Thursday, Mar 26, 2026

News

El sistema de alcantarillado de Richmond se enfrenta a un futuro incierto de financiación

March 26, 2026

Heciel Nieves Bonilla, Editor de Noticias El plan para fortalecer el sistema de aguas de Richmond podría recibir $50 millones de dólares en fondos estatales durante el siguiente año. Sin embargo, un aumento a las tasas de servicios en el plan de presupuesto del alcalde Danny Avula indica que se necesitan más fondos para las necesidades infraestructurales de la ciudad. Los fondos estatales se dirigirán a apoyar al proyecto para el control del desbordamiento de alcantarillado combinado de Richmond, y forma parte del siguiente presupuesto de Virgina que se finalizará durante una sesión especial legislativa que empieza el 23 de abril. El proyecto de alcantarillado que quieren financiar los legisladores es uno de varios mejoramientos al sistema de aguas en el plan pasado para mejoras de capital de la ciudad, el cual cubrió los años fiscales 2022 al 2026. Este se trata de construir estructuras para desviar el agua durante eventos de toma alta de aguas y de mejorar la capacidad de la planta para el tratamiento de aguas residuales — una instalación en el sur de la ciudad. La encargada de información pública del departamento de servicios públicos (DPU en inglés), Rhonda Johnson, dijo que los fondos estatales propuestos

Meal swipe donation proposal pushed to 2027

March 25, 2026

Kayla Munecas, Contributing Writer The bill that would allow Virginia university students to donate their unused meal plan credits did not pass the General Assembly this year. State lawmakers voted to continue debating the proposal in the 2027 session. The bill was introduced by Sen. Danica Roem, D-Manassas, and would have allowed students to voluntarily donate their unused meal swipes to be distributed for use by other students at campus dining halls or on-campus food pantries, such as the VCU Ram Pantry, according to a previous report by The CT. Roem was successful in establishing the “Hunger-Free Campus Food Pantry Grant Program” in 2025 to fund campus pantries and fight food insecurity. The new bill would have required universities to allow students to donate their swipes in order to remain in the program and receive grants. Roem told The CT one issue lawmakers took with that part of the proposal was a perceived unfairness of students donating swipes their parents had paid for. Roem feels that assertion assumes students have a traditional, nuclear family, middle-and-upper class path through college and ignores the many students who put themselves through college with grants and with alternative family structures. “Then the next part

Richmond’s sewer system fixes see mixed funding future

March 25, 2026

Heciel Nieves Bonilla, News Editor The plan to strengthen Richmond’s water system could receive $50 million in state funding over the next year — but a utility cost hike in Mayor Danny Avula’s proposed city budget indicate a need for further funding for the city’s infrastructure needs. The state funding is meant to support Richmond’s combined sewer overflow control project and is part of Virginia’s next budget set to be finalized during a special legislative session starting April 23. The sewer project legislators plan to fund is one of several water system improvements in the city’s last capital improvement plan, which covered fiscal years 2022-2026. It involves building structures to divert water during high water intake events, and improving the capacity of the city’s Wastewater Treatment Plant, a different facility in Southside. DPU public information manager Rhonda Johnson said the proposed state funding would specifically support the design and construction of the Shockoe High Rate Disinfection facility, the largest item in the project and a key element of controlling James River contamination. The $50 million to continue the project is short of the $80 million for several water infrastructure projects Avula requested last year in a letter to former Gov.

Virginia Democrats pass gun reforms following ODU shooting, campus threats

March 25, 2026

Sal Orlando, Assistant News Editor The Virginia General Assembly recently passed several bills reforming gun laws, limiting who can obtain firearms, where firearms are allowed and the movement of select classifications. Debates around the legislation — which is heading to Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s desk — heated up following a deadly shooting at Old Dominion university and threats to universities across the state. Deadly ODU shooting, campus threats On March 12, 39-year-old Mohamed Bailor Jalloh entered the campus of Old Dominion University, shooting and killing ROTC instructor Lt. Col. Brandon Shah. The shooting was not the first in Virginia. It follows the deaths of University of Virginia student athletes Devin Chandler, D’Sean Perry and Lavel Davis Jr. at the hands of another shooter in 2022. Virginia Tech notoriously experienced a mass shooting in 2007 that resulted in the deaths of 32 people and the wounding of dozens of others. Following the ODU shooting — the University of Virginia, Bridgewater College, George Mason University, Randolph-Macon College and Longwood University all faced bomb threats. Timothy Porter, a second-year math student, said he feels safe on campus regarding guns, but does not feel the same in the broader Richmond area. “The area on campus

