It's Dry January, the annual monthlong nondrinking movement, and it's never been easier for Richmonders to not imbibe.

Why it matters: Studies show reducing alcohol consumption even for a month has health benefits, including improved sleep and more energy.

• Meanwhile, nearly 19% of Virginians reported excessive drinking in 2022, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — and up 1% from 2021.

Driving the news: Across town, restaurants, retailers and even breweries are hosting dry events, mocktail hours or just showcasing their regular booze-free selections.

Here are a few ways you can explore your sober-curious side in town this month:

🍾 Hit up a nonalcoholic bottle shop

Richmond has two dedicated nonalcoholic bottle shops: Point 5 in Carytown and Ceremony in the Fan.

• Both offer massive selections of booze-free liquor (like gin and bourbon alternatives), beer, wine and mixers for folks looking to make mocktails at home.

🍻 Beer-free brews

Last year, Charlottesville-based Three Notch'd Brewing released its very own nonalcoholic beer, Uncool. And today Richmonders can find its full year-round line on tap and in the fridge in its Scott's Addition taproom, including its just out Low Cal IPA, a 40 calorie, booze-free beer.

• Or, order some up online — it's 15% off this month with the code "DRYJAN"
• Also, Final Gravity Brewing in Lakeside has brought in and is offering for the month the best of the best in national nonalcoholic craft brews.

🍹 Enjoy mocktail hour

Laura Lee's in South Richmond is hosting a Mocktail Happy Hour and Tasting on Jan. 18 from 5-7pm. Point 5 bottle shop will be there, too, talking about the wild world of mocktails. Drinks start at $8.

🍽 Make it a Meal

Celeste Farms in Eastern Henrico is putting together back-to-back mocktail, three-course dinners this month.

• The farm partnered with Point 5 for the events, which include three-courses from the farm chef Ashton Carter and mocktails with each course.
• The dinners are Jan. 13 and Jan. 27 from 4:30-8pm at the Osborne Turnpike farm. Tickets start at $135 a head (not including tip) and feature an optional farm tour and after dinner fire pit lounging.

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Virginans who make $58,000 a year or less would pay more in taxes each year under Gov. Glenn Youngkin's proposed tax plan, according to an analysis by a progressive fiscal policy group.

Driving the news: The Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis estimates that Virginians who make $30,000 or less would see an average tax increase of $44 a year. Folks who make up to $58,000 would end up paying $5 more annually, VPM reports.

• Meanwhile, the state's wealthiest residents — those making $763,000 — would pay $9,640 less a year, according to the group's analysis.

Of note: The plan would reduce tax revenues by $3.5 billion across fiscal years 2025 and 2026, and two-thirds of that would benefit the top 20% of Virginians, according to the analysis.

Be smart: The General Assembly this year will consider Youngkin's proposed tax plan, which increases the state sales tax from 4.3% to 5.2% and cuts personal income taxes across the board by 12%.

• It will also expand the state's sales tax to cover digital services, like streaming subscriptions, which currently aren't taxed in Virginia. The expanded tax wasn't included in the analysis.

The other side: The Youngkin administration disagrees with the analysis, per VPM.

• Its model by the state's tax agency shows $141 in annual savings for single filers making $35,000 a year and $243 in savings for married taxpayers with two dependents who make $75,000.

What's next: The state legislature will consider the proposal during its session, which starts on Wednesday.

🏟 Richmond's Economic Development Authority is kicking in up to $1 million in city funds to help with the design of a new baseball stadium as part of the $2.4 billion Diamond District project. (BizSense)

👷‍♀️ A Northern Virginia TikToker nicknamed "Tunnel Girl" who went viral for building a tunnel system under her home has been given a stop-work order by local officials. (Axios D.C.)

💰 Richbrau Brewery said the city finance department billed it $50,000 in meals taxes and penalties after misinforming it that the tax didn't apply to beer. (WTVR)

Richmond readers devoured new fiction in 2023 — and female authors, who dominated the most read fiction lists at Richmond-area libraries (save some heavy love for local author David Baldacci in Chesterfield).

What's happening: A little look back at what locals read last year, courtesy of your friendly neighborhood public library's year-end wrapped lists.

By the numbers: Locals checked out just over 734,000 items from the Richmond Public Library in 2023.

• Chesterfield registered just over 2.7 million checkouts last year.
• But Henrico put them both to shame, with nearly 3.7 million checkouts in 2023.

Zoom in: 🤓 Here are the five most checked-out adult fiction books from Richmond-area public libraries last year:

Richmond

• "Lessons in Chemistry" by Bonnie Garmus.
• "Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow" by Gabrielle Zevin.
• "Demon Copperhead" by Barbara Kingsolver.
• "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo" by Taylor Jenkins Reid.
• "Carrie Soto Is Back" by Taylor Jenkins Reid.

Henrico

• "Lessons in Chemistry" by Bonnie Garmus.
• "Demon Copperhead" by Barbara Kingsolver.
• "Verity" by Colleen Hoover.
• "Happy Place" by Emily Henry.
• "Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow" by Gabrielle Zevin.

Chesterfield

• "Lessons in Chemistry" by Bonnie Garmus.
• "The Boys from Biloxi" by John Grisham.
• "Long Shadows" by David Baldacci.
• "Simply Lies" by David Baldacci.
• "Demon Copperhead" by Barbara Kingsolver.

Check out Richmond's and Chesterfield's wrapped lists online at each library to see the tops across all categories (Henrico didn't post theirs).