There’s a six foot tall chain link fence that separates 10th and Page from Venable. Its function — and surely its original purpose — is to separate the poorer people in the former from the wealthier people in the latter. The Hope Community Center is going to ceremonially cut the thing open at a ceremony this afternoon, John Yellig writes in today’s Progress. The fence is more of a symptom than a problem, but the symbolism is terrible — it sends entirely the wrong message to people in both neighborhoods. Opening it up is a great idea.
cvillenews.com
News and meta-news about Charlottesville, VA, since 2001.
Because Albemarle County Commonwealth’s Attorney Jim Camblos is dabbling in astrology — claiming yesterday that a suspect’s birth date is indicative of his likely guilt — Charlottesville’s own blogging astrologer Molly Cliborne has been so kind to provide a reading for Mr. Camblos. His birth date is December 29, 1945. That, Molly writes, makes him subject to addiction and a gambler by nature. Helping nothing, December 29 is a dark date in history: Thomas Becket’s slaying, the burning of Buffalo, the Wounded Knee Massacre, The Second Great Fire of London, the Hotel Roosevelt Fire, the Eastern Airlines Tristar crash, the LaGuardia bombing, and the Lima fire all happened on that date.
Keep reading for Molly’s wry reading o’ the planets.
I listened to Commonwealth’s Attorney Jim Camblos on WINA this morning. It was, in a word, lame. Hosts Jane Foy and Jay James — both of whom are friends and whose work I enjoy — handed one softball after another to Camblos, never following up on his often-bizarre responses. No calls were permitted. I had fully intended to restrain myself from writing anything about the interview, figuring enough is enough, but there was one moment that has earned me more e-mails and phone calls today than anything else about this case.
Camblos said that the oldest kid in the case (“the ringleader”) was born on the 100th anniversary of Hitler’s birthday and the anniversary of Columbine. I held my breath during the sentence, thinking where can he possibly be going with this?. And then he did it — Camblos concluded the sentence with: “we took that very, very seriously.”
Whaaa? I’m not quoting anything out of context here: Camblos made a single statement in which he asserted that this kid was a suspect because of the date on which he was born. The Hook picked up on the same bit, pointing out that Jessica Lange was born on the same day. Presumably Mr. Camblos will be having her arrested shortly.
There were lots of forehead-slapping moments in this interview (like Camblos’ repeated insistence that “they were all convicted,” and his claim that investigating suspects before arresting them is “not the real world”), but I just couldn’t let this one go without remark.
A clap on the back and a hearty handshake to the first cvillenewser who can discover Mr. Camblos’ birthdate. I’m hoping that Molly Cliborne will indulge us by explaining what crimes Mr. Camblos may be guilty of by virtue of his birthdate.
9:39pm Update: Thanks to everybody for their help — we’ve got it. Suffice it to say, it appears to have been a very dark day in world history on many, many occasions. More on that tomorrow.
08/26 Update: WINA, God love ’em, has two audio extracts of the interview on their site: talking about the case on the whole, responding to criticism. And, finally, the Hitler clip. Bonus points to the first person to remix that into a dance tune.
08/28 Update: Charlottesville Podcasting Network now offers the audio of the entire interview.
Representatives Rob Bell (R-58) and David Toscano (D-57) held a public discussion downtown on Wednesday evening, as Bob Gibson wrote in yesterday’s Daily Progress, and the wide-ranging talk proved pretty interesting. The format was basically that of town hall meeting, a function that isn’t held nearly enough. One interesting bit is that both legislators supported examining a change in law to prevent kids from being interviewed by police without an attorney present, if their parents request one, as happened to the kid recently acquitted in the smoke bombing plot. The event was put together by The Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression, and is part of a weekly series being held at the chalkboard; last Wednesday my mother spoke, and next Wednesday WINA host Coy Barefoot will be speaking.
Sean Tubbs was on the scene, and has the audio at Charlottesville Podcasting Network.
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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