The VPM Daily Newscast contains all your Central Virginia news in just 5 to 10 minutes. Episodes are recorded the night before.
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Here’s a recap of the top stories on the morning of Jan. 23, 2024:
Springs eternal: Richmonders find hope in groundwater
Reported by VPM News’ Patrick Larsen
Frustration washed over Richmond in early January even as faucets ran dry. Lost work, shifting timelines to restore service and toilets that couldn’t flush affected thousands of people across the Richmond metro area for almost a week as the city struggled to begin pumping potable water to residents.
Laney Sullivan’s concern was with another inaccessible water source — one that springs up in at least 15 places in the city.
“It was maddening to know that people couldn't meet their basic needs, water needs, and that there was a spring across the street being diverted into the sewer, and that people could have been using the whole time,” Sullivan said.
One of the city’s springs is in Fonticello Park, which was previously named for former Richmond councilmember Carter Jones. It’s situated in a low-lying spring house that at one time connected to a concrete spigot not too far away.
That spigot, surrounded by concrete walls adorned with a mural that demands “Free This Spring,” has been dry since 2013. But just a few feet from the spigot is a manhole, and a quick listen lets you know Fonticello’s spring still flows — straight into the sewer.
Kamras proposes $43.7M budget increase for Richmond Public School
Reported by VPM News’ Keyris Manzanares
Richmond Public Schools Superintendent Jason Kamras’ proposed budget for fiscal year 2026 calls for a $43.7 million increase in spending — the largest increase he has ever asked for, he noted at Tuesday’s school board meeting.
“I fully acknowledge that it is going to be a challenge for us to secure the revenue that is necessary to meet all of those needs,” Kamras said.
Kamras said the biggest single expenditure in the proposal is meeting salary-increase commitments RPS made in December 2022 as part of a set of collective bargaining agreements with district employees — but that the district still has significant capital improvement needs that also require money.
Last May, a VPM News analysis found that nearly three-quarters of Richmond schools had gone more than 25 years without a major renovation.
“Everybody on this dais wants to fix all those things tomorrow,” Kamras said. “The money does not exist to do so, and so we have the challenge — but also the privilege — of having to make those tough choices about how we prioritize.”
In other news:
- Virginia rent control bill passes a key General Assembly gatekeeper (Richmond Times-Dispatch)*
In case you missed it:
- General Assembly 2025: a visual dispatch (VPM News)
- Legal battle erupts over Shenandoah rail restoration (Virginia Mercury)
*This outlet utilizes a paywall.