2024 recap: What happened in Richmond
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Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
And just like that, the 2024 year has (almost) come to an end.
Why it matters: We thought we'd take a non-exhaustive look at what this year looked like for Richmond.
January
Virginia saw its most diverse legislature ever convene, the Richmond meals tax issue led officials to make sweeping tax collection changes ... and the city bought an island.
February
The chances of a Richmond casino died, Sen. Louise Lucas became Gov. Youngkin's nightmare by being a "hell no" on bringing a Capitals arena to Virginia and the Huguenot graduation shooting trial ended in a guilty plea.
March
Richmond speed cameras turned on, Virginia banned legacy admissions and enshrined the legality of gay marriage, and a fired employee sued the city.
- Plus, the USPS mail drama heated up.
April
Danny Avula announced his run for mayor, Levar Stoney dropped out of the governor's race, and police arrested and pepper sprayed pro-Palestine protesters on VCU's campus.
- Plus, Richmond School Board member Jonathan Young stepped down and we found out Pharrell's musical would film Virginia.
May
Records showed there was no evidence of a mass shooting plot for Dogwood Dell in 2022, VCU grads protested Youngkin's commencement speech by walking out, and pop star Chappell Roan performed in Richmond.
June
It was extremely hot, CNN named Richmond the No. 1 best town to visit, RPS got a clear-bag policy, City Council gave themselves raises starting next July, and the elections office scandal got worse.
July
Some Virginia Democrats backed President Biden weeks before he dropped out, cocktails to-go became permanent, Virginia Senators tried limiting the ways a beach umbrella can kill you, and Henrico's massive new park opened.
August
We got hit with Tropical Storm Debby, Virginia changed the way it rates K-12 schools, its universities rolled out new rules for campus protests, and Richmond got caught up in Austin Dillon's NASCAR upset.
- Plus, Virginia's Olympians raked in 13 medals for Team USA.
September
Richmond's baseball stadium was renamed, Winsome Earle-Sears announced her run for governor, an audit found wild failures in the city's finance department and Southwest Virginia saw widespread devastation from Hurricane Helene.
- Plus, Virginia gave public schools until New Year's Day to ban student cell phones, and the city considered permanently closing the Pipeline Trail.
October
A Richmond City Council candidate was accused of lying about being related to George Floyd, the Supreme Court got involved in Virginia's voter purging, and South Richmond got a bagel spot.
November
Richmond elected a new mayor and new City Council and School Board members, our airport received a grant to consolidate its two TSA screening areas into one, and there was health department chaos.
December
Richmond's registrar resigned after months of misconduct allegations, Hotel Petersburg opened, and Youngkin invited Trump staffers to move to Virginia.
- Plus, he vowed to use the National Guard for Trump's mass deportation plans, and Chesterfield School Board rolled back some transgender student protections.