Latest news with #Times-Dispatch
Axios
11-07-2025
- General
- Axios
Assateague Island has no lifeguards this summer amid Trump cuts
Assateague Island National Seashore doesn't have any lifeguards this year, and local officials and residents are sounding the alarm about the risk this poses for beachgoers. Why it matters: It's the height of summer tourist season, and Assateague — which has seen a record number of visitors in recent years — is a popular weekend escape for many Washingtonians. Plus, the 100th annual nearby Chincoteague pony swim on July 30 is expected to draw tens of thousands of visitors to the area. The big picture: The National Park Service (NPS) — which operates federal beaches like Assateague — is scrambling to keep parks running amid a national staffing shortage due to President Trump's cuts to the federal workforce, public parks advocates warn. NPS has seen a 24% drop in its permanent staff since January, according to the nonpartisan National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA). Hiring for seasonal roles like lifeguards is down, too, with only about 4,500 roles filled of the almost 8,000 committed to by the administration. This means delayed emergency response times and fewer resources to protect visitors, per NPCA. State of play: The six lifeguard positions on each of Assateague 's Virginia and Maryland sides are unfilled, as is the chief lifeguard position. There were recently life-threatening situations during which "good Samaritans" had to help until emergency services could arrive, Chincoteague Mayor Denise Bowden told the Richmond Times-Dispatch. By the numbers: Assateague lifeguards completed 24 rescues last year, and oversaw at least 21 incidents that would have otherwise been handled by local emergency medical services — which often take longer to reach the scene and aren't properly trained in ocean rescue. What they're saying: "You can't put a price on somebody's life," Bowden told the Times-Dispatch. "You can't put a budget cut on somebody's life." "The lack of lifeguards will undoubtedly result in death and injury that would otherwise be prevented," B. Chris Brewster, chair of the National Certification Committee at the United States Lifesaving Association, told the Washington Post of the national shortage. The other side: "Visitors have always had access to unguarded beaches and guarded beaches even after lifeguards leave for the day. Lifeguard shortages are a nationwide concern even outside of our public lands," a NPS spokesperson told Axios. "We appreciate the public's understanding and cooperation as we work to ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for all." The NPS spokesperson recommended that visitors learn to identify riptides, stay alert for strong ocean currents, and never turn their backs to the ocean. Zoom in: NPS never posted listings for the Assateague lifeguard positions, Ed Stierli, a regional director at the NPCA, told the Times-Dispatch. The administration's initial federal hiring freeze came as NPS was recruiting seasonal workers. It later lifted this freeze, but local officials speculate it was too late by then for hiring.
Axios
10-06-2025
- Automotive
- Axios
Both Virginia governor candidates vow to end state's "car tax"
There's one thing both candidates for Virginia governor agree on: the state's "car tax" should go, the Times-Dispatch reports. Why it matters: Most locals who own a car just shelled out big bucks for their annual personal property tax bill. Driving the news: Last week, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, the GOP candidate for governor, announced her "Axe the Tax" initiative at a campaign event in Fairfax. Her proposal calls for ending the personal property tax on vehicles in Virginia and eliminating the state's income taxes on tipped wages. "We are going to get rid of this daggone car tax once and for all," Earle-Sears said at the event. A spokesperson for former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, Virginia's Democratic gubernatorial candidate, told the Times-Dispatch that she too supports ending the "car tax" and plans to work with both Democrats and Republicans in the General Assembly to find a way to do it. The big picture: Roughly half of states levy a personal property tax on vehicles. Better known in Virginia as the "car tax," it's deeply unpopular with residents, likely because, well, it's a tax ... and one that only about half the nation pays. That's largely why statewide politicians have been promising to repeal or offset it on and off for nearly 30 years, including earlier this year when Gov. Youngkin proposed $1.1 billion in car tax relief. Yes, but: The tax is deeply ingrained in Virginia (it's been around since 1782) and provides significant revenue for cities, towns and counties, which levy and collect the money. So if and when politicians want to kill it at the state level, they have to find a way to reimburse the localities for the lost revenue. In 2024, the last time the state looked at repealing the car tax, the estimated price tag for Virginia was $2.5 billion to $3 billion a year, the Times-Dispatch notes.
