Category 5 Hurricane Irma has torn into the northeastern Leeland Islands, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico for over two days, according to the National Hurricane Center. The islands, battered by the storm, are now under a hurricane watch for two new storms: Hurricane Jose and Hurricane Katia.

There is a complicated relationship that exists amongst the public, the media, and the government when it comes to environmental conservation. Each sector plays its unique role in deciding the trajectory of every blossoming, burgeoning environmental issue as it arises — pollution, global warming, species extinction — how each matter unfolds is entirely up to those three cardinal groups.

In this era of worldwide climate change, environmental education has become more important than ever. Over the past 50 years, scientists have observed increasing occurrences of summer heat waves, winter freezes, tornadoes and tropical cyclones that have devastated our earth. Experts have recorded warmer and more acidic ocean waters, a pattern of global warming and grave disturbances in the habitats and ecosystems of our planet.

On any given Friday night, hordes of Richmond locals craving live music are rocking out to bands and moving to beats spun by locals DJs, until late, late at night — it’s pretty rare, though, to walk into Richmond bar or club and see a full orchestra on stage. The growing classical music scene in Richmond, however, is here to change that.

Kim grew up on the west end of Richmond, a young girl with big blue eyes living in the nice part of town — bad things didn’t happen to girls like her, not in the suburbs. By 14, though, she had started experimenting with weed and alcohol. As a freshman at Hermitage High School, Kim moved onto bigger and better drugs. Forget her school colors of red and blue, she’d found white — in prescription opiate pills and powdery bleached cocaine.

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos announced that the Department of Education would be reviewing campus sexual assault guidelines passed by the during the Obama Presidency. She stated, among other things, that “through intimidation and coercion, the failed system has clearly pushed schools to overreach…the sad reality is that Lady Justice is not blind on campuses today.” There was, of course, an immediate and expected uproar from the left.

Richmond rock group Droopies has returned to grace the local music scene with their new album, Responsible People. The album, which is the followup to their 2015 self-titled lo-fi debut release, dropped Nov. 18 and is 15-tracks of lo-fi gritty tunes with a heavy dose of psychedelia.

“Rather than focusing just on Monument Avenue tonight, I’d like us to take a look at the landscape of the city,” said Bill Martin, Director of The Valentine Museum. “So, if you’re here to talk about the removal of the statues, you’re in the wrong place.” Martin, along with Richmond Magazine, Capital Region Collaborative, Kelli Lemon (Coffee With Strangers) and VCU professor John Accordino, made up a panel for an event Monday evening meant to highlight the connection between monuments and touris

Over the past few years, over a dozen tattoo shops have cropped up throughout the growing Broad Street pocket and its surrounding areas — from high-end boutique shops to budget tattoo joints, members of the Richmond tattoo scene are increasingly rubbing elbows.

RVA Fashion Week is almost upon us, and that means runways, models showing off this season’s trends, and all of Richmond’s creative and unique designers selling everything from clothes, to hats to jewelry. One particular designer that caught RVA Mag’s eye last year was Miranda Classic Ties.

Richmond proudly showcased its community of over 70 inventors and makers Saturday at the Science Museum of Virginia, in celebration of the Fourth Annual RVA Makerfest. Tables jammed with interactive demonstrations lined the train tracks of the science museum, which was once a train station. Blacksmiths, woodworkers, robotics teams, glassblowers, video game programmers, and sustainability trendsetters conversed with Richmonders of all ages, explaining the processes of their work.

“That’s some Richmond shit,” Black Liquid said, as he watched an unleashed dog chase after two bikes pedaling fast and furious across the West End. And Black Liquid — a pillar of the city’s hip hop scene — lives and breathes for that Richmond shit. His new single, “RVA,” is a personal and social commentary on the city of Richmond.

The set is bare-boned, simple, roughly hewn. Soft white lighting pours over actor Adam Turck’s shoulders. As he balances a rake between his hands, he repeats a string of words over and over, perfecting the New England accent that will carry him through Act One: “fuck you, fuck you.”

I can almost see J. Alan Cumbey, sprawled next to his sister in his Willi Smith suit and his skinny tie, chain-smoking as his sister tells me about his life. He looks bemused, from the even line of his flat-top down to the tips of his pointy shoes. Cumbey was a prolific gay writer and artist in 1980s Richmond — better known for his wry writing style than for his jarring artwork.