VCU Health was one of the country's most aggressive hospital debt collectors until late 2019, when the Richmond-based hospital system pledged to stop suing patients over unpaid bills.

Why it matters: A new report from Stanford and George Washington universities says it didn't fully follow through — a finding VCU disputes.

Driving the news: VCU reduced lawsuits by more than 99% after the 2019 pledge, but didn't entirely eliminate them, according to Stanford and GW's analysis of Virginia court records.

• 2010-19: VCU filed roughly 92,100 lawsuits against patients, the most in the state.
• 2020-24: About 600.

What they're saying: VCU spokesperson Michael Porter told Axios that VCU Health downloaded and reviewed the data referenced in the report and is "unable to confirm" that it has filed new debt collection lawsuits since 2019.

An Axios review of those records found hundreds of cases from 2020 to 2024 where VCU Health or related entities used the courts to collect unpaid debts, including through wage garnishments.

• Wage garnishments let hospitals collect money directly from patients' paychecks and can stem from earlier lawsuits.

Zoom in: The state-run hospital system won 85% of cases between 2010 and 2024, per the report, with courts ordering patients to pay more than $132 million in bills, fees and court costs.

• More than 17,400 cases led to wage garnishments.

Catch up quick: In September 2019, VCU said it would end routine lawsuits, halt garnishments and stop placing liens on patients' homes — which allow hospitals to collect debt from the sale of a patient's property.

• That came after a KFF Health News investigation found VCU filed over 56,000 lawsuits against its patients through its MCV Physicians group between 2011 and 2018.

Between the lines: VCU Health was part of a larger statewide trend, per the latest report.

• Between 2010 and 2024, hospitals and providers statewide filed more than 1.5 million medical debt collection lawsuits or wage garnishment orders.
• At least 60,000 were filed after 2019.

What we're watching: Whether a new Virginia law that limits how health care providers collect unpaid bills — and takes effect July 1 — leads providers to scale back court use.

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Water is flowing into the Byrd Park Reservoir west basin for the first time in nearly three years.

Why it matters: The January 2025 water crisis may not have been as bad if the reservoir had been full when it happened.

State of play: Work began in 2023 to modernize the reservoir, which supplies water for most of the city and much of the surrounding counties, as Richmonders learned last year.

• With the west basin offline, the reservoir had been running at half-capacity since the city started its yearslong rehab and re-roofing project.

Zoom in: The Byrd Park Reservoir is crucial for the city.

• At full capacity, the reservoir holds 75% of "the entire City of Richmond distribution system," per the Virginia Department of Health's investigation into the city's 2025 water crisis.
• Had the reservoir been at full capacity, Richmonders could have had 13–14 additional hours of running water before the tanks ran dry, per the report.
• The half-capacity facility was also a factor in a separate water issue in May, which once again put the city under a boil water advisory, as Axios reported.

What's next: Once the west basin is full, the city will start work on the east tank, which should take about two years, The Richmonder reports.

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🏗️ The eyesore — er, former Greyhound bus station — on Arthur Ashe sold last week to a New York-based developer for just under $20 million. (BizSense)

• The sales price is nearly twice the $11.1 million a subsidiary of hedge fund Alden Global Capital paid for it in 2023.
• Plans call for 630 apartments across two 7-story buildings, plus retail and parking to rise on the 5-acre site.

🚧 Starting Monday, Old Otterdale Road in Chesterfield will close for about four months for road improvements, per VDOT. (News release)

🍎 Richmond schools superintendent Jason Kamras stepped in to substitute teach at Albert Hill Middle School on Monday due to a "higher than normal" number of teacher absences. (WTVR)

• Over at Henderson Middle, a student there said kids spent half of Monday in the gym and the other half having a study block.
• RPS was initially supposed to be closed on Easter Monday, but added it back due to snow day closures. The district said they expected the above-normal absences.

🎨 VCU School of the Arts tied for No. 2 in U.S. News & World Report's annual rankings of the nation's best graduate fine arts programs. (News release)

Flavor Hive is out of The Park. Literally.

The big picture: Less than six months after the viral food truck said it'd be "permanently open" inside the Scott's Addition bar, it permanently closed there on Saturday.

Why it matters: Flavor Hive is opening a brick-and-mortar in the Richmond area within the next three to four weeks, co-founder Amgd Gende tells Axios.

• Gende says location details are still being finalized and aren't ready to be shared.

Fun fact: Former Mayor Stoney and current Mayor Avula are fans of the Alexandria-based truck, if their comments under Flavor Hive's November post are any indication.

What we're watching: For the location deets.

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Gov. Spanberger and Mayor Avula threw out the first pitches at last night's sold-out season opener at CarMax Park.

Why it matters: Last night was just the start of opening week at the new ballpark.

What's next: The Flying Squirrels' play through Sunday and tickets are still available for the rest of the games.