The father of Black History is from Central Virginia February is Black History Month — but where did the concept come from? The answer is right here in Central Virginia.

Did you know the father of Black History was from Central Virginia?

Learn all about the pioneering historian who created the concept nearly 100 years ago in hopes of sharing Black history with as many people as possible -- despite significant adversity.

www.wric.com/black-histor...

#BHM #Virginia

VCU Health suspends gender-affirming care for those 18 and younger Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Health and the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU have suspended gender-affirming care for transgender patients under 19 years old in the wake of Pr…

Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Health and the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU have suspended gender-affirming care for transgender patients under 19 years old in the wake of President Donald Trump’s executive order that cuts federal funding for such care.

#RVA #Virginia #VCU

Richmond selects firm to dig deep into what caused water crisis The city of Richmond has selected the firm that will investigate its recent, widespread water crisis. Through an over $200,000 contract, it will develop an independent after-action report, detailin…

Several questions have been raised in the aftermath of Richmond's recent, widespread water crisis -- many of which city officials have been unable to answer.

Now, an independent development firm will investigate and draft a report detaling what went wrong.

#RVA #Virginia

Point is: keep asking. Keep talking about it. We're going to keep it up, too. And hopefully, once these multiple investigations pan out, we'll get our answers. For ex., the VDH has been very clear it intends to dig deep into this, so I'm hopeful that its findings will be informative. 3/3

We're continuing to try and press, we don't want this to disappear. It's too important.

I know something that struck me personally was how, in '22, emergency preparedness was nonexistent. Had that changed? If not, could that have had an impact? Yet another question that can't be answered yet. 2/?

Thanks for the kind words! This is a great question. Right now, many questions like this one on the "why" and "how" are being written down as "to answer" by officials. I sat in a presser with Avula recently he literally did just that: wrote 80% of our questions down, because he just didn't know. 1/?

Five concerning truths about Richmond’s public water system: 2022 EPA report Richmond’s public water system was found to be crumbling, broken down and filthy during a 2022 federal inspection, with debris ranging from algae to chemical leaks found throughout various pa…

This past week has been brutal -- but I'm so proud of myself and the folks at @wric.com for not backing down from a challenge.

One of the many things I got to sink my teeth into this week was the 2022 federal inspection of the #RVA water system.

Read about the troubling findings below.

#Virginia

Can I decorate my car with holiday lights in Virginia? With the holiday season in full swing, drivers across America are choosing to deck their halls and their cars — but instead of classics like reindeer antlers or a Rudolph nose, some are wrapp…

With the holiday season in full swing, drivers across America are choosing to deck their halls and their cars — but instead of classics like reindeer antlers or a Rudolph nose, some are wrapping their vehicles in multi-colored holiday lights. However, is that street legal in Virginia? #Virginia #RVA

Harassment causes 11-year-old transgender athlete to drop lawsuit against Hanover School Board The lawsuit filed against the Hanover County School Board on behalf of an 11-year-old transgender girl who wanted to play on her school’s tennis team has been dropped, as the child was pulled…

The lawsuit filed against the Hanover County School Board on behalf of an 11-year-old trans girl who wanted to play on her school’s tennis team was dropped, as the child was pulled from Hanover County Public Schools due to ongoing harassment. #HanoverCounty #Virginia

www.wric.com/news/local-n...

City of Richmond ‘mismanaged’ streetlight project, resulting in at least $1.2 million in discrepancies, audit finds An audit of a city of Richmond streetlight maintenance contract found that city officials failed to properly manage and oversee said contract, allowing for at least $1.2 million in potentially unal…

An audit of a city of Richmond streetlight maintenance contract found that city officials failed to properly manage and oversee said contract, allowing for at least $1.2 million in potentially unallowable charges, overbilling and questionable billings. #RVA #Virginia

www.wric.com/news/local-n...

‘True joy, just acceptance’: Chesterfield inmates recount performing with Grammy-nominated artist Jelly Roll A second visit from Jason Deford — better known as Jelly Roll — left a lasting, heartfelt impression on those who are part of the HARP (Helping Addicts Recover Progressively) Program.

This beautiful piece by 8News reporter Victoria Lucas explores the impact that Grammy-nominated artist Jelly Roll had on several men currently imprisoned at the Chesterfield County Jail. #Virginia #ChesterfieldCounty #CMAS

www.wric.com/news/local-n...

Kabana Rooftop in Richmond set to close its doors in 2025 Kabana Rooftop has announced, after 8 years of being a community staple, its establishment will close its doors at the beginning of the year.

