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
-The biggest story of the week was, of course, the winter storm, which blanketed the area with snow and ice. Photojournalist Jeff Kearney captured the weather event in images.
PHOTOS: A snowy Sunday in downtown Fredericksburg following Winter Storm Fern
-While the Virginia General Assembly, which is controlled by Democrats, is debating several proposed gun-control measures, the Spotsylvania Board of Supervisors wants to make it clear where it stands. The county is still a “Second Amendment sanctuary,” which means the Sheriff’s Office will not enforce state-level gun laws that many believe infringe on constitutional rights. Livingston District Supervisor Jacob Lane reiterated Spotsylvania’s 2019 sanctuary vote during a meeting Thursday, Taft Coghill Jr. reports.
-The Rappahannock Tribe has filed a challenge to the water-withdrawal permit the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality granted to Caroline County in November. The Tribe contends that DEQ did not grant its requests that it conduct impact modeling before the final selection of the water intake facility site, and that the agency did not meet with the Tribe to discuss ways to reduce negative impacts on the Rappahannock and Mattaponi rivers. The permit is for supplying residential water from the Rappahannock River to the towns of Port Royal and Bowling Green as well as other parts of Caroline. Coghill has the story.
-Jill Payne has retired from the Rappahannock Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) after 35 years. Coghill spoke with her about her experiences at the nonprofit, which advocates for children in the court system who were abused or neglected.
Go figures (numbers in the news)
312 — As in 312 William St. Ada and Sean Steinway plan to open a tapas and cocktail establishment called Tierra Cocktail Bar at that site in Fredericksburg. The Steinways have a food truck called Martina’s Cantina, and they said the food at Tierra will be Latin-inspired. Sean Steinway ran as a Republican for the House of Delegates last year, losing to incumbent Democratic Del. Joshua Cole. Bill Freehling has more on this story and other business news in Biz Beat Roundup.
What they’re saying
“I love it as an escape because no matter which way you turn in that place, there’s something fun and innocent. It takes you away from the world for however long you’re in there.” -Josh Schwartz, guitarist for the band A Sound Of Thunder. He was talking about the environment in Reclaim Arcade. Stephen Hu chronicles the Fredericksburg venue’s history in Free Time, our weekly arts and entertainment newsletter.
Pressing on (a look at the week ahead)
-Stafford schools Superintendent Daniel Smith will present his proposed budget for the next fiscal year to the county School Board on Monday night. The meeting was postponed from its original time last week.
Sunday read
It started with a text from Dr. Patrick Neustatter to Nana Noi about the Moss Free Clinic’s closing. But what developed from there wasn’t about an ending so much as about a new beginning: a humanitarian and medical mission to West Africa.
