One of the Murray brothers, Dr. Latham Murray, died yesterday evening, of causes as yet undetermined. The eight sons of Panorama Farm owners Jim and Bunny Murray—James, Matthew, Christopher, Stephen, Andrew, Thomas, Timothy, and Latham—are pervasive in the community, quietly doing the various good deeds that make Charlottesville and Albemarle go ’round. The 58-year-old was a thoracic surgeon at Martha Jefferson, the chair of their board, and, as a hobby, a craftsman. He’s survived by his wife and their five children, one of whom—Wistar—should be well known to those who read Charlottesville blogs (although she recently moved to New York)—as should be Wistar’s husband, Darren Hoyt. A memorial service will be held sometime early next year.
News and meta-news about Charlottesville, VA, since 2001.
Monthly Archive for November, 2009
- By Karen Blaha, reproduced under CC BY-SA license.
Al Groh is being paid $4.3M to please stop coaching UVA football, CBS-19 (among many others) reports. Just last night the university wrapped up a 3-9 season with a 42-13 loss to Virginia Tech, and Groh turns out to have wrapped up his nine-year career with UVA on the same night. This year was the team’s worst performance in his time here, although dissatisfaction him runs back a few years. Let the speculation about his replacement begin.
There was a 2.7 earthquake in Nelson County, just north of Appomattox at 5:24 this evening. The epicenter was here:
Nobody should have felt it in the Charlottesville area. (And hardly anybody in Nelson.) Earthquakes in the 2.0-2.9 range are so weak that they’re generally not even felt. We have earthquakes in the area every couple of years. The last one that I recall was in December 2003; before that, in September 2001 (which justifiably scared the hell out of everybody).
Hollymead Town Center isn’t the paragon of pedestrian friendliness that it’s touted as, Erika Howsare writes in the current C-Ville Weekly. Years after the development went in, Howsare tried to take a stroll to the shopping center from the townhouses that make the place ostensibly mixed-use. It did not go well. Sidewalks stop abruptly. One must walk through mud, dodge cars, and swish through long grass. Checking with employees of businesses in the shopping center, C-Ville couldn’t find a one who walked to work. The development’s website brags that “dining and shopping are within walking distance,” but they never point out that the walk is entirely theoretical.
I’ve written before about the poor planning that went into Hollymead, though I never got past its bizarre relationship with 29N. Every time I have cause to go there, I wonder aloud about how so many gestures at walkability were made without ever coming together to actually make it friendly to pedestrians.
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 #
-
Archive for Sideblog »
Recent Comments