Three black pastors filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Courton Wednesday seeking to stop the requirement that people voting in the March 1 GOP primary sign a statement saying they’re Republicans.

Virginia voters do not register by party, and anyone can vote in a primary.

But for the March 1 presidential primary, the Republican Party of Virginia asked for – and the State Board of Elections approved – use of an affiliation statement. Voters in the GOP primary must sign a form that reads: “My signature below indicates that I am a Republican.”

State GOP officials have said they want to keep Democrats out of their primary.

The move is allowed under Virginia law, but registrars say it creates confusion and anger among voters.

The pastors allege that the statement violates the U.S. Constitution and state law “and is especially repugnant when set against Virginia’s sordid history of discrimination.”

Virginia Beach lawyer Chester Smith filed the lawsuit against the three members of the State Board of Elections on behalf of the pastors.

Among the allegations:

The state board did not comply with a legal requirement that rules for a party’s primary be established 90 days before an election, because the board certified the loyalty statement 76 days before the election.

Black voters who must publicly proclaim they’re a Republican could face backlash from their communities.

The statement amounts to an illegal literacy test for voting because those who don’t speak English, including a disproportionate number of Hispanics, won’t understand the form, “leading many to forego voting at all.”

The lawsuit asks a judge to declare the loyalty statement unconstitutional and to stop the State Board of Elections from enforcing it.

The pastors – Stephen Parson, Leon Benjamin and Bruce Waller Sr. – will find allies in the camp of presidential candidate Donald Trump, whose Virginia supporters oppose the loyalty statement and want it scrapped. Parson was among pastors who met with Trump in New York City last year and who have endorsed him, according to a news report from Richmond TV station WTVR.

Hope Hicks, a spokeswoman for the Trump campaign, issued a statement from him Wednesday :

“While my campaign is not involved, I fully support Dr. Steve Parson and his fellow plaintiffs. He is representing millions of disenfranchised people in America who have felt left out of the political process for years, and that has to stop.”

Conservative radio host John Fredericks said his listeners oppose the statement by 20 to 1 and added that he welcomed the lawsuit.

“This pledge subterfuge is a blatant attempt by the RPV to disenfranchise unsuspecting core Trump supporters, many of whom are independents or new to the process and may not be comfortable signing papers stating their party affiliation,” he said. “These are the very voters the Republican Party of Virginia desperately needs to win in the fall.”

Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond, said a pragmatic issue is whether the lawsuit could be decided by March 1, but he thinks a judge could get it done.

David D’Onofrio, a spokesman for the state GOP, declined to comment on the lawsuit.

This story originally appeared on PilotOnline.com

I’m breaking every New Year’s resolution I ever had. The Parker Field sits before me on a small, rectangular tray lined with red and white checked paper. It’s a behemoth of a burger with the basic lettuce and tomato, plus chorizo, ham and a fried egg, all topped with spicy mayo. Next to it are perfectly crispy crinkle fries in a miniature fryer basket.

I try. I really do. If I’m going to break bad, I want to go all the way. But the burger’s just too big and I can only manage about half of it. That night I’m grateful, but at the time I really wanted to inhale the whole beast.

Boulevard Burger & Brews is now ready to open at 4 p.m. today at 1300 N. Boulevard in the long closed Kar World. The building was originally erected as Kelly’s Jet System Hamburgers, a 1950s chain with locations up and down the East Coast that predate McDonald’s.

There were originally three Kelly’s in Richmond. The two businesses that followed after the burger joint closed in the early 1970s, Mr. Moe’s Subs and Kar World, did little to change the building. Bathrooms entrances were accessible only from the outside, and the original slanted glass and distinctive red-and-white striping of the roof and its overhang were left intact.

This is the sixth project that includes Fat Dragon Chinese Kitchen and Bar, Foo Dog, Blue Goat, Wild Ginger and Sushio-O (now sold) that owners Chris Tsui and Ren Mefford have opened together. They have two other restaurants in the works, one on Grace Street and another in the GreenGate development in Short Pump.

But Boulevard Burgers & Brews is a little different. Because the building is on the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places, Tsui and Mefford had to follow strict guidelines to restore the building.

“We had to preserve as much as we could and there had to be a clear demarcation line between what’s old and new,” Mefford says. Between the original tile and the new, for example, the grout is a different color. The original footprint of the building is painted around the space in black. It isn’t dramatic, but if you’re looking for restorations, they’re easy to spot.

