Best of 2025: VPM News staff’s favorite local journalism

As 2025 ends, the journalists at VPM News are sharing some of our personal favorites from Central Virginia’s year in news.

The rules were as follows: Staff could submit write-ups about any VPM News work they cherished — whether their own or made by a colleague — as long as it aired, published or posted in calendar 2025. (Yes, that means everything on this list happened this year.)

Only editors viewed the blurbs, which have been edited for style and length, prior to publication.

Like many readers, we started 2025 without water

I am so proud of how VPM News kicked off the year in full gear after Richmond City (at first) was dealing with a clean water crisis. All members of the newsroom worked together to cover this story by pen, video and drone across platforms — ensuring that all Richmonders, and those in the surrounding areas, were getting updates on the safety of the water in the area.

The way we banded together is why this series is one of my favorites from this year.

OK, this piece is solid service journalism, but that’s not why it’s on my list. Virginia, you’ve probably seen this picture of Richmond Mayor Danny Avula. And if you haven’t, now you have.

It’s one thing to start a new job (stressful!) and it’s usually another thing to handle a regional crisis (eek!) that’s landed in your proverbial lap. Alas, Avula had to do both simultaneously — and Shaban Athuman was there to capture the absolute Essence of Greater Richmond in that moment. By that point in time, I’d found a place to shower and was almost hydrated enough to find the humor in this picture.

I remember thinking, “OK, I guess this is how 2025 is going to go.” And whenever I think back to every emotion from that first week, this photo encapsulates all of it. Now, it makes me laugh.

As a Charlottesville resident, I did not get to experience the Richmond Water Crisis the same way my co-workers did, but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t keeping tabs on what was happening. Adrienne’s News Short — which stemmed from a Reddit question — was informative!

It was the right amount of humor mixed with seriousness, because it also served as a good reminder for what not to do when people are under a boil water advisory/do not use advisory! It also served as the true reminder that using water from the James River in a bong is…not a good idea.

Is it ever a good idea to use river water in a bong, anyway?

Short: 🦝🍾 Raccoon’s ABC Bender 🍾🦝

Lyndon German’s trash panda story from the Hanover liquor store was absolutely amazing. And the best part was the accompanying Instagram video. This is one of those totally necessary stories where you can have no shortage of fun with a story — and he did!

There are a few reasons why I liked this video so much. First, Jahd Khalil is always down for a funny bit in these sorts of videos. I’m convinced that you could give Jahd a phone book (remember those?) and he’d keep you engaged and laughing.

Second is about creating the books stacked up in front of him: Each book was individually cut out and matches a title from JLARC’s list of banned books in Virginia libraries. It’s a small detail, but I really wanted a fun way to show which books were on the list.

News can be really demoralizing, so it’s important to find ways to keep people informed even when the topic isn’t all that fun. We had lots of videos that did this, but this one always sticks out to me.

Hanover honors students who integrated county schools in 1963

I really enjoyed working on this story since it was an important footnote not just in Hanover County’s story, but my own as well. I wouldn’t have been able to become a student at the Hanover school system, if not for the endurance of the individuals celebrated here.

The story is very heartfelt, and I was able to meet several incredible inspiring people who had shared their own stories of endurance and triumph. Although they may not be mentioned in the text itself, their lessons remain with me.

My favorite story from the year was the feature about Tara Roberts, a journalist who wrote about the Black divers that discovered and assessed slave shipwrecks around the world. That kind of passion is so inspiring to me.

She also talks about how the water is a peaceful place she found solace, which really made me feel seen. The ocean is a home to me as well, so I completely understand when she talked about it being a place she could be truly present.

Stacey Jones loves her mission: helping those in need through the support of the community. She is committed to making sure no-one goes without what they need. It was a pleasure to speak with this huge heart about her sincere, honest love for and dedication to this organization.

Richmond’s Hair We Go braids confidence into next generation

Summer camp is such a special experience for young girls — a way to learn about yourself, make new friends and get out of your comfort zone. It is one of my core memories growing up.

Hair We Go has the power to change the trajectory of a participant’s life by teaching them alternative career paths. It also serves as an example of why resources need to be invested into youth programs that reflect one’s experience. When we can see ourselves in someone who has overcome hardships and flourished, it shows us that there is a different way.

VPM News Shorts are posted to Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.

Curious: Why does Virginia only have 2 natural lakes?

Did you know Virginia only has 2 naturally forming lakes? Because I sure didn’t!

Virginia is rich with all kinds of history, but I really loved how this story highlighted the region’s geological past and how ancient volcanoes and peat fires helped make two of the more unique features of the commonwealth.

Besides being a visually beautiful part of our state, hearing the ways Megan captured the sound and feel of Mountain Lake was incredibly soothing and engaging. It highlights the power that audio journalism has to take you right where the story is happening. It’s a stellar example of what VPM is all about: creating stories that entertain and inspire!

Let me tell you about the winding paths taken by two historical documents.

