Dec. 8 Newsletter: Put a bird on it
🚨 Weather: Snow's back! Because temperatures are well below freezing, this will be pure snow, without the traditional slushy mix. All local public school districts are closed today.
On this date in 1977, Richmond's six hospitals agree to voluntarily reduce their number of beds so Richmond Community Hospital can get state certification to construct a new building in the East End.
A giant cardinal sculpture is headed for a dead-end street near Lamplighter
Last week, the city Planning Commission voted to accept a giant cardinal sculpture by local artist Noah Scalin as a gift of public art from local development firm Markham Planning.
Seen from the side, the sculpture’s avian identity is clear. But due to the way in which it has been constructed, as you walk around it, “the bird vanishes into a grid” representing city streets.
Scalin hopes people will leave mementoes — notes, painted rocks, a beautiful leaf or other artifacts of their presence. Read more here.
Richmond’s lawyers told a judge a phone was lost in an airport. City documents show it might have been found
Records obtained by The Richmonder show that, at one point, officials believed the original phone issued to former city spokeswoman Petula Burks had been found, a potential key piece of evidence in the FOIA whistleblower case.
The city has portrayed the phone as gone for good once it was left at the airport. The newly released records show other officials asked multiple times if Burks had gotten the phone back. Read more here.
Regional composting has arrived in Richmond. Here's how it works.
The new composting program includes an expanded array of items acceptable for composting. Up until this point, Richmonders could only divert food and vegetable scraps from landfills via the city composting initiative.
It’s only 41 feet long, but replacing this Manchester bridge is key to future projects
Another bridge that’s been carrying Richmonders for more than a century is up for replacement.
Between the aging Mayo Bridge across the James River and the Hull Street corridor of downtown Manchester lies the 104-year-old Manchester Canal Bridge.
Replacing the bridge will cost $10.8 million, but is complicated by the fact that the road is four lanes now, but will shrink to two when the Mayo Bridge is replaced soon. Read more, including how planners will approach the situation, here.
In other news
- Mike Jones wins firehouse primary over Debra Gardner in VA-15 (Virginia Scope)
- ‘Is any of this even necessary?’ – some Henrico School Board members question the need for redistricting (Henrico Citizen)
- Watch a replay of the 2025 Dominion Energy Christmas Parade (CBS 6)
The editor's desk
Congrats to the James Madison alums and football fans among us. What a wild ride the Dukes have been on over the past decade.
Michael Phillips, founding editor
mphillips@richmonder.org
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