“We’d had an eye on this concept pre-Blue Goat, before places like Burger Bach” Tsui says. “We wanted to open a place with cool burgers and lots of beer. … We looked at spots all the time, but the right building never came up.” It turned out that the perfect location was right down the street from Fat Dragon.

The man who made the burger I couldn’t finish is David Ventura, who came by way of chef Jimmy Sneed. A native of El Salvador, Ventura is paying just as much attention to his vegan burger -- using a separate griddle and fryer -- as he is to the meat-focused ones. He’s also a veteran of Jenna Sneed’s Fresca on Addison, which specializes in vegan cuisine.

The meat is supplied by Creekstone Farms. Its Black Angus beef is non-GMO certified and comes from a single farm. According to Mefford, the only other U.S. restaurant serving the beef is New York’s Eataly. Why not buy local? Mefford says he came up short when he was looking for a source of non-GMO certified beef in Virginia.

At the moment, Tsui and Mefford are waiting on the weather to put up the restaurant’s sign. “It looks like the Las Vegas sign,” he says. “It’s 22 feet wide and 25 feet high, with neon chasing and flashing lights. It’ll look like a giant marquee.” It takes two days to erect -- and wind is a nonstarter.

When I spoke to the two owners, there were at least 10 people training for front of the house. The kitchen was running at full tilt while Ventura worked out the kinks in the new equipment, which includes an exceptionally hot chromium-plated griddle that sears burgers in only three and a half minutes. The old-school arcade games hadn’t been installed yet and there was a lot of organizing to be done at the bar.

Yet -- without getting too sentimental -- the old burger joint that was waiting patiently on the Boulevard for so long looked alive and ready for a new challenge. The carhops were gone, but the parking lot seemed ready for people hungry for burgers with a 21st-century twist.

Big-time Richmond musician Reggie Pace released an album in November with his band No BS Brass that offered a political stand in response to the death of Freddie Gray and others. The album, "Brass Knuckles," was inspired partly by what he calls the growing awareness of police harassment of minorities.

This week, Pace says he came face to face with the issue during a fearful run-in with Richmond police -- an account his Facebook friends noticed after this post yesterday:

Pace, a nationally known trombonist who has toured with Bon Iver, says he was walking out of his home off Park Avenue in the Fan around 9 p.m. when a police car pulled up slowly beside him.

“I look over, turn and start walking straight, they hit me with lights,” he says. “A cop got out, said 'Excuse me, let me talk to you -- I'm stopping you because you wouldn’t make eye contact.' Boom: Then another cop shows up on the other side.”

Within minutes there were four police cars surrounding Pace, who could still see his front door, he says. Police asked for his ID. Pace says it made him nervous to reach into his large jacket when surrounded by officers with their hands near their weapons.

“They told me, 'Someone called saying there was someone suspicious walking around in a dark jacket.' Which I don’t even believe, because I had just then walked out my door on my way to 7-Eleven.”

A spokeswoman for the Richmond Police Department says the department cannot respond when there has been no official complaint filed, but notes that the chief welcomes any feedback about negative experiences with officers. Those wishing to report such incidents can call the Office of Professional Responsibility at 804-646-6816.

Pace says he was rattled but that this is nothing new for most black people in Richmond. He says the lead officer, who had a European accent, soon told him he could go, but they continued to watch him while he walked off.

Pace says he went home, posted about the incident on Facebook and received a lot of support from his friends.

When asked if he considered taking the officer’s name, he says he wouldn’t dare unless he had a white friend with him with a camera.

“All you can do in these situations is keep a cool head and survive,” he says. “I mean, they didn’t rough me up or anything ... but man. This is my neighborhood.”

A sad departure: Popular local singer Laura Ann Singh (Miramar, Quatro na Bossa) left Richmond this week for the sunny steep hills, world-class culture, and tremendous quality of life available in San Francisco. So maybe it’s not so sad. She told me that she just got there yesterday -- and moved because of her husband’s job.

“Quatro na Bossa has a concert scheduled in July with VCU, and Miramar is releasing an album this year, so I anticipate still being very involved in the music scene in RVA, just at a distance,” she says via messaging. “I plan on singing out here once we get life figured out a little! Will be back because we have enjoyed a really close-knit family and community in Richmond. All the best!”

I asked Rei Alvarez, an artist and lead singer for Bio Ritmo and Miramar, what Richmond was losing.

