July 6 Newsletter: An eventful weekend
Weather: High of 92, with scattered afternoon storms.
On this date in 1998, the FAA commits to building Richmond a new air traffic control tower after the airport is moved to what was then the second-highest level in the government’s facility ranking system. The tower opened in 2004.
Letter: Squirrels’ plan for winter holiday event at risk over roadwork planned near ballpark entrance
Construction work in the Diamond District could jeopardize offseason events planned at the stadium, a lawyer for the Richmond Flying Squirrels ownership said in a recent letter to the city, including a holiday “WinterWorld” attraction.
Mayor Danny Avula and his administration have largely avoided getting into a tit-for-tat with Squirrels owner Lou DiBella, a New York native whose career as a boxing promoter landed him in the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
“That the EDA and DDP continue to ignore this matter — or worse, to treat it as someone else’s problem or not a problem at all — is unacceptable,” DiBella's lawyers wrote. Read more here.
Water restoration achieved, full repairs to take 'several weeks'
A broken water main caused water pressure to drop across Richmond early Friday morning.
Repairs on the broken pipe begin today and will be extensive. The city says it "may adjust system operations to ensure optimal performance" during the repair process. Read more here.
Freight train derails into the canal along Capital Trail at Dock Street
Three cars from a 200-car train carrying grain fell into the water in Shockoe Bottom on Friday afternoon.
The train derailed along Dock Street at 20th Street, next to the start of the Virginia Capital Trail.
No injuries were reported and there is no HAZMAT danger, according to authorities. The train has been removed but as of Sunday, repair work on the track was ongoing. Read more here.
Henrico fireworks cut short after youth fight disrupts festivities
The July 3 event was first disrupted when a group of juveniles were fighting inside the park, causing organizers to begin the fireworks show earlier than anticipated.
But as the fireworks began, a second, larger fight broke out, causing organizers to end the show entirely.
One juvenile was taken into custody and charged with underage possession of a firearm. Read more here.
New VUU artwork, commissioned for America's 250th, unveiled
"Unfinished Declaration" reimagines the Declaration of Independence by replacing its text with Frederick Douglass’s 1852 address, “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?” a landmark speech.
Haywood Watkins III is the conceptual Richmond artist behind the piece.
"Democracy is a forever project, and I think Douglass spoke about that quite eloquently," he said. "My goal is to uplift Frederick Douglass through his speech, not as a Founding Father but as a founding element, a founding person of the nation where we have so many different people we can celebrate for this 250th anniversary." Read more here.
In other news
- Witnesses dispute police account of pepper spray usage in Scott’s Addition
- A large World Cup gathering ended with Richmond Police deploying chemical agents to disperse the crowd after fighting broke out.
- 'All residents are out' after 3-alarm fire displaces dozens of seniors at Darby House apartments (CBS 6)
- Dozens of rescues were made during the incident, complicated by the mobility needs of many residents. There were no deaths.
- Vacant building in Church Hill North slated for housing catches flame (Church Hill Lookout)
- The building is owned by developer Frank Cava.
The editor's desk
In case all that isn't enough news for one edition, a reminder that last week we received the RPS investigation into Bobby Hathaway that we sued the school district for. We'll continue to follow the story and any changes that come as a result.
Michael Phillips, founder
mphillips@richmonder.org
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