Axios Richmond

May 13, 2026
🤪 Hey! It's Wednesday!
☀️ Today's weather: Sunny, with a high of 78 and a low of 54.
🎧 Sounds like: "Chicken Fried" by Zac Brown Band.
Today's newsletter is 992 words — a 3.5-minute read.
1 big thing: 💸 Raises, housing and backlash
Richmond leaders took a victory lap yesterday after City Council unanimously passed the city's $1.1 billion budget, hailing what they described as an unusually collaborative process.
Why it matters: City Hall might be more unified, but Monday night's public hearing showed residents remain divided over the plan — from rising utility bills to surveillance tech that's now the subject of a billboard protest.
Zoom in: To highlight that contrast, here are three winners and three losers in the budget that takes effect July 1.
🥇 Winners
1: Affordable housing advocates
More than $40 million is tied to affordable housing, anti-displacement and eviction-prevention efforts, including $11.7 million for the Affordable Housing Trust Fund.
2: City employees
The budget funds union commitments and 3.25% raises for all city employees.
3: City Hall
While not explicitly in the budget, city leaders repeatedly praised the revamped budget process, saying it gave residents more chances to weigh in and reduced last-minute scrambling.
🥈 Losers
1: Richmond Virtual Academy families
The city approved a record $257 million toward RPS, but it wasn't enough to save the Richmond Virtual Academy.
- The closure would affect more than 150 students and lay off dozens of people.
- Mayor Avula said yesterday that "ultimately, RPS and their leadership and their school board need to decide on how they prioritize funds."
2: Utility customers
Average monthly utility bills are expected to rise by nearly $14 a month, or $166 per year, starting this summer to help support major utility projects.
3: Anti-Flock activists
Opponents of Richmond's Flock license plate reader program dominated public comment Monday — and launched an anti-Flock billboard on the Mayo Bridge this week.
- Police Chief Rick Edwards acknowledged the surveillance concerns yesterday, but said the city is "prepared to go forward" with renewing the license plate reader contract.
What they're saying: "Many of our priorities have been addressed, but clearly not all of them," Council president Cynthia Newbille said Monday night. "But we will continue to work."
2. 👩🏻⚖️ The legal fights just keep coming
Richmond's top judge is escalating long-running concerns about downtown's aging courthouse into a legal fight.
Why it matters: Richmond has delayed replacing or overhauling the courthouse for years while juggling other priorities — and the dispute could now force the city to spend even more on the dilapidated building.
Driving the news: Richmond Circuit Court Chief Judge Jacqueline McClenney dropped the legal action on the city last week.
- McClenney's order asks officials to explain why the courts shouldn't intervene and force Richmond to fix what judges describe as unsafe conditions at John Marshall.
- The filing hinges on a Virginia law allowing courts to require repairs, though judges can't order the construction of a new courthouse.
- It also arrives less than a year after Richmond faced another costly legal obligation: a multimillion-dollar restitution payment to wrongfully convicted Richmonder Marvin Grimm.
What they're saying: Mayor Avula said yesterday that the city is in "frequent communication" with the judges, and pointed to the budgeted $15.6 million for roof, plumbing and security upgrades at the courthouse.
Yes, but: Richmond officials once estimated that replacing the courthouse would cost $350 million.
What's next: The Virginia Supreme Court's chief justice is expected to appoint an outside judge to oversee the dispute.
3. 🌊 The Current: Bad news for Dominion customers
😵💫 Dominion Energy customers could see their monthly power bills increase by more than 2% this year — about $2.90 per month — as the utility seeks to cover rising power grid and infrastructure costs. (Times-Dispatch)
💻 QTS plans to expand its Henrico data center footprint by 1,000 acres and millions of square feet under approvals granted before the county tightened restrictions on new data centers. (Times-Dispatch)
🚫 City Council denied a controversial permit for the Lavender Hill outdoor event space after months of delays and opposition from neighbors who complained about noise. (WRIC)
📰 The former Richmond Free Press building downtown sold for $2.4 million to local developers who are considering turning the space into apartments or offices. (BizSense)
4. 🎓 Richmond tops Virginia
Richmond is the best metro in Virginia for new college grads, per a new report.
Driving the news: RVA landed at No. 1 in the state and No. 25 overall in payroll processor ADP's ranking of metros with strong job opportunities for 20-somethings.
- That's based on wages, affordability and hiring rates for people in their 20s.
- And it's per the company's review of 53 U.S. metros with populations of at least 1 million. In Virginia, that's Richmond, Hampton Roads and NoVA.
Yes, but: Richmond was No. 18 last year, so this is a drop.
By the numbers: Richmond area 20-somethings who work jobs that require bachelor's degrees earn an average of $52,720, per ADP.
Fun fact: Virginia Beach, which was excluded this year due to lack of data, came in last in ADP's ranking in 2025 and second-to-last in 2024.
- NoVa came in at No. 30.
Go deeper for how our rival Raleigh ranked
5. 🍗 1 delicious deal to go
Kobop on Forest Hill just launched a $1 wing special.
Why it matters: That's about 40% off the regular price of six wings for $10.
Driving the news: The deal runs every Wednesday at the Korean barbecue spot inside Väsen Brewing's South Richmond location.
- On special: Kobop's Korean double-fried wings in soy garlic, gochu hot honey and bang bang.
The fine print: It's dine-in only with a 16-wing-per-person limit.

Yes, but: There's more. Kobop and Väsen also started doing weekday happy hours from open 'till 6pm that include:
- $2 off drafts and highballs.
- An $8 beer-and-shot special.
- A $9 happy hour "snack pack" from Kobop, which gets you one Korean barbecue taco, three dumplings and spicy Nashville fries.
Keep reading for the hours
🤗 Karri is OOO.
😭 Sabrina is obsessed with the Nationals' new team pup named Natty, who has a social media post that says "i am three baseballs tall."
Thanks to Alexa Mencia Orozco for editing today's edition
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