Oct. 4 Newsletter: CSX gives city requirements to consider keeping Pipeline Trail open
Weather: Sunny, high of 78
On this date in 1974, low temperatures reached 28 degrees, the earliest freeze in the city's history.
CSX: City must make safety fixes, accept liability to keep Pipeline Trail open
CSX railway has told the city of Richmond that in order to consider further recreational use of the Pipeline Trail, the city must make safety upgrades and accept all liability for its use, Sarah Vogelsong reports. The trail has been closed since August.
The 1964 agreement that allowed the city to build the sewer underneath the tracks does not allow for recreational uses. A spokesperson said CSX had not been aware that the pipeline was being used for recreational purposes until two years ago, and that access to the walkway has been “unauthorized.”
The city and CSX have been meeting to explore options since the closure, and are expected to meet again in October. “At a minimum, we would need to have a canopy above just to ensure the safety of the public," the CSX spokesperson said.
As Roday escalates abortion-related attacks, Avula campaign blasts ‘false’ claims
Richmond mayoral candidate Harrison Roday stepped up his attacks questioning Dr. Danny Avula’s stance on abortion rights this week by raising the issue on live television and authorizing an abortion-themed mailer that called Avula a “senior member” of Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration.
- Avula’s campaign fired back at Roday, sharing audio with The Richmonder of a phone call Roday made seeking support from a businessman whose donation to Avula was spotlighted in the mailer as an example of Avula’s alleged ties to conservative figures.
- "The attacks are false," Avula said. "I strongly support the rights of women and families to make their own healthcare decisions with their doctor."
Read Graham Moomaw's research into the topic, including a vetting of the mailer's arguments.
410 guns have been stolen from cars in Richmond this year. One area has been a particular hotspot.
The Richmond Police Department said 410 guns have been stolen from vehicles across the city this year, Sarah Vogelsong reports, with more than a quarter stolen from cars in Shockoe Bottom or Shockoe Slip.
People are “leaving guns in their cars when they go to the club,” said Richmond Police Chief Rick Edwards at a crime briefing Wednesday. “And those guns end up in the hands of criminals.”
Gun thefts from cars have spiked in recent years, and Richmond's numbers are among the highest in the nation. Read more here.
Richmond's city football renaissance started with Thomas Jefferson. Now the Vikings are aiming higher.
Over the past decade, Thomas Jefferson High's football team has been one of Richmond's biggest success stories, starting with coach Chad Hornik inheriting a team with a 43-game losing streak, and slowly building the Vikings into a local power.
Rob Witham caught up with current Vikings coach Eric Harris this week. Now that other city schools are catching up, with Armstrong and Huguenot enjoying their own success, the Vikings are ready to take the next step.
Remembering Spider football great Buster O'Brien
Hall of Fame sportswriter Jerry Lindquist covered the biggest football win in University of Richmond history, a 1968 Tangerine Bowl win over undefeated national power Ohio.
The Spiders' quarterback from that game, Buster O'Brien, died earlier this week. O'Brien later served as a trial lawyer, circuit judge and elected official. Those who knew O'Brien offered their memories of his life and work.
"Buster O'Brien lived a full life, no doubt about it," Lindquist wrote. Read more here.
In other news...
- VCU in talks to buy $275 million research building from Altria (Times-Dispatch)
- VCU Health, City of Richmond butt heads over tax payments on failed downtown project (BizSense)
- Former Virginia hospital worker acquitted in death of Irvo Otieno: 'He's been put through 18 months of hell' (CBS6)
- Who should pay to protect the mayor when he's campaigning for higher office? (Times-Dispatch)
The editor's desk
Sometimes, it's hardest to not publish a story.
Three weeks ago, online rumors circulated that public access to the Pipeline Trail had been closed permanently. CSX, the company that owns the train tracks above the trail, put out a press release saying it had not closed access.
We knew all that. But you don't want us to regurgitate online rumors or reprint press releases. You want us to find out what's really happening. That's what Sarah Vogelsong did, filing FOIA requests and tracing the easement back to the 1960s. Today's lead article goes deep on the conflict, and potential solutions, at one of Richmond's best-loved outdoor spots.
It's the real story. We think it's worth waiting for. Hopefully, you'll agree.
Michael Phillips, founding editor
mphillips@richmonder.org
