I sat down with Salaam Bhatti to talk about redistricting, campaign finance, and a government operating outside the interests of its donor class. What stood out to me most was his sincerity and the kindness in his politics. He presented a connection between empathy...
This week, Zohran Mamdani won the race to become the next mayor of New York City in one of the nation’s most closely watched elections. A Democratic socialist who campaigned alongside Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Mamdani defeated former Governor Andrew Cuomo in both the primary and the general election. But beyond the political...
“You want me to tell you what’s immoral? War is immoral. Poverty is immoral. Racism is immoral. Police brutality is immoral.” — a defendant in Punishment Park I read that director Peter Watkins had passed away last week and realized I’d never heard of him. As it turns out, Watkins was one of the most radical filmmakers of the twentieth century, a...
"We sent a message to the whole world that in 2025 Virginia chose pragmatism over partisanship. We chose our Commonwealth over chaos." — Governor-elect, Abigail Spanberger. Cheers erupted throughout The Richmond Convention Center as Abigail Spanberger was officially declared the 75th governor of Virginia at 7:53 pm. In a race that felt more...
New mural in Carytown at 3101 W. Cary Street, designed by Shepard Fairey for the People For the American Way Foundation. Painted by Brian Tull and Silly Genius. Photos by Landon Shroder Support RVA Magazine. Support Independent Media in Richmond. At a time when media ownership is increasingly concentrated among corporations and the uber...
The final week of October in Richmond saw Virginia Democrats push to begin the process of amending the state constitution ahead of the 2025 election. Changing the Virginia Constitution requires lawmakers to pass resolutions in two consecutive legislative sessions, separated by an election. The proposed amendment would allow redistricting ahead of...
American democracy is in retreat. Or as Senator Mark Warner told me last week, “There is a shock and awe component to this, as soon as you mount an opposition to one area, they take a shot somewhere else.” He’s not wrong. The examples are becoming too numerous, too disparate, to isolate any one incident as the singular cause. Masked ICE...
Your health insurance is renewing, congratulations, and by the way, it’s going to cost a lot more next year. Maybe twice as much, maybe five times, depending on how much you make and how little Congress feels like doing its job. That’s about 400,000 Virginians whose coverage through the Affordable Care Act marketplace depends on subsidies that...
Editor's note: Redfern Hemp Co. is a current sponsor of RVA Magazine. This story was produced independently and without editorial control or influence. RVA Magazine began covering Virginia’s cannabis industry earlier this year, and support from Redfern and several other companies in the industry helps make continued reporting on issues like this...
There’s no shortage of ways to send messages these days. The mediums are endless, bound together by infinite technologies and platforms. But sometimes the simplest forms make the strongest impact. And that’s exactly what William “Mac" McCormick, owner of McCormack’s Irish Pub, McCormack's Big Whisky Grill, and McCormack's Whisky Grill did last...
