A memorial service for Phil Gair — known affectionately as “Buddha Phil” — will be held this Sunday, April 17, near downtown. Phil died of a heart attack early last month, and if volume of e-mail and frequency of discussion are any indicator, it surprised and upset a large, surprising array of people. The service will be held from 1pm-3pm at 901 Belmont Ave.. (Could somebody cruise by there and figure out if it’s a house or a church or what?)
Photo courtesy of Max Fenton.
For the past two and a half years, there has been a secret investigation into corruption in the Charlottesville Police Department. Late last week, that investigation was made public when two police officers were arrested. Reed Williams has been following the story for the Progress, and on the day of the arrests he wrote:
Two Charlottesville police officers were arrested Friday on federal charges of ignoring illegal activities and divulging sensitive information in exchange for bribes of money and sexual favors.
Officers Charles Saunders, 46, and Roy Fitzgerald, 45, and two other men face corruption charges that include bribery, conspiracy, witness tampering and making false statements. Both officers pleaded not guilty in federal court and were released on $25,000 bond.
The two men are said to have been bribed with cash and sex by Charles Phillips, who managed Maxx and, on the side, a prostitution ring.
All of this came to light in 2001, when Police Chief Tim Longo learned that the two officers had been watching strippers at Maxx while on duty and in uniform. He suspended the two and had the state police investigate. The state police, in turn, turned the case over to the FBI. Saunders and Fitzgerald have been on duty the entire time, but were suspended last week as the indictments loomed. Phillips, of the now-defunct Maxx, will plead guilty to a bribery charge, and his business partner will plead guilty to conspiracy to obstruct a federal investigation.
In yesterday’s Progress, Reed Williams had an update, with reactions from the police, City Council, etc.
My apologies for the site downtime since last Thursday. After last week’s windstorm and subsequent power outage, Sprint DSL facilities out here on 20 North had some kind of a short, which killed my home phone line. On Thursday, they fixed it, killing my internet connection in the process. (Given the choice between phone and internet, I’ll take internet any day.) They just fixed the DSL five minutes ago.
Too bad Sprint is the only provider out here — I hosted this site via an Ntelos connection since its inception, up until December, and never had any such trouble. I’ll have to figure out some sort of alternate hosting for this site — I can’t see Sprint cleaning up their act any time soon.
Rick Sincere points out that the city has posted election results going back 45 years. They’ve got PDFs of City Council election results going back to 1960 and general election results going back to 1977. Good stuff.
After nearly a month of David Toscano being the only candidate in the 57th District House of Delegates race, things are heating up. On Monday afternoon, UVa professor Richard Collins announced his candidacy, as Liesel Nowack reports in the Progress. To a crowd of about 50 people on the Downtown Mall, Collins announced his plan to eliminate the “growth tax” — the much-hated biannual reassessment of property values — and reassess only when property is sold. Collins is one of the founders of Advocates for a Sustainable Albemarle Population, and is perhaps best known for his opposition to continued unrestrained growth in the county.
On the presumed opposite end of the growth spectrum is Clement “Kim” Tingley, a developer who intends to announce his candidacy at 10am on Wednesday morning, WINA reports. Tingley has been talking about running for several weeks now, so his candidacy has been expected.
With all three men now vying for the Democratic nomination, things should be quite a bit more interesting on the political scene between now and the June 14 primary. A Republican candidate is yet to emerge.
Disclosure: I have informally advised Collins on a volunteer basis, and I introduced him when he announced his candidacy. Also, my fiancee is on his campaign payroll. So you can basically assume that I’m making most of this stuff up.
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 four six 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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