“Musically, she's a dream come true for many,” he says. “For me, she's a role model and the best singing partner I could ask for. Without her, Miramar might have never been. Singing with her makes me try to rise above myself and get down to the real expressive emotion of a song. She is a first-class human being, tasteful and sincere.”

So when she comes back, hopefully there will be big turnouts for her shows.

I noticed these frozen dandelions on my morning walk earlier this week in Henrico County's Tuckahoe Park. Frozen dandelions in January? This makes sense in March but not a few days after New Year's Day.

I shot this with my iPhone 6 and added no filters, just sharpening. The morning light was beautiful and needed no enhancement.

I consider the iPhone just another tool in the photographer's belt, an easy to carry camera that produces beautiful images.

High Point Barbershop, a Fan District outlet known for its old-school, masculine vibe and the retro-chic ways it caters to mostly male clients, will be featured in the online broadcast of a national show Feb. 6.

The shop, at 211 N. Meadow, is one of five barbershops being featured in the broadcast of “The American Barber,” sponsored by grooming products maker JSSloane.

“You thought you might know your barber ... we didn’t know him at all,” intones Kyan Douglas, a nationally known stylist and a star of the “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” series that aired from 2003-2007. Here's the trailer.

“We found out we were selected last spring,” says David Foster, a co-owner and barber at the shop. “They spent an entire day from 6:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. filming here.”

Other barber shops selected include ones in Miami, Philadelphia, New Orleans and Columbia, South Carolina.

Foster says his team picked the name High Point because of how customers usually feel getting their hair cut. It has nothing to do with the city in North Carolina.

The exposure should boost the shop, which opened in the Fan in September 2014. But it already seems busy, and has received plenty of local media buzz. The place is booked for the next month, Foster says.

The show can be seen at theamericanbarber.tv.

A sad departure: Popular local singer Laura Ann Singh (Miramar, Quatro na Bossa) left Richmond this week for the sunny steep hills, world-class culture, and tremendous quality of life available in San Francisco. So maybe it’s not so sad. She told me that she just got there yesterday -- and moved because of her husband’s job.

“Quatro na Bossa has a concert scheduled in July with VCU, and Miramar is releasing an album this year, so I anticipate still being very involved in the music scene in RVA, just at a distance,” she says via messaging. “I plan on singing out here once we get life figured out a little! Will be back because we have enjoyed a really close-knit family and community in Richmond. All the best!”

Here's hoping she winds up with a gig at Yoshi's in Oakland, where I used to go see the great Shirley Horn hold court. Sigh. That woman could mesmerize with the best of them. Listen to her take McCartney's "Yesterday" and make it her own.

I asked Rei Alvarez, an artist and lead singer for Bio Ritmo and Miramar, what Richmond was losing.

“Musically, she's a dream come true for many,” he says. “For me, she's a role model and the best singing partner I could ask for. Without her, Miramar might have never been. Singing with her makes me try to rise above myself and get down to the real expressive emotion of a song. She is a first-class human being, tasteful and sincere.”

Singh was a lovely, graceful presence on the local scene. Let's hope when she comes back, there will be warm turnouts for her shows.

Here's the singer recording a popular local Christmas album with Samson Trinh's Upper East Side Big Band from last year.

Here she is performing alongside Alvarez at Balliceaux. The pair sounded amazing together and will sorely be missed by many.

And finally -- sadly, there isn't a whole lot of YouTube material out there of her local groups -- here's Laura performing a more personal religious song written by her father, Wally Boyd, who used to teach his kids scripture through music when they were growing up.

As chef Walter Bundy says goodbye to the Jefferson Hotel’s Lemaire to open his own restaurant this spring in the Libbie Mill-Midtown development, he leaves the kitchen there in hands that he knows well.

Patrick Willis began working at Lemaire in 2009 under Bundy and has been his executive sous chef for the last four years. “Patrick is a talented, seasoned chef and leader,” says Joseph Longo, managing director of the hotel.

A native of Goochland County and East Carolina University graduate, Willis plans to continue the restaurant’s focus on local ingredients and Southern-influenced cuisine.

CORRECTION: This article originally stated that Patrick Willis had been executive sous chef at Lemaire for two years.

A federal panel has scrambled Congressional district lines in ways that would have big impacts for Richmond-area voters.

The panel was assembled to redraw lines in the 3rd District after a court ruling last year that the district was gerrymandered to pack in black voters in ways that give white candidates an advantages in adjacent districts. The district is held by a Democrat, U.S. Rep. Robert C. Scott.

