The health, worth and prospects of a community can be measured in many ways. But the greatest harbinger of a town’s wealth flows from the talent, heart, vision and yes, both toughness and sensitivity of its people. By that measure, we are the richer because these individuals — some of them real characters — passed this way.

Texas-born Allix B. James, former Virginia Union University president, died Sept. 26 at 92. During his 1970-’79 tenure, he clicked with the broader community like no other VUU chief. He chaired the city Planning Commission and served as president of the Virginia State Board of Education.

Richmond has had few more capable leaders than Hunton & Williams attorney Lewis T. Booker, who died April 4 at age 85. He served three terms as University of Richmond rector and was Richmond School Board vice chairman in 1970, when resistance to busing led to school closures in other places such as Norfolk and Charlottesville. “We never closed,” he later said proudly. “We never lost a day.”

During the holidays last year Milo Russell, a distinguished professor of painting and print-making at Virginia Commonwealth University (1958-’85) and surely in the pantheon of Richmond’s artists himself, died Dec. 22 at 93.

Robbin Thompson, who entertained locals and the world for four decades and once was lead singer for Brue Springsteen’s Steel Mill band, died Oct. 10 at 66. Earlier this year, “Sweet Virginia Breeze,” which he wrote with Steve Bassett, became the official popular state song.

Another musical star burned out with the death of Suzanne Kidd Bunting, a gifted organist and highly respected professor of music at UR on Oct. 30 at age 79.

The talented Terry Snyder saw his first puppet show as a boy in Italy, where his father served in the U.S. military. He knew that puppetry would be his life’s work. He designed, built, scripted and performed puppet productions internationally. He was 67 when his final curtain fell Sept. 7.

Often cast in comic roles, actress Ales Rowe was a beloved member of the local theater world. She graced the stage in some 20 Barksdale productions and was an outspoken grande dame of Ginter Park. She marched for civil rights, women’s rights and against the Vietnam War. She died in June at age 89.

Some people make art and others support the arts. Louise Cochrane, who died Dec. 10 at age 99, did both. Her canvases were impressionistic. When she died, her union with trucking magnate Harwood Cochrane was the world’s 10th longest marriage, at 81 years. Their gifts to the Richmond Symphony and Virginia Museum of Fine Arts were magnanimous.

On Jan. 1, public servant Mac McGeorge died at age 87. The former high-school coach, who started a Henrico summer recreation program in 1956, became the county’s first full-time director of recreation and parks. When he retired in 1988 the department had 326 full- and part-time employees.

Moses Malone, a gentleman and basketball hall-of-famer who thrilled millions during a legendary career, died Sept. 13 at age 60. In 1974 he jumped straight out of Petersburg High School to play for the Utah Stars of the American Basketball Association and then to 21 seasons in the NBA.

For 55 years, Jack M. Kreuter brought sparkle into many patrons’ lives, serving for many years as president of Schwarzschild Jewelers and later as owner of Jack Kreuter Jewelers. He died Oct. 9 at age 79.

Two other Richmonders now in fashion heaven also died in October. Burnett Kastenbaum died Oct. 3 at age 90. During the 1950s and ’60s she owned Burnett’s, a sportswear shop at Willow Lawn Shopping Center. She later moved her shop to Carytown. She also taught fashion merchandising at Richmond Professional Institute, now VCU.

“This is Rosalie Nachman for Lady Jefferson,” was the distinctive voice heard on radio commercials for Jefferson Clothing, a longtime retail institution on West Marshall Street, which closed in 2002. Nachman, a manager of the haberdashery, died Oct. 4 at the age of 89.

Some savvy and far-sighted prime movers in protecting and building awareness of Richmond’s distinctive architecture and neighborhoods died this year.

Former City Attorney Drew Carneal, whose love of Richmond was reflected in years of service to the Historic Richmond Foundation and by his book, “Richmond’s Fan District,” a definitive tome, died Sept. 25 at age 76.

Mitchell Kambis was a visionary real estate broker who restored the historic Empire Theater, now the November Theatre at Virginia Repertory, in the late 1970s — when Broad Street downtown was given up for dead. He died Oct. 16.

James H. Whiting, another dedicated Historic Richmond leader, preferred scraping paint to board meetings, determined that the National Theater not be demolished but resuscitated. He died Nov. 12 at age 86.

During the 1970s, Norvell Henley Lamb focused laserlike on restoring the White House of the Confederacy in Court End to its Civil War appearance and building a modern museum next door to better examine the most challenging years in the city’s history. She died at age 94 on Dec. 3.

C. Edwin Estes, a member of the greatest generation, returned from World War II and in 1957 acquired the company that became Great Coastal Express, a leading East Coast trucking company. He died in April at age 92.

Anthony “Tony” Dowd, also a World War II veteran, devoted his entire career to enhancing and expanding Richmond International Airport. He also was influential in establishing the Virginia Aviation Museum. He died in July at age 90.

Capitol Square had never seen the likes of firecracker Betty Jane Diener, who served as secretary of commerce and natural resources in Gov. Charles Robb’s administration from 1982-’86. She fought for coal miners’ safety and removed the word “plantation” from travel literature. She died Jan. 23 at age 74.

The Hon. Franklin P. Hall, whose shock of white hair and ready smile made him easily recognizable as a Richmond representative to the House of Delegates for 34 years, died May 18 at age 76. He championed programs that funded mental illness treatment, public schools and highway construction in the area.

The Hon. Leonard Lambert, a member of one of the city’s most accomplished families, died Nov. 18 at age 77. In 1973 he made history as the first appointed black judge in the city, in the Richmond Juvenile Court. He later led the Arthur Ashe Monument Committee.

Edna Ipson, born in Lithuania, was imprisoned in a German concentration camp during World War II before escaping with her family and spending six months in hiding. Relatives in Richmond attracted them here after the war, where she and her husband, Israel, bought a gas station. She became the first woman in Richmond to pump gas commercially. Their son, Jay, co-founded the Virginia Holocaust Museum. This remarkable woman died in October at age 103.

An icon of compassion, Alicia Rasin founded Citizens Against Crime in the 1990s. Sadly, she organized seemingly endless vigils for homicide victims where she served as comforter-in-chief. She died Oct. 9 after a long illness.

Covington native and popular WRVA-AM 1140 radio host Larry Dodd began his career here in 1959 as morning anchorman for WTVR-TV 6. He soon was recruited to WRVA, where he served as news reporter in the mid-’60s, creating and hosting “Open for Opinion,” a pioneering talk show. He died April 11 at age 80.

Television news journalist and anchor Stephanie Rochon-Moten died June 3 at age 50. She joined WTVR as an evening anchor and continually raised awareness of cancer through her special reports, Buddy Check 6. CBS-6 dedicated its newsroom in her honor.

For 30 years, Ed McLaughlin was welcomed into Richmond homes as a television reporter and anchor for NBC-12. A Richmond Broadcaster Hall of Fame laureate, he died in July at age 78.

Lindy Keast Rodman, a photojournalist whose images enlivened the pages and enlightened readers of the Richmond Times-Dispatch for 31 years, died July 6 at age 60.

The death of another committed and talented former journalist, John Maloney, who served Style as news editor from 1993-’97, especially saddened the newsroom where he once served with gentle humor, a solid work ethic and sound judgment. Maloney, who went on to a career as a financial adviser with Wells Fargo Advisors, died in April at age 50.

We will miss these and many other people who no longer grace our community but left unique marks.

On March 10 Gary Thomas, owner of Governor’s Antiques & Architectural Materials in Mechanicsville for 45 years, died at 73. It was one of the largest antique companies on the East Coast. Before that he owned The Crow’s Nest antiques emporium in Carver.

Bruce Reiss, a merchandising executive who helped catapult the former locally-based Best Products Co. into a nationwide catalog-showroom giant, died April 2 at 73.

Richmond artists will certainly miss Janet DeCover, one of their own, who was also the founder of Main Art, a Fan District gallery and art supply company. She died Aug. 28 at 65.

Ebullient Brenda Cummings was known as the Glass Lady and operated one of the nation’s most distinctive stores with an encyclopedic selection of vintage china, crystal and pottery first in Richmond and later in Chesterfield County. She passed away on Nov. 10.

J. R. “Bunny” Tucker Jr., who fought for his nation in Europe in World War II, served in the Virginia House of Delegates (where he co-sponsored the bill establishing the Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike) and sat on the bench of Richmond Hustings Court, died on Nov. 27 at 101.

Another World War II veteran who passed away this year was Ida Ann Schreiber, Sept. 1 at 96. She served in the Women’s Army Corps, rising to the rank of captain as a dietician assigned Fort Lee and Fort Story. She later served Johnston-Willis Hospital as a dietician for 25 years.

A player in both the corporate and public sectors, Charles Walker died Feb. 16 at 76. During the 1970s he worked in finance and administration for both the Godwin and Dalton gubernatorial administrations and later joined Ethyl Corp.

Jim Roberts, as director of the Virginia Department of General Services from 2003 to 2006, was responsible for the state’s 11,000 buildings. This public servant died on May 30 at 62.

McEva R. Bowser, who taught in the Richmond Public Schools for 24 years and served on the Richmond School Board from 1994-98 died on Feb. 10 at 92. She also lent her talents as a board member of the Maymont Foundation and Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden.

Jackie Woolfolk was a lover of animals. The former member of the Richmond Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals board of directors, who volunteered to make the organization’s Fur Ball a great success, died May 19 at 72.

