This month is Hispanic Heritage Month, a time to reflect on the contribution Hispanic voters have made to Virginia politics.

Last week, Omega Protein, a menhaden fishing fleet, exceeded the amount of fish they were told they could harvest from the Chesapeake Bay.

Omega, renders the fish into food for farm-raised fish and oil supplements for people.

As many as four thousand people are expected at Monticello this weekend for the 13th annual Heritage Harvest Festival featuring tastings and tours.  Sandy Hausman has a preview.

Last week’s rain delighted Peggy Cornett, the curator of plants at Monticello.

“It’s just heartbreaking to see the garden looking dry and the grass all burned up," she explains.   Precipitation "has really livened things up, and I’m always grateful for rain.”

It revived some of the 330 crops Jefferson grew at Monticello, from tobacco and cotton to snake squash and sesame.

Virginia does a thorough job of inspecting local and regional jails and investigating deaths inside those facilities.

But a state review finds better coordination could improve oversight of the jail system.

More than 300,000 Virginians have something today they didn’t have this time last year -- health insurance through Medicaid. Lawmakers lowered the requirements for the state-run health insurance program in January. 

Candidates for the General Assembly are facing a key deadline this week for campaign finance.

In a possible first among Virginia cities, the election for Clerk of Court in Petersburg will have zero candidates on the ballot. And medical marijuana can now be given to students by school nurses in Virginia.

Three years ago, Garrison Keillor gave his last live performance of a Prairie Home Companion – the folksy Midwest variety show heard on public radio stations nationwide.  One year later the distributor -- Minnesota Public Radio -- cut ties with Keillor over allegations of inappropriate behavior with a woman on his staff.  Fans have heard little from him since then, but Keillor is making a bit of a comeback with shows here in Virginia on September 19th and 20th. 

Following a report that UVA’s medical center had sued 36,000 people over the last six years for unpaid medical bills, the hospital has announced new policies for financial aid and collections.  Many more people are likely to receive free care under those rules.