Mark Newton

Richmond

News Editor at Richmond Magazine (US)

News editor @richmondmag. Old places: @myvpm, @dls_virginia, editor/designer/social/writer at @dailyprogress + @newsadvance. [email protected]

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Articles

Give and Take

6 days ago | richmondmagazine.com | Mark Newton

Virginia’s lawmakers passed nearly 2,000 pieces of legislation out of the over 3,500 considered in its 2025 session. And on April 2, the General Assembly reconvened to consider Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s 157 vetoes and other proposed changes. Legislators also rejected most of Youngkin’s budget amendments. All laws take effect July 1 unless otherwise noted, and all 100 seats of the House of Delegates are on the ballot this year. Here are some takeaways from this session’s legislation action.
Nice Shot: History Project

1 week ago | ourcommunitynow.com | Mark Newton

Share The Leigh Street Armory, the only armory built in 19th-century America for a Black militia, disappeared from the Virginia National Guard’s website in March after a federal purge of so-called DEI topics.
Nice Shot: History Project

1 week ago | richmondmagazine.com | Mark Newton

The Leigh Street Armory, the only armory built in 19th-century America for a Black militia, disappeared from the Virginia National Guard’s website in March after a federal purge of so-called DEI topics. On April 2, the militia was resurrected through a series of images projected onto the building, which is now the home of the Black History Museum & Cultural Center of Virginia.
Celebration on Hold

1 month ago | richmondmagazine.com | Mark Newton

In order to introduce a bill directing the Department of Motor Vehicles to issue a specialty license plate reading “Celebrate Diversity,” Diversity Richmond had to gather at least 450 paid applications before the start of the 2025 session of the General Assembly on Jan. 8. Unfortunately, the nonprofit did not receive enough applications, according to Administrative Coordinator Michelle Campbell. She says the submission period will be extended to the start of the 2026 session.
Trending in the Right Direction

2 months ago | richmondmagazine.com | Mark Newton

Violent crime was down across the board in 2024, according to the Richmond Police Department’s annual crime statistics, which Chief Rick Edwards shared in a January press conference. Overall, 967 violent crimes were committed last year, down from 1,023 in 2023 and from a height of 1,309 in 2016. Those crimes include homicide, rape, robberies and aggravated assault, all of which fell from the previous year. Nonfatal shootings (200) were up from 2023 but down from 257 in 2022.
Happy, Happy Hippos

2 months ago | richmondmagazine.com | Mark Newton

Move over, Moo Deng — thereʼs a new pygmy hippo in town. Poppy was born at the Metro Richmond Zoo on Dec. 9 and was named on Jan. 6 after 116,000 in-person and online ballots were cast, beating out Hammie Mae with 52.8% of the vote. People from 165 countries participated, though in-person votes were counted twice. “The voter turnout for this was incredible,” says Taylor Andelin, the zoo’s communications manager.
Water Woes

2 months ago | richmondmagazine.com | Mark Newton

This article has been updated since it first appeared in print. The promise of help was short-lived for thousands in metro Richmond impacted by January’s water crisis. Applications to the Water Recovery Fund, an expansion of the city’s Family Crisis Fund and facilitated by the United Way of Greater Richmond & Petersburg, opened Jan. 31 and were paused Feb. 3. City officials who made the move announced that the available monies had been “fully committed” over the weekend.
Nice Shot: City of the Future

2 months ago | richmondmagazine.com | Mark Newton

The city of the future is here, and it’s located inside a classroom at Virginia Commonwealth University. OpenCyberCity, a realistic 1:12 scale model of a bustling downtown, allows College of Engineering students to test tiny drones, autonomous vehicles, manufacturing robots, smart devices and more under the tutelage of the city’s director, electrical and computer engineering professor Sherif Abdelwahed. The model city was built in 2022, and about 40 students have used it since then.
Our Data-Driven Future

Feb 10, 2025 | richmondmagazine.com | Mark Newton

A modern-day gold rush is here in Richmond, says John W. Martin, as the nascent data center industry rises to meet the information needs of the future. As the president and CEO of RVA757 Connects, however, Martin’s vision goes beyond the capital. He and his nonprofit coalition of business and government leaders see a global internet hub that stretches across the commonwealth, connecting the “megaregion” of Hampton Roads and Richmond to Northern Virginia.
Doctor’s Orders

Jan 27, 2025 | richmondmagazine.com | Mark Newton

Dr. Danny Avula, a pediatric specialist, first alights on Virginia Commonwealth University’s medical buildings. “I think about the place where I spent an ungodly number of hours at the hospital during residency,” he says, laughing. Next is Capitol Square and facilities such as the Patrick Henry Building, “where I was in the basement every day during the situation room,” working to drive up COVID-19 vaccination rates in the commonwealth.