Speaking of racism, CBS 19 had an interesting two-part series on the black community and the Charlottesville police department. Though the bar is admittedly rather low, Summer Knowles has produced an unusually in-depth local TV news piece on a topic that likely didn’t come in as a press release. More of that, please.
News and meta-news about Charlottesville, VA, since 2001.
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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Quite frankly, I don’t see anything in-depth about the two stories. While part II was stronger than the first, neither revealed anything substantial about police and the community that we didn’t already know (other than the percentage of officers who are black compared to the city’s population). For the most part, the piece relies on opinions of people who just live in the city. What about hearing from the guy who was falsely arrested and wrongly accused? What about statistics showing the number of wrong arrests for blacks, whites, and other ethnic groups? What about statistics showing the number of blacks arrested vs. the number of whites arrested? What about discussions of what was learned from the mouth-swab fiasco a few years ago in response to catching the serial rapist? What about tangible examples of ways the relationship has been improving, as Ms. Knowles said in the 15 seconds she closed her series with? What about expanding on the ideas of the law professor about generalities (e.g. serial rapist description)? What about talking about how perhaps it’s a community awareness issue, too, especially in that news reports shortly after that false arrest during the Labor Day weekend, it had been said the victim repeatedly identified (incorrectly) her alleged attacker visually and by voice? Yes, the bar is “admittedly rather low,” but let’s only credit where credit is due. There are few facts here. This is why I don’t watch much local news. This two-parter was a start, but nothing more than that.