Rick Hurley, the University of Mary Washington’s executive vice president and chief financial officer, will serve as acting president when Judy Hample steps down April 1. The executive committee of the board of visitors yesterday tapped Hurley to fill in when Hample leaves her post after less than two years as the Fredericksburg university’s first female president.

Virginia’s internal auditor has found no wrongdoing on the part of the president of the University of Mary Washington for bookcases made for her historic residence. Judy Hample, who announced last month that she will resign as president on June 30 after two years on the job, had been the target of a complaint to the state employee fraud, waste and abuse hot line.

Former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder has notified the state that he is no longer raising money for his planned slavery museum in Fredericksburg.

Former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder’s slavery museum project risks losing its property here at the end of this year if it doesn’t pay delinquent taxes now totaling almost $81,000.

The University of Mary Washington is looking for its third president in three years after Judy Hample and the board of the visitors announced Friday that she will resign June 30. Hample and the board of visitors met in closed session Friday and made “a mutual decision” to announce that she had decided to resign to pursue other interests in higher education, said George Farrar, associate vice president for university relations.

Caressa Cameron’s first official day as Miss America began with an appearance yesterday morning on “Live With Regis and Kelly”—and a text message from her former principal at Massaponax High School in Spotsylvania County. “He said they [students] were all watching,“ said Cameron, a 22-year-old Virginia Commonwealth University broadcast journalism student who was named Miss Virginia last June.

Participating restaurants include: Bistro Bethem, Poppy Hill Tuscan Kitchen, kybecca Wine Bar, Capital Ale House, Jake and Mikes, Castigilia’s, Virginia Deli, University Café, J Brian’s, TruLuvs, Here and Abroad, The Griffin, The Olde Towne Butcher and Mocha Mo’s. The event will feature an array of international wines and foods from area restaurants, a silent auction and live music. Tickets are $50 for members and $55 for nonmembers and can be purchased at http://www.cacv.org or any Farm Fresh location.

The president of the University of Mary Washington has formed a task force to study campus safety after she pressed an emergency alarm and didn’t like the response she received. During an annual safety walk, Mary Washington President Judy G. Hample called university police from the “blue light” alarm system in a parking deck and said she needed help.

A soldier in North Carolina has been given a two-year prison sentence after being convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the death of a fellow Fort Bragg paratrooper.

A Canadian teacher has been sentenced in Stafford to 14 years in prison on child pornography and other charges.

Shop for your home and office at the Big Flea Market on July 11-12 in the Fredericksburg Expo and Conference Center. Antiques and collectibles will be featured at more than 300 booths by antiques dealers from 20 states. Admission costs $7; parking is free. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. July 11 and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. July 12. The expo center is 2371 Carl D Silver Parkway in Central Park at Exit 130 off Interstate 95.

On stage for her fourth try at becoming Miss Virginia on June 27, 21-year-old Caressa Cameron was hit with a heart-stopping interview question. A judge asked her about California’s controversial Proposition 8, an initiative against same-sex marriage. In April’s Miss USA pageant, Miss California Carrie Prejean faced a similar query on same-sex marriage. Prejean ignited a firestorm when she said marriage should be strictly between a man and a woman—an answer that she claims cost her the Miss USA crown.

A man who robbed, abducted and fatally stabbed a Chinese-restaurant delivery driver has been sentenced to three life terms.

Texas billionaire R. Allen Stanford made his first and last appearance in federal court in Richmond yesterday, requesting a detention hearing in Houston where he was indicted Thursday. Facing 21 charges that could net him life in prison in an alleged $7 billion fraud, the tall, neatly groomed Stanford appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge M. Hannah Lauck. Stanford, 59, wore leg shackles but no tie or belt.

The place where the Civil War came to an end is where the Museum of the Confederacy intends to begin sharing what it calls the world’s most extensive collection of Confederate artifacts. While the sour economy has slowed fundraising, the museum’s executive director said he is committed to creating a statewide museum system at historically significant locations, starting in central Virginia where Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant on Easter Sunday 1865.