A lady who worked wisely for many years to have the historic treasures of Henrico County more widely recognized, Jean Gibbons, died May 27. She was a leader in having Route 5 designated a Virginia Scenic Byway and served for 11 years as chairwoman of the Henrico County Bicentennial Commission.

William Morrison, former director of public relations at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, a founder of the Richmond advertising agency, Morrison & Kline and later head of communications and development for the National Trust for Historic Preservation, died July 2 at 86. S

It's that time of year when kids home from school need something to do. Time to consider the puppet option.

From Puppets Off-Broad Street comes the return of RVA Winter Puppetfest for its second season with 12 upcoming performances at Richmond Triangle Players. The shows will be staged by three award-winning puppet companies -- including Crabgrass Puppets from Brattleboro, Vermont; their show recently received the 2015 National Puppetry Festival Award for Best Performance.

“We are so excited to have Crabgrass Puppets –‘The Princess, the Pea and the Pirate’ just won best performance at the National Puppetry Festival in Storrs, Connecticut,” says Heidi Rugg, President of Puppets Off Broad Street in a press release.

Read below for more on the upcoming performances from the release including the schedule of performances:

Applause Unlimited performs their heartwarming adaptation of “Velveteen Rabbit,” and Barefoot Puppet Theatre will share their lively, energetic show “Little Red and the Gingerbread Man.” If you are looking for some swashbuckling, high-seas adventuring, then the “Pirate, the Princess and the Pea” performed by Crabgrass Puppets is your ticket. Crabgrass Puppets is based in Brattleboro, Vermont; their show recently received the 2015 National Puppetry Festival Award for Best Performance.

Performances run twice per day from December 26th through January 1st, with a tiny break on New Year’s Eve. Tickets are only $10 and will be available through the website at www.puppetsoffbroadstreet.org or by calling the Box Office at 804-852-2810.

Dec. 26th: Little Red & the Gingerbread Man by Barefoot Puppet Theatre (10:30am and 1pm)

Dec. 27th: The Princess, the Pea, and the Pirate by Crabgrass Puppets (1pm and 3pm)

Dec. 28th: The Princess, the Pea, and the Pirate by Crabgrass Puppets (10:30am and 1pm)

Dec. 29th: The Velveteen Rabbit by Applause Unlimited (10:30am and 1pm)

Dec. 30th: The Velveteen Rabbit by Applause Unlimited (10:30am and 1pm)

Jan. 1st: Little Red & the Gingerbread Man by Barefoot Puppet Theatre (10:30am and 1pm)

Puppets Off Broad Street is a newly minted 501(c)3 with a mission to inspire imaginations and build community through the art of puppetry.

Tony Ammendolia of Original Gravity & Final Gravity Brewing Co. began brewing at home in 1993. He opened Original Gravity, his home-brew supply store in 2011. It quickly outgrew the space and moved to 6118 Lakeside Ave. last fall.

Part of that expansion included room to commercially brew beer, and Ammendolia began serving Final Gravity beer at the end of the summer.

“In the future,” he says, “we look to offer kits of some of our beers so you can make them at home, as well as classes for those looking to get into brewing.”

Until then, Ammendolia graciously shares this recipe Growler’s for home-brewing readers.

Sweet Potato Brown
Yield: 5 gallons

Ingredients

3.5 pounds sweet potatoes (peeled and cubed)
5.5 pound Maris Otter malt
1 pound 6-row brewer’s malt
0.7 pound Crystal 40L malt
0.35 pound flaked barley
0.35 pound Crystal 120L malt
0.35 pound Victory malt
0.06 pound Carafa III malt
0.06 pound chocolate malt
0.5 pound lactose (add last 15 minutes of the boil)
1 ounce East Kent Goldings hops (60 minutes)
1 vanilla bean (5 minutes)
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (5 minutes)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (5 minutes)
1 vial RVA101 Chico ale yeast
4-5 ounces priming sugar

Directions

Mash the grains and sweet potatoes together and cook at 153 degrees for 60 minutes. Follow the directions for each ingredient. Allow the wort to cool. Take a hydrometer reading — original gravity should be 1.056. Add the yeast, cover and ferment until two consecutive hydrometer readings are the same. Add the priming sugar and bottle. The beer will be ready to drink in about two weeks.

Literature in 2015 saw old stalwarts making good and exciting new voices rising above the din. And from former residents exploring their vivid memories of youth to Virginian authors exploring the world, this was a great year for the Commonwealth as both a setting and home base for talented authors.

There were two nationally recognized books set in central Virginia by authors who have long since moved away. Both harken to the 1960s and 70s.

Columbia professor Ben Metcalf aimed vitriol at Goochland County in “Against the Country,” eviscerating the people and promise of rural life with a fictionalized version of his childhood. It received positive reviews in a national media that, in NPR’s case, thought Goochland fictional. (Slate called the name “un-improvable.”)

Then we had Germany-dwelling Nell Zink, who grew up in eastern Virginia and went to the College of William and Mary. Her novel, “Mislaid,” long-listed for the National Book Award, is a blunt satire of race and gender with some familiar locations. The Virginia of her youth, like Metcalf’s, does not fare well.

Those depictions of small town Virginia find some nonfiction parallels in Kristen Green’s “Something Must Be Done About Prince Edward County.” Green’s book weaves historical research and interviews in exploring her family’s role in massive resistance to school integration in Farmville.

Ward Tefft, the owner of Chop Suey Books, says it was a top seller. “I was pleasantly surprised by the range of people who’ve been interested in it. It was heartening […] to see people taking an interest in the history of oppression in their state.”

Many Virginia authors found inspiration outside the state this year. In “Dreams of the Red Phoenix” readers follow Virginia Pye to 1930s China. John Grisham’s new character in “Rogue Lawyer” is a defense attorney in an unnamed southwestern town. And Patricia Cornwell takes Richmond medical examiner Kay Scarpetta to a case in Massachusetts for “Depraved Heart.”

But Howard Owen stayed in Richmond with “The Bottom,” the fourth book of his Willie Black mystery series. And Martin Clark, a Virginia circuit judge and author, wrote a legal thriller set in Henry County called “The Jezebel Remedy.”

Kelly Justice, owner of Fountain Bookstore, cites Pye, Owen and Clark as top sellers this year, in addition to memoirs by Doug Wilder and Lamb of God vocalist Randy Blythe.

The trend of neo-confessionalist novels, where the lines between author and character blur, found its way to Virginia this year. Memory’s limits meet fiction in Robert Goolrick’s “The Fall of Princes,” a novel based closely on his own experiences in New York in the 1980s.

And Andrea Kleine, an Open High graduate, wrote a strong debut with “Calf.” In it, the trauma of a childhood murder drives a fictionalized narrative of obsession, family, and psychosis.

Nationally, everyone survived the Harper Lee controversy, excepting those who named their children and pets Atticus, only to discover in “Go Set a Watchman” that Scout’s father devolved into a crotchety racist.

In more overlooked southern gothic, Tefft recommends James Hannhan’s “Delicious Foods” as “one of the best novels I’ve read in a long time.” Based on real events, a boy and his mother are imprisoned on a factory farm in Louisiana, the mother deliberately hooked on drugs.

And T. Geronimo Johnson’s debut novel, “Welcome to Braggsville,” which the Washington Post dubbed a “broadside against the South,” is a hilarious send-up of liberal academia and a Georgia Civil War re-enactment.

Lovers of the short story have much to be thankful for this year. Adam Johnson’s National Book Award-winning “Fortune Smiles” comes at you with everything that is good about literature. And Lydia Davis’ tireless effort to bring Lucia Berlin’s genius to light finally paid off. Berlin’s stories in “A Manual for Cleaning Women” are electric.

Claire Vaye Watkins is a writer to watch. Her parents were part of Charles Manson’s inner circle, and family history seeps onto the page of her first novel, “Gold Fame Citrus.” In it, a future Los Angeles is part of the waterless badlands of southwestern America through which the narrator, her partner, and a stolen child flee.

And 2015 was also the year of Elena Ferrante, the pseudonym of an Italian novelist whose real identity remains unknown. The fourth and final book of her Neopolitan series, “The Story of the Lost Child,” was published in English in a flurry of praise and speculation.

Kelly Justice is a friend of the publisher and notes that the book “was a very passionate project of his.” She credits the snowballing critical appreciation to his efforts, a grass-roots effect born of indie bookstores and book lovers.

Indeed, in an interview with The Financial Times, the mysterious author pleaded: “Let’s restore authentic centrality to the books themselves.”S

There is always a moment in a Zoso show when the lights dim, the smoke wafts through the haze of lights, and the 1970s figure of Robert Plant gyrates across the stage to the slick guitar riffs of a younger Jimmy Page adorned in wide-leg black velvet embroidered pants and jacket. Both are shirtless, their wild hair shaking—a hedonistic nod to an age that is long gone but still revered.

Led Zeppelin may be gone, but the tribute band Zoso recreates the mythic figures 140-150 times a year, night after night, for a crowd thirsty for the legends of rock.

The band Zoso is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, comprised of Matt Jernigan as Robert Plant, John McDaniel as Jimmy Page, Adam Sandling as John Paul Jones, and Bevan Davies as John Bonham. Bevan Davies is new to the band, having joined in September, and brings a new energy with past experience with the rock bands Danzig and Comes with the Fall.

