Where has the money gone?

There are things I miss about living in Richmond. I miss good barbecue, for instance. I also miss living near Don Harrison, who tears the performing-arts fiasco a new one in today's Style Weekly.

I don't miss being involved in that fight, though--Jesus, it's dispiriting that this thing is still dragging on. 2007 was supposed to be when Richmond rejoined the rest of Virginia as a place worth seeing. But as usual, Richmond put a bunch of dopes in charge of the performing-arts project; they lied their asses off, blew a bunch of money, and produced...exactly nothing. In fact, they made the area of downtown they were tasked with rebuilding even worse--now, the blocks under the performing arts foundation's control are the worst-looking ones on Broad Street.

Worse, the National Theater, which VAPAF board members bullied performing-arts orgs into avoiding, is opening while the Richmond Symphony, as Don notes, is going begging. Great work, dudes.

But what I really miss about Richmond is Mayor Douglas L. Wilder. Now, I understand that many of my friends down there have a serious case of Wilder Fatigue, but I love the man. That's probably because I don't live down there, but it's hard to not look affectionately on his infrequent email blasts, which exude a weirdness that you don't often find in elected officials.

Even better, he commissions graphics for the fights he picks. Here's one from the latest newsletter:











It's a classic of the Wilder sensibility. If he can make a point with a dollar symbol, he will. Here's another good one:



And another:


But this one, from the most recent newsletter, is totally my favorite:


It's everything I miss and don't miss about Richmond in one graphic--as insane as it is germane. Rock on, River City.