There’s a whole kerfuffle over a letter circulating via e-mail, allegedly written by Charlottesville Assistant Superintendent for Instruction Laura Purnell, as James Fernald and Josh Barney report in today’s Progress. Purnell wrote a nasty criticism of beleaguered Charlottesville Superintendent Scottie Griffin, and ended up writing a letter of apology to Griffin. Griffin released the letter of apology publicly, but would not release the letter that made the apology necessary. To that end, keep reading to see the original letter in question, thanks to pseudonymous submitter “DumpHer.”
News and meta-news about Charlottesville, VA, since 2001.
Monthly Archive for February, 2005
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silkyzephyr writes: The Jefferson-Madison Regional Library has been forced to suspend its Wifi service. According to one of the reference librarians, a hacker used it to break in and vandalize their computer. The library hopes Charlottesville’s information technology office can devise safeguards. That office is currently overburdened with the changeover to the new Citylink software, however. So it seems unlikely the library can restore Wifi service any time soon.
Bummer. Hopefully, they’ll plug in a $50 hardware firewall to partition off their public network from their private network to prevent that from happening again via WiFi or the computer lab. 02/11 Update: It seems that something got lost in the game of telephone. It was system trouble, but non-malicious, that disconnected the WiFi. They decided to leave it down, as it is just a pilot project, until they could fix the system problem permanent-like to bring the connectivity back. Thanks to library prez John Halliday for the info. Mea culpa.
VDOT has allocated $1.5M to Charlottesville, to create engineering plans for the Meadowcreek Parkway, and Council has decided to send out a bid request for consultants to do just that. The expense is the largest relating to the Parkway in quite some time. It must be determined if the Parkway will have a full interchange with 250 and McIntire, or if it will meet up with the two in a stoplighted, 17-lane intersection, which would do virtually nothing to alleviate traffic. Engineering plans should be done in 2.5 years, followed by securing an estimated $25M funding. Neighborhood Development Services director Jim Tolbert figures that funding should be available by 2027. Gentlemen, start your engines. John Yellig has the story in today’s Progress.
Responding to criticism of the rather unorthodox proposals of new Charlottesville school superintendent Scottie Griffin, the always-calming UVa Dean Rick Turner declared in a speech at the Rotunda yesterday that “she’s being dragged through the mud because she’s black and female,” helpfully pointing out that he doesn’t “think white people in Charlottesville will do anything for black folks.” Turner believes that, if Griffin were a white man, everybody would be fine with her proposal, which would cut five student-contact positions and replace them with four administrators. Kate Andrews has the story in today’s Progress.
Sideblog
Police announced this afternoon that their investigation into what was initially believed to be a fatal fire on Rugby Avenue is now a homicide investigation. #
The Virginia Supreme Court has denied George Huguely’s appeal. His second-degree murder conviction will stand, WRIC reports. #
In a carefully worded story, and not citing specific sources, WTVR reports that forensic evidence belonging to Jesse Matthew Jr., the main suspect in the disappearance of Hannah Graham, matches forensic evidence collected during the investigation of Morgan Harrington’s 2009 murder. #
In the wake of Hannah Graham’s disappearance, and the evidence that came from private security footage, city officials are revisiting the question of installing security cameras on the downtown mall. #
Both Charlottesville Registrar Sheri Iachetta and former Electoral Board member Stephanie Commander have turned themselves in to the police on
foursix and four felony counts of embezzlement, respectively. #Ten years ago, the National Institutes of Health budget doubled and schools like the University of Virginia built massive new research facilities. A decade later, those buildings remain largely underutilized. NPR visits UVA in this story on the effect of federal binge and spurge spending in the sciences. #
In 2012, Council approved a new student housing complex on West Main—now some council members are questioning whether what they were shown matches what was built. #
The Architectural Review Board has approved a bike-themed mural on West Market, below the McGuffey Art Center, although at least one member expressed concerns that it might look like the bicyclists were riding away from Charlottesville’s downtown. #
City Police Chief Tim Longo is meeting with city leaders to work on protocols regarding the use of military surplus police weapons in Charlottesville. #
A 100-year-old Colonnades resident received military honors for her service in the WWII Women’s Army Corps #
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