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Can Ellwood Thompson’s Survive Its Owners?

What is Ellwood Thompson’s now? That feels like a fair question most people should be asking right now after this week’s news that the company that owns one of Richmond’s most recognizable stores is being taken over by another company whose primary business is data...

I Went to the Data Center Town Hall at Studio Two Three

On Monday night, close to 300 to people packed into Studio Two Three in Richmond for a town hall about data centers, moderated by Gray Montrose and co-hosted by Henrico Civic Action and Data Center Defiance.  I went to get a better sense of where Richmonders are from...

Be Kind, Rewind! Welcome to Monster Video

On a hot day in June, while visiting The Veiled Mirror and talking with them about collecting old books and DVDs, I was told that next door would be opening as a VHS video store soon. All throughout July, several of my friends who knew of my movie library habit...

Skip the Chains! A VCU Student Guide to Cheap-ish Local Eats

It’s that time of year when the U-Hauls come rolling in, parents are circling the block looking for parking, and thousands of new VCU students are about to move in and get their first real taste of Richmond. There are about 4,500 new students and 1,500 transfer...

Thousands of Lanterns to Light Up Dorey Park

The Water Lantern Festival is back in Richmond on Saturday, August 22nd. Think thousands of personalized glowing lanterns floating on the water, with live music, food, and generally good vibes moving along with them. You get a lantern to make your own. On...

Richmond’s Famous Romantix Mural Gets a New Chapter

For a decade, the mural outside the Romantix adult store, formerly Taboo, on Midlothian Turnpike has been one of Richmond's most debated pieces of public art. Now it's gone, replaced by a new collaboration between tattoo artist and muralist Jesse Smith and Miami-based...

As Funding Shrinks, Richmond’s Safety Net Is Full

She decided to finally leave. Maybe it was after years of abuse, or after one violent night too many. Maybe it was the first time she truly believed that if she stayed, she might not survive. Whatever brought her to that moment, making the call took courage.  On...

Seeing Richmond Through Their Eyes

Editor's Note: Writers Block is an occasional series featuring personal essays, reflections, and creative nonfiction from Richmond-area writers. In Seeing Richmond Through Their Eyes, Gabriella Ryan shares how a month spent showing her Italian cousins around Richmond...

Best Of VA Missed Connections August 11 – August 17

It's time for another rainy, humid week of Missed Connections, in which we learn that there really is someone for everyone. From the flatulent vampires to the geology stalkers, from the sweet young ladies cutting up food for senior citizens at restaurants to the suburbanites chatting over mouthwash at the discount store, everybody's got some role...

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Best Of VA Missed Connections August 4 – August 10

Welcome to another week of Missed Connections, where I begin with a confession: I read these things all the time, but I've never posted one, so I have no idea how it works. So, asking for a friend: do you get bombarded with spam when you post a Missed Connection on Craigslist? Considering how many people are out here requiring extensive...

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Best Of VA Missed Connections: July 28 – August 3

Welcome back to Missed Connections, where this week begins with us pondering the difficult question: what does weasel meat taste like? Probably not great, and it might not even be safe for human consumption, but it sure does make for some entertaining late-night banter, if this week on Craigslist is any indication. We've got a lot of entertaining...

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Best Of VA Missed Connections: July 21 – July 27

Welcome to Missed Connections! Pop quiz: what color are your pants? Did you know without looking? If so, you might be able to meet some cuties at the Wawa next time you're out. In all seriousness though, if you're looking to meet someone, it's never a bad idea to leave the house wearing really killer shoes. But maybe you're just here for the fun...

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Best Of VA Missed Connections: July 14 – July 20

Welcome to this week's edition of Missed Connections, where we're gonna start with a bit of pretentiousness from your friendly neighborhood editor. Confidential to poet seeking muse: "wherefore" doesn't mean "where," it means "why." In Romeo and Juliet, Juliet literally said the line "Wherefore art thou Romeo" TO Romeo. She was asking "Why are...

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Best Of VA Missed Connections: July 7 – July 13

It's Tuesday, and that means it's time once again to review the past week of wackiness via the ever-faithful Missed Connections! This week, we will learn that some Home Depot encounters are more pleasant than others, and that, even if you're not road-raging, cars can be dangerous. We'll also get a pretty obvious reference to the Fifty Shades...

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Best of VA Missed Connections June 30 – July 6

Welcome to another week of Missed Connections, where it's summer, it's hot, and it's only going to get hotter. Lake Mead is dry and it's 115 degrees in British Columbia, but your uncle still says climate change is a hoax. Are we all doomed? Maybe so. But let's at least make the best of it before the wildfires and rising sea levels take us all...

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Best of VA Missed Connections: June 23 – June 29

Welcome to Missed Connections, where the heat of the late-June days is reflected by the content of the posting happening. At least it is this week. That said, it is Craigslist, so things always come out a little weird. And sometimes, more than a little creepy. For example, there's the guy posting about his threesome experience in a way that makes...

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Best Of VA Missed Connections June 16 – June 22

Welcome to another week of Missed Connections, where starting things off on a down note is just another aspect of life's rich pageant. Don't worry though, folks -- like Monica Lewinsky said to the HBO Max intern, it gets better! This week we've got everything from craft beer hunks to long-ago coworkers, as well as a great example of poor,...

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