Zoso started in 1995 originally with Jernigan and Sandling, later picking up John McDaniel. Jernigan and Sandling were seeking a recording contract in LA when an agent noticed a rendition that Matt and Adam did of “Whole Lotta Love” and “Kashmir.” They were good. Real good. Blues-based rock was not selling, but tribute bands were just starting.

“You know we realized we really had it, when people started paying attention,” singer Jernigan explains. “It probably took two to three years to get developed. And even 20 years later, we’re still learning the music. People don’t realize how complex, what master composers they were. I’m still hearing things that my subconscious picked up but I didn’t and suddenly it comes back to me and I go, ‘I’m doing that wrong.’”

It’s hard to imagine that Zoso is not the younger Led Zeppelin, they are so convincing. But they didn’t have much material to work with in creating these figures. Other than sparse video, they had still photos of the individuals, some band shots. “The guys are doing their thing,” Jernigan says, “so you just have to imagine what they would do in their natural flow and performance.”

It was not until "How the West Was Won," released in 2003, that Zoso had more footage to work with. “We were just doing ‘Ten Years Gone’ on the bass at first, then we found out that [John Paul] Jones would be on the acoustic 12 string and the bass with the bass pedals. Adam said ‘We can do it this way because they did it this way.’”

Each member “Zeppelinizes” their style and equipment to recreate each song with exactness. Sandling moves easily between three instruments—the mandolin, the bass guitar, and the keyboard to replicate the versatile John Paul Jones. McDaniel uses a bow on his guitar for the song “Dazed and Confused” and switches easily from a double neck Gibson SG to an acoustic guitar. Off stage, Jernigan speaks with a thick Southern accent, but on-stage takes on Plant’s persona from his British lilt to subtle hand movements and a hip shaking jauntiness as he struts about.

The Richmond audience will see Davies as Bonham for the first time and it is obvious that the dynamic between Davies and the other members is refreshing, with Davies bringing his own high energy to Bonham’s solo “Moby Dick.” The costumes are all replicas of former concert footage from Page’s famous Black Dragon suit with astrology symbols embroidered to Plant’s open shirt with bell bottomed jeans. The guys from Zoso are a bit older than the Led Zeppelin characters that they mimic on stage, but they still look the part. When asked if they work out, Jernigan smiles and says, ‘No.” But then adds, “Every night on stage. It’s all in the genes—jeans,” he laughs, tugging at his pants.

Zoso’s yearly schedule is grueling—the demand for their shows high. So how do they do it? They took a page out of Pink Floyd’s handbook. They leapfrog across the country. While one show is setting up, another truck with another full set of equipment is hauling their gear to another site on the other side of the US . “We have to play with our own gear—we play on our backline because it’s our own sound. We know what we’ve got, what it’ll take. It’s our thing,” Jernigan explains.

So it’s more than just fancy costumes and smoke. All the members go to great lengths to create Zeppelin’s exact sound. And the fans—especially the fans of Led Zeppelin—can see and hear the effort.

Zoso plays The National on Wednesday, Dec. 30. Tickets are $12.50 and doors open at 6:30 PM.

City leaders haven’t figured out how to pay for their $169 million plan to fix the city’s crowded and crumbling schools. But a former Richmond teacher has pulled together an advocacy group to start offering suggestions.

Garet Prior, a senior planner for Ashland, served on the Richmond Public Schools facilities task force that studied maintenance needs in 2014. He also taught at Lee-Davis High School in Mechanicsville for five years.

A 15-year plan grew from that effort, which school officials say could cost $563 million. The price tag on the first, five-year phase of the plan is $169 million.

Budget talks are beginning between the city and schools about how to pay for the massive list of needs. Mayor Dwight Jones’ administration says it’s against tax increases as a funding source. And without tax increases, schools may have to get in line behind other capital needs, because Richmond has a debt capacity of only $50 million.

Prior says his grass-roots group of parents, service providers and others called Richmond Forward, could help.

“I really believe in the power of engagement and inclusion and a good planning process,” Prior says. “Maybe there is work we can do reaching out to state, local and private individuals to draw up plans for local officials to adopt.”

He says Richmond Forward wants to have solid ideas for how to pay for the first phase of funding by the spring.

But progress can’t be made unless changing the state of Richmond’s public schools is a high priority, Prior says, noting that Jones’ administration seemed to have put schools on the back burner.

He refers to a recent comment from Jones’ press secretary, Tammy Hawley, that the school system serves only 11 percent of Richmond’s population.

That isn’t in line with the mayor’s anti-poverty agenda, Prior says. In 2014, Jones started the office of Community and Wealth Building to tackle the city’s economic disparities.

“It’s a ridiculous comment. I’m a little conflicted because I really like what the mayor has done with his anti-poverty plan, but at the same time making the comment,” he says. “You are kind of making the comment that [families with children in public schools] have less bargaining power.”

Information on Richmond Forward and a schedule of community meetings on the plan to be held by the school division, is at RichmondForward.com.

Even with the omission of yet-to-be-released award-season films, 2015 was an easy year in which to compile a best-of list, along with a few flawed gems deserving of honorable mention.

1. “The End of the Tour”— Is Jason Segel’s David Foster Wallace the real David Foster Wallace? Probably not, no matter how great a performance Segel gives as the late writer. The film tacitly admits that compressing Wallace into a movie version, through the words of another writer (Jesse Eisenberg) who knew him for five days, is impossible. But the effort is valiant and painful, and not just about Wallace. Of equal importance is Eisenberg’s Rolling Stone reporter, whose questionable behavior is a constant reminder that we must take this version of Wallace and profile writing in general with a great big spoonful of salt. All these layers, and the nagging question over what is real and what is phony in public personas, hopefully will drive viewers to Wallace’s books to ponder for themselves the true measure of his life, and of life itself.

2. “Clouds of Sils Maria”— Next to “The End of the Tour,” this is the year’s most reflective investigation of life and celebrity at a time when it’s increasingly difficult to separate them. Especially interesting is the way the story of an aging actress (Juliette Binoche) who revisits the play that launched her career purposefully confuses dialogue from the film and the play within the film, confronting through its characters our own often confused absorption of media.

3. “Carol”— This May-December romantic drama about two women from different social backgrounds, is, unexpectedly, more a love story than an indictment of midcentury intolerance. Director Todd Haynes has matured in his exploration of 1950s social conventions, and an inspired turn by Cate Blanchett helps elevate this period drama above mere finger-wagging at outmoded prejudices. They are present, but their opposite is what the movie celebrates.

4. “Testament of Youth”— Alicia Vikander had a huge year, with “Ex Machina,”“The Danish Girl” and this adaptation of Vera Brittain’s memoirs as a young adult learning heartbreaking lessons during the Great War. Atop its many qualities, it demonstrates the courage and importance of speaking out against the majority.

5. “Mistress America”— A small-scale but hugely successful update of the classic screwball comedy genre. Star Greta Gerwig and director Noah Baumbach have been a daunting collaborative pair, in “Frances Ha” and now this charming story about life and love in the big city that goes down like a big bottle of champagne.

6. “Straight Outta Compton”— Although a little too tidy at times, with at least one too many party scenes, this foundation saga of one of the most influential rap bands in history was a story begging to be told. “Straight Outta Compton” tells it with great humor and insight into its characters’ origins and motivations. Ice Cube and company didn’t merely yearn to escape their situation, but reclaim it and refashion it into something the public couldn’t ignore.

7. “Love & Mercy”— On the other side of the musical spectrum was an imaginatively constructed biopic about Beach Boy Brian Wilson, skipping back and forth between his 1960s heyday (Paul Dano) and his nightmare late period (John Cusack). It doesn’t completely succeed in bridging the two, but does provide a well-rounded and entertaining look at Wilson’s life and music.

8. “Amy” and “Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck”— OK, this is two films. But they’re like two sides to one story arc about coming up from nothing to the very top, only to crash and burn. One focuses on the rise (Cobain) and the other the fall (Winehouse), both ignoring half the story to their detriment. But both also avoid their genre’s clichés, approaching their subjects with commendable style and voice.

9. “Room”— This story recounts the escape attempt of an abducted woman who raised her son in her one-room prison. Surprisingly — and what makes the film so gut-wrenching and unique — is that their post-traumatic life on the outside gets equal if not more attention.

10. “Phoenix”— The German film about a Holocaust survivor (Nina Hoss) whose husband doesn’t recognize her is a brisk, searing tale of betrayal. It’s devastating, with an ending impossible to forget. S

Richmond theater started with a roar in 2015. “The Lyons,” produced by 5th Wall Theatre Company — a pitch-perfect family dramedy — announced that this fledgling troupe started by the Firehouse’s former artistic director, Carol Piersol, would be a major player.

The months since have been filled with several big hits, a few misfires and a lot of shows in the mushy middle. Style’s theater critics, Rich Griset and David Timberline, look back and evaluate.

Timberline: Rich, in my mind, 2015 was a year of both good and bad surprises. Some highly anticipated productions, such as Virginia Repertory Theatre’s “South Pacific,” disappointed me. Others stunned me with unexpected delights — from an angel crashing through the set of the angsty teen drama “When Last We Flew” at TheatreLab to a darkly hilarious, spontaneous human combustion in Triangle Players’“5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche.” What are your feelings about this past year on stage?

