Dec. 16 Newsletter: Collegiate coach's cancer journey documented

Weather: Rain tapers off this morning. High of 53.

On this date in 1928, Richmond's Yellow Cab lowers fares by 33% in an attempt to protect market share as a competing company enters town. It costs about 80 cents to travel from Boulevard to downtown.

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New documentary chronicles Alex Peavey's cancer battle

In 2017, Collegiate School counselor and basketball coach Alex Peavey was given a terminal cancer diagnosis.

His battle, and mission to spread his message of mindfulness and mental health, is the subject of a documentary that will premiere Sunday at the Byrd Theatre.

Speight said he felt both the burden and privilege of telling the personal story of a man, and a family, he respects and cares for deeply.

Read more on Peavey's journey, and the film, here.

Richmond to launch $300K pilot program to treat opioid addiction in city jail

The city will use some of its share of a national opioid settlement to help incarcerated people with drug problems.

The program’s goal is to try to set participants up for success when they leave the jail by helping them work on substance abuse issues while incarcerated.

• Last year, the city of Richmond had 191 fatal opioid overdoses, significantly above pre-pandemic numbers and almost four times higher than the statewide per-capita rate.

Read more on the program here.

Richmond's former chief judge disciplined over inappropriate conduct toward female attorneys

Before his retirement in June, Richmond judge W. Reilly Marchant engaged in inappropriate conduct toward two female attorneys, a state judicial misconduct body concluded after an informal hearing. 

• Those efforts included multiple invitations for drinks and lunch, texts asking to come by one attorney’s home to wish her Merry Christmas and, on one occasion, Marchant telling the attorney he was on her doorstep after she told him she was sick. 

“If I got too close, platonically, to a couple of attorneys with whom I tried many difficult cases over a 9-year period, then that’s on me,” Marchant said in a statement to The Richmonder.

Read more on the JIRC's report, and its agreement with Marchant, here.

Also today in The Richmonder:

USA Boxing national championships come to Richmond this week

The event runs all week, with championship matches on Saturday.

The RichmonderDavid Lefkowitz

Avula names chief of staff, starts search for new administrative leader to run City Hall

Richmond Mayor-elect Danny Avula has named his campaign manager, Lawson Wijesooriya, as his chief of staff and will use the services of The Robert Bobb Group as he starts his national search for a new chief administrative officer to oversee the operations of city government.

The RichmonderGraham Moomaw

In other news:

• Sale of Diamond District parcel is delayed, but progress continues (Times-Dispatch)
• Amazon buys ‘Project Rocky’ site, revives plan for massive fulfillment center in Goochland (BizSense)
• Virginia Union RB Jada Byers becomes first player to win the Lanier Award twice (CBS 6)

The editor's desk

Thanks to Style Weekly for a fun evening celebrating the magazine's latest "40 Under 40" list. I'm honored to be one of the 40, both because I've been reading and admiring the list for years, and because I now have published proof of my youth.

It also gives me an opportunity to note that these kinds of cool things only happen because of the hard work of The Richmonder team — Graham, Sarah and David crush it every day, and our freelance writers are the best in the business.

Hope you all have a great pre-holiday week!

Michael Phillips, founding editor
mphillips@richmonder.org