Virginia’s effort to revisit outdated cannabis convictions is moving forward again, though in a revised form that shifts how people access relief. Governor Abigail Spanberger’s amendments to SB 62 / HB 26 replace the bill’s original automatic resentencing framework...
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...
Mayor Danny Avula is at a defining moment. The same for the 2004 Elected Mayor law. Here’s why. Then a win-win-win. The 16-year era of the race-baiting politics of former Mayors Dwight Jones and Levar Stoney needs to come to an end. They and their cronies have used race to enrich too many, for far too long, with contracts they don’t deserve, jobs...
Ian C. Hess is one of those rare souls who’s carved out a place in Richmond’s unpredictable art landscape. As the owner of Supply, a local art store, and a painter whose work is steeped in mythology and meticulous craft, Ian has spent over a decade wrestling with the highs and lows of the creative life while giving back to the city that shaped...
So, it’s New Year’s Eve. The drinks are poured, the fireworks are loaded, and before the clock strikes midnight, let’s take a moment to sift through the rubble of the year that was. Richmond in 2024—messy, beautiful, endlessly fascinating. Thanks for sticking with us through it all and pushing our readership to all time highs. Be safe out there...
“We need a little good trouble, don’t we?” Alan would say, his tall frame casting a shadow and that familiar twinkle in his eye. Farid Alan Schintzius passed away last Thursday, and I’ve been reflecting on the loss of someone I deeply admired. A true master of “good trouble,” he pulled me into plenty over the years, and I’m better for it. Despite...
This is a Letter to the Editor. Once upon a time in America, a place famous for peanut butter, poorly made plastic chairs, and self-proclaimed greatness, people had something called elections. They were events where everyone (or nearly everyone, depending on who was allowed) picked their next leaders, ideally without throwing rocks at each other....
As winter grips Richmond, the city faces a stark moral and political dilemma. Recent events—the approval of a $2 million animal adoption center, the city deciding to no longer support overflow shelters for the homeless, and the vandalism of a community fridge—lay bare a troubling pattern: Richmond’s policies prioritize visibility and convenience...
A Senate bill was introduced on Nov. 21 to abolish the U.S. Department of Education, something President-elect Donald Trump promised on the campaign trail. The federal institution is focused on student achievement and equal access to education, according to its website. It is the No. 3 U.S. agency in terms of money spent, behind the Defense and...
Conservatives will control every branch of the federal government once newly elected Republicans take office in January. Republicans won the needed 218 seats to have a majority in the House of Representatives. They also have a 53-seat, simple majority in the Senate. The U.S. Supreme Court has a 6-3 conservative majority, after President-elect...