The blog Bearing Drift offers this map of the changes, if the new plan survives court challenges. The Washington Post digs into the issue.

Here are some winners and losers with the plan:

1. Loser: U.S. Rep. J. Randy Forbes, a Republican who represents the 4th District. Under the new plans, Richmond will move into the 4th District. This means that Forbes, who is white, must attract more black voters who tend to vote Democratic.

2. Loser: U.S. Rep Dave Brat, a Republican. The 7th District congressman was elected in a stunning primary upset with tea party help against Eric Cantor in June 2014. But the redistricting takes away from him Ashland and Hanover County, his strongest conservative base. This would give an advantage to Henrico County Sheriff Mike Wade, a more moderate conservative, if he challenges Brat.

3. Winners: State Sen. A. Donald McEachin and Delelegate Jennifer L. McClellan, both Democrats. This could be their time to challenge Forbes, vying for Congress in the 4th District.

4. Winner: Scott. His current 3rd District would be sliced back to Hampton Roads, a safe base.

5. Winners: Democrats. At the moment, Virginia is represented in Congress by eight Republicans and three Democrats. The Democrats could gain an extra seat in the 4th District.

Editor's note: A correction was made to a previous version that said half of Richmond would move into the 4th District.

Richmonders keep hitting the small screen. Now that you've finished cheering for Claire Hollingsworth, the 10-year-old who won $10,000 on "Chopped Junior," there's another local competing on a show that will air on CNBC who's ready to grab your attention..

Instead of the usual splatter of most food shows, "Restaurant Startup" is the food world’s version of “Shark Tank.” Enterprising young chefs attempt to win over investors — here, Joe Bastianich, co-owner of New York’s Babbo and Del Posto, among 30 other restaurants, and a former judge on “Master Chef” and “Master Chef Junior,” Texan chef and restaurant owner Tim Love.

The Luncheonette’s Brad Barzoloski, who’s also the owner of fusion egg roll food truck Rolz, will pitch his egg roll-centic concept to Bastianich and Love on Wednesday, Feb. 10 at 10 p.m. on CNBC.

But Barsoloski’s rolls aren’t exactly what you’d expect. For instance, the Buff Rolz is composed of grilled chicken, cheddar cheese and bacon that’s hand-rolled and breaded in Doritos. Throw a little jalapeño ranch on there, and it’s a, a … words fail me. Barlsoloski also serves a cheeseburger between two fried mac ‘n’ cheese patties. Yes, you read that correctly — that would be mac ‘n’ cheese standing in for bread. Insanity.

You can join the local chef for the Feb. 10 premiere — along with friends and family, he’ll hold a viewing party at the Luncheonette at 104 N. 18th St. from 9-11 p.m that night.

Also, Chester’s Carie Pullano-Keller, who appeared in 2014 on ABC's “Home Chef Showdown” with Ryan Scott, made it to the final rounds of the fifth season of the Food Network’s “Worst Cooks in America,” with Bobby Flay and Anne Burrell, prior to that. “Worst Cooks” is currently in reruns, and you can also stream it via Netflix if you’d like to catch Pullano-Keller doing her thing all over again.

One of the River City's best frontmen -- and all-around good guy, Tony Foresta -- recently spoke with Noisey about a graphic new T-shirt the band released featuring a drawing of GOP front-runner Donald Trump blowing his brains out.

It seems the popularity of the shirt, which you can buy here as soon as it's back in stock, has taken the group by surprise. It's also receiving extensive media coverage online.

In the detailed drawing, Trump's legendary hair is shooting everywhere as well as one ear. The back of the shirt makes reference to Trump's famous wall plan to keep illegal immigrants out of the country: It reads "The only walls we build are walls of death."

During the interview, when asked to say something positive about Trump, Foresta notes: "The Richmond hardcore scene was the shit when George Bush was president. I blame Obama for Wasted Time breaking up. The only thing I really enjoyed by Trump was when Stone Cold stunned him on WWE. I also got drunk in one of his casinos by accident once."

Another nationally known local singer, Randy Blythe of Lamb of God, has already vowed to leave the country if Trump wins the presidency. Rolling Stone magazine also reported today that Blythe is working on a "futuristic novel"during his group's winter trek with the band Anthrax.

Some more from the interview in Noisey:

Noisey: How have people been reacting to it? Is it a big seller?