Griset: I’d have to agree on your mixed summation, but there have been some real gems this past year. “The Human Terrain” and Quill’s “Hamlet” (the latter starring Molly Hood as the gloomy Dane) showcased women biting into juicy dramatic roles. “Equus” by Cadence and Quill’s “American Buffalo” proved winning stagings of the classics, and Virginia Rep’s “Peter and the Starcatcher” was flat-out fun. You mentioned your disappointment with “South Pacific”— what else disappointed you this past year?

Timberline: A number of productions involved some unquestionably high-caliber work, but I ended up unmoved by the experience.

Maybe I’m just getting old, but even though a splashy musical like Virginia Rep’s “Gypsy” has a lovely set, beautiful costumes and a rousing score, it ended up having less impact on me than the intense and personal Civil War-era drama “The Whipping Man” that Virginia Rep staged back in February. Similarly, Quill’s “Holiday Memories” was full of gorgeous stage pictures but was as engaging as stale fruitcake.

Having said that, Maggie Bavolack’s performance as half a dozen supporting characters (including a dog) in “Memories” was incredible. What were the year’s stand-out performances in your opinion?

Griset: For me, this past year was completely dominated by women. Dramatically, it’s hard to think of two finer performances than McLean Jesse in “The Human Terrain” and Molly Hood in “Hamlet.” Hood has always been a strong actor, and Jesse has really come into her own in recent years — I feel like she’s in half the shows I see these days.

On the comedic side, Maggie Roop’s part as a ditzy and deranged hippy in Virginia Rep’s “The Last of the Red Hot Lovers” was funny enough to upstage even Scott Wichmann. Musically, I thought Brittany Simmons’ powerhouse vocals and dramatic performance in the titular role of 5th Wall’s “Carrie the Musical” didn’t receive the attention they should have.

And in a field all her own was Jessi Johnson as the glamourous movie star in Triangle Players’“Psycho Beach Party.” She has such an incredible presence onstage — someone should just write an original show for her already.

We’ve both talked about actresses. What men stood out for you this past year?

Timberline: Some actors bring a special pizazz to every role they take, and I’d put at least two guys in that category: Andrew Firda, who was the best thing about Triangle Players’“Angels in America,” and Daniel Cimo, who was exceptional in the one-man show “Buyer and Cellar,” also at that theater. I also will remember 2015 as the arrival of Denver Crawford: He nailed his portrayal of an awkward teen in Firehouse’s “The Aliens” and followed it up with a great musical performance in Firehouse’s “The Boy in the Bathroom.”

Speaking of the Firehouse, Joel Bassin called for a season of “radical change” there. How do you think that’s working out? And what are you most excited about coming up next year?

Griset: I have mixed feelings about the Firehouse. So far it’s only announced two traditional plays this season, A.R. Gurney’s Eugene Ionesco-tinged “The Fourth Wall” (which received mixed reviews), and the “Stepford Wives”-influenced “Maple and Vine,” which is scheduled in March. While interesting choices, the more radical part seems to come from Bassin’s Firehouse Fringe umbrella, under which the theater hosts magic shows, storytelling events and improv. Given Bassin’s background, I was hoping this season would be a bit more experimental.

Next summer, everyone’s sure to be talking about Virginia Rep’s musical “Dreamgirls,” which is based on the Supremes. Before then, the 5th Wall and Richmond Triangle Players’ co-production of Annie Baker’s comedy about sexuality and being politically correct, “Body Awareness,” opens in April and looks promising.

From the young punks at TheatreLab, I’m looking forward to the savagely funny “Bad Jews” in February and David Ives’ sexy comedy “Venus in Fur” in April. Plus, I’m always a big sucker for “Little Shop of Horrors,” which Swift Creek Mill Theatre will open in March.

How about you, Dave?

Timberline: The year should start out with a bang as Quill’s Anton Chekhov-skewering “Stupid Fucking Bird” opens Jan. 7 with a cast just ridiculous with talent, including recent Artsie Award-winners Jeff Clevenger and McLean Jesse. It’s also worth noting that two homegrown originals will premiere early next year: Irene Zeigler’s “The Little Lion” at the Mill in January and the Jason Marks and Debra Clinton kids’ musical “Croaker: the Frog Prince Musical” at Virginia Rep.

I’m glad you mentioned TheatreLab. The young company is instigating all sorts of fascinating endeavors, taking on issues about diversity in theater with “Blacklist,” a program celebrating African-American voices, and their theater for women by women initiative called the B Word. Here’s hoping they keep pushing the envelope.

In contrast, two of the biggest developments of the coming year will involve older white guys. In March, semi-retired local acting legend Joe Inscoe will return to the stage in Quill’s “King Lear” and sometime next year someone will take over for Bruce Miller as artistic director of Virginia Rep. What that portends for central Virginia’s cornerstone theater company will be a fascinating drama in its own right. S

The forecast calls for a plethora of new places to try, although the year ahead also has a few holdovers from 2015 that didn’t quite get their doors open. Hope springs eternal, especially in the world of food.

Grocery Biz: Where, oh, where are the promised Wegmans Food Markets? Last year, two stores were going to be built — one in Midlothian and one in Short Pump — but I must have misread the news releases. It turns out that although, tantalizingly, ground was broken for both stores, the South Side location isn’t scheduled to open until the spring, and the far West End store will open in the summer. Both are hiring. Aldi, the discount grocery chain from Germany, plans to add four more locations in the Richmond area next year, bringing its total here to nine. And let’s not forget, 2016 is supposed to be the year that maybe, possibly, Whole Foods is coming to West Broad Street.

In the Air: Peter Chang is taking his critically acclaimed Sichuan cooking to West Broad Street, but the renovation of the old Adam’s Camera space, newly christened the Hofheimer Building in honor of its first owner, has experienced the usual construction delays. Never fear — Chang’s restaurant will open in the spring, along with a rooftop event space managed by Mosaic Catering and Events.

Moving Day: Owner Julia Battaglini stunned Richmonders when she announced that Secco Wine Bar would move from Carytown to the old Buddy’s Place building at 325 N. Robinson St., slated to open next summer. Early Bird Biscuit Co. will trade its Lakeside location for one in the Fan at 119 N. Robinson St., next to Halcyon Vintage Clothing, on March 1. While Fan residents rejoiced at the news, a commenter on Reddit succinctly sums up the feelings of many North Siders: “My condolences to Lakeside. Clearly the sun is setting on your neighborhood.”

New Developments: Although the West End’s Urban Tavern shut down in 2015, it will be back with the same chef, Tim Bereika, and a new concept in the coming year. Lemaire chef Walter Bundy is building a more casual place all his own in the new Libbie Mill Midtown on Staples Mill Road. You probably know the long-stalled, newly reinvigorated development anchored by Southern Season as the home of the shiny new Henrico Public Library, which went up this fall.

Brewing News: Blue Bee Cider still has plans to move into the old stables in Scott’s Addition, but won’t pick up stakes from its spot in Manchester until summertime. The Veil Brewing Co. isn’t operating yet, nor is Castleburg Brewing and Taproom, although both plan to open in February. Ironclad Coffee Roasters will start cranking out the coffee at the beginning of the year. Buskey Barrel Cider Co. is this close to opening — probably right around the beginning of the new year, too.

Expanding Options: Eat Restaurant Partners, which owns Osaka Sushi & Steak, Foo Dog, Fat Dragon Chinese Kitchen & Bar, Blue Goat and Wild Ginger, has two restaurants in the works. The first will open at 1300 N. Boulevard in January in one of the oldest burger stands in Richmond — newly renovated and aptly named Boulevard Burger & Brew. The second restaurant, still conceptually shrouded in mystery, is planned for the GreenGate development near Short Pump Town Center. Richmond Restaurant Group is planning to open a second location of Carytown’s health-conscious Daily Kitchen & Bar at GreenGate and so is Mellow Mushroom.

Restaurant Row: Rappahannock owners Travis and Ryan Croxton are getting Rapp Sessions, a stripped-down oyster bar next to their original restaurant, ready for shucking at the beginning of the year. It joins Lucca Enoteca Pizzeria, located on the ground floor of the old Berry Burk building, and the West Virginia-based Secret Sandwich Society, coming this spring on East Grace Street near CenterStage, soon to be renamed the Dominion Arts Center.

Dining Out: While Shockoe Whiskey & Wine is filling tables in the former Julep’s New Southern Cuisine space, co-owners Shawn Minter and Tamica Epps want to serve diners a good steak down the street. Shockoe Steakhouse, at 14 N. 18th St., is next door to the event space, Loft 17, that Minter and Epps also own, and the two spots will share an outdoor dining area.

Name Game: The owners of the Mill on MacArthur announced that they would open a restaurant on North 25th Street in the East End Theater building, renovated this year, and then they did something a little unusual. They turned online to ask for help in naming the new venture. The contest inspired more than 1,200 entries. Owners Amy Foxworthy, Josh Carlton and Chip Zimmerman decided on Liberty Public House and the opening is set for the beginning of the year.

Coming Soon? A new mixed-use building with a dim sum place from Belle & James bar manager Sean Rapoza and Liz Kincaid was planned last year adjacent to Metzger Bar & Butchery on 27th Street in Union Hill. That project seems to have stalled, although we hadn’t heard back from developer Matt Jarreau at publication time about the next steps. S

As the year comes to an end, be thankful that you’re still around to observe it because lots of people aren’t. We like to say they’re in a better place, but we don’t really know that. It’s just something we like to say. There’s a tendency to believe what we want to believe. That’s why there are so many bad ideas floating around.

