“Gestures make a difference,“ we wrote the other day about Bob McDonnell’s announcement that he and other state government higher-ups would take a pay cut. Although the money does not amount to much in the grand scheme of things, the message—we’re all in this together—does. That’s why the refurbishment of mayoral and City Council offices in Richmond’s City Hall dismays. The bill comes to a bit more than $23,000, and that is not much in a city whose annual operating costs total nearly half a billion dollars. But in the current budgetary circumstances—Mayor Dwight Jones says they may require the city to to slash services and personnel—installing swanky new appointments for the mayor’s office, the council lounge, and a conference room shows poor judgment.

Under different circumstances, this would be the merriest of Christmases at GRTC Transit System, which recently untied the bow on a shiny new headquarters in South Richmond. Transit company staff begin moving into the $38 million Belt Boulevard facility last Friday after 120 years at its West Cary Street site. For CEO John M. Lewis Jr., the move came just in time to avoid melting snow. “I no longer have to bring my bucket to catch all the leaking water in my office,“ he said.

Retiring Richmond City Attorney Norman B. Sales will take over as Goochland’s county attorney Jan. 18. The county Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the appointment yesterday afternoon. Sales will replace Andrew R. McRoberts, who resigned from the post in May. Barbara M. Rose, a former deputy county attorney in Hanover County, is serving as interim attorney.

Bryan T. Norwood entered an awkward political environment when he started as Richmond’s police chief just over a year ago. Norwood, the former police chief in Bridgeport, Conn., had been selected by outgoing Richmond Mayor L. Douglas Wilder, and he started as chief the day before the election of a new mayor, Dwight C. Jones, who had called for the appointment to be left to the new administration.

Sometimes regionalism starts at Starbucks. Every other Monday, Chesterfield County’s Midlothian District Supervisor Daniel A. Gecker and Richmond City Council President and 4th District representative Kathy C. Graziano meet for coffee and conversation in South Richmond. They talk about issues of mutual interest in their neighboring localities and districts, regional initiatives and their children.

The Richmond City Council voted unanimously last night to extend an agreement for management of the Landmark Theater until 2013. RPAC Inc., established to develop and operate the newly opened Richmond CenterStage performingarts center, has also managed and operated the city-owned Landmark since July 2008 under an arrangement approved by the council in 2007. The city’s agreement with RPAC for the Landmark expired Aug. 31 but was extended last night to March 1, 2013.

In a rare feat of late, a town-hall meeting with no shouting was held yesterday by Shockoe Bottom residents, business owners and city officials. The discussion of the Bottom’s future followed the city’s issuance Friday of a request for proposals for an economic strategy to guide development and redevelopment in the neighborhood. The project will be financed with $125,000 set aside by the City Council this spring.

Shockoe Bottom residents, business owners and city officials met Saturday, a day after the city issued a request for proposals for an economic strategy to guide development and redevelopment in the neighborhood. The project will be financed with $125,000 set aside by City Council this spring. The meeting, held at The Old City Bar on East Main Street, was the first in a series of discussions on the Bottom’s potential, its revitalization needs and its assets.

In July 2008, in the wake of conflicts between the Richmond City Council and the mayor, the council passed a resolution establishing a Charter Review Commission. The resolution directs the commission to “focus its work on correcting conflicts and ambiguities in the present Charter to provide greater clarity but not to change the fundamental powers and responsibilities of the Mayor and City Council.“ The commission recently published its preliminary recommendations and now invites thoughts and comments from the public.

With a proposed baseball stadium now apparently dead before arrival, the latest big idea for Shockoe Bottom entails a state-of-the-art medical complex. Several members of the City Council have lined up in support of at least studying the concept, as has former councilman and current Del. Manoli Loupassi. Advocates—chief among them Paul Goldman, who also was a force behind the city’s current elected-mayor system—say the economic benefits could be huge. That’s an open question, which an ad hoc study commission presumably would answer. Other open questions concern what, if any, role VCU would play, how the business proprietors of Shockoe Bottom feel about the idea, and what state regulators would have to say about the public need for such a facility.

The Richmond City Council last night gave final approval to changes to the city’s downtown master plan. Council members voted 9-0 to approve the amendments, which will guide decisions on development and public access along the eastern riverfront. The master plan has been in the works for two years, and officials have been dealing with changes since October.

Richmond residents and groups packed the City Council chamber last night to plead for funding from the city and relief from a proposed fee on nonprofits. With Mayor Dwight C. Jones proposing a fiscal 2009-10 budget that is nearly $26 million less than this year’s budget, more than 40 speakers appealed to the council. The requests came on behalf of the Richmond school system, police officers and firefighters, as well as the Metropolitan Business League and tiny nonprofits.

A proposal aimed at cracking down on panhandling in Richmond has been dropped, but it could surface again. Facing a potential legal challenge by the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia, three City Council members withdrew a proposed ordinance that would make it illegal to solicit contributions from occupants of motor vehicles. The offense would have been a misdemeanor.

Richmond’s real estate tax rate will remain at $1.20 next year, the highest rate in the region even though the mayor’s proposed 2010 budget is $26 million less than the current year’s budget. “I do not think we would be responsible if we cut the budget any more,“ said Council President Kathy C. Graziano before calling for a vote last night. “It will be difficult to balance even at $1.20.“

Richmond’s real estate tax rate will remain at $1.20 next year, the highest rate in the region even though the mayor’s proposed 2010 budget is $26 million less than the current year’s budget. “I do not think we would be responsible if we cut the budget any more,“ Council President Kathy C. Graziano said before calling for a vote last night. “It will be difficult to balance even at $1.20.“