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Here’s a recap of the top stories on the morning of April 25, 2025:
New Burying Ground honors University of Richmond’s enslaved labor
Reported by VPM News’ Megan Pauly
For over 150 years starting in 1702, land that is now part of the University of Richmond’s campus was a series of plantations. Between the mid-1840s and 1865, more than 200 children and adults were enslaved on the property.
“There is much that we do not know,” said the Rev. Craig Kocher during Wednesday’s ceremony. “We do not know exactly how the people who lie here came to be here. We do not know the specifics of their life stories. We do not even know their exact names. Yet, there is much that we do know. We know that they were human beings, people of sacred worth, who loved and grieved and dreamed and hoped as we do.”
While the overall number of graves on Richmond’s campus is unknown, records show the university knew in 1912 of at least 20 graves that were part of a burial ground. Even with that knowledge, the school paved over the graves during road construction of a road — in violation of a state law. The road is at the location of what’s now Richmond Way.
U of R’s memorial acknowledges that the burial ground’s existence was largely forgotten by the university until Shelby Driskill’s research in 2018 returned attention to the site’s history.
Hanover board OKs landfill growth next to historic Brown Grove
Reported by VPM News’ Lyndon German
Hanover County residents who live near the Ashcake Road Landfill spent months pushing back against a request by its owner, Leadbetter Inc., to expand the disposal site. They circulated online petitions and spoke against the project throughout the planning process.
But Hanover’s Board of Supervisors approved the request Wednesday night in a narrow 4–3 vote, which sparked audible disappointment in the county’s administrative building after several hours of public comment.
Leadbetter has said the existing landfill, which has been operating since 1987, can only last until this summer at its current capacity. It also says the request to convert around 30 acres of borrow pits — excavated land — into a new landfill would extend the property’s life by 25–30 years.
Renada Harris, co-executive director of the Brown Grove Preservation Group, said the supervisors who voted to extend the landfill’s lifespan had one priority in mind: “Those who voted for the Hanover landfill voted for business over people.”
News you might have missed from around the commonwealth:
- Experimental plane crashes at US military base in Virginia, officials say (The Associated Press)
- Local housing demand likely to remain higher than supply, says Richmond home building chief (The Richmonder)
- Some Virginia doctors have never seen a case of the measles. Now they’re bracing for an influx. (Cardinal News)
- Petersburg middle school hopes to teach new generations of health workers in new classroom (Virginia Mercury)
- Lake Anna State Park set for millions in improvements (Richmond Times-Dispatch)*
*This outlet utilizes a paywall.
