2013 in review: October, November, December

Our final look at 2013 features bootlegging, cheetah cubs, and tweets gone awry.

December 31, 2013; 7:09 AM • by Nathan Cushing

October began with RVA gamers, comic readers, music fans, and developers convening for the first annual RVA CON, and we were there to see attendees in all of their costumed glory. Later, our tastebuds got in a tizzy with the news that additional restaurants were on the horizon.

RVA Family showcased two excellent pieces this month: the first on how a couple can be together despite living apart, and the second on a father wrestling with raising daughters in world where one in six American women have been raped or been the victim of attempted rape.

We spoke with a bonafide bootlegger ahead of his talk and demonstration at the Richmond Folk Festival, which we attended and where we took these photos.

After folkin’ out, we discussed two bicycle projects the City was working on, gazed at the new RPD police cars, and discovered one man’s goal of covering RVA with free Wi-Fi.

The Metro Richmond Zoo welcomed five (adorable) cheetah cubs, and the city’s collective productivity plummeted once the zoo added the online Cheetah Cam.

For Halloween, we visited Billups Funeral Home, which dates back to 1850, one of Richmond’s oldest continually run businesses. We also curated a list of famous dead people buried in town. Speaking of being dead, can you get buried in Hollywood Cemetery? We found out the answer.

November began with us discovering King of Pops had been burgled…three times. In more uplifting food news, Max’s on Broad and The Cask opened.

On Election Day, we kept track of the local and statewide races, which included a very close result for Attorney General.

We broke the news that regulations on happy hour advertising would change in 2014. We learned about Mayor Jones’s proposed Shockoe baseball stadium plan, which includes a Slavery & Freedom Heritage site.

On the court, Treveon Graham drained a shot for the ages to lift VCU above UVA. Then a new exhibit prompted us to say hello to a few of Virginia’s most venomous residents.

Later in the month, state senator Creigh Deeds was stabbed in the head and torso by his mentally-ill son, whom later killed himself inside the Deeds’s Bath County home.

We spoke with several longstanding business owners to see Richmond’s history through their eyes. After reflecting a bit, we attended the Richmond Marathon (and got some great pics in the process).

A few VCU “design rebels” created very cool LGBT coffee sleeves, and we learned the 2014 Elby Award nominees. And finally, we ended November writing about two very good things: the new Hunger Games movie and Hardywood’s Gingerbread Stout.

December began with the knowledge that the IRS would soon change how it considered automatic gratuities at restaurants, so we discussed what that meant for local restaurants and servers.

The month brought us not one but two license plate stories: Virginia’s new standard plate available in spring 2014, and the RVA plate that backers want available statewide.

One of our most interesting pieces of the month was about two Richmonders who each sent a tweet that made them nationally famous (but not in a good way).

Things got rolling when we spoke with the owners of Boho, a new cycling studio in The Fan. Our sights then turned to Richmond’s first red light camera and when it’ll start issuing citations (early January).

With the holidays approaching, Val wrote about Christmas without Santa (a topic that got people talking). Another thing that got people talking was the Redskins craptastic season, something Bopst consistently wrote about with humor and aplomb.

In food news, we learned Lamplighter will be taking over Crossroads in The Fan and local brewery Devil’s Backbone ranked #21 in The Daily Meal’s list of best craft breweries in America.

Advertising legend Mike Hughes, who helped built The Martin Agency and its financial success, passed away after flouting the deathly prognoses of doctors for several years.

Finally, we concluded December by taking a pictorial look back at the year that was.

It’s been real, 2013! We’re definitely stronger and wiser because of you, but now it’s time to get ready for 2014.

photo by Jim Andelin

December 31, 2013 7:09 AM 0