ENVIRONMENTAL




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The Light That Never Went Out 

There is a spotlight still mounted in the rafters of 528 N. 2nd Street. It has been there since 1914. It has outlasted segregation, fire, the highway that cut Jackson Ward in two, and decades of silence. On the nights when the Hippodrome Theater fills up, that light...

Virginia’s New Marijuana Law: Everything You Need to Know

After years of legislative battles, vetoes, compromise negotiations, and numerous articles, Virginia finally has a roadmap for legal recreational marijuana sales. The state budget signed into law earlier this week establishes a regulated cannabis marketplace beginning...

The Strange Afterlife of Virginia’s President Heads

Editor's Note: Reminder, the sculptures are located on private property and are not open for general visitation. Access is available only through scheduled guided tours, with Labor Day weekend currently expected to be the final tour on the calendar. Tour information...

Fourth of July 2026 in Richmond: Fireworks, Festivals, and More

The best Fourth of July celebration in Richmond probably isn't the one with the biggest fireworks. It's the one where someone forgot the hot dog buns, the cooler is running low on ice, kids are chasing each other through sprinklers, and somebody insists they know a...

IllumiNATION Tells America’s Story on a Monumental Scale

Editor’s Note: RVA Magazine is partnering with the Virginia Museum of History & Culture on coverage related to America’s 250th anniversary, including Richmond SailFest and IllumiNation. It's hard to impress people with just a building. Yet standing in front of the...

Mayo Island is Finally Whole

The acquisition of the island's last privately owned parcel clears a major hurdle for Richmond's plans to create a public park along the James River. The long-running effort to transform Mayo Island into a public park took a major step forward this week after the...

Field Trip Bikes and the Long Ride of Richmond’s Cycling Culture

I recently bought my first bicycle in more than a decade. Like most people, I started my search online, comparing models, reading reviews, and trying to figure out what kind of rider I actually wanted to be. Eventually I visited several local bike shops before...

Before Richmond Was an Arts City, There Was Best Products

Imagine pulling into a suburban shopping center to buy a toaster and finding a department store that appeared to be falling apart with corners breaking away, walls peeling open like a giant cardboard box, or facades seemingly collapsing under their own weight. For...

Richmond’s Water Crisis: A Wake-Up Call for Aging Infrastructure

Richmond is no stranger to infrastructure challenges, but the recent water crisis has brought the city’s water treatment plant under intense scrutiny. A winter storm that caused a power outage at the plant quickly escalated into a disaster, leaving thousands of residents without water. The incident revealed systemic vulnerabilities in the city’s...

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Richmond Water Treatment Plant DPU_RVA Magazine 2025

Will Richmond’s Pipeline Trail Be Closed for Good?

Richmond's Pipeline Trail, a popular spot for locals seeking scenic views of the James River and easy access to Brown's Island, is at risk of being permanently closed as reported by Axios. The trail has been closed since mid-July after the pipe it rests on failed which we wrote about HERE, releasing raw sewage into the river. A petition has been...

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Pipeline-Trail-Closure_photo-by-R.-Anthony-Harris_RVA-Magazine-2024

High Levels of E-Coli in The James! Don’t Swim in the Poo.

Richmond is officially locked in to its annual sauna season and dammit, we need to cool off. Take some cold showers, hijack a condo pool, go to any of the public pools around town, go to the beach - but please, and I ask you this with all sincerity, don't swim in the poo. If you could magically shrink down to the size of an action figure, would...

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High-Levels-of-E-Coli-in-The-James-Dont-Swim-in-the-Poo-by-Christian-Detres_photo-by-Katherine-Auguste_RVA-Magazine-2024

The Sun, the Moon, and Virginia! A Rare Solar Eclipse Encounter

This Monday April 8th, Virginia's going to be treated to a solar eclipse. Now, while we're not exactly in the prime spot to see the sun completely hidden (that's called the path of totality), we're still in for a pretty good view. Here in Richmond, we're talking about 83% of the sun being covered by the moon at the peak of the eclipse. That's...

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Solar Eclipse Richmond Virginia_photo by Kevin Crosby_RVA Magazine 2024

Chris Maxwell, WRIR Co-Founder: One Final Mission

Chris Maxwell is the best of us. He’s one of the co-founders of WRIR,  our beloved local indie radio station and community rallying point for RVA initiatives and movements. About a month ago, Farid Alan Schintzius approached me with an idea of conducting an interview with him in retrospective of his long history of championing progressive...

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Chris Maxwell Interview by Christian Detres_RVA Magazine 2024

New Amphitheater Threatens Riverfront’s Environment

Original post made on July 17, 2022 by Scott Burger of Oregon Hill News and reposted here with permission. For updated information on the Richmond Riverfront Amphitheater, we wrote about it HERE and HERE When I moved to Richmond in the early nineties, it was a much different place. My parents begged me to live outside of the national murder...

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repost New Amphitheater Proposal Threatens Riverfront’s Environment by Scott Burger 2022

Photographing Incanto: Capturing the Burn at Lewis Ginter

Burns are a cradle of creativity, acting as a metaphor for life's experiences. Life starts and ends sooner than you'd prefer. You'll find both old friends and strangers here. Life is born, life evolves, and then it's time to pack and return to the so-called 'default world.' Creating art at a Burn is an enormous task. It involves planning, making,...

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Incanto Exhibition by Todd Raviotta