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May 19 Newsletter: Virginia's most-stolen liquor

Weather: The warmest day of the week. Partly cloudy, high of 79.

On this date in 1949, Shorty McAndrews wins the first night race at the Richmond fairgrounds, the site of modern-day Richmond Raceway.

Today's newsletter sponsored by:

Trustward powers over 100 nonprofits and mission-driven businesses with our outsourced finance and accounting services. We bring clarity, efficiency, and integrity to organizations’ finances, so they can focus on serving our community.

Richmond’s ABC stores continue to see theft issues, but they are also spreading to Henrico County

Virginia's ABC stores saw nearly $1 million in theft last year. That's a big amount, but it's well below the national average for liquor stores as a percentage of sales.

  • Vodka is the ABC's bestselling liquor, but tequila is the most-stolen.
  • The location near VCU is no longer the most stolen from, now that the location has moved to a counter-service model.
  • Theft is becoming an increasing issue at Henrico County locations.

Read more, and see our map documenting which stores are at the highest risk, here.

Survey shows ‘generational divide’ in support for increasing density in Richmond

Younger Richmonders are more supportive of zoning changes that would allow greater density in residential neighborhoods, according to a survey done by the city’s Planning Department as part of the ongoing overhaul of the zoning code. 

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“We need to think about what the next generation who is going to be living and working here prefers just as much as existing residents who are of an older age group,” the group's vice-chair said.

In many neighborhoods, residents responded to the survey with a preference for the types of zoning already in place in that area. Read more here.

Former governors pay tribute to Brown v. Board, but disagree on how to continue its legacy

An anniversary event Saturday at VCU brought together the state's living former governors, with the exception of L. Douglas Wilder, who skipped it in protest of current Gov. Glenn Youngkin's DEI policies.

  • All spoke of the need to build on Brown's legacy, but disagreed on exactly how to accomplish that.

Also at the event, Virginia Union University and Regent University, two faith-based institutions, announced a partnership between the schools. Read more here.

Richmond real estate tax bills were sent to residents with mortgages; city is working on next steps

Expect more information in the coming days as the city continues to work through a property tax mistake that impacted more than 33,000 tax records.

  • Instead of sending tax bills to the lenders, who pay that bill, they were sent to residents.
  • The city said a system update caused the confusion, and the data will be reimported and bills sent to the correct location.
  • Homeowners with a mortgage do not need to pay the bill if they received it.

Read more here.

Today's sponsor:

With the growing challenges facing nonprofits and mission-driven businesses, accurate accounting and strong financial systems are more important than ever. Trustward is helping over 100 organizations meet these challenges by serving as their outsourced bookkeeping, accounting, and finance solution.

The nonprofits and businesses we serve work in affordable housing, education, advocacy, and other essential areas. If an organization you care about needs help with finance and accounting, Trustward is here to help. We focus on the books — so you can focus on the mission! Learn more here.

In other news

The editor's desk

Thank you to everybody who took the time to nominate a community hero for our inaugural 25 in '25 project. We have our work cut out for us, with a mailbag full of entries celebrating Richmonders who make this a great place to live. Stay tuned for stories about the winners later this summer!

Michael Phillips, founding editor
mphillips@richmonder.org

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