May 22 Newsletter: Discussing future discussion

Weather: A rainy and cool, holiday weekend. Temperatures will hover in the 70s.

On this date in 1984, GRTC orders nine buses that are designed to look like the city's former streetcars. They looped around the downtown business corridor for 10 cents per ride.

Today's newsletter sponsored by Manchester Spotlight: River views and rooftop pools are just the start of what the Manchester neighborhood has to offer!

Council committee punts on transparency measures after shutting down discussion

Most of City Council and several top mayoral aides gathered for an important conversation on transparency Wednesday afternoon. Then it ended abruptly.

Councilor Ellen Robertson seemed determined to prevent discussion of the issue as soon as the meeting began. She initially tried to remove the two payment register proposals from the committee agenda altogether.

The decision to delay seemed to be the Council’s alone. Mayor Danny Avula's Chief of Staff said she was prepared to present the mayor’s proposal.

• The proposals were originally set to be heard on May 4, but that meeting was cancelled because Council members were traveling to Phoenix for ChamberRVAs InterCity Visit.
• If the Council chooses to make changes to Avula’s plan, the final vote might not happen until July or August. Avula first rolled out his plan in early April. Read more here.

Dominion’s presence has defined Richmond for years. What happens after NextEra’s acquisition?

Reporter Ned Oliver takes a look at three important questions as the two companies seek regulatory approval:

• Does this signal future layoffs?
• What will Dominion's downtown presence look like?
• Will Dominion still be one of the city’s top charitable contributors?

One analyst notes that NextEra has a strict work-in-office policy, which could drive demand for additional office space in Richmond. (Dominion allows many employees to work a hybrid schedule.) Read more here.

Richmond activists remember Chris Yates, an ‘amazing leader’ who was ‘dedicated to the cause of democracy’

Peers remembered Chris Yates as an “instigator” with a “gentle spirit” who helped lead pro-democracy protests around Richmond and who “stood tall at the very center” of a vibrant activist community here.

Yates was struck and killed on Staples Mill Road last week after he stepped into the road during a demonstration.

Yates also volunteered at Richmond Hill, with the Armstrong Leadership Program and at local elementary schools. Read more here.

Planning Commission OKs initial master plan for redeveloped Mosby Court South

Richmond’s Planning Commission on Tuesday endorsed the preliminary master plan for the redevelopment of Mosby Court South into a mixed-use, mixed-income community that would significantly rework one of the gateways into the city’s East End. 

The roughly $176 million project is one of many RRHA has underway to redevelop its aging public housing communities throughout Richmond. Read more here.

Today's sponsor:

Make Manchester your new home

Manchester is an energized neighborhood just south of the James River in Downtown Richmond, known for its riverfront views and ever-growing lineup of things to do. With easy access to Belle Isle, Brown’s Island, and Downtown, plus a mix of local restaurants, breweries, shops, and arts spaces, it’s a go-to spot for exploring year-round. Read more here.

In other news

• Richmond schools highlighted nationally for reading recovery, literacy gains
  • Columbia University’s Center for Public Research and Leadership studied recent gains in reading scores among RPS students.
• RPD releases video showing police fatally shooting woman holding gun
  • The nearly 6-minute video shows the woman fired her gun just as officers were reaching the top of an open-air staircase.
• New Henrico Schools software will allow teachers to see and control what students are doing on their computers in real time (Henrico Citizen)
  • The software will allow teachers to view what students are actively doing on their screens and what websites a student has opened.
• Southside Speedway master plan vote deferred by planning commission (Richmond BizSense)
  • “I would be remiss if I didn’t say this is one of the most basic concept or master plans that have come before us for a project of this magnitude,” Planning Commissioner Gib Sloan said.
• Where was the Marshall Reservoir? (The Shockoe Examiner)
  • After almost a hundred years of service, Marshall Reservoir was finally taken off the city water system and drained in 1923.

The editor's desk

Thanks for sharing your enthusiasm after Wednesday's announcement that we will expand our news coverage to Chesterfield County! Later this summer we'll announce plenty of times and places to come meet us in person as we get started – I'm personally committing to eating my way through the county.

Michael Phillips, founding editor
mphillips@richmonder.org

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