RVA 5x5 - December 2, 2022

Everything But An Arena; Winter Is Coming (It Does Every Year); Our Raison d’etre; Rocky Rapid Transit; Does Maintenance = Ownership Or Not?

No algorithms. No content filters. Honest and insightful analysis.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This week’s edition is dedicated to the memory and service of Congressman Donald McEachin, who passed away this week after a long battle with cancer. He was both a friend and a wonderful example of a civil, civil servant who always put being a good person ahead of being a good politician. This C-SPAN clip is a wonderful tribute from Wednesday on the floor of the House of Representatives.

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STORY #1 — Everything But An Arena
I wrote last month about what could have happened if the Mayor had decided to team up with the Greater Richmond Convention Center Authority (GRCCA) five years ago to raise the hotel tax and issue bonds for development of a new arena, convention center hotel, and other development in the center of Downtown as a regional project. Use the hotel tax to pay a large majority of the debt service and get tourists to pay for most if it.

It could have been done as a regional project using a r…