I am thankful to be here because, well, because I don’t know what happens when I’m not. Not knowing is scary. But mostly it’s because my family alleges that they still want me. If they didn’t, that might be something difficult to deal with.

I have reached the age when I scan the obits in the paper and think things like: “I beat him.” It’s like a game. Bet I can live longer than you. But why? It’s better to live a good life to 60 than stumble around another 10 or 20 years with no particular purpose. Either way this is a time to become philosophical. I guess.

Oh well, New Year’s Eve is coming up and some of us will drink it away until the wee hours of the morning. We’ll make New Year’s resolutions and vow to keep them. But few of us will. Rarely does one change what he or she is simply because of a date, or any other reason for that matter. We are who we are. We consistently fail to live up to our own dreams.

When I was a teenager, about 412 years ago, my friends and I prepared for a New Year’s Eve party to end all parties. None of us had done anything significant in the year past and had no particular plans to change that in the year ahead. But it was New Year’s Eve, and that meant an excuse to get really stupid. An older friend acquired the orange vodka we would need, and although I’d never drunk hard liquor, it was time. We drank it as if it were Kool-Aid, and it almost was … the Jim Jones kind. (Google it). In very little time I passed out and was thrown into a cold shower, as if that would help. I don’t recall the rest of the night, but for some reason none of us died.

This foolishness could have been fatal if not from the vodka, then from my father, a fundamentalist Baptist preacher. The Old Testament gives frequent instructions on when and how to kill people, infidels mostly, of which I was. Dad had all the scriptural foundation he needed to stone me to death, but as I said I was already stoned and he never found out. Since that night I haven’t had a serious drink. The experience dried me out. To this day I detest alcohol.

Most New Year’s Eve parties will be carried out by younger people who don’t know one year from the next. But some of us will wish everyone well and go to bed early. There will be no drunken driving citations for Gene because Gene will not be in a car, he will be asleep.

It can be very relaxing to be an old fuddy duddy. One avoids the risky behavior that’s so common this time of year and therefore the risk that it entails. The only dangerous thing on my schedule is turning out the lights and going to sleep. Lots of people slip away to the happy hunting grounds during the night. If that happens, so be it. I will go thankful for the good years and not worry about the ones I won’t see. You young people will have to take care of that. But be careful. Too much celebration of nothing can be hazardous to your health.

But if there is a New Year’s resolution, break with tradition and aim for something you can actually do. Then next year make the same resolution again, because the chances are it will still be out there for you.

I have lots of advice for young people, mostly stuff that I ignored when I was young. With that in mind, I will avoid suggesting anything, except for one bit of wisdom: Whatever you do, stay away from the orange vodka.

It is awful stuff. S

Gene Cox is an author and inventor who recently retired from a 35-year career as a television anchor in Richmond. Connect with him at letters@styleweekly.com, or on Twitter at genecoxrva.

+9: Bicycles Become the Spoke of the City

The year of the bike was dominated by the UCI Road World Championships, and the hordes of spectators, hoopla and economic activity surrounding them. But the last leg of the Virginia Capital Trail was completed too. The 52-mile route, celebrated for its beauty and accessibility, opened a year behind schedule in October, but just in time for the race.

All the while, a web of bike paths and lanes increasingly linked the city together — bringing bike enthusiasts a step closer to safe, motor-vehicle-free routes. It’s all part of a vision recognized by the city’s bike master plan, released in May 2014. It lays out a path for adding bike infrastructure as far out as 10 years. Potential state, local, nonprofit and federal funding sources are identified in the plan.

A bike boulevard is planned along two-mile length of North 29th Street in Church Hill. The city is expected to provide $130,000 for the $650,000 project, the rest to be paid for through federal funds. It’s the city’s second bike boulevard — a corridor meant to protect bicyclists with traffic calming features. The first was along Floyd Avenue. Also worth note is the Armstrong Bike Park, which opened last year and is gaining ground, billed as “the nation’s first and only inner-city mountain bike park,” a 1.5-mile trail within Fairfield Court.

But as the love for bikes reaches its zenith, concerns loom. Much disapproval shadowed the Floyd Avenue project, with Fan residents worrying about the availability of parking. And serious accidents brought safety to the forefront.

+2: A Little Food Enclave Expands

Once upon a time, an East Grace Street restaurant row was a just little idea bouncing around in Jason Alley’s head. Along with partners Michele Jones and Ry Marchant, he opened Pasture four years ago on a street of abandoned downtown retail shops. It was slow going for a while. Rappahannock opened on the next block and that helped things. CenterStage, soon to be renamed the Dominion Arts Center, provided diners, albeit erratically.

Things felt a little shaky when 525 at Berry Burk couldn’t make a go of it and shut its doors in 2014. But by the end of 2015, the street seems poised to roar back to life. Julep’s New Southern Cuisine moved from Shockoe Bottom to 420 E. Grace St. Pop’s Market on Grace, a breakfast and sandwich place plus market, moved into the old Cokesbury Books building. Lucca Enoteca Pizzeria, owned by Maya Mexican Grill, and Tequila Lounge’s Maria and Michael Oseguera, took over the Berry Burk space, and across the street, the Secret Sandwich Society plans to open in the spring.

Rapp Sessions, a small oyster bar to hold the spillover from Rappahannock, will slightly lengthen the strip at the beginning of the year and help ensure that if you can’t get a table in one place, you can bend an elbow and down a raw one to hold you over until you sit down at the next spot.

-3: A Local Music Festival Pulls the Plug

Sure, if you have the backing of a national organization such as the National Folk Festival to get your ball rolling, you stand a good chance of survival. But the music-festival circuit can be rough. The homegrown Fall Line Fest started in 2013 with more modest means, highlighting local bands while piggybacking on touring bands headed to and from the larger and easier to navigate Hopscotch Festival in Raleigh, North Carolina.

This year, organizers pulled the plug citing “an inability to attract sponsors” and instead held a smaller, multivenue event with some of the bands already booked called Extragavanza. Fall Line folks had it right with a grass-roots approach that included local artists, but holding a mostly local festival with no big-name hype isn’t enough in the era of huge music festivals, where everyone is competing for advertising dollars and media attention.

Still, festivals like these have a way of increasing a city’s profile and bringing in much-needed dollars for local business when they succeed. Maybe one day.

-5: Richmond Can’t Stop Stumbling Over the Confederacy

It's been 150 years, but the Confederacy still rankles. Richmond always finds itself embroiled in the debate over this chapter of its history and how symbols should or shouldn’t exist as a reminder. Nothing is as divisive as the Confederate flag itself, playing out recently over the backdrop of the Civil War sesquicentennial. But the issue reached a hot point locally after the shootings in Charleston, South Carolina. Shortly after the tragedy, the symbol was removed from that state’s capital grounds.

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe followed suit by banning a state-sponsored license plate featuring an image of the Confederate flag. It was a move that infuriated flag supporters, who rallied with cries of “heritage not hate.” The Virginia Flaggers took to the streets in convoys of lifted trucks decked out with flags to protest what they saw as an attack on their First Amendment rights. They also came out in full force to rally against an artistic expression — also a form of free speech — when the Confederate Memorial Chapel was used in the annual InLight Richmond art exhibition. The controversy attracted droves of spectators eager to see the work. But a blatant statement about the flag’s ties to the days of slavery was made when the statue of Confederate president Jefferson Davis was vandalized with the words Black Lives Matter.

The Confederate debate was showcased to the world during the UCI bike races. As international visitors craned their necks to look at the statues on Monument Avenue, some local political activists criticized the city’s decision to include the corridor in a race route. But the Confederates capitalized on the high number of spectators with a misspelled banner that read “Confederate Heros Matter” pulled across the sky. The flaggers said the snafu didn’t take away from their point, and later digitally added the missing E into online posts.

-6: The School Board Must Fight For Its Place at the Table

In October, school and city officials met for the second time in 11 years to discuss how to pay for the division’s facility needs. The meeting was a gesture of good will, but was overshadowed by the absence of Mayor Dwight Jones despite an invitation from City Council. His chief of staff attended but left before budget talks began.

More than two months later, tension continues to build as school and city officials face off over the $169 million first phase of a 15-year plan to overhaul facilities. The city won’t have the money to move forward without raising taxes, which the Jones administration says it won’t do.

School leaders say that something must be done immediately to keep classes in Richmond’s South Side from bursting at the seams. Richmond also is faced with aging schools that are leaking and crumbling after countless Band-Aid repairs.

But they’ll have to wait in line. The city’s debt capacity is only $50 million, and other projects such as road and vehicle repairs are competing for that money. City leaders have suggested that the school system try redistricting to alleviate congestion, but schools officials say that’s not enough. It’s already part of the first five-year phase of the facility plan. Over 15 years, officials hope to spend $563 million on the effort.

+4: Scott’s Addition Reaches a Zenith

Restaurateurs, brewers and developers have been breathing new life into Scott’s Addition, and the neighborhood seemed to come into its own this year.

The area thrives from a mix of factors. It’s centrally located, near interstates 64 and 95, and close to such amenities as The Diamond and Movieland at Boulevard Square. The neighborhood’s historic designation allows developers to take advantage of tax credits to revitalize buildings. There’s also the bonus of city real estate tax abatement, which gives developers a break on paying taxes on improvements for as long as 10 years.

