Oct. 30 Newsletter: Elvis is in the building
Weather: A sharp cooldown late tonight means chilly trick-or-treating.
On this date in 1972, the FBI is ordered to return $42,000 it seized during a sting on a Petersburg gambling operation.
Today's newsletter sponsored by Virginia Commonwealth University. As a top 20% global university, Virginia Commonwealth University is an unparalleled powerhouse of innovation and creative problem solving. VCU attacks challenges as opportunities. It's truly a university unlike any you’ve ever seen.
She’s on a quest for a piece of Elvis history, before it’s lost in the rubble of the Richmond Coliseum
The bronze artifact Debbie Peters is searching for isn’t quite as old as the ones you might see in an Indiana Jones movie.
The long-gone society that created it was the local chapter of the Taking Care of Business Elvis Presley Fan Club.
The object’s last known location? Somewhere in the ruins of the Richmond Coliseum.
With the arena set to be demolished, Peters is racing against time to find a plaque commemorating four sellout Elvis shows that happened in Richmond during the 1970s.
She says she’ll personally go in to look for it, if only city officials would let her past the fence, razor wire and locked doors. Read more here.
‘And the Golden Hammer goes to…’: Richmond's best development, rehab and design projects in 2026
The cranes and jobsites all over town make it obvious: Richmond is still booming when it comes to building.
But not all development is created equal.
Enter the Golden Hammer Awards, which for over 25 years have honored the best rehabilitation of old structures and construction of new ones in the River City. See a list of this year's winners here.
Prince Harry's 'MasterClass' will benefit Richmond charity
The email invitation was unclear, like it could be spam or some sort of trick. Jamie Hughes, marketing manager at Comfort Zone Camp, decided to reply anyway.
What followed was a surprise in the form of royalty. Read more here.
A Chesterfield employee who helped bring Google to the county now works for the tech giant
As deputy director of Chesterfield’s Economic Development Authority, Jack Elder played an instrumental role in discussions between the county and Google — which now employs him to identify land specifically for data center development.
“We are committed to hiring locally,” a Google spokesperson wrote to The Richmonder. “Jake applied for an open role on our team and he has been a welcome addition.” Read more here.
Today's sponsor:
VCU Class of 2030
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- Richmond Raceway 'Wall of Greats' honors two legends
- The honorees were Eddie Crouse and Tommy Ellis, each of whom is from Chesterfield and won multiple NASCAR series titles.
- High school football: Highland Springs-Varina rivalry gets renewed tonight
- Always one of the top games on the regular-season calendar, this contest again has major playoff implications.
- Notice of Application for ABC License, The Bach LLC
- Notice of service of process by publication
- Legal Notice, Commissioner of the Accounts of the Circuit Court of Richmond
Place your public notice with The Richmonder
In other news
- Tom Allen: Have we reached a Tipping Point?
- According to the Pew Research Center, fully 72 percent of us feel like we’re expected to tip in more places than 5 years ago.
- RPS has no records of preventative maintenance on chiller in years before failure caused mold, closure (CBS 6)
- RPS said it sought two independent assessments to find out what went wrong with the chiller, but that both were inconclusive.
- Lender wins right to foreclose on, auction off Hild-owned properties in Manchester (Richmond BizSense)
- The properties have been controlled by VACU since 2024, after loans Hild owed to the credit union fell into default following the collapse of his reverse mortgage firm Live Well Financial.
The editor's desk
A few weeks ago, we got an email with the subject line: “City bureaucratic gridlock trapping Elvis artifact.”
Needless to say, we were intrigued.
Before long, reporter Graham Moomaw was sitting down with Debbie Peters, a retired nurse and Elvis superfan who’s trying to find a plaque commemorating four sold-out Elvis shows at the Richmond Coliseum.
Today's lead item is the story about her quest for a small piece of Richmond’s history, and why it holds big meaning for her.
Michael Phillips, founder
mphillips@richmonder.org
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