Tony Foresta: It's kind of crazy. We're making so much money off of it that we might actually turn into Republicans! Okay, not really ,but it's selling pretty good. A lot of people don't like that guy. I've been reading some of the comments from people that are "shocked" that we would say something bad about Trump. We talked about killing George Bush on our first freaking album! People need to read the lyrics of the bands they listen to before they get butthurt about the things they have to say. Who knows, you could be listening to some Nazi shit and not know it. If you're going to get worked up over a band you "listen to," at least pay attention to the things they have to say in their songs. I mean, I know 80 percent of our Waste songs are about drinking and all, but I swear, there's some content in there, dammit!

Noisey: I saw a music blog post the story with a (fake) headline, "Donald Trump is going to sue Municipal Waste over their new shirt." That's obviously just a clickbait thing, but have you thought about how you'd handle it if you ever were contacted by someone from his camp about the shirt?

Tony Foresta: My mom called me yesterday and yelled at me about the shirt. That's never happened to me before. We've been writing offensive songs and putting out fucked-up imagery of politcal figures and religious dicks for over 10 years now, so it's kind of weird that this is the first thing that has actually caused a big stir. I mean, if you look at the past Waste art and our other bands' imagery, this shirt is kind of a no-brainer. It's weird that now, after all these years, this is what gets people worked up. But yeah, if Trump gets pissed ,bring it on. I doubt he can yell as loud as my mom.

The site Metal Injection has already run a piece looking at alleged right-wing Waste fans' angry response to the shirt. Though, to be honest, some of these comments read like those "reputation management" services now used by wealthy personalities to cruise the internet and offer a corrective to reality.

One dance and suddenly, Mike and Maria Oseguera of Maya Mexican Grill & Tequileria were about to open another restaurant.

The Osegueras hadn’t planned on expanding. Maya Mexican was humming every night in Short Pump and with three children, the Osegueras had their hands full. Sometimes, though, you can stretch those hands a little bit further than you thought, the couple discovered. Mike Oseguera was home sick one day, clicking around on the Internet. “I like to keep abreast of what’s going on online,” he says, and when he ran across the old 525 at Berry Burke space, he unexpectedly found a property that made him seriously consider another restaurant. When Maria came home that day, Mike was ready with a plan.

The Berry Burk building is owned by Tom Haas, Taylor Hasty, and Ted and Jim Ukrop. “The Ukrops were looking for someone with a following and backing to occupy the space,” says Mike. “They came to Maya to see us.”

“This nice man said, ‘Can I have this dance?’” Maria says. “Of course, I danced with him — I didn’t know who he was until we met to talk about the place.” It turned out to be Bobby Ukrop.

The space was tricky — the kitchen was tiny and the dining room was vast. Mike knew that another Maya Mexican wouldn’t work there. However, if he created an open-air kitchen, put in a pizza oven and focused on Mediterranean food, he thought the different concept could be successful.

“The location was kind of risky and people I talked to were hesitant,” he says. “But I saw prospects for the place and the street.”

When you walk into Lucca Enoteca Pizzeria, the first thing you notice is that the space is airier and lighter than it was in its previous incarnation. There’s more wood, and although the white tablecloths remain, the coal-fired pizza oven that is the centerpiece gives the restaurant a more casual vibe.

The difference between wood and coal is temperature. When coal is used to bake a pizza, temperatures can rise to 1,000 degrees — this speeds the process. A standard-sized pizza only takes about five minutes before it’s ready to go to a table. Crispy and topped with a pungent red sauce, fresh mozzarella and basil, it’s a step above the usual takeout variety.

But the Osegueras don’t want Lucca to be known only as a pizza place — there’s a full Mediterranean menu with pasta and lots of seafood as well. “We’re creating food inspired by the Italian coastal sea, the Ionian Sea of Crete and the Iberian Peninsula of Portugal and Spain,” says Mike. “Pizza is the exclamation point.”

I try grilled octopus in a saffron butter sauce that chef Zachary Mims brings out for the couple to try. The dish is effortlessly tender and punctuated by salty black olives. “It’s good,” Mike tells the chef. “Good?” Mims replies. He turns to me. “If Mike says its good, it’s really, really good. I don’t think I’ve ever heard him say that.”

Lucca Enoteca opens tonight, Jan. 8, for dinner at 5 p.m. at 525 E. Grace St. Bring an appetite.

Virginia's General Assembly officially convenes Wednesday, with some of the country’s most lax ethics laws for public officials.

Consider what they’d be up against in Missouri.

A proposed bill in the state legislature there would require that lobbyists and legislators report to an ethics panel when they have sexual relations together, registering such acts as a gifts.