This section of town is packed with industry, but has grown more diverse with businesses that follow new lofts springing up constantly. Roughly 1,200 apartments opened in 2014, according to the Scott’s Addition Boulevard Association. Other major renovations are in the works, too. A former asphalt plant on Roseneath Road is scheduled to be converted to 300 luxury apartments, while the Seaboard Bag Corp. building is now a 94-unit apartment complex, complete with solar power.

As rooftops are raised, restaurants and breweries follow, joining early comers such as Lunch and Supper and the Lamplighter Roasting Co., which have become staples of the neighborhood. Well known chef Peter Chang, of Peter Chang’s China Cafe in Short Pump, plans to open a restaurant in the Hofheimer building on West Broad Street. The Veil Brewery and Blue Bee Cider are scheduled to open in 2016, and will join the trailblazing Ardent Craft Ales, which started pouring last year.

+3: VCU Recovers From Its Breakup With Shaka Smart. (Kind of).

The coaching baton passed to Will Wade in April without any real havoc — unless you count repeating the word endlessly to make sure fans know their team remains familiar and marketable. But as always, the proof comes on court, and the Rams no longer have the key players that made havoc so effective. While it’s not quite panic time, fans got nervous after the Rams lost to most of the good teams they played this season.

But hey, whereas Shaka Smart’s name recognition was a great recruiting tool, Wade is no slouch in that department. He’s young and hungry to prove that his brand of hustle and obsessive analytics works. It’ll be easier to judge his debut after conference play starts in the solid Atlantic 10. For now, cool your panic room.

+3: The New Chief Spider Starts in Tune

When the University of Richmond searched for a president to replace noted historian Edward Ayers, it came up with a remarkable choice — a veteran college administrator and well-known cellist who’s played with major orchestras.

Ronald A. Crutcher arrived on campus this summer from Wheaton College in Massachusetts, which he led for 10 years. Acclaimed for his humility and acumen, he quickly settled into his new role as only the 10th president of the 180-year-old private university. He jumped right into such activities as the UCI Road World Championships, which saw a race start from the Richmond campus, and lent a helping hand on freshman move-in day.

He told Style that one of his goals was to make sure that Spiders continue to be need-blind when it comes to financial aid. With its endowment totaling more than $2 billion, UR is trying to make certain that students from families who make less than $60,000 a year have access to a 100-percent tuition ride.

“Accessibility and affordability are dear to my heart,” says Crutcher, who’s making sure that revenues stay healthy. One thing that might help at fundraising cocktail parties is his uncanny ability to listen to several conversations at once thanks to his years playing in orchestras.

+1: Mobile Food Options Get Their Legs

It’s every little food truck or stand’s dream to find a permanent place it can call home. And several made the transition this year. Pizza Tonight, seen everywhere across town serving its signature pig and fig pies out of a wood-fired mobile pizza oven, moved into the old Aziza’s on Main space, expanded the menu and transformed into Pizza Tonight Restaurant & Bar.

Paul Cassimus, the King of Pops, proved that he reigns frostily supreme when he opened a retail arm to his manufacturing space that includes a patio in Scott’s Addition. Ginger Juice Co. left the farmers market, and with the help of mobile pal Goatcado set up shop in the Village Shopping Center.

Sugar Baking Co. was a staple at farmers markets, too, and after a successful Kickstarter campaign it emerged as Whisk, a French-influenced bakery, in the old Globehopper Coffeehouse and Lounge space. And the granddaddy of mobile eats, Boka Truck, opened yet another location for its unexpected tacos, Boka Grill.

+6: Fulton Hill Gets a New Neighbor With Big Buzz

Gov. Terry McAuliffe says that he plans to visit every craft brewery in Virginia by the time he leaves office and that he’s “just the man to do it”— and you can “blame [his] Irish heritage,” he adds.

One of the few he can check off his list is Stone Brewery, where he continued to voice his enthusiasm in December. McAuliffe shared a drink with the mayor, state officials and Stone executives to mark construction progress on the brewery’s mammoth building. Its roof was removed to install large brew tanks.

Heady excitement is bubbling when it comes to the brewery, set to be completed in May. But hashing out plans for the project wasn’t all Stone and economic-development officials holding hands and singing. The city closed the deal with Stone in February after months of debate surrounding control over revenue from the project and the lease on an $8 million restaurant. The city fronted the cost of the restaurant and $23 million for the brewery, which Stone is scheduled to repay in a 25-year lease. The debates helped put a plan to complete the brewery by January behind schedule.

The project is lauded for its potential to bring economic development to the long stagnating Fulton Hill. In all, Stone expects to invest $74 million in the operation, which includes a packaging hall, retail and offices. The company expects to employ more than 288 people.

Stone also links into the city’s overall plan to revitalize the riverfront. The Sugar Pad — a concrete slab adjacent to the restaurant — is slated to become a beer garden, promenade, site for bicycle amenities for the Virginia Capital Trail, tidal pools and an event lawn. And the dilapidated intermediate terminal building will have new life as the Stone Brewing and World Bistro & Gardens restaurant.

0: Joe Morrissey Masters the Art of Foreshadowing

There was a time during one of his many news conferences when Joe Morrissey said he hoped to enjoy a quiet, private life with Myrna Warren and grow his family. Could it be that he was prepared to let his no-punches-pulled political career fade away?

Not exactly. In November, he announced through Style that he and Warren were expecting a second child, were moving to a North Side house and, yes, that he wouldn’t rule out a run for mayor of Richmond. And in December, he told the T-D that he’d officially proposed to Warren.

But it hasn’t been all sunshine for the couple. Their relationship drew headlines when Morrissey, now 58, was accused of having sex with Warren, who then went by the name Myrna Pride, when she was 17 and a receptionist at his law firm.

Both of them deny the charge, and last December Morrissey entered an Alford plea in the case, denying guilt but acknowledging evidence against him. He received a six-month sentence, reduced to a three-month work-release term, which he served while he held the 74th District seat in the House of Delegates. He won re-election from his jail cell in January.

Warren gave birth to their first child, Chase, in March, days before she turned 19. Their second child is expected in early April, and they’re planning a spring wedding at Morrissey’s farm in Varina.

As for the mayor’s race, it seems like Morrissey will keep the speculation going till he’s ready to make it official. He gave up on his campaign for the state Senate earlier this year, citing health issues when his diaphragm stopped functioning twice. Now he says he’s in perfect health and he’s “not ruling out a political run.”

+4: Christmas comes early to the VMFA

While the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts is still undergoing some growing pains since its big expansion — especially when it comes to the employee experience — it got some major good news when longtime patrons James W. and Frances G. McGlothlin announced a $200 million donation of American art.

The 73 works are drawn from “some of the most important artists in the 19th and 20th centuries,” including John Singer Sargent, George Wesley Bellows, and Mary Cassatt, artists that the McGlothlins of Bristol have been collecting for years. The associate curator of American painting and decorative art, Susan Rawles, said the gift has put the museum on a trajectory unique among art institutions when it comes to American art.

While the McGlothlins already had their own wing at the museum, they probably deserve that lifetime pass too, at the very least — plus unlimited coffee refills and the sweetest seat in the sculpture garden.

+1: A Bus Debate Speeds Along

At first, a bus rapid transit line seemed like manna from transportation heaven. Funded in part by a generous federal grant, the $53.8 million project would cut 14 minutes off the average 35-minute time a regular bus takes on its 14-stop run from Willow Lawn to Rocketts Landing along Broad Street in the heart of Richmond.

Yet the plan quickly became riddled as various groups took aim. One, called the RVA Coalition for Smart Transit, complained that the Pulse, as the project is known, would hurt businesses by eliminating parking spots and would dissuade shoppers because of construction. Members of the group include the Fan District Association, the Museum District Commission and the Monument Avenue Preservation Society.

Another problem is the project’s target market. Critics say that it will favor well-heeled whites while doing little to help low-income minorities get to jobs or make shopping easier. Public housing projects such as Gilpin Court now in food deserts wouldn’t be directly served.

Proponents say that spur lines would link to the line eventually. But don’t expect the project to do much to make a dent in the city’s 25-percent poverty rate any time soon.

+2: The City Takes Stock of Public Art

Whenever Richmond is sitting on a pile of money, you can bet national consultants aren’t far behind. In this case, because of the new city jail and an ordinance from 1997 that mandated 1 percent of capital projects be spent on public art, the city fund for public art has reached $3.2 million.

In July the city hired Ellyn Parker as a full-time public art coordinator and awarded a $150,000 contract to Gail Goldman and Gretchen Freeman (from San Diego and Phoenix, respectively) to develop a public art master plan. They’re still in the research phase, and last month held a public meeting that drew 60 people. So if you have a plan for public art that deserves money, now is your time to make a pitch.

Note: They’ve already set aside $300,000 for that new Maggie Walker statue. The next public art master plan meeting is Feb. 10 at ArtWorks in Manchester; there’s a community meeting on Jan. 12 at Storefront for Community Design about the Maggie Walker project; and Parker tells us there will be a meeting in late January on the public art for the RiverFront project with the artist. Get thee to a meeting.

+1: A Love Story is Caught On Camera

What’s not to love about a little love story titled “Loving”? As if you couldn’t tell from the lines of hopeful movie extras that wrapped around the block in Manchester, people are stoked about this one.

The latest locally filmed biopic to capture Richmond’s imagination, “Loving” is about the civil rights case of Mildred and Richard Loving, an interracial couple sentenced to prison in Virginia in 1958. The British-American drama is being directed by a hot Hollywood talent, Jeff Nichols (“Mud,”“Shotgun Stories”), and features actors Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga as the couple, plus one of our favorites, iron-faced Michael Shannon as a Time photographer.

