Heavendale

*"Welcome to Heavendale: A City with Clouds!"*

Heavendale is the primary setting for the Critical Bits podcast. Despite apparently being one of the leading cities in America, it is an utter nightmare town to live in. So like most of America, really.

## Geography and Climate

In the first episode, the city is described as being about 2-4 hours away from the ocean to its east. There is a mountain range to the west of town and a river running along the southeast end. There are also plains and valleys in unspecified locations surrounding the city.

Because the city is so far away from the coast, it has absolutely no beach, despite what you may have heard.

Heavendale is called "a city with clouds" because of the constant cloud cover overhead. Despite how that sounds, the city is never gloomy. The sky is described as always being "the perfect amount of overcast with sun." So every day is bright and beautiful but with a nice amount of shade.

This was not always the case. The city used to be one of the most polluted in America and was regarded as a hellhole. About 15-ish years before the events of the podcast, cleanup efforts began and the cloud cover rolled in for the first time. No one in the general population knows why the clouds came or why they never left, but no one complains considering how nice out it always is.

## Economy

Around the same time the cloud cover arrived in Heavendale, the economy also began picking up. Seemingly out of nowhere, money flowed in and helped establish new infrastructure, loads of jobs, improvements to the education system, and more. Again, no one seems to have questioned this up to now.

One of the most notable aspects of Heavendale is the thriving presence of unique local businesses, especially in its restaurant scene. There are some chains such as Sonic (including locations on both the Narc Side and Non-Narc Side of town), but for the most part residents flock to unique establishments (see List of Heavendale and area businesses).

## Government and Institutions

The local government is headed up by Mayor Jonah Jackson, a larger-than-life personality who loves to hold press conferences. These conferences pop up with such regularity that there is a whole "press conference district" known for holding them. In addition to his mayoral duties, Mayor Jackson also makes school visits on Spider Day to share the history of the town holiday with the next generation of children. Considering how these visits tend to end, it's a wonder anyone in town knows what Spider Day is.

Institution-wise, Heavendale is said to have one of the leading school systems in the country. What gives it this distinction is... unclear to say the least, but for now let's just go with it. One of the system's flagship schools, Wallace H. Dale High, is the school of protagonists Alex Finch, Gerry Gingham, and Kim Bennett.

In addition to other standard institutions such as law enforcement, Heavendale also has their own unique enforcement organization known as D.A.Y.C.A.R.E. In their current form, they exist to deal with "at risk and dangerous youth". This includes warm and fluffy-sounding efforts like outreach and support programs for local crime orphans and whatnot, but they also have an armed division that deals with policing teen crime. While they claim to be a force for good, there are many rumours around town that not everything they do is "above board" so to speak...

## Map

Below are totally real and official maps of Heavendale and the surrounding area, with an emphasis on unique local eateries and businesses.