COMMUNITY




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2 Killed, 9 Shot in Shockoe Bottom After Bars Closed

On the first warm weekend of 2026, in the early hours of Saturday, Feb. 21, at least nine people were shot on North 18th Street in Shockoe Bottom. Two people, 23-year-old Genesis Tamar Jones and 42-year-old Dominic Antoine Jackson, were killed, and seven others were...

Starting the Dream in Richmond’s Local Music Scene

Editor’s Note: This piece was written by a student at Randolph-Macon College as part of a feature writing course. Thank you to the students and to Professor Seth Clabough, Ph.D., for organizing the project. Gavin Lawton remembers the exact moment he decided music was...

The Good Road: Craig Martin on Challenging Myths Through Travel

When Richmond producer Craig Martin talks about The Good Road, he does not start with ratings or distribution. He starts with a pitch he heard on a flight more than a decade ago. “The first words out of his mouth,” Craig said of his business partner and co-host Earl...

Prison Work And Court Fines: A Reform Proposal For Virginia

Editor’s Note: This article is based on reporting by Julianna Brown of Capital News Service, a student-powered newsroom at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Robertson School of Communication. RVA Magazine has edited and expanded the reporting for our audience. For...

It’s Still Our City | Ep. 17 Justin Torone of Rest In Pieces

"Established in 2014 by Justin Torone & Alaina Gearhart, what started as a personal interest and collection, quickly evolved into the shop we have today in the historic neighborhood of Oregon Hill. Conveniently located just a few blocks away from the famous...

How Richmond College Students Fit Into the Growing Thrift Economy

Editor’s Note: This piece was written by a student at Randolph-Macon College as part of a feature writing course. RVA Magazine is committed to giving space to young writers across Virginia and will be publishing several student works from this class over the coming weeks. Thanks to the students and to Professor Seth Clabough, Ph.D., for...

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Writer’s Block | Atmospheric Dread by Ann Marie

A Sunday series from RVA Magazine featuring writers from Richmond and VirginiaWriter’s Block is RVA Magazine’s Sunday series highlighting contemporary writers working in Richmond and across the Commonwealth. Each week, we feature original poems, short stories, or essays. Just real voices writing right now. Atmospheric Dread by Richmond...

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Snow Law, Beer Runs, and a Market That Never Closed

In my twenties, snow days in Richmond were not a crisis. They were a gift.  You walked to the local market, and back then there were only a handful, stocked up on whatever counted as “supplies,” and then wandered off under the sacred banner of “snow law.” That meant drinks, porch hangs, maybe snowball fights, and eventually migrating as a...

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Review | King James and the Things Men Don’t Know How to Say

Before we go any further, no, you’re not crazy. There is no King James Shakespeare play. Rajiv Joseph’s very recent 2022 play is decidedly not Elizabethan and contains far more garbage can basketball than Hamlet. The only thing I love more than Richmond Shakespeare’s phenomenal run of Shakespearean productions is when they go on a tonal limb and...

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Pusha T Headlines Spanberger Inaugural Event at 17th Street Market

Virginia Beach legend Pusha T will headline Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger’s Made in Virginia Market on Friday, January 16, as part of inaugural weekend events in Richmond. The Spanberger Inaugural Committee announced Tuesday that Pusha T will take the stage from 7:35 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the 17th Street Market, closing out an...

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“I Am the War on Drugs”

Editor's note: In December 2025, the The Joint Commission on the Future of Cannabis Sales wrapped its final public meeting on the future marketplace. This interview with Eric Spencer happened at a CSBA meetup at Bingo Beer Co. in Richmond. Eric Spencer said it plainly. “And you are meeting, for probably the first time in your life, somebody who...

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They Self Deported. What Was the Point Again?

The American Dream is about coming here to build a better life. You work hard, follow the rules, take care of your family, and contribute to your community. In return, you are meant to belong as a citizen, live with stability, and be treated with respect. That is the deal. Or at least, it was supposed to be. A few weeks ago, the story broke about...

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