Two and a half years after he went on the run, Jim Baldi has been arrested in California, Dave McNair writes for The Hook. The former owner of an accounting firm (and Bel Rio, the Belmont restaurant) disappeared after financial irregularities emerged. He was charged with embezzling from clients, and then was gone without a trace. Many folks—myself included—thought he’d never be heard from again. The U.S Marshals Service and the Albemarle County Police tracked him down. He’s awaiting extradition to Virginia.
cvillenews.com
News and meta-news about Charlottesville, VA, since 2001.
Republican John Pfaltz and Democrat Jason Vandever will be the candidates for Charlottesville treasurer, Graham Moomaw writes in the Daily Progress. Vandever is the interim treasurer, having served as the deputy for retired long-time treasurer Jennifer Brown. Pfaltz is a professor emeritus of computer science, perhaps best known in local political circles for his unsuccessful run for City Council in 2000.
The special election is being held at the behest of local Republicans, who didn’t want to see Vandever remaining interim treasurer until next November. They demanded an election, but before Judge Hogshire would order that one be held, he wanted to know that Republicans would actually run a candidate, something that they have often failed to do in city elections. As Moomaw points out, the chairman of the Charlottesville Republicans assured the judge that they had a candidiate, but that his identity was a secret, in an interaction that took place prior to when Pfaltz says that he decided to run. (Pfaltz says that there was another person, but he declined to run.) He’s holding a campaign announcement for the city office in North Garden tomorrow morning.
The good news is that the election is being contested. I was beginning to doubt that Republicans could find candidates for any office in Charlottesville.
01/06 Update: It turns out that Pfaltz is running as an independent, not as a Republican. So one could either see this as yet another a failure on the part of city Republicans to field a single candidate, or an effort by Pfaltz to avoid association with a label that he fears would tarnish his candidacy. Or maybe something more generous that I can’t think of.
The Daily Progress’ earliest archives have been made available online, the newspaper reports, in an effort spearheaded by Jefferson Madison Regional Library and facilitated by the University of Virginia library. Eight people collaborated to scan in and catalog most every issue from 1892–1923, with the resulting scans hosted on UVA’s website. They’re just images scanned from microfilm at this point—the text itself isn’t searchable, and it can be tough to read at times—but it’s a great start. The project was funded jointly by JMRL and a private foundation.
So far I’ve just been opening up random issues and browsing around, and it’s just fascinating. Local history buffs are going to disappear into these archives and not be seen for weeks. For example, to pick one out of a hat, the front page of of the December 4, 1894 issue informs us that “metal is now being placed on Park Street”; “pheasants, judging from the number seen at the restaurants, are quite plentiful”; “the first car was placed on the electric street car line”; and “Mr. Thomas A. Marshall, while engaged in cutting feed for stock yesterday at ‘Clairmont’ Farm, had the misfortune to sever the index finger of his left hand between the first and second joints.”
News is enormously valuable the day that it’s published. Its value drops precipitously thereafter but, given enough time, it begins to rise again. Apparently after 121 years, it’s nearly as good as today’s news.
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 #
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