2012 in review: Q2

We’re reminiscing 2012 in the days leading up to the new year. This time, we’ll take a closer look at what happened around town between April and June. The quarter began with a good deal of art and ended with a notable arrest.

December 27, 2012; 6:00 AM • by Nathan Cushing

April featured a few firsts for RVA. We got to see Richmond’s first Food Truck Court, and the cty hosted the month-long G40 Summit, which left a bunch of cool murals in its wake.

Art also became the center of attention when the drama over Art 180 signs on Monument Avenue got the city in a tizzy. Even the Robert E. Lee monument had something to say.

Two unrelated legal issues came up in April. The first stemmed from the Trayvon Martin shooting, in which we compared gun laws in Florida and Virginia. In a more light-hearted issue (but one that certainly roused a lot of passion), we looked at the possibility of RVA allowing backyard hens (City Council is expected to vote on the issue next year).

One of the most popular Raising Richmond articles was about 50 things one mom hopes to teach her son. Another column struck a chord with readers was The Checkout Girl addressing Ashley Judd’s “puffy face” episode.

Around this time, we became enamored with horror flick Cabin in the Woods, along with two (decidedly not horrific) businesses: Light Tape and Carytown Bicycle Co.

When May rolled around we made a lot of people hungry when we profiled Dixie Donuts. Baja Bean was in the (satirical) news when The Daily Show taped a segment at the restaurant. And in big sports news, VCU announced that it was leaving the CAA to play in the Atlantic 10 conference.

More local news went national when Tracy Thorne-Begland, who’s openly gay, was denied a judicial appointment because of his sexuality (however, that soon changed). Warren Buffett’s famous company, Berkshire Hathaway, purchased the Richmond Times-Dispatch (along with 62 other print assets previously owned by Media General).

In nature news, there were great photos from this year’s Dominion Riverrock festival, and we began June with a look at the Transit of Venus.

Also in June, City Council officially created an Arts and Cultural District spanning roughly 80 blocks. A short time later, Camel owner Rand Burgess was arrested, sparking a debate on late-night No Parking signs along W. Broad Street. That wasn’t the only controversy, as some debated the legal status of the food truck court in the Virginia Historical Society’s parking lot.

In cinematic news, people were excited about Ridley Scott’s latest film, Prometheus, although we found it to be a little…meh. Something that wasn’t boring, however, was the flooding on the Downtown Expressway due to a sudden storm. Several days later, another storm swept through RVA, leaving a good deal of damage (including damage to the Diamond).

Randy Blythe, lead singer of RVA-based Lamb of God, was arrested in Prague on charges of manslaughter. This started a protracted legal wrangling to secure Blythe’s bail, which didn’t end until August.

While that news was grim for Lamb of God fans, June ended with The Checkout Girl coming clean about a habit she’d been hiding from people…her early morning runs. This led to her training for her very first marathon, but you’ll have to wait until next time to see how it went…

We’re just warming up, so make sure you tune in tomorrow as we recap Q3 (July, August, and September).