According to BuzzFeed and the Kansas City Star, no actual dollar amount is set for each specific sexual act or what it would consist of, but it still would be reportable.

The requirement wouldn’t apply if a lobbyist and legislator are legally married or if they entered into a close relationship before the legislator entered public office or before the lobbyist registered as such.

Missouri is taking a tougher line on public ethics after scandals forced two officials from office last year.

Virginia adopted new ethics rules last year after the conviction of former Gov. Bob McDonnell for corruption in 2014. McDonnell and his wife, who also was convicted, were found to have taken $177,000 in jewelry, loans and vacations from Jonnie R. Williams Sr., a local vitamin supplement maker.

McDonnell’s appeal is being considered by the U.S. Supreme Court today. A decision could come about whether the high court will take the case. If it declines, McDonnell must begin serving a two-year prison term.

After the conviction, the Virginia General Assembly agreed to limit gift-giving to an aggregate of $100 from people seeking to influence the state. It refused tougher measures such as forming an independent ethics commission.

It’s unclear if Virginia would consider making sexual relations a reporting requirement and, if it did, what monetary value would be placed on it.

Here is the wording of the proposed Missouri law:

"For purposes of subdivision (2) of this subsection, the term 'gift' shall include sexual relations between a registered lobbyist and a member of the general assembly or his or her staff. Relations between married persons or between persons who entered into a relationship prior to the registration of the lobbyist, the election of the member to the general assembly, or the employment of the staff person shall not be reportable under this subdivision. The reporting of sexual relations for purposes of this subdivision shall not require a dollar valuation."

The past year saw a dramatic increase in pets being bitten by venomous copperhead snakes, according to a Midlothian veterinarian.

“It was by far the biggest increase I have ever seen,” says Dr. Marc Nay, owner of Animal Medical Center.

He says that his hospital treated about 90 dogs for snakebites in 2015 when the usual number is about 40. The pets came from an area that includes Chesterfield County and stretches south to the North Carolina border.

Of last year’s bites cases, two dogs died, although he says only one was a direct result of the copperhead bite.

Marian B. Hunter, a spokeswoman for the Virginia Department of Health, says her group doesn’t gather statistics on venomous snakebites of other animals or humans.

In the Richmond area, venomous snakebites are most likely to be from copperheads, which are rarely fatal to humans. There’s a small breeding area for more dangerous cottonmouths or water moccasins where the Appomattox River flows into the James River. There are no rattlesnakes in the local area.

In August 2014, the University of Virginia School of Medicine’s Blue Ridge Poison Center reported seeing a 50-percent spike in copperhead bites from the previous year.

There have been reports of increased venomous snakebites of humans in other states. Georgia saw a dramatic increase as well as Missouri, where a 37-year-old man died after being bitten by a cottonmouth on both legs as he waded in a river.

Nay says that pet dogs are most likely to be bitten on their face, nose or chest. Pets should be taken quickly to a veterinarian, but one problem is that their owners might not realize their pet has been bitten.

It’s unclear why snakebite instances may have increased in 2015, which was the warmest year on record in the United States. Other factors are that more snake habitats are being disturbed by development.

A copperhead made headlines in June when it was found lying underneath a car parked at The Richmond Times-Dispatch’s employee garage on Franklin Street downtown. City animal control workers removed it unharmed.

People think the only theater that matters happens in New York. People are wrong.

To wit: Richmond’s Quill Theatre just opened “Stupid Fucking Bird,” a play that premiered in Washington in 2013. Since winning the Helen Hayes Award for best new play that year, it has become one of the hottest shows in the country with productions in San Francisco and Boston and a half-dozen cities in between. But it won’t hit New York until a planned off-Broadway run in March.

Quill’s staging stands out from the burgeoning crowd as being the first to create a fully immersive experience. Set designer Tennessee Dixon remade the entire interior of the Richmond Triangle Players theater in Scott’s Addition, installing boardwalks that traverse the space from backstage all the way to the lighting booth.

“The idea was to break down the distinction between actor and audience,” Dixon says. Seats are scattered about the theater, both onstage and off, making one of Dixon’s biggest challenges establishing sightlines that allow every audience member to see what’s going on. She says that director Jon Kretzu shared her excitement for “creating an inclusive environment where the audience is totally in on the action.”

