Oct. 5 Newsletter: The 212-year-old tree
Weather: Fall is here. High of 66 today, and it'll stay in the 70s all week.
On this date in 1925, the Virginia State Fair opens, with nightly fireworks displays. Railroads offer special rates to Richmond.
Today's newsletter sponsored by VCU Health
At 212 years old, it’s Chesterfield’s most famous tree. But it’s time to say goodbye.
Planted during the War of 1812, the Nunnally Oak has watched generations of history unfold, towering over lawmakers and visitors alike. But this fall, after years of parasites and fungi that have compromised its structure, the county will remove the oak from its post.
“It’s an icon. It’s a Chesterfield icon,” General Services Director John Neal said. Read more here.
At regional water meeting, VDH lauds ‘extraordinary’ improvements at Richmond facility
The latest Richmond Regional Water Workgroup was full of good feelings, as officials from the Virginia Department of Health congratulated the city’s Department of Public Utilities on progress made since the Jan. 2025 water crisis.
The city is already moving on a filter improvement project funded with state money, with a contractor in place and the goal of finishing next year. Read more here.
Judge restricts picketing at Lewis Ginter, but stops short of banning it
The workers, who have been on strike since Sept. 2, have been distributing literature and picketing on the sidewalk outside the garden each day.
Lewis Ginter officials alleged that picketers had disrupted ingress and egress from the facility and were responsible for a car accident that took place outside the gates on Sept. 7.
New rules will limit the union to no more than 20 picketers, and clearly establish where Ginter's property rights begin. Read more here.
Chesterfield police employee arrested for misusing Flock cameras
A Chesterfield County Police Department employee has been arrested for misusing the county’s Automatic License Plate Reader System contracted through Flock Safety.
On Sept. 30, a James City County police officer was similarly charged with five felony counts of computer invasion of privacy. Read more here.
High school football: Midlothian hands Manchester its first loss of the season
In 2025, Midlothian was blown out by Huguenot 57-7 and then lost the next week to Manchester 43-0. This year, the Trojans turned the tables on both opponents. Read more here.
ALSO: James River's Bridgeforth puts forth dominant effort in 50-23 win over Powhatan
Today's sponsor:
U.S. News & World Report names VCU Medical Center No. 1 hospital in Virginia
Virginia's best, and among the nation’s best. VCU Medical Center has been ranked the No. 1 hospital in Virginia by U.S. News & World Report for 2026-2027.
U.S. News also recognized the medical center among the Top 50 in the nation for cardiology, heart and vascular surgery at No. 29, and orthopedics at No. 44. The publication also ranked VCU Medical Center No. 1 in the Richmond metro area for the 16th consecutive year. Read more here.
In other news
- Google data center project in Chesterfield cited for environmental violations (VPM)
- Many of the violations referenced in the notice stem from the discharge of sediment into local waterways.
- Navy Hill Redux? Plans for a new convention center hotel raise more questions than answers (Richmond magazine)
- The city plans to solicit bids for the Coliseum teardown by the end of this year or early next.
- Emails show Richmond paused scheduled air filter changes before mold closed 2 schools (CBS 6)
- An email dated Feb. 10 shows an RPS fiscal associate telling TCMS the school division was “working through some budget issues.”
The editor's desk
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Michael Phillips, founder
mphillips@richmonder.org
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