Sept. 18 Newsletter: Why RPS is sending some of its properties to Parks and Rec

Weather: Rainy, high of 76

On this date in 1960, a new Sunday closing law went into effect forbidding city merchants from selling sporting equipment, dry goods, jewelry or any food either cooked or prepared before consumption.

Today's sponsor: Independence Golf Club welcomes some of the nation's top golfers to Richmond this weekend for the USGA Mid-Am tournament, which will take place at Independence and Kinloch.

RPS is sending multiple properties to Parks and Rec. Here’s why.

At least four times this year, the Richmond School Board has considered transferring one of its properties to Parks and Rec, Sarah Vogelsong reports. Among the reasons:

• Increased access to green space: Parks and Rec is attempting to create green space within a 10-minute walk of every Richmond home.
• Bookkeeping: The 2021 Schools Building Schools resolution, after which the School Board took over control of school construction from the city, led to a heightened attention to ownership of specific properties, which may traditionally have been operated or maintained by the city but owned by the schools — or vice versa.
• Money: Taking the properties off school rolls will help relieve the division of maintenance obligations — and allow improvements the cash-strapped schools feel they cannot fund.

Read the full report, with details on the parcels in question

Avula overtakes Roday for fundraising lead as both mayoral candidates near $1 million

Dr. Danny Avula raised more than $300,000 for his Richmond mayoral run in the latest fundraising period, according to campaign finance reports filed Monday, a haul that made him the top fundraiser in the race heading into September, reports Graham Moomaw.

Money isn’t necessarily a decisive factor, but it can help fund media campaigns and outreach that can get mayoral candidates noticed with many voters focused more on presidential politics than the local battle over City Hall.

Read more, including who made big donations during this cycle

Council committee advances proposal for four-way stop signs on Cutshaw Avenue

A City Council committee is pushing forward a proposal to add four-way stop signs along Cutshaw Avenue just south of Broad Street in the Museum District, despite objections from the Department of Public Works, which does not believe the signs are the best way to deal with traffic concerns in the area.

Later in the meeting, 6th District Councilor Ellen Robertson floated the idea of conducting a larger assessment of whether the city should begin installing more traffic lights, reports Sarah Vogelsong.

Read more from the committee meeting

Source: Work environment complaint preceded council chief of staff's exit

The Richmond City Council decided to part ways with its chief of staff Monday after she served 18 months in the job, according to multiple City Hall sources.

The council chief of staff oversees the governing body’s day-to-day operations.

Read more on the situation from Graham Moomaw

Today's sponsor:

A pair of welcomes: Independence Golf Club welcomes the USGA Mid-Amateur golf tournament and its players to Richmond this week, as the nation's best compete for a prestigious national title. Independence also welcomes The Richmonder, and congratulates its team on a successful launch. For more information about the Mid-Am tournament, visit this link. For more information about Independence, including information about its concert series, click here.

Jerry Lindquist: Back from the dead, Colonial Downs' past offers lessons for its future

The New Kent horse racing track has a new lease on life thanks to its Rosie's off-track betting locations statewide, which funnel money into the racing operation.

But as Jerry Lindquist reports after spending the summer at the track, things have gone south before, and a new executive is working to make Colonial Downs an appealing destination for top horses.

Read more, including details on the track's big plans for next season

254-year-old Hollywood Cemetery tree given its own, unique headstone

A tree that was six years older than the Declaration of Independence died earlier this year at Hollywood Cemetery, but won't be forgotten, reports Michael Phillips.

Arborist Jake Van Yahres, whose family business has cared for the trees over the last 30 years, carved the base of the tree into what he described as the cemetery's first "tree headstone."

Read more, including what made this tree remarkable among Hollywood's old trees

In other news:

• VCU fraternity is suspended four years for hazing, alcohol use (Times-Dispatch)
• Fashion Icon Christian Siriano Transforms a Dilapidated Richmond, Virginia, Mansion Into a Family Sanctuary (Architectural Digest)
• Boarded-up stretch of Manchester to be razed for 5-story apartment building (BizSense)
• First Look: Proposed Station Locations for the New Pulse Line (What's Next, Richmond? Substack)
• What's going on at Virginia Credit Union Live!? Peter Frampton cancels concert after Megadeth did the same (CBS6)

The editor's desk:

A rainy Tuesday didn't stop our team from putting boots on the ground across the city. Graham Moomaw was with a standing-room crowd at the Southside mayoral forum, while Sarah Vogelsong was at a meeting exploring designs for the new Mayo Bridge and attending City Council committee meetings.

We'll keep tabs on all of it in the coming days here at The Richmonder.

--Michael Phillips, Founding Editor