The week’s top stories
-A federal judge declined to dismiss a wrongful termination lawsuit filed by former Spotsylvania Superintendent Mark Taylor against the county’s School Board. Taylor was fired last year after he organized a book fair promoting Christian literature, but he claims he acted as a private citizen “at all times.” Taft Coghill Jr. has the details.
-FredNats fans will be able to hop on down to the ballpark this summer to see a new alternate identity for their favorite team. Joey LoMonaco reports on a froggy phenomenon that pays homage to the region’s Black baseball history.
-Officials praised the new Fredericksburg Veterans Affairs Health Care Center in Spotsylvania at a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday, but the region’s congressional delegation told the assembled crowd that there’s a catch: The facility won’t immediately reach its full potential because the Trump administration has fired 2,400 VA employees and instituted a hiring freeze, Coghill Jr. reports.
-About 45 people showed up last week to get more information about — and chime in on — the planning document that will guide Fredericksburg priorities for the next two decades. It was the third and final “Community Conversation” on the Comprehensive Plan, writes.
-Fredericksburg’s City Council voted last week to create a Technology Overlay District that would allow developers to build data centers without a permit in the portion of the municipality known as Celebrate Virginia South, LoMonaco reports. And that …
… brings us to this: Go figures (Numbers that made the news)
–10 billion, dollar value of a data center investment in Fredericksburg announced by the Silver Companies and STACK Infrastructure only hours after the council’s action. Eight to 12 data centers are slated to be built.
What they’re saying
“We were on a business trip.” –Fredericksburg-area native E.J. Jenkins, describing what it was like to play in the Super Bowl. The 2017 Chancellor High School alum is backup a tight end for the world-champion Philadelphia Eagles.
Pressing on (a look at stories in the week ahead)
The federal workforce-DOGE rigmarole hasn’t subsided, and we’ll take a look at what two state delegates from the region are doing about it.
Sunday long read
If Port Royal had a queen, Gloria Jean Johnson’s reign would be considered a dynasty. Johnson has been working at the Horne’s restaurant there for so long, she has almost outlasted the entire national chain of eateries. The details of Johnson’s story, may be new to some. But Horne’s regulars know exactly who she is. It all makes for a tale that would pair nicely with a Horne’s menu feature: the Jean Johnson Special. Dig into Coghill Jr.’s profile.
