12 things we're watching in Richmond in 2025

🎉 New city officials

This year brings a whole new administration and representatives to City Hall.

• Mayor Danny Avula was sworn in on New Year's Eve, giving Richmond its first new mayor in eight years. We'll have more on what Richmond can expect from an Avula administration in the coming days.
• Meanwhile, there are three new members on City Council representing the 1st, 3rd and 4th districts; and new School Board reps for the 1st through 4th districts.

🗳️ Governor's race

Virginians will decide on a new governor (and the other top state jobs) this year. The state having a woman governor seems likely, as it's shaping up to be a race between Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears and former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger.

☢️ Our nuclear-powered future

As we learned just before the holidays, a Massachusetts-based firm is planning to build the world's first commercial nuclear fusion power plant in Chesterfield.

• The timeline for the plant hasn't been set yet and it won't be operational until the early 2030s, but "nuclear fusion power" is definitely something we'll be talking about this year and beyond.

😢 Saying goodbye to The Diamond

This season is the Flying Squirrels' last at The Diamond, the baseball stadium where Richmonders have been watching sports ball since 1985.

🏟️ CarMax Park progress

Will The Diamond's replacement, Carmax Park, keep up its construction schedule to open for the 2026 season? We'll all be watching, but at the close of 2024, officials said it was on schedule, BizSense reported.

💰Tax cuts

Gov. Youngkin proposed two big-deal tax cuts as part of his revised budget last year: exempting tips from the state sales tax and eliminating the car tax, which he called Virginia's "most hated tax since the tax on tea," per the Virginia Mercury.

• Whether the cuts pass will largely be up to the Democratic-controlled state legislature.

🍃 Retail weed marketplace

Speaking of statehouse Dems, they plan to re-up their push for a legal retail marijuana marketplace in Virginia this session, per VPM.

• Last year, a bill garnered enough bipartisan support to pass both chambers of the General Assembly before Youngkin vetoed it.
• Yes, but: It looks like both sides could have issues they care about and are willing to negotiate for this year.

👀 The Trump effect

President-elect Trump's administration won't begin for another two weeks, but we'll definitely be watching for any effects his Department of Government Efficiency and deportation efforts could have on Richmonders.

Plus, we're keeping our eye on some fun stuff, too, like:

• 🏨 Shenandoah Mansions, the Fan District's first boutique hotel.
• 🎶 Allianz Amphitheater at Riverfront's June opening.
• 🖼️ And the "Frida: Beyond the Myth" exhibition, which opens in April at VMFA.