Best Moment of the Past Year
Abigail Spanberger’s election as governor
In a country turned upside down by divisive politics, Abigail Spanberger’s election as the first woman governor in Virginia history felt like a reprieve. She won by a landslide, 15 points, by distancing herself from the progressive wing of the Democratic Party and promising to focus on “affordability.” She’s so far proving to be pragmatic and also tough, challenging Democratic leaders in the General Assembly while building a national political profile.
2. Francine, the Lowe’s cat, found and returned home
3. CarMax Park opening
Richmonder You’d Like to Grab a Meal With
Abigail Spanberger
The governor is busy governing these days, and “grabbing a meal” implies necessary haste. Richmond magazine’s food editor, Eileen Mellon, offers up some suggestions near the Governor’s Mansion: downtown’s movable mainstay Christopher’s Runaway Gourmay (tarragon chicken salad!); Charlotte’s Deli on Eighth Street, open for lunch only; the venerable Hill Café in Church Hill; or, for history and vibes, Daisy’s at Tredegar. Mellon observes, “I feel like she may cause a kerfuffle wherever she goes!”
2. Mayor Danny Avula
3. Tie: Curt Autry, “12 On Your Side”; Josée Covington, Covington Travel
Photo by Jay Paul
Elected Official We Never Want to See Again
Levar Stoney
The former two-term Richmond mayor struggled to get out of his own way. Shortly after winning election in 2016, the millennial Stoney enjoyed a brief moment of popularity, but things quickly derailed. His support for the failed Navy Hill development, mishandling of the 2020 protests, two enormously unpopular casino referendums and a mountain of City Hall chicanery (meals tax fiasco, purchasing card scandal, etc.) pretty much rules out a comeback — at least in River City.
2. Abigail Spanberger
3. Glenn Youngkin
Photo by Jay Paul
Former Elected Official We Want Back
Glenn Youngkin
Former Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, the multimillionaire investment banker who pulled off an unexpected victory over Democratic former Gov. Terry McAuliffe in 2021, took office as the state began to emerge from the pandemic. His politics were milder than the GOP’s standard bearer, Donald Trump, but he ran into a Democratic buzzsaw in the General Assembly and accomplished little. But he’s ambitious and only 59. Youngkin for president in 2028?
2. Doug Wilder
3. Tim Kaine
Photo courtesy Richmond Flying Squirrels
Proudest Sports Moment of the Past Year
CarMax Park opening
After more than 20 years of debate over where to build and who should pay for a new baseball stadium, the city ponied up $130 million and finally got it done. The new ballpark for the beloved Richmond Flying Squirrels opened on April 7. Yes, it’s a boondoggle. The city will lose money on the ballpark, and the team’s owner is already suing the Diamond District developer. But as boondoggles go, the stadium is awfully pretty.
2. VCU men’s basketball success
3. Flying Squirrels’ success in general
Photo courtesy VPM
Best Local Podcast
Rich Meagher moved from New York to Richmond in 2009 to take a job as a professor at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland. He thought Richmond needed an outlet to examine challenges and offer potential solutions; Virginia Public Media launched his podcast in May 2024. The show’s recurring themes overlay each other like maps. “The redlining map is the heat island map is the poverty map,” he reflects. “We keep running into that.”
2. “The Reid Revolution”
3. “Eat It, Virginia!”
Multicategory Winner
Unaffordability
Is the affordability crisis really a hoax? Not according to Richmonders, who chose “cost of living and housing affordability” as the city’s biggest problems. The inflation rate eclipsed 4.2% in May, the highest point in more than three years, and housing prices continue to bedevil the Richmond region. In the first quarter of 2026, the average home price jumped 4% to $485,342, according to Virginia Realtors and the Richmond Association of Realtors. As inventory shrinks, rising demand pushes up prices, which leads to higher real estate assessments and bigger tax bills. “It’s just basic economics,” says Danna Markland, chief executive of the Home Building Association of Richmond. “We’ve got the demand, but we’re headed toward an inventory cliff.”
Worst Problem Right Now
1. Cost of living and housing affordability
2. Dangerous driving, including risks to pedestrians and cyclists
3. Crime and violence
First Thing You Would Change if You Were in Charge
1. Improve the cost of living, including housing
2. Fix the roads and improve infrastructure
3. Improve government efficiency and accountability
Photo by Eileen Mellon
Most Iconic Current Shop, Business or Restaurant
Stella’s, including Stella’s Grocery
“It is incredibly humbling and flattering,” says Constantine Giavos, chief creative officer of Stella’s and Stella’s Grocery, of the Best & Worst honor. “At the core of what we do is everything Stella embodied: hospitality, great food and a deep sense of personal pride. It feels wonderful to be ingrained in the fabric of Richmond’s dining history while also building a business whose reputation extends beyond the city.”
