Monthly Archive for October, 2006

Page 3 of 7

Elvis Shifflett in Critical Condition

Published by Waldo Jaquith on October 24, 2006 in Crime. 25 Comments

Family members of Elvis Gene Shifflett were permitted to visit him in the hospital yesterday, CBS-19 reports, three days after Shifflett was captured in a massive manhunt resulting from his attempt to kill his ex-girlfriend two weeks ago. Shifflett is in serious condition, but is expected to survive, after being shot repeatedly by a pair of police officers.

Elvis ShifflettNew details are now coming out about the events of Friday afternoon. Police found a loaded semiautomatic SKS and forty rounds in ammunition in his vehicle shortly after he abandoned the car while fleeing police. Crystal Morris, who was in the car with him at the time of the chase, says that Shifflett claimed that he hadn’t turned himself in because he believed they would kill him. She told police that Shifflett was unarmed. Shifflett was spotted by police while he was attempting to steal a flatbed truck on Brookhill. Chief Tim Longo says that he was repeatedly ordered to show his hands and, when he didn’t comply, officers opened fire, hitting him in the neck, back, chest, and arm. The Hook broke the news yesterday that Shifflett was shot in the face and at least one injury was inflicted by an M16.

The state police are investigating the shooting now, as is required, leaving Charlottesville police unable to say much about the matter.

Elvis ShifflettIn the Progress, Rob Seal reports that Shifflett has a heck of a rap sheet, going back two decades, including felony convictions. And the Hook reports that it runs in the family: Shifflett’s brother, Jeffrey Wayne Shifflett, is wanted by police for a string of burglaries and for threatening the lives of police officers in his brother’s case. Police are sufficiently concerned about the threat that they’re not releasing the names of the officers involved in the shooting. He is considered armed and dangerous.

NBC 29 Creates an RSS Feed

Published by Waldo Jaquith on October 24, 2006 in Meta News. Closed

Glory be!, o rapturous day!, etc., etc.: NBC 29 has an RSS feed. Once the Daily Progress creates one, I don’t know what I’ll complain about. (Don’t worry — I’ll find something.) Thanks to James for the tip.

Use of CTS Up, Up, Up

Published by Waldo Jaquith on October 23, 2006 in General News and Transportation. 22 Comments

With the advent of traffic in Charlottesville has come demand for public transit, and that means lots of people are using the Charlottesville Transit Service, John Yellig writes in today’s Progress. Though the population of the region has increased 20% in the past eighteen years, use of CTS is up 90% in the same period. The use of JAUNT is up 70%. There’s a tipping point of congestion that’s required for people to bother taking public transit — perhaps we’ve finally hit it.

C’ville Officially Weds Besançon

Published by Waldo Jaquith on October 22, 2006 in General News. 8 Comments

Mayor David Brown made official our sister-city relationship with Besançon, France on Friday, leading the French mayor to comment: “It is, for me, a very big moment of happiness today. Today is wedding night for our towns.” Besançon’s lacy undergarments apparently enticed us, its lesbian sister-bride, since an inbred half-French child-city is expected in nine months.

Crozet Elementary Overcrowded

Published by Waldo Jaquith on October 22, 2006 in Development and Education. 29 Comments

The Albemarle School Board is shocked — shocked — to find that Crozet Elementary has become overcrowded in just the past few years, Matt Deegan reports in today’s Progress. They’re at 125% of what the school can fit (428 kids in all), a result of the rapid growth in Crozet since the designated growth area started getting built up at a remarkable clip in the past decade. The bus rides are longer than ever, the roads are overcrowded, and the kids are learning in trailers. The solution? Building a new school in…2017. The band-aid is to expand the school’s capacity to 513 kids, at a cost of $5.3M, which should be ready in…2013. Raise your hand if you think that the whole of Crozet won’t have another 85 kids in seven years. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

This is why our current approaching to dealing with growth is stupid. We let the market dictate how fast and how much we’re going to grow, ignoring that it takes years for our infrastructure to catch up. So by the time we expand the schools (or roads, or water supply, or whatever), we’re right back where we were, treading water.

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