Snow Day

Snow Day We’ve got about four inches out there, and somewhere between another 0″ and 4″ is supposed to fall. If it turns into freezing rain or sleet, the rest may just be a very unpleasant 1/4″ of ice. The kids have been sent home from school, and the dogs — or at least my dogs — are frolicking in the snow. It’s our first decent snow, three weeks into winter. Enjoy it while it’s pleasant.

Marshall vs. Gilmore for U.S. Senate.

A lot of folks here like the occasional outlet to talk about politics on a larger scale. To that end, Valerie writes in regarding the race among Republicans to select somebody to challenger former governor Mark Warner for Sen. John Warner’s U.S. Senate seat:

The would-be-amusing-if-he-wasn’t-so-damn-successful right-wing nut–uhm delegate from Prince William, Bob Marshall, has decided to run for the Republican nomination for the US Senate, in opposition to former repub Gov. Jim Gilmore–because Gilmore apparently is not right-wing enough. The repubs won’t choose him, because he’d never win a state-wide election, but it will likely be amusing to watch, and maybe distract him from his agenda in the Commonwealth? Just what we need–Bob Marshall not just peering into the bedroom windows of Virginia citizens, but those of the entire nation!

Marshall has what I’d describe as an obsession with sex, and has sought for years to outlaw sex for any purpose other than makin’ babies. It’ll be interesting to see what he decides to make the centerpiece of his campaign.

A&N Going Out of Business

One hundred and forty years after its founding, A&N is closing. The Richmond-based chain has 48 locations throughout the state, and is run by Mark Sternheimer, the great-something-grandson of founders Mark and Lena Rose Sternheimer. The place has a great history. They had 53 locations just a few years ago, with our downtown location being one of the five that were shut down recently. The company just can’t make enough money to stay in business. I’ve made an effort to shop there in the two years since I discovered it was local, but apparently not many other people did.

City Improves Video Offerings

One year after the city started providing video of Council, Planning Commission, and BAR meetings, they’ve expanded their offerings. They used to offer only Windows Media Player embedded video, which is the very worst way to do it. (But far, far better than nothing.) Now two more formats are offered: MP4 (Quicktime) video and MP3s of the audio. The MP4s can be put straight on an iPod, loaded into iMovie for editing, uploaded to YouTube and otherwise remixed and repurposed, and the MP3s are as portable and flexible as audio can be. This is the raw material that will help citizen media continue to evolve and improve in Charlottesville.

I’ve been puzzled at the accolades that the city has received for their technological offerings, because they so often choose the lesser of available solutions. But this? This is great.

CHS Principal Moving to Central Office

Charlottesville High School principal Kenneth Leatherwood is leaving for a job with the school’s central office, the Daily Progress reports today. He’s been CHS principal since 2003, and served as vice principal for the decade before that. Now he’ll be in charge of the HR department. Folks who think that the school system is a little too top-heavy will surely see this as further evidence that Superintendent Rosa Atkins’ priorities are off. On the other hand, maybe the guy was just ready to move on, but Atkins convinced him to stay within the school system in a different capacity. Thanks to Jennifer for the tip.

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