Kabana Rooftop, a beloved rooftop bar and lounge in Richmond, will close its doors at the beginning of 2025 after eight years of service. #RVA #Virginia

www.wric.com/news/local-n...

The more I look at it, the more I realize it should've been clearer to me that it was accurate given the context of the story. So that's my bad, honestly.

Being a trans journo, myself, I think that comes with some hypervigilance. It was very much unnecessary here, though. 🤍

Ahh, that makes sense! Thank you for explaining. Again, amazing work!

Absolutely beautiful story! One that 100% deserved to be told. A tale of resilience in the face of overwhelming adversity. It's amazing, seeing her step into her power and help others going through the same struggles.

I wanted to ask, though -- the subheadline, are the pronouns perhaps reversed?

PHOTOS: 8News joins mothers of color, their children at formal tea party in Chesterfield The Richmond Chapter of Mocha Moms, a national nonprofit designed to support mothers of color and their children, hosted a formal tea party on Saturday in Chesterfield County.

8News' own Eric Philips and Alexis Bellamy enjoyed a lovely tea party with the Richmond chapter of Mocha Moms this past Saturday.

This national nonprofit provides sisterhood and support for mothers of color and their kids. #RVA #Virginia

www.wric.com/community/po...

for the news lovers, here's where you can find me & my work:
📝 ryannadeau.journoportfolio.com/
📘 linkedin.com/in/r-nadeau/
🗓️ muckrack.com/ryan-nadeau

& check out this virginia media starter pack for other accounts to follow: bsky.app/starter-pack...

I dunno! I think that, sometimes, I forget that I'm not still some college kid praying for a job offer. Being a career journo doesn't always feel real, even a year in. It's crazy.

Great pack! Thank you for putting this together for us! (Felt super honored when I saw I made the cut, as well. 🤗)

How two Richmond marathon runners ran into each other’s hearts One Richmond couple is sharing their unique love story, which began when they literally ran into each other. Their love for running just happened to be the one thing that brought them together.

8NEWS reporter Alexis Bellamy got the chance to tell an adorable Richmond love story today. These Richmond marathon runners literally ran into each other through their love of the activity -- now, they're happily married! #RVA #Virginia

www.wric.com/community/po...

And I am most assuredly not biased as a former classmate of hers. (Okay, maybe I am a tiny bit.) She's amazing and it's so fun to work with her professionally after working alongside of her at #VCU.

Dozens of Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden employees push to unionize Employees at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Henrico County are taking a stand for better pay, improved safety and fairer working conditions by pushing to form a union.

Really interesting story from 8NEWS reporter Sahara Sriraman about unionization efforts at Henrico's own Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden. Awesome read. #Virginia #HenricoCounty

www.wric.com/news/local-n...

Virginia House advances constitutional amendments on abortion, marriage equality, felons’ voting rights The Virginia House of Delegates’ Privileges and Elections committee advanced three Democrat-led constitutional amendments on Wednesday. These proposed amendments would enshrine abortion acces…

Yesterday, the Virginia House of Delegates advanced three proposed constitutional amendments -- they deal with abortion access, marriage equality and a felon's right to vote.

These amendments still have a long way to go. They will hit the House floor in Jan. 2025. www.wric.com/news/politic...

There's plenty more where that came from, of course, but.

Anyway! I'm going to slowly start working on building a presence here. I'd love to find other #RVA journalists and/or news enthusiasts on this platform as I do so.

Thanks for reading! 4/4

The history of Hollywood Cemetery’s iron dog and the little girl it watches over There’s a 2-year-old girl buried in Richmond’s Hollywood Cemetery who sadly passed from scarlet fever in the mid-1800s. Ever since she was laid to rest, a cast iron statue of a dog has …

(And then here's the dog story, because I know you're wondering about that one.) www.wric.com/history/flor... 3/3

Caroline County claims eminent domain over local couple’s farmland “I have always felt that, if the residents of Caroline County knew the whole truth and all the facts surrounding this project, the public outcry would be huge,” Cory said.

Some of my best-performing work is this collab I did with the amazing Rolynn Wilson on a land debate in Caroline County: www.wric.com/news/taking-... 2/2

Welp, another journo taking to Bluesky. Slowly working on finding folks to follow.

My name's Ryan and I'm a digital producer with WRIC 8News, reporting out of #RVA & covering the Central Virginia area. I report on a lot of things, from consequential legislation to famous dog statues. 1/1