Dec. 23 Newsletter: Exit interview with Levar Stoney
Weather: High of 40. It’ll warm up, but only barely, as the week goes on.
On this day in 1916, Richmond’s banks, industrial corporations and railroads report record-high dividends, and send out checks totaling more than $2.5 million to shareholders. The surge is led by the Virginia-Carolina Chemical Company, which reports capital of $20 million, and American National bank, which pays out $30,000 in dividends.
The exit interview: Levar Stoney reflects on eight years as Richmond's mayor
Outgoing Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney sat down for a wide-ranging conversation with Graham Moomaw. Some highlights:
- On the 2020 racial protests: "Part of this leadership role that I have, it's about order as well. And you have to be the one to bring order back to the city. You’re going to piss some people off by doing that. But we had to, and we did it."
- On the strong mayor system: "I’ve always believed the mayor needs more power and authority to run City Hall, to run this organization."
- On taking down the monuments: "People said, ‘Oh, you take down the monuments, people are going to flee the city, the city would fall into the earth, the sun won’t come back up again, the best days have passed.’ And guess what? More people have moved to Richmond. Because we are not your granddaddy's Richmond anymore."
- On things he would have done differently: "If I could get a do-over, it would be Navy Hill. Because of the economic injection it would have brought to downtown."
The century-old trend Richmond once went crazy for: open rooftop classrooms
In the first half of the 20th century, hundreds of students who shuffled through Richmond Public Schools took their lessons, their lunches and even their daily naps on the roofs of the city’s schools — rain or shine, heat or freeze.
After pilot program success, the school district expanded it to Black schools, and even adapted its construction techniques on new buildings.
Also today
Rob Witham
Tom Allen
In other news
- Teamsters picket Amazon’s Richmond warehouses (Church Hill Lookout)
- Local journalist Dave Infante has started a newsletter devoted to happenings in the Church Hill neighborhood. He published a report recently on Flock cameras in the area.
- Judge orders Carytown restaurant to rehire terminated workers (Times-Dispatch)
- Chesterfield invokes eminent domain to facilitate road extension (VPM)
The editor's desk
The Richmonder team will be taking time off in the coming week, but we'll still be in your inbox with a special year-end series, as our writers and contributors look ahead to what we'll be talking about in 2025.
We're grateful you've made us a part of your routine in our first three months, and look forward to telling Richmond's stories next year, and in the years to come.
Michael Phillips, founding editor
mphillips@richmonder.org