Remembering VCU icon Jackie ‘Miss Peaches’ Cherry 

March 25, 2026

Bryer Haywood, Staff Writer Jackie “Miss Peaches” Cherry, a warm, familiar figure to many students at VCU, passed away on March 8 at the age of 61. Miss Peaches worked at Shafer Dining Court for 15 years and is fondly remembered for always greeting students with a smile whenever they walked up the stairs. During an interview with VCU News last year, Miss Peaches said she was motivated in her position by her connection to her family and her “other family” in the Dining Services staff, and strived to be kind to students she came across. “I treat people decent every day,” Miss Peaches said. “It’s just my humble way. I’m only doing God’s work. If my grandkids were going to college, I would want somebody to treat them with respect and show them support.” Aramark, the company partnered with VCU to run VCUDine and which employed many of her colleagues, offered a statement on Miss Peaches’s passing. “We are deeply saddened by the passing of our long‑time and cherished colleague, Jacquelyn Cherry, known as Miss Peaches, whose dedication and kindness touched our entire organization. We extend our heartfelt condolences to her loved ones,” Aramark stated. While born in Fauquier

Who are the VCU student government presidential candidates?

March 23, 2026

Sal Orlando, Assistant News Editor VCU’s Student Government Association held a debate for its next president on Monday, beginning a three day voting period for students.  The candidates flexed varying platforms with similar goals of increasing the organization’s outreach, relevance on campus and power in administrative decisions.  The candidates are third-year history and mass communications student and SGA press secretary Natalie Bowen, third-year information systems student and senator Jamal Henry and second-year biomedical engineering student and senator Sadman Mahmood.  The latter two are also members of SGA’s independent financial board, which reviews proposals and disperses funds to student organizations supported by the student activity fee.  Natalie Bowen Bowen is running to increase the SGA’s efficiency and engagement with administration and the student body. She wants to continue what the association is currently doing, but would seek more power that would give weight to its decisions.  “A big part of the role of president is to meet with administration multiple times a week, and I want to be a president that puts my foot down in what the student body wants, and not let the administration try to take advantage of our close position,” Bowen said. Bowen wants to encourage senators

Spanberger names three new members to VCU Board of Visitors

March 18, 2026

Andrew Kerley, Executive Editor Gov. Abigail Spanberger announced three appointments to the VCU Board of Visitors on Wednesday. The new members will fill the vacancies in the university’s highest governing body created by Democratic lawmakers when they removed three members in February. The appointees are lobbyist and VCU alum Heidi Schlicher Cook, Towne Bank president Alexis Swann and Harry Thalhimer, the president of Thalhimer Headwear. They have been invited to the next VCU Board of Visitors meetings on March 23 and 24, according to a VCU spokesperson.  “We warmly welcome our new board members and look forward to working with them,” stated President Michael Rao. “They bring experiences and perspectives that will help VCU advance its vital mission of education and research.” Who are the new members? The Thalhimer family have been major donors to VCU. They have an endowment in the VCU School of Business and they established a scholarship in 1986. They are also the namesake of the Thalhimer Tennis Center on Cary Street. The influential Thalheimers have been around in Richmond for nearly two centuries. They began their business with a historic department store chain downtown and have done extensive philanthropy around the city. Harry Thalhimer is

A century after VCU’s first Black, female nursing class, STEM students reflect on progress

March 18, 2026

Molly Manning, Managing Editor Over a century ago, in an era of sexism and segregation, VCU’s first female graduates crossed the stage. Women studying STEM at VCU today say they appreciate the progress they championed, but divides still exist within certain fields. There is more work to be done. Innis Steinmetz became the first woman to graduate from the Medical College of Virginia in 1920 — and in the same year, the St. Philip Hospital School of Nursing opened its doors to a class of 10 Black, female nursing students. MCV opened the hospital as a separate, segregated school at a time when it was mandated, according to VCU News.  Bessie Conway, Adelaide Royster Thomas and Helena Bell Wooldridge were the first St. Philip’s graduates in 1923. A commencement ceremony was held the following year at the First African Baptist Church, celebrating them as well as the 1924 graduates — Lily Leila DeWeaver, Dorothy Tanner Hooper, Rebecca Thompson Johnson, Thelma Kathleen Jordan, Catherine Ellerson McDowell and Willie Mae Moody.  Though St. Philip shared a director with MCV’s School of Nursing and was aimed at modeling the school, St. Philip students had lesser facilities and resources, limited space and faced discrimination

