Author Archive for Waldo Jaquith

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Newspapers Contest Order Sealing Murder Warrants

Newspapers are demanding that the city unseal the court order that sealed search warrants related to the death of Yeardley Love, Ted Strong writes for the Progress. Along with the Richmond Times-Dispatch and the Washington Post, the Progress has filed a challenge in city court to the secret search warrant order. This is not a demand that the warrants be made public, but that the order sealing the warrants be unsealed, so that it’s possible to determine what the rationale was for sealing the warrants. (Progress publisher Lawrence McConnell is, not coincidentally, the president of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government, an organization that promotes sunshine laws and generally opposes this sort of thing.) The next step, presumably, is for the court to determine whether they agree with the petitioners, though it’s not clear to me what the likely timeline is for that.

Disclosure: I serve on the board of VCOG with McConnell.

Fourth Year Found Dead; Classmate Arrested

UVA fourth-year and women’s lacrosse team member Yeardley Love was found dead in a Fourteenth Street apartment early this morning, and fellow lacrosse player George Hugely has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder. Both are 22, from Maryland, and are said to have had a relationship. Police say that Love’s body showed signs of trauma, but they’re awaiting the results of an autopsy to say anything further about her death.

Where Can I Find Healthful Food?

Wright's Dairy-Rite
Lunch at Wright’s Dairy-Rite, in Staunton. Not healthful. But…damn. That’s good eatin’.

I’ll be moving in a few weeks (only a quarter mile, but moving is moving) and that means a few days during which it won’t be practical to do any cooking. I’m looking for some healthy restaurant options for lunch and dinner. Part of what makes restaurant food delicious is that it’s slathered in butter, loaded with salt, etc. Can you suggest any better options for eating out?

Whole Foods’ prepared foods seem to be pretty good. Bodo’s is always a great option, between their bagels, soups, and salads. Sticks is spot-on, with their lean meat, veggies, rice, and simple sauces. What other places am I missing?

City, County Officials Meet About Collaboration

Members of the BoS, City Council, Albemarle School Board, and Charlottesville School Board all got together today, Brandon Shulleeta writes in the Daily Progress, all to talk about how to merge some services and save money. Though one might imagine that such meetings happen regularly, they don’t—this sort of collaboration just doesn’t normally take place between all of these entity. They’ve agreed to break into a bunch of small groups over the next year and come up with some ideas before they all get together again, so that they could move faster than all trying to work together as a big group. The immediate goal is short-term savings, after which they’ll move onto figuring out long-term savings, assuming that this all goes forward as planned. The meeting was called by Delegate David Toscano, whose district includes the city and a good chunk of Albemarle surrounding the city.

S’ville Council Candidates Support Legalizing Weed

Most Scottsville Town Council candidates think marijuana should be legal in the town, Brandon Shulleeta writes for the Progress. That includes one incumbent running for reelection, Bebe Williams. Not merely legal for medical purposes, but straight-up legal, treated like alcohol. In Virginia, marijuana has long been legal to treat cancer and glaucoma—legal to prescribe, and legal to possess—but there is no legal method of producing or procuring it. Localities are not authorized to legalize marijuana, so Scottsville is actually powerless to do anything—that is, they could pass such a law, but it wouldn’t actually accomplish anything. Note that Scottsville is a town—the only one in Albemarle County—so they actually get to pass laws, maintain their own budget, a police force, etc.

Scottsville is becoming a hip little town, so even if this legalization is in name only, this could goose their reputation in a way that might do them some good.

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