Rick Turner to Retire

Published by Waldo Jaquith on July 26, 2006 in UVa. 10 Comments

Embattled UVa Dean of African-American Affairs Rick Turner has announced that he’ll be retiring at the end of the month, the AP reports. He was suspended two weeks ago after pleading guilty to lying to federal investigators in a drug investigation, though the details of that matter are a mystery. Presumably they’re not pretty, given Turner’s decision; on the other hand, he’s 65, and perhaps he figured it was simply time to go.

A lot of the fire was taken out of his role at UVa when the school named a Vice President and Chief Officer for Diversity and Equity last September. Prior to that Turner was known for his work at UVa and within the community, as the head of the local NAACP chapter, often issuing fiery charges of racism at anybody unlucky enough to find themselves on the wrong end of his standards.

4,400 Pot Plants Seized Near Scottsville

Published by Waldo Jaquith on July 26, 2006 in Crime. 6 Comments

In a ginormous bust, state and local officials seized 4,400 marijuana plants from a garden behind a guy’s house just outside of Scottsville, Rob Seal reports in today’s Progress. Gary Peck, 51, had a patch of bamboo with a 10′ by 10′ area carved out in the middle to grow the plants. I figure that’s 3.2 square inches per plant, or 1.8″ by 1.8″ — I wish I could grow things in my garden at that density. Peck has been charged with manufacturing with intent to distribute. Police are carefully drying it to…uh…preserve it.

Newsplex Video Podcast

Published by Waldo Jaquith on July 25, 2006 in Meta News. 8 Comments

WCAV ScreenshotIn an article about podcasting — touching on Sean Tubbs Charlottesville Podcasting Network and Albemarle County’s podcasting of BoS and School Board meetings — WCAV announces that they have launched a podcasting service on their own. It’s a proper, full-on video podcast, with an RSS feed, properly-created Quicktime video, and only minor validation problems.

I griped about their lack of a video podcast in August of last year, forecasting that they’d probably never get around to it. I’m very happy to have been wrong about that. I can’t pick up any local TV stations at home, so I expect to watch these news updates regularly.

This isn’t quite the first local media podcast (The Hook claimed that mantle last week, and The Daily Progress has promoted podcasts by Charlottesville Podcasting Network, but they haven’t any of their own) but it is, oddly, the first media outlet with an RSS feed. Bravo to the Newsplex (whose name is still ridiculous) for leading the way.

Yet Another New Shopping Center Planned

Published by Waldo Jaquith on July 24, 2006 in Development. 47 Comments

At last, our long county nightmare is over. Just in case our hundreds of thousands of square feet of excess retail space currently under construction comes up short — something that keeps me up at nights — Richmond-based New Era Properties has submitted plans to the county to rezone 87 acres just north of 64, Jessica Kitchin reports in today’s Progress. They plan a whopping 400,000 square feet (or 9 acres) of commercial space, featuring department stores and a large home improvement store. There is no plan for a residential component.

Revealing Interview with Parents in Bombing Case

Published by Waldo Jaquith on July 24, 2006 in Law and Justice. 13 Comments

The parents of the 13-year-old convicted in the school bombing plot have conducted an interview with The Hook‘s Hawes Spencer, providing more details than ever in the matter. It’s clearer than ever that the boy and his family were railroaded by the police, both privately and in the media. Though his conviction isn’t operative because he’s appealed to a higher court, he’s not having much luck getting into schools — most area private schools won’t even talk to him, least of all consider him as an applicant. It’s not clear who benefits by this kid not getting a high school education.

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