El sistema de alcantarillado de Richmond se enfrenta a un futuro incierto de financiación

March 26, 2026

Heciel Nieves Bonilla, Editor de Noticias El plan para fortalecer el sistema de aguas de Richmond podría recibir $50 millones de dólares en fondos estatales durante el siguiente año. Sin embargo, un aumento a las tasas de servicios en el plan de presupuesto del alcalde Danny Avula indica que se necesitan más fondos para las necesidades infraestructurales de la ciudad. Los fondos estatales se dirigirán a apoyar al proyecto para el control del desbordamiento de alcantarillado combinado de Richmond, y forma parte del siguiente presupuesto de Virgina que se finalizará durante una sesión especial legislativa que empieza el 23 de abril. El proyecto de alcantarillado que quieren financiar los legisladores es uno de varios mejoramientos al sistema de aguas en el plan pasado para mejoras de capital de la ciudad, el cual cubrió los años fiscales 2022 al 2026. Este se trata de construir estructuras para desviar el agua durante eventos de toma alta de aguas y de mejorar la capacidad de la planta para el tratamiento de aguas residuales — una instalación en el sur de la ciudad. La encargada de información pública del departamento de servicios públicos (DPU en inglés), Rhonda Johnson, dijo que los fondos estatales propuestos apoyan específicamente al diseño y la construcción de la Instalación de Tasa Alta de Desinfección en Shockoe: el punto más grande del proyecto y un elemento clave de manejar la contaminación en el Rio James. Los $50 millones para continuar el proyecto son menos que los $80 millones para varios proyectos de infraestructura de aguas que pidió Avula el año pasado en una carta al gobernador previo Glenn Youngkin, en cual declaró que más fondos estatales minimizaría la necesidad de subirle la tasa de servicios públicos a los residentes de Richmond. Avula le presentó el plan de presupuesto entero para el año entrante al ayuntamiento de Richmond el 11 de marzo. El plan incluye un aumento total de $13.84 a la tasa de servicios públicos por residencia según Axios. También se espera que los gastos estimados para el departamento de Obras Públicas aumenten por un 20%, de $505 millones este año fiscal a $605 millones en el año fiscal 2027, según un documento de una sesión laboral del ayuntamiento. El ayuntamiento ahora debe discutir y aprobar el presupuesto, y revisará el documento de 585 páginas durante la primavera. El profesor de ciencias políticas de Randolph Macon y presentador del pódcast

Meal swipe donation proposal pushed to 2027

March 25, 2026

Kayla Munecas, Contributing Writer The bill that would allow Virginia university students to donate their unused meal plan credits did not pass the General Assembly this year. State lawmakers voted to continue debating the proposal in the 2027 session. The bill was introduced by Sen. Danica Roem, D-Manassas, and would have allowed students to voluntarily donate their unused meal swipes to be distributed for use by other students at campus dining halls or on-campus food pantries, such as the VCU Ram Pantry, according to a previous report by The CT. Roem was successful in establishing the “Hunger-Free Campus Food Pantry Grant Program” in 2025 to fund campus pantries and fight food insecurity. The new bill would have required universities to allow students to donate their swipes in order to remain in the program and receive grants. Roem told The CT one issue lawmakers took with that part of the proposal was a perceived unfairness of students donating swipes their parents had paid for. Roem feels that assertion assumes students have a traditional, nuclear family, middle-and-upper class path through college and ignores the many students who put themselves through college with grants and with alternative family structures. “Then the next part

Richmond’s sewer system fixes see mixed funding future

March 25, 2026

Heciel Nieves Bonilla, News Editor The plan to strengthen Richmond’s water system could receive $50 million in state funding over the next year — but a utility cost hike in Mayor Danny Avula’s proposed city budget indicate a need for further funding for the city’s infrastructure needs. The state funding is meant to support Richmond’s combined sewer overflow control project and is part of Virginia’s next budget set to be finalized during a special legislative session starting April 23. The sewer project legislators plan to fund is one of several water system improvements in the city’s last capital improvement plan, which covered fiscal years 2022-2026. It involves building structures to divert water during high water intake events, and improving the capacity of the city’s Wastewater Treatment Plant, a different facility in Southside. DPU public information manager Rhonda Johnson said the proposed state funding would specifically support the design and construction of the Shockoe High Rate Disinfection facility, the largest item in the project and a key element of controlling James River contamination. The $50 million to continue the project is short of the $80 million for several water infrastructure projects Avula requested last year in a letter to former Gov.

