More than 250 youth from across the country, joined by police and civilian chaperones, attended the Region 6 National PAL Youth Leadership Conference March 22-24 at the Marriott Richmond West Hotel. Hosted by Henrico Police Athletic League, the conference welcomed representatives of 33 different Police Athletic Leagues from as far away as California and centered around the theme, “Empowering Youth For A Better Tomorrow.”

In addition to breakout sessions designed to teach leadership skills, the conference included social activities such as a pool party, cookout, and a trip to G Force Go Karts.

Gov. Bob McDonnell was among the prominent visitors to Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden's Bloemendaal House March 28 as he joined Richmond Mayor Dwight Jones, Dominion Resources chief executive Tom Farrell, and Richmond 2015 CEO Wilson Flohr in making a milestone announcement about the funding of Richmond 2015. Corporate partners with the non-profit corporation overseeing the city’s hosting of the 2015 UCI Road World Championships have raised more than $11 million, reaching the halfway mark in their fundraising goal to stage the international cycling competition.

If you've seen smoke coming from Civil War battlefields in and near Eastern Henrico County this week, don't be alarmed. The National Park Service is conducting prescribed burns at two sites within Richmond National Battlefield Park this week. The burns are taking place on approximately 40 acres of park property at Malvern Hill in Henrico County and 20 acres at Cold Harbor in Hanover County.

The Malvern Hill burn is scheduled for April 8, while the Cold Harbor burn is scheduled at some point this week, pending favorable weather conditions.

In a matter of weeks, thousands of youngsters from the City of Richmond will race for neighborhood pools, ponds and creeks to celebrate the start of summer vacation with a splash.

And Veronica Stewart, who lives in the suburbs of far western Henrico, has been working all winter to make sure none of those splashes are unplanned, unexpected or go undetected.

As a Girl Scout of ten years and a certified lifeguard, Stewart says she had little difficulty when it came time to choose the focus of her Gold Award project.

When Pendle Whisnant used to drive past the Virginia Home for Boys and Girls (VHBG) entrance on Broad Street, she often wondered what went on inside those entrance gates.

As Whisnant was to find out, not that much was happening – other than a few dozen lives being changed.

Established in 1846, the non-profit VHBG has served since then as a home for more than 20,000 at-risk youth, with significant challenges ranging from mental illness and abandonment to abuse and neglect.

Minds In Motion, Team XXL will perform at Twin Hickory Library on Thursday, March 21 at 5 p.m. as part of Leap Week. Minds In Motion, Team XXL, ambassadors for Richmond Ballet’s acclaimed education and outreach program, will perform dances based on different children’s books at three libraries throughout the surrounding counties. Performances are free and open to the public. Following the Twin Hickory performance, at 6 p.m., company dancers will at Bertucci’s Italian Restaurant where every customer can enter for a chance to win tickets to next season’s performance of The Nutcracker.

Colin McKeon of Glen Allen was sitting at the kitchen table when he discovered he’d won $100,000 in the Virginia Lottery’s Cash 5 game.

“It feels great,” he told Virginia Lottery officials. “I’m happy I played.”

He bought the winning ticket at the 7-Eleven at 4051 Cox Road in Glen Allen for the February 2 Cash 5 day drawing. He used family birthdays to select the numbers: 3-5-7-8-21.