3/26/26 - Richmond’s mayor emcees first State of the City
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Transcript
14 segmentsYou're listening to the VPM Daily Newscast, the recap of today's top stories in central Virginia. From the VPM newsroom in Charlottesville, I'm Megan Moore. Richmond Mayor Danny Avula went against tradition with his first state of the city address on Wednesday. He didn't give a traditional speech like his predecessors. Instead, he acted as moderator for three, quote, fireside chats with local figures and officials. Those discussions focused on housing, economic development, and quote, storytelling. Avula asked panelists about their outlook for the city's future and mostly listened. Afterwards, Avula told reporters why he went with another format. There's so much happening, and the more voices that we can bring into it, the better an experience, that is. Avula also said his office has been clear about his goals and that he didn't feel a need to lay them all out. Housing was the first discussion of the night Mayor Avula moderated. He says he wants Richmond to meet the housing needs for all residents. The mayor says redeveloping Richmond's public housing as mixed income communities has to happen. We know the state of public housing is pretty terrible. And we know that so many of those residents are living in substandard housing that needs to be addressed. Thriving neighborhoods with better housing is just one of the seven pillars of Avula's vision for Richmond. Governor Abigail Spanberger ordered the state elections commissioner to rejoin the Electronic Voter Information Center in an executive order on Tuesday. Virginia was a founding member of Eric, a multi-state voter data partnership, but exited under former Governor Glenn Youngkin after it became the subject of far-right conspiracy theories. 26 member states share registration data with each other to improve voter role accuracy. Abigail Spanberger said in a statement that the action is critical to ensuring all eligible Virginia residents can cast a ballot. The U.S. Army honored several ROTC cadets at Old Dominion University for their bravery and sacrifice during a shooting that killed their professor. The cadets stopped the gunmen in Constant Hall on March 12th. The Army awarded the cadets eight meritorious service medals and two Purple Hearts during a private ceremony on Sunday. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and Sergeant Major Michael Weimer handed out the medals. Dominion Energy's wind farm off the Virginia Beach coast has started producing power. Catherine Hafner from our partner station, WHRO, has more. The $11 billion project, about 30 miles off the ocean front, will be the nation's largest commercial offshore wind farm. The Trump administration tried to halt construction late last year, citing unspecified national security concerns. But a federal judge ruled Dominion could continue. The company is now more than 70% done and plans to finish by early next year.
But this week, the first electricity from the project hit the grid. Just one turbine is fully operational, producing enough to power about 3,600 homes. The utility says the rest will slowly come online throughout the next year, eventually totaling 176 turbines. That was WHRO's Catherine Hafner, reporting. Governor Abigail Spanberger named Josephus Almond as Virginia's first chief energy officer. She signed an executive order on Wednesday establishing the new cabinet-level position. The governor said the role was created to address rising energy costs and to develop a statewide energy strategy. Previously, Almond worked as an attorney with a Southern Environmental Law Center. Chesterfield County is about to double the number of its hospitals in upcoming years. VPM news reporter Billy Shields has that story. Virginia's State Health Commissioner Cameron Webb recently greenlit three hospital projects collectively worth about $76 million. The facilities will include VCU's first hospital in the county at the intersection of Route 10 and Nash Road. Another facility managed by the same company that runs Mike Johnston Willis is to be called the Magnolia Hospital in the Matoica District. Both hospitals are worth about $400 million together. A third project will include a 40-bed expansion of the St. Francis Medical Center. In all, the new construction will add 166 beds to the county by May of 2030. Billy Shields, BPM News. Escarole is the word that clinched the win for 14-year-old Moody Middle School student to ran Shiv Kumar in the 52nd annual Richmond Regional Spelling Bee. The Richmond Times Dispatch reports that 27 elementary and middle school students from across Central Virginia participated in the annual spelling competition at the Richmond Raceway on Tuesday. Shiv Kumar beat out Dinwiddie County's Megan Tabamo in the eighth round. He'll go on to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, which takes place May 26 through the 28th at Maryland's National Harbor. This has been the VPM Daily Newscast. VPM.