The week’s top stories
-Baseball’s minor leagues are a place for learning for not only ballplayers but also most everyone involved with the sport. And that includes Eric Bach, the Fredericksburg Nationals’ play-by-play announcer. Joey LoMonaco chronicles Bach’s work on the mic.
-The fare at 314 William St. in downtown Fredericksburg is going from hamburgers to a “melting pot of influences,” including Japanese, Korean and Italian, as chef Dan Perron opens his Locavore restaurant inside the former Vivify Burger & Lounge building. Bill Freehling has more on this culinary change in Biz Beat Roundup.
-Some criminal cases are solved quickly; others may take years. Stafford County Sheriff’s Detective David K. Wood was honored recently for closing a murder case after nearly four decades of investigation.
-Data centers continue to be a source of controversy in the Fredericksburg area. The Stafford County Board of Supervisors heard public comment on the technology businesses for three hours last week but ultimately decided to defer a decision on new zoning regulations for the operations. Taft Coghill Jr. has the details.
-Have you been among the many customers of Ulman’s Jewelry in Fredericksburg over the years? Or just curious about the jewelry industry? Check out Freehling’s Biz Beat Banter podcast to hear Jerry Ulman talk about his lifetime of work running the downtown business.
Go figures (numbers in the news)
1959 — The year when “The Sound of Music” opened on Broadway. A version of the play was to open this weekend at the Riverside Center for the Performing Arts, and Stephen Hu recently sat down with lead actors Sarah Mae Andersen and Tim Rogan to talk about their roles in the production. Check out the story from our entertainment newsletter, Free Time with the Free Press.
What they’re saying
“Go to hell, Christian brother.” – King George County Supervisor T.C. Collins, who represents the James Monroe District. Collins got into an argument last week with Chairman William Davis at a board meeting.
Pressing on (a look at the week ahead)
-Free Press Managing Editor Joey LoMonaco sits down for a Coffee Shop Talk podcast with Deuntay Diggs, chairman of the Stafford County Board of Supervisors.
Sunday read
–In May 2024, Judge Robert Reibach gave several families 10 days to move out after the owners of the Hill Mobile Home Park in Bowling Green, Englewood, N.J.-based Homes of America Inc., requested that they be evicted. Now only two residents in their 70s remain, sisters Viola Medley and Mildred Tufail. But their future living arrangements aren’t certain.
