Author Archive for Waldo Jaquith

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UVa Bans Signs at Sporting Events

Published by Waldo Jaquith on September 4, 2008 in Sports and UVa. 18 Comments
Dry Erase Sporting Sign
By Erika A., CC license.

UVa’s new no-signs rule at sporting events is getting national attention, in the form of Rick Reilly’s article for ESPN Magazine. It was all started by people holding up signs demanding that coach Al Groh be fired. Confusingly UVa isn’t saying what a “sign” is. Could I wear a “Fire Al Groh” t-shirt? How about a “Keep Al Groh” t-shirt? Or a “Nike” t-shirt? As Reilly asks, if UVa can censor students at the stadium, why not on the Lawn? The tradition of saving signs at sports events goes back decades, and UVa banning them is awfully strange. Reilly proposes bringing blank signs, or signs that read “This Is Not a Sign.” I like it. (Via Scott Jolly)

Winneba, Ghana: New Sister City?

Published by Waldo Jaquith on September 3, 2008 in General News. 14 Comments

Charlottesville’s looking to add a fourth sister city, Jennifer Black reports for CBS-19, and the proposed place is Winneba, Ghana. The fishing town has the same population as Charlottesville, and is the home of the University of Education, which has about the same number of students as UVa. Our three existing sister cities are all European: Besançon, France; Pleven, Bulgaria; and Poggio a Caiano, Italy.

Mayor Dave Norris is shooting to take action on the proposal by May, which is when the city holds their annual game hunting festival. The Aboakyir Festival, awesomely, pits two warrior groups against each other to see who can catch an antelope bare-handed. The antelope is a stand-in for a leopard, which used to be the target, but so many people died each year that they recently moved to less dangerous game.

Progress Raises Prices to $0.75

Published by Waldo Jaquith on September 3, 2008 in Business and Meta News. 5 Comments

The Daily Progress has raised their newsstand prices by 50%, Hawes Spencer writes for The Hook. The paper was $0.50 for some years, but on Monday it went up to $0.75. The Richmond Times-Dispatch, which is likewise owned by Media General, also raised their price to the same level on Monday. The narrative of the Progress over the past few years has been continuous spending cuts, often in a form negatively impacting the quality and quantity of reporting. This time, at least they’ve found a way to increase profit without cutting quality. And I can’t complain: like most people, I read the Progress online.

Kevin Strom Released from Prison

Published by Waldo Jaquith on September 2, 2008 in In Brief. 1 Comment

Neo-Nazi and little-girl-lover Kevin Strom gets out of prison tomorrow. He’s paid his debt to society, but that doesn’t mean you can’t despise him.  #

“It’s turtles all the way down.”

Published by Waldo Jaquith on September 1, 2008 in In Brief. 1 Comment

Check out Darren Hoyt’s photo of a spider on a frog on a turtle, all hanging on for dear life.  #