One has a secret map printed on the back of it, which — through an incredible sequence of events involving sunken ships, cryptographic ciphers and high-stakes FBI chases — leads the finder to a fantastical treasure.

The other disappeared after the Civil War — taken off the wall of a county courthouse by a Union soldier following the Siege of Petersburg — and stayed missing for nearly a century, until an author working on a book about that very county just happened to discover it for sale at a used bookstore in upstate New York.

One of those two stories is about the (fictional) Declaration of Independence in the 2004 Nicolas Cage heist movie National Treasure. The other is Chesterfield County’s (very real) founding document, the 1749 Commission of the Peace, as reported by Billy Shields for Curious Commonwealth. I know which one I find more interesting.

Finding Joy

This year was among those with more than its fair share of disconcerting events, and we wanted to show the things our fellow Virginians do to brighten their lives and the lives of others.

We had kids (and parents) learning about nature while splashing around in the mud; Richmond-based professional wrestlers; the wedding industry; Virginia’s favorite intergalactic band GWAR; and much more.

That we were able to share joy with you brings me joy.

Patrick just attracts interesting people with unique stories. I love that he blended his general environment reporting with the Joy series so seamlessly. I learned a lot and became inspired.

In and out of work, I’m pretty much only thinking about two things: pro wrestling and weightlifting. Dean took the reins on the pro wrestling story, so I opted to get moving and get sweaty with this crew of fine athletes who taught me a lot about the simple joy of moving your body to and fro.

I loved how Adrienne infused her own voice into this piece, as she took us along to learn more about rats. I also learned a lot about rats from the story! All and all, it brought joy to my day — which is what the series was all about.

Our special series are the team’s best opportunities to stretch our feature-writing muscles; by the time this publishes, you’ll have had ample opportunity to see what I mean. This year, we found and reported out Central Virginia’s secret or lesser-known joys — it felt deeply needed, both for the audience and for ourselves.

Dean Mirshahi, whom I’ve been a fan of for years prior to actually working with him, decided to challenge himself by a) doing his first radio feature and b) choosing a narratively complex way to convey RVA’s pro wrestling scene. The result was my favorite feature of the year. All I can say is: Give it a listen, and clap them cheeks.

My colleagues Adrienne McGibbon and Adam Hamza have been doing a great job translating some of our team’s work into short videos. Sean McGoey’s video breaking down the election results is a great example of this. The article was great, of course.

Numbers are hard to convey sometimes, and stringing them into a story can be hard, too. But the video did a wonderful job of telling the story visually and taught me a lot about the election results (even though I’m a state politics reporter). The focus on Spotsylvania was a great way to zoom in on the macro story, and I loved that he answered a reader question.

Overall, we had a favorite news pairing: Keyris Manzanares + justice

I’ve really appreciated Keyris Manzanares’ ongoing coverage of immigration arrests. She’s spoken to elected leaders, family members, advocates and community members who have been impacted by these newly implemented federal policies. I appreciate that her stories have put faces to something that’s affecting the nation.

Keyris Manzanares has a sunny disposition, and she’s also a tenacious reporter with an incredible ability to dig deep when there could be malfeasance afoot.

Across several stories, Keyris clearly lays out the many-faceted case that an ongoing failure to properly staff Virginia’s only state-run youth prison has led to dangerous conditions for both residents and correctional staff. When I read these stories, I imagine state justice officials waking up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night — fresh off a nightmare about Keyris uncovering wrongdoing in their department.

This feels like cheating, like I’m making the easy pick, but nothing stayed with me more in 2025 than Keyris’ four-part series exposing issues at Bon Air Juvenile Correctional Center. More importantly for me, it lets those children and their families share their stories and does something I don’t think reporters do enough: cover potential solutions.

Keyris diligently peeled back the curtain on systematic practices and failures at the correctional center. There’s a tremendous amount of background and source work that goes into a project like this. It didn’t just stop there though; her series also explored ways the system could be bettered, which I think is so key and sometimes left out of reporting. It’s an excellent example of public service journalism.

Keyris’ conversations with the people most directly impacted by the administration’s actions have been especially moving. This story floored me. It’s such a vivid description of the confusion, disorientation and emotional impact. And it’s full of data and information that, while extensive, leaves the reader wondering: What is our government not telling us about these deportations, and why?

It takes a lot of trust to share a story like this with the media — it’s clear Keyris has worked hard to earn that trust.

When it comes to “reporting impact,” there are things that are impactful on policies and politics — and then ones that really impact our feelings. I think the former only comes with the latter. I was trying hard to remember a piece of ours that I felt more feelings reading, and it was this Keyris Manzanares’ article on a father getting scooped up by ICE.

She tells us the story of a normal Wednesday morning, of routine life, that quickly turns confusing and violent when a yellow school bus is met with tinted-window SUVs. Beyond that, she explains the reasons why this should not have happened to not only Silviano Mora Vera, but to the family as a whole.

It’s really one of the best examples of local journalism that uses a person’s story to illustrate what a policy does on a personal level, and it speaks to Keyris’ credibility as a journalist.

Please read it.