A Dolly Parton hay bale and more Virginia headlines

The State Capitol. (Ned Oliver/ Virginia Mercury)

• Richmond-area Democrats went to party-run polling places Tuesday to pick a nominee to replace the late congressman Donald McEachin in the 4th Congressional District. Votes in the matchup between state Sen. Jennifer McClellan and state Sen. Joe Morrissey will be hand-counted later today.—Richmond Times-Dispatch

• The city of Richmond received an $11 million grant from the Mellon Foundation for an interpretive center that will bolster efforts to tell the history of the slave trade in the city’s Shockoe Bottom area.—Associated Press

• Artists unveiled a preliminary black-and-white drawing that will form the basis of a statue of Henrietta Lacks the city of Roanoke plans to put up in a plaza previously named for Robert E. Lee.—New York Times

• Robots are serving food in two Virginia Beach restaurants. “She’s never late, always shows up to work, doesn’t talk back and as long as you keep her plugged in, she works.”—Virginian-Pilot

• A Southwest Virginia farm made a Dolly Parton statue out of hay bales.—WATE

by Staff Report, Virginia Mercury

---

Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sarah Vogelsong for questions: info@virginiamercury.com. Follow Virginia Mercury on Facebook and Twitter.