerns with the State’s implementation of general supervision, dispute resolution, and confidentiality requirements” of IDEA, stated the Feb. 17 letter from the Office of Special Education Programs.
The U.S. Department of Education first flagged its concerns in a June 2020 “Differentiated Monitoring and Support Report” on how Virginia was complying with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, following a 2019 visit by the Office of Special Education Programs.
IDEA, passed in 1975, requires all students with disabilities to receive a “free appropriate public education.”
The Virginia Department of Education disputed some of the federal government’s findings in a June 19, 2020 letter.
Samantha Hollins, assistant superintendent of special education and student services, wrote that verbal complaints “are addressed via technical assistance phone calls to school divisions” and staff members “regularly work to resolve parent concerns” by providing “guidance documentation” and acting as intermediaries between school employees and parents.
However, some parents and advocates say systemic problems in how the state supports families of children with disabilities persist. At the same time, a June 15, 2022 state report found one of Virginia’s most critical teacher shortage areas is in special education.
“Appropriate policies and procedures for both oversight and compliance, and their implementation, are crucial to ensuring that children with disabilities and their families are afforded their rights under IDEA and that a free appropriate public education (FAPE) is provided,” said the Feb. 17 letter from the Office of Special Education Programs.
While the U.S. Department of Education wrote that it believes the Virginia Department of Education has resolved some of the problems identified in 2020, including resolving complaints filed by parents and creating a mediation plan, it said it has identified “new and continued areas of concern” and intends to continue monitoring Virginia’s provision of services for students with disabilities.
Among those are ongoing concerns over the state’s complaint and due process systems that “go beyond the originally identified concerns” originally found. The Office of Special Education Programs writes it has concluded Virginia “does not have procedures and practices that are reasonably designed to ensure a timely resolution process” for due process complaints.
The department also said it has concerns over the practices of at least five school districts that are inconsistent with IDEA’s regulations.
The decision comes after the U.S. Department of Education announced in November that Fairfax County Public Schools, Virginia’s largest school district, failed to provide thousands of students with disabilities with the educational services they were entitled to during remote learning at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Virginia is also facing a federal class-action lawsuit over claims that its Department of Education and Fairfax County Public Schools violated the rights of disabled students under IDEA.
Parents involved in the case said the Virginia Department of Education and Fairfax school board “have actively cultivated an unfair and biased” hearing system to oversee challenges to local decisions about disabled students, according to the suit.
Charles Pyle, a spokesman for the Virginia Department of Education, said in an email that “VDOE continues to work with our federal partners to ensure Virginia’s compliance with all federal requirements, as we have since the ‘Differentiated Monitoring and Support Report’ was issued in June 2020.”
The federal government said if Virginia could not demonstrate full compliance with IDEA requirements, it could impose conditions on grant funds the state receives to support early intervention and special education services for children with disabilities and their families.
Last year, Virginia received almost $13.5 billion in various grants linked to IDEA, according to a July 1, 2022 letter to former Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow, who resigned on March 9.
James Fedderman, president of the Virginia Education Association, blasted Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration after the findings were released.
“While the Youngkin administration has been busy waging culture wars in schools, his administration has failed to meet basic compliance requirements with the U.S. Department of Education for students with disabilities,” Fedderman said. “This failure threatens our federal funding for students with disabilities and is a disservice to Virginia families who need critical special needs support.”
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