Press Rewind podcast
No time to read our weekly recap newsletter? Then listen up: It’s the Press Rewind podcast, which will catch you up on top headlines in five minutes or less. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
The week’s top stories
-A Spotsylvania man facing charges of sexual battery, child cruelty and other felonies in relation to his stepdaughter who disappeared more than a decade ago is scheduled to appear in the county’s Circuit Court on Tuesday for a hearing. James Branton isn’t charged in the disappearance of Katelin Akens, but he is the prime suspect, the Spotsylvania Sheriff’s Office said, and he’s not cooperating. Taft Coghill Jr. has the story.
-The Spotsylvania County School Board voted last week to shrink Thanksgiving break in 2027 from five days to three. The board members who voted in favor of the move cited the opportunity to use the other two days to observe Jewish and Muslim holidays at other times in the school year, Coghill reports.
-The Spotsylvania Board of Supervisors agreed last week to discuss on April 28 using eminent domain to acquire nearly 78,000 square feet of a county resident’s property to prepare for a water-reuse project that will benefit data centers. Supervisor David Goosman said he doesn’t want public perception to be that the board is blindly “rubber-stamping” serious matters such as eminent domain, Coghill writes.
-The Caroline County Board of Supervisors last week voted to raise the real-estate tax rate from 52 cents per $100 of assessed value to 58 cents, an 11.5% hike. County officials have pledged that the first three cents of the rate increase will go toward public-safety personnel and the next penny will cover pay raises for other county staff. Coghill has all the details.
-Our columnist — that’s me, your Press Rewind writer — introduces you to the world of the Micro Wrestling Federation, where everyone in the cast is less than 5 feet tall. The touring entertainers came to Spotsylvania County last week and delighted a packed house at the Log Home Brewing Co.
Go figures (numbers in the news)
11/12 — as in Nov. 12. That’s when Kalahari Resorts will open its long-awaited Spotsylvania County waterpark resort and convention center. Bill Freehling has more on this and other business news in Biz Beat Roundup.
What they’re saying
“Something as simple as a chocolate chip cookie goes a long way.” -Paige Stocks, who helps operate a free bakery in Seattle. She assisted her in-laws in establishing a gourmet giveaway in Fredericksburg. Joey LoMonaco has the scoop (of dough?) in Free Time, our weekly arts and entertainment newsletter.
Pressing on (a look at the week ahead)
-Voters will go to the polls Tuesday to say whether they support a state constitutional amendment that would allow congressional redistricting later this year before the midterm elections.