So if you’ve been following: That’s a powerful and (sadly, still) timely love story, plus major film talents, plus principal photography in Richmond? Something tells us this has Oscar gold dribbling from its pores. If you got your mug in this thing, good on ya.

+3: Art 180 Gets the Robins Touch

Sometimes the people who need art the most are those standing at a crossroads — including incarcerated youth whom society might see on paths to lives behind bars. That’s the idea behind local nonprofit Art 180’s Youth Self-Advocacy Through Art, developed with the Legal Aid Justice Center.

The program not only builds confidence and skills through art classes in jails, but also seeks reform through a campaign to encourage young people to advocate for themselves before policymakers. The Robins Foundation rewarded the program with its $500,000 grant, which will help launch the collaboration, keep it going and shed more light on the widespread problem of expensive and outdated punitive systems — which studies have shown to be less successful when it comes to young people. Teach them art instead and they might surprise you.

+4: The Martin Agency Marks a Milestone

One of Richmond’s hottest companies, the Martin Agency, marked its 50th anniversary in 2015. The Shockoe Slip advertising giant has become a creative treasure, spinning off local business and churning out nationally recognized work.

And the accolades racked up alongside the 50th celebration. Shoot magazine recently named it agency of the year, and the trade journal Adweek lauded Martin as producing the best ad spots in 2015 — the Unskippable series for longtime client Geico, which also won the 2015 Cannes Lions Film Grand Prix.

True to form, the agency keeps the viewer in mind. The videos, positioned to run before you see a video online, are so brief that you get the message before you can hit the skip button.

Savvy work for Geico has been a trademark since the mid-’90s. Creatives took a chapter from HBO’s “The Sopranos,” intricately weaving multiple stories for hawking insurance like a Tolstoy novel. There’s the gecko, the cavemen, the camel. And that’s not to mention work for such clients as Oreo, Wal-Mart and the JFK Library.

The agency has undergone a round of leadership change. Joe Alexander was named Martin’s chief creative officer in 2012. And John B. Adams Jr., who’s led Martin since 1992, is stepping down as chairman Dec. 31. In 2012 he left the chief executive post, which was taken over by Matt Williams, and will stay busy teaching at the University of Richmond and the Virginia Commonwealth University Brandcenter.

Next on the Martin Agency’s list is expanding its global presence by opening regional offices on several continents.

+6: A Chinese Company Stakes Out a Green, Multibillion-Dollar Future Along the James

Richmond is all abuzz about the new Stone Brewing Co. plant going up near Rocketts Landing. But if you want to see something far more powerful when it comes to potential local income, paddle your kayak a few miles farther downstream.

There, Shandong Tranlin, a Chinese company, has broken ground for a $2 billion paper mill that will employ 2,000 local workers. When finished by about 2020, it will use green methods that should diminish the pollution, such as ultra-toxic dioxin, that’s usually associated with stinky pulp mills.

There won’t be any foul-smelling air because the plant will use leftover farm waste instead of trees. It won’t use bleach that typically puts dioxins in the water. And it will recycle much of its waste and turn leftover corn and wheat stalks into a “black liquor” that can be used as highly concentrated fertilizer by the farmers who supply it with raw materials.

Believed to be the largest single Chinese investment into a green-field plant in the country, the plant is expected to enhance the Richmond area’s logistics base, which includes the revived Port of Richmond and various trucking and rail facilities from the city south along Interstate 95 to Fort Lee. It seems like a win-win-win.

-9: Mosby Court Braces Itself Against Tragedy

Mosby Court became the site of the year’s most homicides in a Richmond public housing project. The violence hit its zenith with the fatal shooting of Jawaun L. Hargrove, 33, and Anthony D. Addison, 21, on Sept. 9. Nearly a month later, the death of William E. Crutchfield brought the body count in the East End neighborhood to six, a stark change from 2014. Capt. Roger Russell of the Richmond Police Department compared it to 2014, when there was one homicide in Mosby, that of Zyemontae Redd, 15, who was shot.

The uptick in violence resonated with Mosby residents, and Police Chief Alfred Durham said they stepped forward with more crime-solving tips. Durham also said the department was stressing community policing, a model it adopted 10 years ago to build relationships between officers and residents before crime happens. Grass-roots efforts to get Mosby back on track have been spearheaded by the nonprofit Kinfolks Community, Virginia Commonwealth University, local activists and the residents themselves.

Of course gun violence and homicides weren’t limited to Mosby, and in the weekend before Christmas there were five shootings in the city, leaving three people dead. At a news conference last week, Durham said he was considering whether to bring back Project Exile, a federal program started here in 1997 to crack down on gun-related homicides.

The message was clear: Enough is enough.

-8: City Hall Melts Down

Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones has been basking in the afterglow of the grand UCI Road World Championships bike races. But inside City Hall, the administration has been facing a dirty and not-so-hidden secret: Its finances have been an absolute mess since at least 2011, mucking up operations and planning.

Since then, its financial leadership has gone through three complete turnovers, with some officials lasting all of six weeks before being let go. The revolving door worked so briskly that City Hall became the butt of jokes among other municipal financial officials. In a highly rare event, Cherry Bekaert, a respected local accounting firm, fired its client, saying Richmond was too dysfunctional to work.

The core of the problem is the botched installation of RAPIDS, the city’s main database. By contrast, Henrico County installed something similar with little disruption. City officials blame the database and the incompetent former employees they hired for several highly tardy financial reports due to the state.

A new team led by Chief Administrative Officer Selena Cuffee-Glenn, tapped for the job in April, promises a turnaround, but her team still missed its Nov. 30 deadline for the latest state reports. The dilemma shows the weaknesses of doing away with a strong city manager form of government as Richmond did in 2004. Maybe we don’t need a figurehead after all?

-5: The Children’s Hospital Standoff Ends With the Status Quo

No one’s coming out a winner in the bitter struggle over plans for an independent standalone, regional children’s hospital.

After moving in fits and starts for several years, the idea came to a halt in May when the VCU Medical Center and Bon Secours Richmond Health System pulled out of the plan, saying it was too costly and outdated.

Backers held out hope for a solution, including a group of pediatricians, billionaire businessman William Goodwin and Katherine Busser, chief executive of the Virginia Children’s Hospital Alliance. They considered part of the North Boulevard site around The Diamond as a potential home. But by year’s end, Busser’s group had suspended activities, making prospects even dimmer.

Proponents of a children’s hospital say that advanced pediatric care is lacking locally, and parents are forced to travel outside the area for the most serious kinds of treatment. They believe an independent hospital would become a regional medical destination, and that Virginia Commonwealth University quashed the effort because it wanted to control the new facility.

Executives with VCU say the hospital system can treat many children’s illnesses and that they’ve invested heavily in outpatient and preventive care, which is where pediatric care is heading. They also blame changes in the economy and the health care system as obstacles.

+4: Richmond Can't Stop the Suds

Richmond hasn’t hit high tide yet with the rising success of its breweries. Two of them opened in the last year, Garden Grove and 7 Hills Brewing Co., and at least four more were announced for 2016.

The kegs will overflow when Hardywood Park Craft Brewery builds a second production compound in Goochland County that will include an amphitheater, taproom, beer garden and of course, the space and equipment to make beer. It’ll cost a whopping $28 million that the founders raised privately, plus a little more that the state and county will kick in to get the project off the ground.

Area breweries also grabbed the spotlight when four — the Answer Brewpub, Hardywood, Lickinghole Creek Craft Brewery and Midnight Brewing — snagged gold at the Virginia Craft Brewer’s Cup. The Answer’s IPA entry, Larceny, took home the best in show award. Richmond is looking so attractive to the beer crowd these days that besides big boy Stone Brewing Co., Charlottesville’s Three Notch’d Brewing Co. plans to open its third spot in Scott’s Addition in the spring.

+2: A Race For State Senate Cranks Up the Drama

An unusually heated race for the Virginia Senate in the polyglot 10th District may predict the shape of things to come.

Republican Glen Sturtevant narrowly beat Democrat Dan Gecker in Virginia’s second-most expensive race ever. Together the pair spent $4.8 million. That’s huge for the Richmond area but still didn’t top the $5.8 million that was poured into the 29th District Senate race in the Manassas area.

The 10 District fight was crucial because had Gecker won, the power balance in the Senate would have shifted to the Democrats. But what made the race even more exceptional was the level to which outside money came into play in what normally are fairly docile affairs.

Along with Republican political action committees, the National Rifle Association helped Sturtevant, a lawyer and Richmond School Board member.

Gecker, a developer on the Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors, ran a money-machine campaign with indirect help from New York billionaire Michael Bloomberg, who bankrolls progressive political agendas. In this case, he helped arrange for $700,000 in gun-control television ads in the 10th.

But the ploy seemed to backfire. The district runs from blue parts of central Richmond to purple zones on the Chesterfield County line and on west into red Powhatan. Voters living in the more western parts didn’t buy the Bloomberg intrusion and gave Sturtevant the winning edge.

The race is a political turning point showing how once-sedate state races soon may be driven by big bucks and technology.

+3: Richmond Voices Get the Celebrity Treatment

They didn’t make it to the end, but they made their mark. Richmond singers got far on reality singing competitions, with Rayvon Owen sliding into “American Idol” just in time, before the series rides off into the sunset next year.

