Combative texts from controversial UVA appointee and more Va. headlines

The State Capitol. (Ned Oliver/ Virginia Mercury)

• The General Assembly won’t have a budget deal before its scheduled adjournment Saturday, but lawmakers leading the negotiations say they hope they can work something out for next week.—Richmond Times-Dispatch

• Text messages released under the state Freedom of Information Act show the combative approach of UVA Board of Visitors member Bert Ellis, an appointee of Gov. Glenn Youngkin. A critic of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, Ellis texted someone he was anticipating a “battle royale for the soul of UVA” and referred to perceived opponents as “numnuts.”—Washington Post

• Virginia National Guard 1st. Lt. Caron Nazario was offered $150,000 to settle his lawsuit against two Windsor police officers over an aggressive 2020 traffic stop that went viral. A jury only awarded him a tiny fraction of that amount, but Nazario and his lawyer are trying to have the officers cover their legal fees.—Smithfield Times

• Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw, Virginia’s longest-serving state senator, officially announced he’ll retire at the end of his current term after nearly five decades in the General Assembly.—Washington Post

• “How a Bolivian construction worker became an online star from her Va. garage.”—Washington Post

by Staff Report, Virginia Mercury

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