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A daily look at the most significant and interesting stories affecting Richmond.

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Virginia sightings detailed in UFO hearings

The pilots reported the sighting but said there was no further investigation by the military.

News

Hot new restaurant openings in Richmond

Treat yourself to something new and freshen up your Insta feed.

Food and Drink

Year-round school experiment kicks off in Richmond

Students at Fairfield and Cardinal elementary schools returned to class Monday, 20 instructional days before their peers.

Education

The Valentine museum is hiring a city historian

It's the first official historian job for the Richmond history museum in its 125 years.

Richmond begins repaving Scott's Addition

Nearly all of Scott's Addition from Arthur Ashe Boulevard to Bellville and Broad to Patton will be repaved.

Newly paved roads and sidewalks, raised crosswalks and bike lanes are coming to Scott&#x27;s Addition.Driving the news: The city <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="last week began" data-vars-click-url="https://twitter.com/DPW_RichmondVA/status/1718011565159432432" data-vars-content-id="50f76e36-9b88-4f36-9a96-5ea4df6bfe58" data-vars-headline="Richmond begins repaving Scott&#x27;s Addition" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://twitter.com/DPW_RichmondVA/status/1718011565159432432" target="_blank">last week began</a> repaving parts of Scott&#x27;s Addition as part of a <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="$1.2 million improvement" data-vars-click-url="https://www.wric.com/news/local-news/richmond/scotts-addition-paving-way-for-new-bike-lanes-raised-crosswalks-sidewalks/" data-vars-content-id="50f76e36-9b88-4f36-9a96-5ea4df6bfe58" data-vars-headline="Richmond begins repaving Scott&#x27;s Addition" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.wric.com/news/local-news/richmond/scotts-addition-paving-way-for-new-bike-lanes-raised-crosswalks-sidewalks/" target="_blank">$1.2 million improvement</a> project that will also bring other pedestrian- and bike-friendly amenities to Richmond&#x27;s hottest entertainment district.

Illustration of a road being kicked and rolled out like a red carpet. 

Richmond casino campaign spending nears $10M

It's nearly four times as much as Urban One spent on the failed 2021 referendum and eight times what pro-casino campaigns spent on referendums in other cities.

Politics

Richmond&#x27;s <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="would-be casino developers" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/richmond/2023/09/19/richmond-casino-referendum-record-cash" data-vars-content-id="7851a733-3d33-495c-8b4a-8d668b8e1852" data-vars-headline="Richmond casino campaign spending nears $10M" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/richmond/2023/09/19/richmond-casino-referendum-record-cash" target="_self">would-be casino developers</a> are closing in on $10 million in campaign spending.What&#x27;s happening: The two partners in the project, Churchill Downs and Urban One, reported an additional $1.1 million in contributions last month.

Illustration of a close up of a tower of cards made out of money. 

Henrico breaks ground on  43-mile Fall Line Trail

The shared-use bike and pedestrian pathway has been in the planning stages for six years.

Construction is beginning on a 43-mile trail between Petersburg and Ashland.What&#x27;s happening: On Wednesday, officials in Henrico County broke ground on the first segment of the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Fall Line Trail" data-vars-click-url="https://www.falllineva.org/trailmaps" data-vars-content-id="63698f0d-26e8-48bf-9916-e730789cca68" data-vars-headline="Henrico breaks ground on 43-mile Fall Line Trail" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.falllineva.org/trailmaps" target="_blank">Fall Line Trail</a>.

Illustration of a crane moving a trail sign.   

Former Haxall Canal hydro plant could become a pickleball facility

The canal walk passes right through the mural-covered building.

Development

Canal-front pickleball could be coming to downtown Richmond.What&#x27;s happening: The developer behind a major pickleball facility in Henrico is under contract to buy the former Haxall Canal hydro plant, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="per Richmond BizSense" data-vars-click-url="https://richmondbizsense.com/2023/09/27/pickleball-on-haxall-canal-developer-eyes-racquet-sports-venue-at-old-hydro-plant-building/" data-vars-content-id="9d546381-c48c-4b62-ac8f-6b2cba77a6f8" data-vars-headline="Former Haxall Canal hydro plant could become a pickleball facility" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://richmondbizsense.com/2023/09/27/pickleball-on-haxall-canal-developer-eyes-racquet-sports-venue-at-old-hydro-plant-building/" target="_blank">per Richmond BizSense</a>.