Axios
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Axios
VCU set to turn Siegel Center into city's largest indoor concert venue
VCU will soon start hosting concerts and other ticketed events at the Siegel Center to help raise money to pay its student athletes, the Times-Dispatch reports. Why it matters: The move would make the Stu, by far, Richmond's largest indoor concert venue. The big picture: Last spring, the NCAA and its five power conferences voted to let schools pay athletes directly. The challenge for schools was finding the money to pay them, which VCU estimates will cost around $5 million a year, per the RTD. With an estimated 30 events a year at the Siegel Center, including concerts, private events and family shows, VCU estimates it could bring in $650,000 a year to put towards paying athletes. The intrigue: Concerts at the Siegel Center aren't new. Since it opened in 1999, the Stu has hosted Drake, Sheryl Crow, Ludacris, Trey Songz, Dave Matthews and many, many more. President Obama and Hillary Clinton, then-presidential candidates, spoke there, too. It seems that the basketball arena hasn't hosted any big public non-sporting events in the past few years beyond high school graduations. What's different now is that Richmond has been without a large, indoor concert venue since 2019, when the Richmond Coliseum, which could hold around 13,000 people, closed. By the numbers: At roughly 200,000 square feet, the Siegel Center can seat just over 7,600 people, or around 5,500 for concerts if they block one end, per the RTD. Altria, comparatively, can only hold around 3,500. Dominion Energy Center can do 1,800. The National has a capacity of 1,500, and The Broadberry 500. Yes, but: Richmond's outdoor venues can still hold a lot more concert-goers than the Siegel Center will be able to. Brown's Island has room for 16,000. The new amphitheater will be able to do 7,500, and Virginia Credit Union LIVE! at Richmond Raceway can hold 6,000.
Axios
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Axios
Friday Cheers celebrates 40 years of after-work magic
Friday Cheers is back this week, kicking off two months of pre-summer concerts. Why it matters: This is the 40th year of Richmond's longest-running outdoor concert series. Flashback: Friday Cheers got its start in the 1980s, in Festival Square, which was just outside of the then-brand-new Sixth Street Marketplace, the Times-Dispatch reported a decade ago. The series was an after-work favorite for downtown professionals, who would loosen their ties and head over straight from the office to take in a free show, per Style Weekly. It stayed in Festival Square, in the shadow of the now long-closed Richmond Coliseum, for 20 years before eventually making the move to Brown's Island in 2006. On Brown's, overlooking the James, is where the concert series really took shape and became one that a whole new generation of locals came to love. Zoom in: Over the years, there have been other changes. Cheers started charging $5-$10 for shows to offset the cost and attract bigger acts. The season shrank, going from all summer to just May and June, because of Richmond's brutal late summer heat Plus, the beer and wine selection is now stellar. What they're saying: "For a concert series to last for 40 years is a real accomplishment and I'm so proud of our team, the RVA community and our sponsors for loving and supporting Friday Cheers for so many years," says Stephen Lecky, director of events for Venture Richmond, which organizes the series. Cheers has hosted an impressive lineup of then up-and-comers along the way, Lecky tells Axios, including: The Head and the Heart, Jason Isbell, Tyler Childers, Alabama Shakes, Lucy Dacus, Zac Brown Band and Turnpike Troubadours. Fun fact: For the 40th anniversary, Venture commissioned Richmond-based artist Hannah Tatum to create a limited-edition poster, which features local critters (an osprey and eastern grey squirrel) jamming on the 7th Street pedestrian bridge that connects to the island. Written faintly in the sky behind them are the names of the bands that played Cheers through the years. 100 prints are available and for sale this season for $20. If you go: Friday Cheers starts Friday with Chaparelle and runs weekly through June 27.
Axios
03-03-2025
- Business
- Axios
CoStar cuts Richmond jobs the same day it announces local hiring spree
CoStar laid off about 120 Richmond-area workers Thursday, the Times-Dispatch reports. The big picture: The cuts came the same day the NoVa-based real estate firm announced in a news release that it was planning to hire 1,000 new workers this year, primarily in Richmond. State of play: Layoffs targeted employees across departments, CoStar's chief human resources officer Michael Desmarais told RTD. Some local workers who lost their jobs were writers, editors, production staff members and senior managers, the Times-Dispatch reports. What they're saying: The company said in its hiring blitz announcement that it "expects to eliminate roles in 2025 from efficiencies gained by using AI and reallocate those resources into other areas." "The company also anticipates reducing some roles during normal annual performance management," it continued. A CoStar spokesperson declined Axios' questions about how many people were laid off, but said, "We do not take decisions that affect the daily lives of our employees lightly." Zoom out: CoStar, which employs just over 2,350 workers in Richmond, is building a 5th Street office tower and downtown campus. The projects are expected to be completed in 2026. Catch up quick: Last year, the city approved a grant giving CoStar Group several million dollars in tax breaks on its downtown office tower in exchange for meeting hiring minimums, the Times-Dispatch reported. The real estate firm also received nearly $5 million in state funding last year toward its new Arlington HQ. CoStar spent $35 million on Super Bowl ads this year, according to industry publication Ad Age. This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