By the way: Welcome to Footlights. This weekly column will feature what’s unique, unusual or unexpected about the local stage scene. "Stupid Fucking Bird" is an example of why Richmond is an exciting theater town. With 15 professional theaters and several respected collegiate performing arts programs here, Central Virginia has become an ever-evolving hotbed of intriguing activity. Check in here every Sunday for a peek inside what’s going on. And send me your ideas at letters@styleweekly.com.

Running: The holidays officially petered out over the weekend. The stage season hasn’t quite kicked into gear yet, but both “Stupid Fucking Bird” and Firehouse’s esoteric “The Fourth Wall” will be keeping audiences immersed until the end of the month.

What’s On Deck: Quill is offering the somewhat cognitively dissonant experience of watching live theater at the movies with their award-winning production of "Hamlet" from this past summer, restaged for video, playing Monday, Jan. 11 at 7 p.m. on the Byrd Theatre's big screen in Carytown. If you'd rather watch in your pajamas, the same production will be shown on WCVE-PBS on January 14th at 9 p.m. That night, TheatreLab kicks off its “Cellar Series” of experimental, short-run productions with “9 Circles,” an Iraq war story inspired by the nine circles of hell described in Dante'’s Inferno. Performances are at their Basement space downtown at 8 p.m.

Melvin Jones, who spearheaded plans to bring a statue of Maggie Walker to Broad and Adams streets, says a landmark tree in the area planned for the sculpture must come down.

He’s another voice in the debate over whether to remove the southern live oak or have it stand next to Maggie Walker.

The city also plans to turn the area around the statue into a memorial plaza and wants to close a portion of Brook Road that fronts the triangular intersection to do so. The road closure is another issue that has sparked heated discussion.

But plans aren’t finalized. The city will hold a public meeting Jan. 12 to gather feedback on the design of the plaza, with plans to complete the project this year.

Jones, who worked for more than five years to gather community and city support for the project, took a different position in a December interview with Style, in which he said the tree could be “cut back” so that it could stand near the statue with no problem. Now he says he regrets his previous remarks and calls them “conciliatory, off-handed comments” in a letter to the editor.

Mayor Dwight Jones took a different position than Jones when he added his name to a petition to save the tree.

Here’s the full letter from Melvin Jones:

In regards to your Dec. 11 article “Maggie Walker’s Biggest Fan” I am writing to clarify my position regarding the oak tree at Broad and Adams streets. My understanding has always been that the oak tree would be removed to ensure that there would be a 360 degree view of Mrs. Walker with a lighted statue.

Those who have signed the many petitions that I have circulated to support the statue would have expected the same, I’m sure. I regret that I made conciliatory, off-handed comments regarding trimming the tree. After considerable thought, the tree and statue cannot coexist, based on my initial vision for the statue and the plaza.

The focus of this plaza needs to be Mrs. Walker, in her full glory, so her likeness will remind us of her achievements in context with the African-American history of the Jackson Ward community. She needs to be the centerpiece and the exclusive focus of the plaza to honor her and the much beloved community whose values were the heart of Jackson Ward.

After Attorney General Mark Herring’s decision to stop honoring concealed weapons permits from 25 states, some Virginia gun owners have been seeking workarounds.

When the law change goes into effect Feb. 1, six states no longer will recognize Virginia permits because of reciprocity laws.

Worried that their permits will become invalid in those states, some Virginia residents are seeking non-resident permits from Utah, which also allow them to carry in Virginia and a number of other states.

But Herring’s office says that those gun owners should think twice about shelling out money for classes to become Utah certified.

That's because of the six states that will invalidate Virginia permits -- Florida, Louisiana, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, South Carolina, North Dakota and Wyoming -- three also don’t accept the Utah permits.

Herring says his action enforces a state law that says Virginia can’t recognize concealed handgun permits from a state with less stringent permit requirements.

“The Utah non-resident permit that folks are allegedly getting is only good in 30 states right now, and it’s not even recognized in Pennsylvania, South Carolina or Florida,” says Michael Kelly, Herring’s press secretary, in an email. “So, if folks are concerned that their Virginia permit is not going to be recognized in those three states, then the Utah permit doesn’t address that.”

But many gun owners say that there’s nothing to stop other states from not honoring Virginia permits. Buddy Blanton, who owns Pegasus Firearms in Chesterfield County, says that’s much of what concerns gun owners who are calling him and other instructors about Utah permit classes.

“The attorney general turned my part-time business into a full-time business and I don’t know whether to thank him or not” he jokes.

Recently, Kansas’ attorney general said in a news release that Herring’s action was a "surprise and a tremendous disappointment to many law-abiding Kansans who hold concealed carry licenses."