Virginia Democrats pass gun reforms following ODU shooting, campus threats

March 25, 2026

Sal Orlando, Assistant News Editor The Virginia General Assembly recently passed several bills reforming gun laws, limiting who can obtain firearms, where firearms are allowed and the movement of select classifications. Debates around the legislation — which is heading to Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s desk — heated up following a deadly shooting at Old Dominion university and threats to universities across the state. Deadly ODU shooting, campus threats On March 12, 39-year-old Mohamed Bailor Jalloh entered the campus of Old Dominion University, shooting and killing ROTC instructor Lt. Col. Brandon Shah. The shooting was not the first in Virginia. It follows the deaths of University of Virginia student athletes Devin Chandler, D’Sean Perry and Lavel Davis Jr. at the hands of another shooter in 2022. Virginia Tech notoriously experienced a mass shooting in 2007 that resulted in the deaths of 32 people and the wounding of dozens of others. Following the ODU shooting — the University of Virginia, Bridgewater College, George Mason University, Randolph-Macon College and Longwood University all faced bomb threats. Timothy Porter, a second-year math student, said he feels safe on campus regarding guns, but does not feel the same in the broader Richmond area. “The area on campus

Remembering VCU icon Jackie ‘Miss Peaches’ Cherry 

March 25, 2026

Bryer Haywood, Staff Writer Jackie “Miss Peaches” Cherry, a warm, familiar figure to many students at VCU, passed away on March 8 at the age of 61. Miss Peaches worked at Shafer Dining Court for 15 years and is fondly remembered for always greeting students with a smile whenever they walked up the stairs. During an interview with VCU News last year, Miss Peaches said she was motivated in her position by her connection to her family and her “other family” in the Dining Services staff, and strived to be kind to students she came across. “I treat people decent every day,” Miss Peaches said. “It’s just my humble way. I’m only doing God’s work. If my grandkids were going to college, I would want somebody to treat them with respect and show them support.” Aramark, the company partnered with VCU to run VCUDine and which employed many of her colleagues, offered a statement on Miss Peaches’s passing. “We are deeply saddened by the passing of our long‑time and cherished colleague, Jacquelyn Cherry, known as Miss Peaches, whose dedication and kindness touched our entire organization. We extend our heartfelt condolences to her loved ones,” Aramark stated. While born in Fauquier

Who are the VCU student government presidential candidates?

March 23, 2026

Sal Orlando, Assistant News Editor VCU’s Student Government Association held a debate for its next president on Monday, beginning a three day voting period for students.  The candidates flexed varying platforms with similar goals of increasing the organization’s outreach, relevance on campus and power in administrative decisions.  The candidates are third-year history and mass communications student and SGA press secretary Natalie Bowen, third-year information systems student and senator Jamal Henry and second-year biomedical engineering student and senator Sadman Mahmood.  The latter two are also members of SGA’s independent financial board, which reviews proposals and disperses funds to student organizations supported by the student activity fee.  Natalie Bowen Bowen is running to increase the SGA’s efficiency and engagement with administration and the student body. She wants to continue what the association is currently doing, but would seek more power that would give weight to its decisions.  “A big part of the role of president is to meet with administration multiple times a week, and I want to be a president that puts my foot down in what the student body wants, and not let the administration try to take advantage of our close position,” Bowen said. Bowen wants to encourage senators

Spanberger names three new members to VCU Board of Visitors

March 18, 2026

Andrew Kerley, Executive Editor Gov. Abigail Spanberger announced three appointments to the VCU Board of Visitors on Wednesday. The new members will fill the vacancies in the university’s highest governing body created by Democratic lawmakers when they removed three members in February. The appointees are lobbyist and VCU alum Heidi Schlicher Cook, Towne Bank president Alexis Swann and Harry Thalhimer, the president of Thalhimer Headwear. They have been invited to the next VCU Board of Visitors meetings on March 23 and 24, according to a VCU spokesperson.  “We warmly welcome our new board members and look forward to working with them,” stated President Michael Rao. “They bring experiences and perspectives that will help VCU advance its vital mission of education and research.” Who are the new members? The Thalhimer family have been major donors to VCU. They have an endowment in the VCU School of Business and they established a scholarship in 1986. They are also the namesake of the Thalhimer Tennis Center on Cary Street. The influential Thalheimers have been around in Richmond for nearly two centuries. They began their business with a historic department store chain downtown and have done extensive philanthropy around the city. Harry Thalhimer is