Community
Preview: Kickers Fighting for First Place, Face Tormenta on Wednesday
A win will put the Kickers at the top of the table and a loss will keep them in third place.

Opponent: Tormenta FC (9 – 8– 6)
Date/Time: Wednesday, September 7th, 6:30 PM
Last Result: Kickers 3 – Union Omaha 0
Weather Forecast from Weatherbug
Three Things to Kick About
- Riding High – The last game the Kickers played was against the defending champs Union Omaha. They dominated that game from about the 10th minute onwards. In the process they handed Omaha their biggest ever loss in USL. It was probably the most complete game for the Kickers and if they keep that mojo flowing anything is possible.
- Every Game Matters – Playoffs in USL award the higher ranked team home field. With a small number of games left and the top 3 separated by only 2 points every single point matters in getting that crucial home-field advantage. The Kickers have 7 loses on the season 5 of which have come on the road. Eight of their thirteen wins have been at home. Home cooking matters and the Kicker know this.
- Return of Mumu – Tormenta picked up a player a couple weeks ago. Mutaya Mwape aka Mumu played for the Kickers in 2020 and despite his diminutive status (he’s listed at 5′ 7″ but 5′ 5″ might be more accurate) was a big presence on and off the field. He didn’t light the field on fire with goals but shows a lack of fear that is a pleasure to watch. Some players when they move on you shrug your shoulders and move along. Other players when they show up against your team, you can’t help but think, “They look better in red.”
Prediction
I’m hopeful the team now has it dialed in and we’ll see a repeat performance of the game against Omaha. Terzaghi netted two last week stretching his lead in the Golden Boot race. Jonny Bolanos continued his amazing comeback with two assists and a goal of his own. The Kicker MVP race is between these two players and I have a hard time picking one over the other. They and the rest of the team have had a nice long break and should be well rested. To further reinforce the bench the Kickers announced the signing of Zev Taublieb. This is technically Zev’s third season with the Kickers but an injury his first season and setbacks have kept him off the field. A veteran midfielder who is already familiar with the Kickers can only be seen as a positive.
When you compare the two teams on the stat sheet they’re very similar. The only big difference is in goals scored and conceded which in soccer is kind of a big deal. The Kickers have a goal differential of +15 while Tormenta sits at -1. This bodes well for the Kickers.
Kickers 3 – Tormeta 1

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.”