2. Joe’s Inn
3. The Jefferson Hotel
Photo by Jay Paul
Past Shop, Business or Restaurant We Miss the Most
Ukrop’s Super Markets
Not really gone, and certainly not forgotten, the regional grocery franchise was founded in 1937 and wove into Richmond’s cultural life. Sponsorship of public events, from the Christmas parade to marathons, kept the brand vital. The chain was bought out by a Dutch retail conglomerate in 2010, but the company continues to make prepared foods and baked goods that are sold at many local grocery stores and the eponymous market hall on Patterson Avenue.
2. Mamma Zu
3. Bill’s Barbecue
Photo by Jay Paul
Worst Moment of the Past Year
Ice storm
Ice-sealed snow and below-freezing temperatures put the hurt on Richmond in late January and early February. The Virginia Department of Health calculated that more than 4,000 people in Central Virginia sought emergency room or urgent medical attention for ice-related injuries. Virginia State Police spokesperson Matthew Demlein reported that the Richmond division responded to 140 vehicle crashes during the storm. He concluded: “We cannot say if this is surprising or unprecedented, as each storm is unique.”
2. Abigail Spanberger’s election as governor
3. Gun violence/shootings
Photo courtesy Animalance RVA
Best Business Owner or Top Entrepreneur
Becky Lacy, AnimalanceRVA
Veterinary nurse Becky Lacy has spent most of her 30-year career in emergency care. She also owns AnimalanceRVA, which provides medical transportation for pets. A call during an overnight shift from a woman whose pet was dying prompted Lacy to bridge this care gap. “For many families,” she explains, “it becomes part of the medical support system during some of the hardest moments of their lives.”
2. Josée Covington, Covington Travel
3. Cassie Lane, Cassie Lane med spa
Best Nonprofit Leader, Volunteer or Organization
1010 N. Thompson St.
Health Brigade is Virginia’s oldest free and charitable clinic, “with an enduring legacy of compassionate care for Richmond’s diverse communities,” says spokesperson Julie M. Sulik. The group’s storied history began in 1970 as the Fan Free Clinic and continues into the present, with its ever-changing medical/social environment and challenges on the daily. Adds Sulik, “In a time of rising division, choose empathy as an act of resistance — join our Care Is Resistance efforts.”
2. Richmond SPCA
3. SOAR365
Best Source of Local News
Richmonders stay twelved for news, to paraphrase the station’s jingle from a few years ago. News director Frank Jones says of the recognition, “On behalf of everyone at ‘12 On Your Side,’ we’re truly honored Richmond magazine readers chose us as their favorite source for local news. Every day, our team works to earn your trust with coverage that puts your family, your safety and your community first.”
2. The Richmonder
3. Tie: Axios Richmond; Richmond magazine
RVA Trend That Should End
Dangerous driving, including pedestrian fatalities
Thirteen pedestrian fatalities in 2025 and a particularly deadly three-week stretch in December to early January that claimed six lives — including Bill Martin, longtime director of The Valentine — led the city to create a new Department of Transportation, unveiled by Mayor Danny Avula in January. “The department will serve as the cornerstone of our Vision Zero commitment [and] be charged with designing safer streets through evidence-based traffic calming measures,” Avula said.
2. Overdevelopment and unaffordable housing
3. Crime and violence
EDITOR’S PICK
The Happy Ringleader
Richmond is angry. Mayor Avula isn’t
Richmonders have long characterized City Hall as a circus — an entertaining cast of characters who frequently make headlines for all the wrong reasons.
“In Richmond, criticism of government is actually thinly veiled cynicism,” explains Julian Hayter, a historian and professor of leadership studies at the University of Richmond. He says the negativity grew worse in the late 1970s when African Americans became the majority and gained control of City Council, adding, “Some of that is steeped in race.”
But that’s not the whole story, Hayter says. There’s a libertarian undercurrent here, and many see it as their civic duty to throw stones at Richmond’s elected leaders.
“Richmonders are kind of angry. They’re angry about their government; they are angry about the history; they’re angry about the present. Whatever instances of dysfunction occur at City Hall, or Richmond Public Schools, it’s an affirmation of what people already believe — that there’s something cursed about this place,” Hayter says.
Enter Mayor Danny Avula, the affable, always chipper pediatrician who took office in January 2025.
“Avula’s not angry, and people struggle with it,” Hayter says. “The question is, is he an outlier or a harbinger? Is he a representation of what Richmond is going to look like in the future?”
Perish the thought. —Scott Bass
