Stay ConnectedRVA’s Got Issues examines the big issues defining life in and around Richmond, Virginia. What’s being done to keep housing affordable? How do we combat gun violence? What’s with all the vape shops?
Every Wednesday, host Rich Meagher takes a deep dive into complex issues that impact Richmond, providing clear analysis through conversations with public officials, reporters, activists and community members.
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It's time to decide the People’s Budget of Richmond!
Richmond's government has set aside $3M of YOUR money – and now YOU get to decide what to do with it. This participatory budget program has reached the voting stage, and now anyone who lives, works, or goes to school in the city – age 14 and up! – can vote on projects in their council district.
Rich sits down with City Council staffer Leidiana Delgado to find out how the process got this far. Then he talks to two "budget delegates" – regular folks who volunteered to review all the ideas so that the whole city could vote on the best ones possible.
Rich talks to two local sports czars about the business of sports tourism, a billion-dollar industry that’s become vital to the economic health of the entire region. From youth to colleges to the pros, RVA is building a sports infrastructure that’s meant to help both residents and visitors score big.
Plus: STAND UP FOR RICHMOND! We’ll talk to members of the River City Red Army about their support for the Richmond Kickers... and each other.
What is nuclear fusion, and why is it coming to Chesterfield County? Virginia's energy needs are growing exponentially, and we are going to need every kilowatt we can get if we don’t want our energy bills to grow with them.
Adam Sledd of the Dominion Energy Innovation Center returns to the pod to talk with Rich about nuclear fusion, data centers, and the future of RVA’s energy – and energy bills.
Plus: we go to the James River Park System to talk with an expert about the problem of invasive species, and hear from an all-natural, four-legged solution.
Public education is facing huge challenges across the country, as the Trump administration takes steps to possibly abolish the federal Department of Education. Add to that demands for immigration enforcement and cuts to Diversity programs, mix in some longstanding structural and staffing concerns, and our local school systems may be facing more challenges than ever.
Rich sits down with Richmond Public Schools Superintendent Jason Kamras, who talks about ALL of it... and answers YOUR questions from our listener voicemail line.
Evictions seem like a simple issue. Renters should pay their rent. When they don't, they need to leave. But the realities of renting and leaving are much more complicated than that. Today, Rich talks with a housing expert to learn why eviction court is rarely a winning prospect for renters. The city's plan? Pair tenants facing eviction with a lawyer for free. Later we talk with a lawyer who already does this work and what challenges they face when representing renters.
For almost a century, local government has provided “public housing” for our most vulnerable residents. But here in RVA, there’s a plan to replace our public housing communities with something completely different.
On this episode, Rich sits down with Steven Nesmith, the CEO of the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority. He is spearheading this bold new plan, and a "tough love" approach, that he says may END public housing as we know it in Richmond.
What's 45 days long, based in Richmond, and shapes the future of the state of Virginia? On this episode, Rich unpacks this year's General Assembly with veteran state politics reporter Michael Pope.
A big question EVERYONE is wrestling with is how to prepare for the changes coming out of Washington. Separately, Democrats are headed towards yet another veto showdown with Gov. Glenn Youngkin. But there are glimmers of bipartisanship, and it's called... a Momnibus? That, and more, in this end-of-session recap on what passed, what didn't, and the politics shaping it all.
We're also shining our community spotlight on two VCU students who are at the heart of General Assembly coverage, Sarah Hagen and Andrew Kerley. They're part of what's known as the Capitol News Service, which has students writing for news outlets in need of state coverage. It's a win-win, but Rich asks, isn't it a troubling time to get into journalism?
Michael Pope is the host of a NEW podcast from VPM and the Virginia Public Access Project called The Virginia Press Room. Find out more at https://www.vpm.org/vapressroom. Follow Capitol News Service on Instagram (@vcucns), Andrew Kerley on Twitter (@andrewkerley_), and Sarah Hagen on Twitter (@sarah_hagen).
Hamilton Glass is seen by many as the founding father of Richmond's mural movement. He instigated a huge public mural project featured in the PBS Doc called Mending Walls. The project brought 30 artists from different cultural backgrounds together to collaborate on 16 murals in Richmond. The slogan for the effort was "we need to talk" about race and the artists' formative experiences. On the project's 5th anniversary, Glass talks about the origins of Mending Walls and how the project continues to evolve.
The Community Spotlight shines on Silly Genius, a mural artist who brings his love of graffiti and hip-hop together in the large murals he and his partners paint - bringing life, color and vibrancy to vacant buildings in rundown areas of Richmond.
It's no secret: Richmond's got some baggage.
Case in point, the #GreatRichmondWaterCrisis. Less than a week into new city leadership, hospitals ran low on water and people boiled snow to flush their toilets. Was it a fluke, or is this the tip of the iceberg when it comes to unresolved issues in city government?
Thad Williamson is the coauthor of a new book about the history of Richmond city government. More than anyone, he knows how the mayor's office works... and the baggage that comes with.
It's the holidays! The fire is delightful, chestnuts are roasting, people are wassailing (whatever that is). But for some folks, this is a time of year that hits hard, where the pain of addiction, of isolation, or even just loneliness, can make it much less joyful. So what can we do to close the loneliness gap in RVA?
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