Owen got to the part most finalists crave — when cameras follow him for a hometown visit. He traveled the country for the “American Idol” tour and has been back to town for performances, including at the UCI Road World Championships and serving as grand marshal of the Dominion Christmas Parade.

And Evan McKeel of Bon Air, well-known from his singing at the West End Assembly of God, was mentored by fellow Virginian, star singer and producer Pharrell Williams on NBC’s “The Voice.” He’s also been back, singing his heart out for home basketball games at Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of Richmond.

Peter McElhinney, jazz critic

There were a number of banner moments for improvised music in 2015: the Dave Douglas Quintet’s brilliant set at the Broadberry; Kamasai Washington at the Richmond Jazz Festival; Sun Ra Arkestra’s loose, heartfelt Saturday night performance at the Folk Festival; the Sunday night afterparty with Bio Ritmo and Zedashe at Capital Ale House (or any of the Richmond Jazz Society events at that venue). Debo Dabney cast a joyous light on the local tradition. Ashby Anderson’s “Undertones” at the Slave Burial Grounds illuminated the city’s shadowed past.

On the local scene it was a year of maturity and emergence. While No BS Brass broke through to a new, socially conscious level with their album “Brass Knuckles,” bass trombonist Reginald Chapman curated one of the most interesting new music series in years on Wednesday nights at Triple Crossing Brewery. Matthew E. White returned from his world tour with increased polish and presence. His guitarist Alan Parker energized the band with sonically sophisticated rock and roll abandon. The latest record from his band Poser, “Volume Too,” is excellent.

Other supporting players Jeremy Simmons, Kelly Strawbridge and Sam Reed stepped to the front of the stage with their own strong recordings. Nashville transplant Natalie Prass’s spectacular Spacebomb debut went over the top with the lush, concluding “It Is You,” arranged by her invaluable guitarist, Trey Pollard. Her touring drummer Scott Clark’s “Bury My Heart” is one of the finest and most focused albums out of the Richmond scene. Devonne Harris, Butcher Brown and Jellowstone Records were everywhere, either headlining or in support, a funky inclusive, labor of love.

There is doubtless much left out here. So much music, so little time.

Hilary Langford, pop critic

Avers rules SXSW. Richmond music represented hard at Texas' South by Southwest with the likes of Natalie Prass, Matthew E. White and Butcher Brown. But it was Avers high-octane performance at 720 Club Patio that blew my mind --- even veteran senior editor David Fricke of Rolling Stone was losing his shit and picked up a vinyl copy of “Empty Light.” The band also dropped an awesome EP, “Wasted Tracks,” in early December. Give these good people your dollars.

Positive No “Pedal Through” music video gets national love. A spoof on the 1986 cult classic “Heavy Metal Parking Lot,” this video nailed life in the ‘90s for the music loving set and got props from NPR and Stereogum among others [disclosure: I'm in it]. Lars Gotrich of NPR even gave the track a nod on "Songs We Love 2015."

Natalie Prass charms the pants off Broadberry, releases album that would make Dionne Warwick weep tears of joy. The buzz surrounding Natalie Prass’ self-titled debut album long preceded its official release in January at the Broadberry, but nothing can prepare you for that voice live. We all fell a little more in love with the singer that night and couldn’t be more thrilled to see her slowly taking over the world one show at a time (and releasing swoony covers like Slayer’s “Raining Blood” alongside Simon and Garfunkel’s “Sounds of Silence”).

Crowefest prevails! Despite a torrential downpour, the annual gathering of music-loving friends came through in a big way with intimate backyard performances by Jon Russell of the Head and the Heart, Lucy Dacus and Sleepwalkers among others. Beer, cute babies and dogs were a bonus.

Releases Kept Coming. Sam Reed, Pete Curry, the Trillions, Horsehead, Anousheh, Matthew E. White, No BS Brass, Manatree, Hoax Hunters and countless others dropped some impeccable tunes this year. Consider yourselves lucky to be a music fan in Richmond during a particularly fertile period.

Chris Bopst, calendar editor/curmudgeon/novelty tune aficionado

Kenneka Cook: The bravest performances I saw all year were by this 2009 Monacan High School graduate. With just her voice and a loop machine, she transfixed me every time. It’s like seeing Ann Peebles fronting the Tune Yards, only better.

Red Light Rodeo: A stripped down, country-tinged bluegrass trio that sweats when it plays. That is important. I don’t trust a band that does not sweat.

Those Maniac Seas: Nobody works harder putting together a 40-minute set. Members don’t play gigs -- they play shows. A hardware-store Devo, their low-tech visual presentations and clear sense of melodic self continue to impress.

ScottClark4Tet: The quintet’s thematic meditation on Native American heritage, “Bury My Heart” never lets jazz get in the way of telling a good story.

The Grave Hookers: The scrap heap blues duo has a new record coming out in 2016. For that alone, I am looking forward to 2016.

Drew Cook: One of the biggest bummers of the year was the passing of former Richmond resident and guitarist for Oakland metal mathematicians, Dimesland. His brother and bandmate John Cook still is playing guitar with the Residents, but the longtime project born in our humble abode by the brothers Cook was truly special. They were the Everly Brothers of riffs.

Vince Kane and the Incurables: Richmond’s best kept secret. Retro future groove rock that proves that the kids are alright.

Tiny Bar Series at Black Iris Music: The perfect setting for intimate music. They didn’t have a show in 2015 that wasn’t worth seeing. Expect the same in 2016.

NO BS! Brass Band: I’ve seen them more than any other local band. Amazingly, they just keep getting better. As a band or as individuals, the group’s members are always excited about something. They are a constant source of inspiration.

HTH: One of my goals in 2016 is to get this regional Kiss cover band to play a club gig as the unknown, early 70s Knights in Satan’s Service before they became the Donald Trumps of rock and roll. I’m really going to try to convince them to do it.

Brent Baldwin, arts and culture editor

Biggest debut and success story: Natalie Prass.

Most “Twin Peaks” moment: Locals Big No performing at Great Southern Fest while cast members swayed nearby; plus the incredible Julee Cruise cover band, Floating/Falling.

Viral moment of the year: Michael Bishop’s TED Talk on Gwar.

Best reissue and national media story: Edge of Daybreak’s “Eyes of Love”– a lost soul classic by former Powhatan inmates.

Most likely to be singing on that other shore: Maggie Ingram and Robbin Thompson.

Live music series that should return: Fast Forward at the Virginia Myuseum of Fine Arts (once brought musicians like Sun Ra, Steve Reich and Philip Glass). Since it’s become more of a hangout spot than ever outdoors, the museum should welcome avant-garde sounds and other special events.

Most engaging book by a local musician: Randy Blythe’s memoir “Dark Days.”

Most engaging book that needs to be written:“Scumdog: the Life And Times of Dave Brockie” -- or something more creatively titled along those lines.

Most intriguing side project: Dorthia Cotrell (lead singer for metal band Windhand) and her dusty and forlorn self-titled folk debut.

Most satisfying TV appearance: a joyful Matthew E. White on “Late Night with David Letterman” in its final season.

Best Richmond reunion show: Tie: Dads vs. Dynamic Truths/Eccentrics/The Technical Jed.

Personal nostalgia highlight: Hatchet Wound (featuring Richmond’s Kimber McQueen), Corn Rocket, Sleepytime Trio, and Sexual Milkshake at the Golden Pony in Harrisonburg.

Craziest Local Music video:“Richmond River Rat” by M.C. Chikin Mane

Best new local cover band: Life After Mars (Bowie) vs. Diamond Heist (Neil Diamond)

Best locally produced film soundtrack: Bobby Donne and friends on Rick Alverson’s “Entertainment”

Best live soundtrack performance: Marc Ribot scoring “The Kid” at the Byrd

Local band most deserving of a Grammy: Bio Ritmo

Hip-Hop Collective Due for a Breakout: Satellite Syndicate

Former Richmond folkie who needs to return to play the Folk Fest: Michael Hurley

Anticipated releases of 2016: Warren Hixson’s two albums worth of material; plus the reissue of Virginia blues legend John Tinsley’s out-of-print "Country Blues Roots Revived" (1978) on an imprint of Captured Tracks (project led by Marty Key of Steady Sounds).

David Lowery, frontman for alternative groups Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker, has filed a class action lawsuit seeking at least $150 million in damages against Spotify, alleging it knowingly, willingly, and unlawfully reproduces and distributes copyrighted compositions without obtaining mechanical licenses.

The lawsuit was filed on Dec. 28 in California federal court; and he is retaining the law firm of Michelman & Robinson, LLP.

“We are committed to paying songwriters and publishers every penny,” Jonathan Prince, a spokesman for Spotify, said in a statement. “Unfortunately, especially in the United States, the data necessary to confirm the appropriate rights holders is often missing, wrong or incomplete.”

A former local, Lowery is known for helping to start and continuing to produce records at Sound of Music Studios. He also has a home here and two sons who live here with his ex-wife. Still touring, in recent years he's become known nationally for being an outspoken proponent of musicians' rights in the digital age, and has testified before Congress. He also lectures at the University of Georgia in its music business program. Style reached out to Lowery and will update when possible.

Meanwhile, Billboard has more on the story here; and New York Times provides more coverage here.

And if you want to know just who Lowery is in more detail -- read this deep-dig profile of him from a year ago by Grayson Haver Currin.