Montpelier Staff Fired After Supporting Descendants Group, And More Virginia Headlines

A Virginia Mercury Staff Report

April 19, 2022

• “Several senior staff members at James Madison’s historic Montpelier estate lost their jobs Monday in what they called retaliation for speaking out on behalf of a group of descendants of enslaved workers that has been in conflict with the board of directors.”—Washington Post

• Democratic Charlottesville minister and business owner Josh Throneburg will challenge incumbent Republican Bob Good this November to represent Virginia’s 5th congressional district.—Cardinal News

• With the FBI’s Washington, DC headquarters falling apart, Virginia and Maryland’s congressional lawmakers are trying to steer the agency to move its base to either one of their states.—Washington Post

• Gov. Glenn Youngkin has ordered a review of security and safety measures at state-run mental hospitals after two patients escaped from Eastern State Hospital this weekend. One man is still at large.—Richmond Times-Dispatch

• The governor has introduced a bill amendment reducing the amount of compensation Virginia gives to a man who spent 22 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit by $1.—WVTF

• The Washington Commanders denied allegations of financial impropriety in a letter to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.—Associated Press

• Ballad Health, the regional hospital system that serves Southwest Virginia, has closed its COVID-19 war room and removed visitation restrictions. “We welcome some normalcy back to our hospitals and our clinics.”—Bristol Herald-Courier

• As Charlotte County reviews a 21,000-acre solar farm proposal that would be among the largest such projects in the U.S., officials are grappling with the question of how much solar is enough.—Cardinal News

• A look at Devon Henry, the man whose company has removed 23 Confederate monuments across the Southeast, including 15 in Richmond, over the past two years.—New York Times

• A Henrico mosque has been vandalized for the second time in six months. “There was a little bit of anger, but a lot more sadness than anything else.”—Richmond Times-Dispatch

• Activists and public housing residents are clashing with Norfolk officials over whether several million in American Rescue Plan funds should be spent on the city’s public housing.—Virginian-Pilot

• A Clarke County judge ruled that a Confederate statue outside the courthouse doesn’t prevent Black people from getting a fair trial there.—Winchester Star

• The Virginia Supreme Court is taking up a years-long dispute over new construction at the Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center, which is building a raptor aviary.—Roanoke Times

• Afghan restaurateurs in Virginia are reaching out to help refugees fleeing the Taliban. “This is something where I have already experienced it,” said one Richmond restaurant owner. “If you’re lucky, you’ll survive.”—New York Times

• It’s morel-hunting time.—Free Lance-Star

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This story was originally published by the Virginia Mercury. For more stories from the Virginia Mercury, visit Virginia Mercury.com.