April 23 Newsletter: Raises for top earners?
Weather: High of 77, and the humidity moves out this afternoon. Cool and pleasant.
On this date in 1983, a new state law mandates proof of vaccination to attend all schools, public and private, as well as licensed daycare centers.
In a supposedly tight budget year for Richmond government, pay bumps for senior officials spark fierce debate
Two City Council members want to pause raises for non-union employees making more than $150,000 to free up additional money in this year's budget cycle.
Those councilors want to make city contractors, like janitorial services, pay the city's $20-an-hour minimum wage.
- The city pushed back, with one official saying that if top earners don't get raises, it could set the city back "years" as employees leave for the counties.
- The city also noted that paying low-wage workers could hurt them, by pushing them into a higher tax bracket or making them ineligible for government assistance.
Councilor Sarah Abubaker questioned what she called a “glut” of mid-level positions with good pay but vague-sounding titles like “policy advisor” and “management analyst.” Many of those jobs are in line for raises far above the across-the-board 3.5%.
Read about the debate, and other councilors' positions on it, here.
Opening talks indicate a daunting path forward for potential gas phaseout
In 2021, City Council directed the city to work with it on "an equitable plan to phase out reliance on gas.”
That's been much harder than anticipated.
Federal funding freezes put Richmond’s new arson dog plans on ice
Federal budget cuts aren't just impacting the humans.
One of Richmond’s fire K9s, a 7-year-old dog named Erny, will have his planned retirement postponed for another year as the program to train his replacement had its funding frozen.
Former Richmond football standout enters tech world as a defense contractor
After his pro football career, Mark Parson "went into a state of depression" as he worked to discover what was next.
He's found his calling with a local company that has won contracts from the NFL and, recently, a share of a $43 billion systems modernization project at the Department of Defense.
He started the company in 2017, but couldn't gain traction in the market with his use of artificial intelligence.
"The system uses AI, which people equated to sci-fi in 2017," he said.
Read about his post-football career here.
In other news
- Henrico Schools’ proposed phone policy would require storage containers to be used in every class (Henrico Citizen)
- The major artists who played Richmond before fame (Axios)
- Rest Fest '25 showcases wellness paths to healing with sober spaces (Style Weekly)
The editor's desk
The news of Pat Herrity's withdrawal from the Lieutenant Governor's race means Richmond radio host John Reid will be on the ballot this fall as the Republican candidate. Levar Stoney has an early fundraising lead on the Democrat side, which could create a Richmond-vs.-Richmond matchup on November's ballot. Would it also lead to some split tickets? There's never a dull moment in Virginia politics.
Michael Phillips, founding editor
mphillips@richmonder.org
Correction: The editor’s desk has been updated to correct Levar Stoney’s name.
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