Kelly says that there are no available statistics on how many shootings are committed in Virginia by criminals who hold concealed-carry permits from other states.

With the opening of Balliceaux in 2009, a new era for Richmond restaurants was ushered in — one that included the importance of green building practices and that emphasized local ingredients.

Six years later, the space still qualifies as one of the most stylish in town, and music man and Style calendar editor Chris Bopst has created a top-tier performance venue in the back room. But once the chef who created its first menu, Russell Cook, left to teach at Culinard, Balliceaux’s food lost its way. While scores of people packed the place for live music, storytelling and dance parties, few of us — me included — chose to eat there first.

Wisely, management decided to reboot this summer by closing and reopening with minor renovations, a new name for the kitchen, Kampot, and a fresh approach to the cuisine of French-influenced Southeast Asia, while changing nary a hair on Balliceaux’s metaphorical trendy head.

One of the original trailblazers when true mixology finally arrived in the city, the bar menu is creatively solid with cocktails. Try the LSD and Motorbikes containing classic Bols Genever, a sweeter form of gin made from a recipe dating to 1820.

Be sure to read all the way to the bottom of the menu, though, because the three house-made sodas ($5) exemplify an impressive attention to detail. There’s a purity to the kick of the ginger beer that you’ll feel dancing on your tongue, while the L3, a blend of lavender, litchi and lemonade, comes across as feminine beauty in drinkable form. In the starring-soda role is root beer, complete with a mustache-making creamy head. It bears no resemblance to anything you’ve likely been served from a can, bottle or fountain.

On a menu divided into garden, land, sea, Siam-wich, and rice and noodles, diners will find abundant gluten-free and vegan temptations, including a chocolate avocado pie ($7), so good that omnivores won’t miss the dairy. Praise goes to Kampot for making two sizes available for most dishes, a practice I’d like to see in more restaurants. To order, pencils are provided to mark up the menu, sushi-style.

Get the party started with shishito peppers sprinkled with sea salt ($6/$12). While the East Asian variety is typically sweet, there’s always the chance you’ll hit that one random spicy pepper and things will get unexpectedly lively. Another dish that marries Asia to Virginia is a multitextured salad of green papaya, grape tomatoes and local peanuts ($5/$10). Eating vegetables is a pleasure when they’re seared mushrooms and crispy shallots that get a kick from toasted chili ($7/$14).

Heat heads, take note: The grilled, marinated pork shoulder ($9/$18) arrives with the yin and yang of sassy jaew dipping sauce, a Thai standard of red pepper flakes, soy and fish sauces and accompanied by iced yu choy leaves to tamp out the fire in your mouth. Rosy pink, seared hangar steak ($9/$18) all but melts in my mouth, and while tarted up with tamarind sauce, it’s so flavorful, it shines even without it. Pickled cabbage adds piquancy to caramelized, boneless chicken thighs ($8/$16), making for a quintessential winter meal.

On my third visit, our server rhapsodizes so long about the slow-poached octopus ($9/$18) that it seems foolish to ignore the advice of experience. Tender as a scallop and swimming in a pool of toasted chili oil and lime, it deserves to be one of Kampot’s signature dishes. Fragrant, red curry gives steamed cod in banana leaf ($11) some serious personality while the leaf ensures that the fish is delightfully moist. The only sea creatures that disappoint are steamed clams with chorizo ($8/$16), a surprisingly bland dish that rates wallflower status at this dinner dance. Try cabbage three ways ($6/$12) — Thai basil, chili and Virginia peanuts — for a beautifully balanced plate of crunch and flavor to complement the many protein offerings.

One of the brightest flavor combinations is a distant cousin of the New England classic, a lobster Siam-wich ($13) dressed up with Kampot’s lemon vinaigrette and local greens. Closer to home, Carolina sea salt tops fried chicken skins ($6/$12), a drier version than classic Southern preparations, but no less difficult to stop eating.

Sufficient longtime Balliceaux staffers carry over to ensure mostly smooth service while patience helps in dealing with a novice who hovers. Rare is the restaurant that boasts a sleek room, moody lighting and a kitchen turning out food as enjoyable as what we’re listening and dancing to in the back room. S

Kampot at Balliceaux
Mondays-Thursdays 6-10 p.m.; Fridays-Saturdays 6-10:30 p.m.; Sundays 6-9 p.m.
203 N. Lombardy St.
355-3008
balliceauxrva.com