Over the course of my career, I’ve learned to write in all sorts of styles. Two things I’m terrible at, though, are book jacket blurbs and social media posts; I just don’t have the knack for that kind of short, gushy writing. So, when a fellow editor commented that one of my recent pieces included a lot of exclamation points, I grinned with pride.
You see, every year I ask why the theme of our awards issue can’t be “best,” and every year I’m told it’s more interesting to pick something unique. This year, we started with a carnival or state fair vibe, planning to use the midway, sideshows, rides and exhibits to represent our services, shopping, food and recreation sections. My exclamation-heavy intro is supposed to sound like a carnival barker luring you into our sideshow spectacular, our midway of marvels, our 2026 Richmond magazine Best & Worst!
In the thick of production, six different Best & Worst page proofs, each with multiple iterations, were circulating among 12 people. Plus, the issue includes another feature, the usual departments and the Private Schools Guide. Considering the editorial, the design and the many pages of advertising, the issue is a full-on three-ring extravaganza — so, I guess it’s no surprise the carnival theme is also somewhat circus-y. The winners (and the exclamation points) start on Page 82.
The second feature comes from Scott Bass, our news editor. Important stories are often uncomfortable or even tragic, so when he mentioned last spring that he had a lead on a story about a city school, I braced for the worst.
I’m happy to report that I was wrong — the school is, in fact, doing well in an interesting situation. As Bass details in “The Middle Ground,” North Side’s Henderson Middle School is a bellwether of demographic change as an influx of white families impacts the dynamic in both the neighborhood and the majority-Black school. Bass explores the nuances beginning on Page 74.
We continue the education coverage in our annual Private Schools Guide, which includes a story about the microschools trend (tiny schools with big results, folks! — oops, sorry), a look at AI use, an updated directory and more. The guide starts on Page 161.
Also in this issue, a gorgeous guide to tomato season, a marijuana status update (it’s complicated), noxious landfill news, a bookstore’s bright beginning and much more. Step right up and take a look!
