Expect more show than substance as the General Assembly convenes for its 2023 session today.

What's happening: Lawmakers, in town for less than two months, are teeing up policy proposals on abortion, energy, taxes and schools.

Yes, but: No one expects any major breakthroughs. Control of the legislature is divided between Republicans in the House and Democrats in the Senate.

• "I think the 2023 legislative session is going to be like a summer thunderstorm where it doesn't rain — lots of thunderclaps and lightning bolts but no measurable precipitation," Albert Pollard, a former Democratic House member and now a lobbyist, told the AP.

Between the lines: With every seat in the General Assembly up for re-election later this year, campaign concerns and all the associated posturing will be many lawmakers' top priority.

State of play: Here's where things stand heading into day one.

⚕️ Abortion: Gov. Youngkin has called for a 15-week ban, which Democrats have vowed to block and Republicans in the House now acknowledge probably won't go anywhere.

• "I would be very surprised if anything of substance comes out of this General Assembly on abortion," said Republican House of Delegates Speaker Todd Gilbert earlier this week, per the Times-Dispatch.

💸 Taxes: Republicans are pursuing $1 billion in tax cuts for individuals and businesses. Democrats say they want cuts targeted to help the state's poorest residents.

🏥 Mental health: This is a rare point of bipartisan agreement, with Democrats voicing support for Gov. Youngkin's proposal to boost the state's beleaguered mental health system.

🍎 Education: There may also be some consensus on raising teacher pay, with Youngkin proposing one-time bonuses and Democrats pushing for permanent raises.

• Republicans are also pursuing school choice legislation that would redirect some state funding for public schools to private institutions.

🌿 Marijuana: Lawmakers plan to put forward legislation opening retail sales of recreational marijuana, which House Republicans blocked last year.

• GOP leaders say they haven't decided whether they will move on the issue this year.
• "We're looking to the governor for guidance," Gilbert said.

One of two men accused in a never-substantiated July 4 mass shooting plot says he wants to publicly clear his name.

What they're saying: "I am innocent of everything the police accuse me of and what they say about me, because they are lies about me and of Julio," Rolman Alberto Balcarcel Ac told WTVR reporter Laura French in his first public remarks since Richmond police accused him in July.

What's happening: The Guatemalan native, who was working in the region as an electrician, is already out of prison after serving a six-month sentence for entering the country illegally, per WTVR.

• Federal prosecutors agreed to the short sentence after acknowledging there was no evidence to substantiate claims by the city's former police chief that Balcarcel Ac and a friend, whose case is still pending, had been planning a terror attack on the city.

Balcarcel Ac told WTVR an unnamed co-worker he had considered a friend called in a phony tip.

• He said he wishes police had verified the information before accusing him publicly, but he's not holding a grudge: "May God bless you as he wishes and perhaps, as I have said, that as humans and as people we all make mistakes."

Go deeper via WTVR

🗳 Democrats are projected to win a special election in Virginia Beach, giving them a two-seat advantage in the state Senate they say will make it easier to block GOP bills. (13News Now)

🎰 Mayor Stoney sent a letter to General Assembly leaders reiterating that the city still wants permission to hold another casino referendum. (NBC12)

🩺 VCU's medical school "depended on and profited from slavery," according to a new report examining the school's history commissioned by the university. (Times-Dispatch)

You may have to wait a bit if you're looking to borrow a copy of Prince Harry's new tell-all book "Spare" from your local library.

The book came out yesterday, but you can't find a single copy on the shelf at any of the Richmond-area libraries.

In Chesterfield, 146 people are on the waitlist for the county's 17 copies, and Henrico has 166 people on the waitlist for its 18 copies, per their online catalogs as of this morning. Even the Pamunkey Regional Library, which serves four counties including Hanover, has 61 holds for its six copies.

And Richmond libraries haven't even ordered copies yet due to staffing. They hope to order nine copies this week, librarian Meg Raymond tells Axios.

• They'll take a few weeks to come in, but will be available for holds once they're ordered.

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Ned here, back from Eazzy Burger, home of what might be the most highly anticipated hamburger in Richmond's history.

What's happening: The burger collab between ZZQ and Ardent, longtime neighbors in Scott's Addition, opened over the holidays.

• Burgers range from $10 to $15. The menu also includes hot dogs and a surprising number of plant-based options.

💭 My thought bubble: I went for the Guthrie Burger ($13), which comes with American cheese, caramelized onions, pickled jalapeños and mayo. And I sprung for a side of fries ($5).

• It was huge, delicious and came with assurances that the beef I was eating was raised in a high-quality, environmentally sustainable manner.
• That said, it faces tough competition from its sister restaurant next door. ZZQ's brisket is arguably the best on the East Coast, and if I'm in the neighborhood, I will choose it over a hamburger 100% of the time.