Richmond is ranked the number one city in America for supporting local businesses, according to a new national study from OnDeck. The report analyzed Instagram activity tied to hashtags like #shoplocal and #shopsmall across nearly 500 U.S. cities and found Richmond...
A group of Buddhist monks making a 2,300-mile trek across the United States for peace and compassion is expected to pass through Richmond this February as part of their “Walk for Peace” pilgrimage from Fort Worth, Texas, to Washington, D.C., a journey drawing attention from social media followers and local onlookers alike. The walk, organized by...
Richmond has its own way of ringing in the New Year. A little backward glance, a little chaos, and just enough polish to feel intentional. You can lean into loud live shows, dress up for something splashy, or keep it simple with a solid drink and good company. However you want to do it, RVA has options that feel very Richmond. Here’s how to close...
Richmond's Nettspend and Vans turned Laurel Skatepark into a canned food drive that was part skate scene, part community pull-up, built around a simple ask: bring something that helps someone else eat. For readers who may not know him yet, Nettspend is one of Richmond’s most visible breakout artists of the last few years. You can read about him...
As we close out the year, here’s a look at some of the most impactful stories we published in 2025. Over the past year, we covered Richmond as a living system under pressure, focusing on the people, culture, and policies that shape daily life and determine who gets held up or left behind. Thank you to everyone who read, shared, challenged us, and...
President Donald Trump signed an executive order today moving marijuana out of the federal government’s most restrictive drug category, formally acknowledging that cannabis has medical value and a lower potential for abuse than previously recognized. The order reclassifies marijuana from Schedule I, alongside heroin, to Schedule III, placing it...
A December 31, 2025 deadline could shutter hundreds of vape shops, raising questions about consolidation, equity, and who benefits from regulation. On December 31, most vape products currently sold in Virginia will become illegal to sell. Under a law passed by the Virginia General Assembly and signed by Governor Glenn Youngkin, only nicotine and...
Editor's Note: This story that begins, as too many do, with a clown in someone’s DMs and ends with a camera duct-taped to a toy train. The first thing to know is that Mike Shea tried to make a normal introduction. In his mind, it was a filmmaker reaching out to a musician he admired. In Jonathan Facka’s mind, it was a man in full clown makeup...
LA based street artist Lauren YS says their new mural on the side of Unkindness Art and Nevermore in Northside is an independent, self-funded project meant to communicate a human message rather than a political slogan. “There’s no sponsors, no corporations involved, no client to get upset. It’s all me,” Lauren said. “Street art is still a really...
I hadn’t seen him in years. Then I caught his pop-up photo show in an alleyway gallery in Oregon Hill a few months back. The images were real life. Honest. Some of them tough to even look at. Street people, prostitutes, gang bangers, punks mid-fight, scenes in bars, bikers, protests, pain, and joy all jammed into the same wall. But it wasn’t just...
