Madison estate rehires staff let go during recent turmoil

ORANGE, Va. (AP) — Several staffers who were previously fired or suspended during recent turmoil at former President James Madison’s Montpelier estate in Virginia have been reinstated to their jobs. The Culpeper Star-Exponent reports Montpelier’s recently appointed interim president and CEO Elizabeth Chew opted to bring back four staff members who were let go in April by previous leadership. Chew is also expressing optimism in an email to supporters that the estate will recover from the recent controversy over how it would, or would not, share governance with the descendants of people once enslaved there.