Mapped: A fifth of downtown Richmond is dedicated to parking lots

Richmond is about average compared with the rest of the nation.

More than 20% of downtown Richmond is dedicated solely to parking cars.What&#x27;s happening: An organization called the Parking Reform Network has been <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="mapping parking in downtowns" data-vars-click-url="https://parkingreform.org/resources/parking-lot-map/" data-vars-content-id="706339e5-986a-4ba9-82bd-6ea754931b32" data-vars-headline="Mapped: A fifth of downtown Richmond is dedicated to parking lots" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://parkingreform.org/resources/parking-lot-map/" target="_blank">mapping parking in downtowns</a> across the country.

Cross-border casino rivalry brewing between Virginia and North Carolina

Officials are annoyed that Virginia is making so much money off of North Carolinians.

North Carolina lawmakers are coming for Virginia&#x27;s newly opened casinos.What&#x27;s happening: Officials in the state are annoyed that Virginia is making so much money off of North Carolinians, who are the primary source of revenue for Caesars Virginia, which opened in May just across the border in Danville.

Illustration of a dice with money signs on it instead of dots.

Sauer Center's new Richmond neighborhood

It calls for more than 2 million square feet of new construction between Broad Street, Hermitage Road and North Allen Avenue.

A local development group unveiled its vision for a whole new neighborhood off Broad Street in Richmond.What&#x27;s happening: Yesterday, Sauer Properties released the master plan for phase two of Sauer Center, which is currently anchored by a Whole Foods and CarMax offices.

Richmond considers making Carytown car-free

More than 3,000 people have already weighed in in an online survey.

The city wants to know if residents think Carytown should be closed to car traffic.What&#x27;s happening: A question on the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="long-debated topic" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/richmond/2022/08/10/ai-carytown-without-cars" data-vars-content-id="d4754b3a-71a8-4728-86f1-2474f2f6c23a" data-vars-headline="Richmond considers making Carytown car-free" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/richmond/2022/08/10/ai-carytown-without-cars" target="_self">long-debated topic</a> appears in a survey on potential transportation improvements in the Fan and Museum Districts.

Illustration of a walking signal pushing the "do not walk" hand out of frame.

Charted: Richmond is issuing a lot of homebuilding permits

Of  the 931 total permits, 433 were issued for single-family homes, 14 for buildings with two to four units, and 484 for those with five or more units.

Real Estate

Last week, we shared the depressing news that <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="66% of Virginia homeowners with mortgages have an interest rate below 4%" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/richmond/2023/07/20/housing-supply-virginia-mortgage-rates" data-vars-content-id="380cdf6a-6f02-4a1c-bc49-7fb7e9557b33" data-vars-headline="Charted: Richmond is issuing a lot of homebuilding permits" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/richmond/2023/07/20/housing-supply-virginia-mortgage-rates" target="_self">66% of Virginia homeowners with mortgages have an interest rate below 4%</a>, but here&#x27;s some good news: Richmond is building.What&#x27;s happening: 71.4 new homebuilding permits were issued per 100,000 residents in Richmond in May 2023.

Narrow house proposal puzzles Richmond city planners

At a meeting last week, neighbors called the proposal ridiculous.

The city&#x27;s planning commission isn&#x27;t sure how to handle <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="a proposal" data-vars-click-url="https://richmondva.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=6258542&amp;GUID=7CD8ABDC-9A91-4422-80B9-CFBD629C59A9&amp;Options=&amp;Search=" data-vars-content-id="8866e9d0-cb82-4810-8ba4-bde7f7e00687" data-vars-headline="Narrow house proposal puzzles Richmond city planners" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://richmondva.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=6258542&amp;GUID=7CD8ABDC-9A91-4422-80B9-CFBD629C59A9&amp;Options=&amp;Search=" target="_blank">a proposal</a> for a 12-foot-wide row house in Church Hill.What&#x27;s happening: The <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="city&#x27;s community land trust" data-vars-click-url="https://maggiewalkerclt.org/" data-vars-content-id="8866e9d0-cb82-4810-8ba4-bde7f7e00687" data-vars-headline="Narrow house proposal puzzles Richmond city planners" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://maggiewalkerclt.org/" target="_blank">city&#x27;s community land trust</a>, which helps develop affordable housing, wants to squeeze the structure onto a 15-foot-wide lot at 2615 Q St.

Development 🏗️