The masked burglar broke into the closed Virginia liquor store early on Saturday and hit the bottom shelf, where the scotch and whisky were stored. The bandit was something of a nocturnal menace: bottles were smashed, a ceiling tile collapsed and alcohol pooled on the floor.

The suspect acted like an animal because, in fact, he’s a raccoon.

On Saturday morning, an employee at the Ashland-area liquor store found the trash panda passed out on the bathroom floor at the end of his drunken escapade.

“I personally like raccoons,” said Samantha Martin, an officer who works at the local animal control. “They are funny little critters. He fell through one of the ceiling tiles and went on a full-blown rampage, drinking everything.”

Martin said she took the raccoon back to the animal shelter, though she had her fair share of giggles along the way.

“Another day in the life of an animal control officer, I guess,” she said.

Raccoons are common in Virginia, according to the state’s Department of Wildlife Resources. They are found in forests, parks and sometimes in cities — and apparently, at a liquor store.

The Hanover County Animal Protection and Shelter commended Martin for handling the break-in, and confirmed the raccoon had sobered up.

“After a few hours of sleep and zero signs of injury (other than maybe a hangover and poor life choices), he was safely released back to the wild, hopefully having learned that breaking and entering is not the answer,” the agency said.

It’s not the first time this year that a raccoon was found in a place where it shouldn’t have been. In May, a raccoon was found with a glass methamphetamine pipe in its mouth and was sitting in the driver’s seat of a car in Ohio.

The vehicle was pulled over because its registered owner had an active warrant and a suspended driver’s license, the Springfield Township Police Department said.

RICHMOND, Va. — Another food and beverage venue fashioned from shipping containers is taking shape in Richmond, this time near the Sauer Center courtesy of a D.C. restaurant group.

The Virginia Transit Co., or Vitco as its founders John Groth, Arturo Zaloga and Matt Weaver refer to it, will be a bar, restaurant and event space constructed mostly out of dozen shipping containers on a vacant parcel at 1010 N. Meadow St.

Vitco is the second concept for Groth, Zaloga and Weaver, who in 2021 opened Metrobar, a similar concept in D.C. that’s anchored by a 75-foot-long former Washington Metro car that they repurposed into a restaurant and bar. For their Richmond venture, they’re incorporating a decommissioned streetcar. Click here to continue reading on Richmond BizSense.

Virginia recently expanded its express lane network, with new lanes opening in the Tyson and McLean areas. So what happens when those lanes end right around the American Legion Bridge?

Maryland leaders are now being questioned about the possibility of express lanes reaching their side of the Potomac.

Virginia has basically gone as far as it can with express lanes on this section of the Beltway. The American Legion Bridge belongs to Maryland, and anything that’s going to happen across this bridge or into the Maryland Beltway, that is solely on the state of Maryland.

Should even more express toll lanes now head across the legion bridge and continue into Maryland? News4 asked some Maryland drivers and support for a new, quicker travel option across the Potomac.

“It would be nice to go to Tysons again,” said Matt, a Maryland driver. “It’s kind of impossible to get there with the traffic.”

“Because it’s time-saving and there’s so much traffic on the Beltway coming to and from, I think it would be a nice addition,” said Stephanie, another Maryland driver. “I don’t want to go through the hassle of making it, so, but other than that would be in favor.”

Any new improvement will take construction — and a lot of it.

Chris Conklin with Montgomery County’s Department of Transportation told News4 much of their focus, along with the state right now, is on building a new American Legion Bridge or making serious upgrades to the existing structure.

“From what we understand, the state is working hard to come up with a viable financial plan to enhance, repair and replace the American legion bridge,” he said.

That could mean federal funding or some sort of toll revenue plan for the bridge.

Experts News4 has talked to say the existing Legion Bridge in its current form will need serious upgrades or need to be replaced completely by the end of this decade — as in four years or so.

Maryland’s Department of Transportation sent News4 a statement about the Legion Bridge, saying, “Current activities funded in Maryland’s capital budget include completing field investigations necessary for final design and construction, acquiring permits and developing a life cycle study for the Legion Bridge to determine various options to maintain the existing bridge in a state of good repair.”

During a ribbon cutting for the new express lanes in Virginia, outgoing Gov. Glenn Youngkin talked about the need for Maryland leaders to begin improvements on their side of the beltway.

“We collectively urge Maryland to get on with it,” he said.

Sources also say the Moore administration in Maryland is looking forward to better agreement about how to reshape this part of the Beltway with incoming Virginia Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger.

Officials also told News4 money for a new Legion bridge could be tight, because Maryland has other bridge projects in the works, including replacing the collapsed Key Bridge in Baltimore and safety improvements to the Bay Bridge.