Wendell Wood’s WINA Tirade Over NGIC Deal

Published by Waldo Jaquith on June 27, 2007 in Development and Politics. 21 Comments

I just got done listening to a mighty strange discussion that took place on Coy Barefoot’s show this week. Coy had Charlottesville Tomorrow‘s Brian Wheeler on for his weekly segment, to discuss growth issues, and they’d planned to have developer Wendell Wood call in for a discussion. Charlottesville Tomorrow has been looking into the unusual arrangement that Board of Supervisors member Ken Boyd brokered between Wood and the county. It was Jayson Whitehead at C-Ville Weekly who first blew this story wide open, revealing that Wood had convinced the county to rezone 30 acres of his rural-zoned land as a part of the growth area, saying that they just had to do it in order to convince NGIC to remain here, who Wood says was going to pull up stakes and leave.

Well, Wood decided not to call in for the discussion on WINA but, instead, he showed up in person and proceeded to take over the half hour discussion. Wheeler and Barefoot barely got a word in edgewise. Towards the 27 minute mark, when Wheeler finally manages to say something, Wood started getting irate at slights that only he could perceive. Wood soon accuses Wheeler of simply inventing lies about the facts of the land transfer, though admits that he’s never read a word that Wheeler has written on the topic. (He says that he “I don’t read that stuff, because every blog in the world…. I’m not into that.”) Around the 30 minute mark he starts to get confused, unable to string together a sentence, so infused is he with rage. Coy Barefoot eventually cuts off Wood and declares the show finished.

Over at Charlottesville Tomorrow’s site, Brian Wheeler provides meticulous documentation of the transaction, including a map of the land in question, links to a dozen newspaper articles on the topic, including Whitehead’s ongoing coverage of the topic.

City Provides Same-Sex Benefit

Published by Waldo Jaquith on June 27, 2007 in General News. 3 Comments

Just one week after UVa began offering gym benefits to domestic partners, Henry Graff reported for NBC 29 that Charlottesville is now extending the same benefit to their employees. There’s no indication of whether this is a coincidence, or whether the city is simply trying to stay competitive as an employer after UVa had one-upped them.

Spivey Pleads Guilty

Published by Waldo Jaquith on June 26, 2007 in Education and Law and Justice. 28 Comments

Former CHS choir director Jonathan Spivey has pleaded guilty to indecent sexual liberties with a minor, Liesel Nowak writes for the Progress. Apparently, the sexual encounters were consensual, taking place in his office and in the choir robe chamber next to his office. The 47-year-old was first accused of sexual contact with his students last September, indicted in December, promptly committed to Martha Jefferson’s psychiatric ward, and then resigned his job. Spivey was also the minister of music at Mount Zion Baptist Church, though it looks like he may still hold that position, since he’s still listed as staff on the church’s website.

Christian’s Pizza Adding New Locations

Published by Waldo Jaquith on June 24, 2007 in Business. 49 Comments

Pizza lovers rejoice: Christian’s will be adding three new locations around town, says today’s Daily Progress. (The story isn’t online.) Owner Christian Tamm had established a Corner location back when he owned Sylvia’s, but has stuck with his downtown location since he established Christian’s a few years back. Now he’s adding locations at Pantops, 29 N. and the Corner, all simultaneously. To keep quality high, he’ll make his best current employees into managers of the new locations.

Whisper Ridge Employees Indicted

Published by Waldo Jaquith on June 21, 2007 in Law and Justice. 4 Comments

The director of operations at Whisper Ridge Behavioral Health System has pleaded guilty to attempted carnal knowledge of a minor in her care, the Daily Progress reported yesterday. Bianca Nicole Johnson has been sentenced to a year’s probation, and is cooperating in the cases against four other employees indicted on similar charges. The facility (formerly known as The Brown Schools, formerly known as The Millmont Center, and I think it was Charter before that) has been in trouble time and time again for sexual assault, an inability to deal with their own patients, even human rights violations.

And Whisper Ridge changes their name again in 3…2…1…

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