May 29 Newsletter: Kindness rocks

Weather: A high of 80 makes for a beautiful Friday in Richmond.

On this date in 1736, Patrick Henry is born on the Studley plantation in Hanover County. As a young man, he played the fiddle to entertain guests at the Hanover Tavern, which his father-in-law owned.

Today's newsletter sponsored by Manchester Spotlight: River views and rooftop pools are just the start of what the Manchester neighborhood has to offer!

Rock star: Her painted rocks are spreading joy across the globe

Starting small five years ago, Mary Lynn Taylor painted an initial batch of 18 rocks and left some scattered around her neighborhood for walkers to come across. Others went to grocery cart return spots, parking spots for veterans and people with disabilities, post offices, windowsills — you name it.

That's led to about 1,300 more, which have been found across the globe.

She lists among her favorite Kindness Rocks messages You matter, Hope, and You are enough, adding that “I hope that someone who is having a bad day or experiencing a hard time will find one of my rocks and know that someone out there cares.” Read more here.

Launched to great fanfare, Richmond’s Civilian Review Board is growing restless as its workload remains minimal

Since February, the group has reviewed just two cases involving alleged misconduct by Richmond police officers, agreeing with the department’s investigations in both cases. That’s in contrast to the five to 10 cases they were told to expect to review each month. 

The consultant who helped Mayor Levar Stoney launch the board said things are working as expected.

“You live in a city where those things don't happen all the time. That's a good place to live,” he told members. Read more here.

Fight disrupts John Marshall High School graduation ceremony; 4 detained by police

Graduation proceedings for the John Marshall High School class of 2026 were disrupted on Wednesday when a fight broke out in the middle of the ceremony, followed by additional fights outside the Siegel Center after the ceremony.

Superintendent Jason Kamras had died his hair blue for the ceremony to celebrate the school's 100% graduation rate.

A day after the incident, VCU Police charged a 20-year old with disorderly conduct and damage to private property. Read more here.

January’s ice storm inspires a reworking of city rules on who must clear sidewalks

Among the proposed changes:

• Ice is specifically included, in addition to snow. Residents must clear it within six hours after it stops falling, or by 11 a.m. the next morning if overnight.
• At properties with three or more housing units, the landlord is responsible.
• The fine for violators drops from $250 to $100. Read more here.

After years of no penalties, Richmond DPU wants the power to fine stormwater violations

Although officials with Richmond’s Department of Public Utilities say violations of stormwater, erosion and other water discharge rules are likely occurring every year, the city has issued zero fines for those infractions. 

The proposed approach would let DPU impose and collect the penalties for water quality violations itself, without having to go through a formal judicial process.

Penalties could be collected administratively for erosion and stormwater violations at construction sites, the failure of an industrial facility to adequately treat any discharges into the city’s stormwater system and any release of pollutants into the city’s sewers or waters. Read more here.

Today's sponsor:

Make Manchester your new home

Manchester is an energized neighborhood just south of the James River in Downtown Richmond, known for its riverfront views and ever-growing lineup of things to do. With easy access to Belle Isle, Brown’s Island, and Downtown, plus a mix of local restaurants, breweries, shops, and arts spaces, it’s a go-to spot for exploring year-round. Read more here.

In other news

• Flying Squirrels owner sues Diamond District developer over heated encounter at new ballpark
  • In the ongoing dispute over whether VCU will play baseball at CarMax Park, the lawsuit says the Squirrels “have no obligation to ... share MLB-used spaces with VCU, and (owner Lou) DiBella has been clear that he currently does not intend to do so.”
• Manchester cruises in softball quarterfinals
  • Coach Will Willis and his staff arrived at 8:30 a.m. to work on making the field playable after rainstorms.
• 266,000 Affected by Data Breach at Radiology Associates of Richmond (Security Week)
  • According to the healthcare organization’s incident notice, the data breach occurred on or about July 25, 2025, when hackers accessed its internal systems.
• Hanover supervisors reject data center project on Mountain Road (Richmond BizSense)
  • The Tract project was anticipated to utilize an average of 600,000 gallons of water per day through a connection to the county’s water and sewer service.
• Maymont President & CEO Parke Richeson to retire (Press release)
  • The board will begin a national search for a new leader.

The editor's desk

Happy Greek festival weekend! I'm just here for the baklava.

Michael Phillips, founding editor
mphillips@richmonder.org

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