A wing of the Church of Christ on Fifth Street was destroyed by fire around midnight last night, and the ATF is now investigating. One of the windows was broken and bloodied, making it appear that somebody broke in (badly) to start the fire, though it’s possible that somebody was simply attempting to escape the fire.
1pm Update: The Hook reports that there’s been an arrest in the case.
Colin writes: “Telcove (formerly Adelphia Business Solutions) was bought by national telcom company Level 3 on Monday. Telcove has a significant fiber network in Cville, and, at least on the business side, is one of Embarq’s (formerly Sprint) main competitors in town.”
I am incapable of keeping up with these telecom name changes. Less competition is seldom good in telecom, or just about anywhere else. I’ll be curious to see what this does to fiber prices in the area.
There is, of course, some coverage of last night’s election. In the Progress, John Yellig reviews the results of the Council race, while Bob Gibson looks at the School Board race. Gibson points out that all of the winners — Michie, Puryear, and Wade — are Democrats, making last night a sweep for the city’s majority party. And election official and local Republican Rick Sincere has photos of the day, a list of write-ins (which includes at least four cvillenewsers) , and his analysis of the numbers.
The results are in: Republican Rob Schilling has been tossed off City Council, while Democrats Dave Norris and Julian Taliaferro have won election. They won decisively in every precinct in the city. There was no major issue in the race, and it came down to a battle of personalities.
On the School Board, Ned Michie, Leah Puryear and Juandigo Wade won in this first-ever School Board election for the city. The School Board race was an awkward one, with few voters seeming to be familiar with the candidates or issues in the race. It may take a few election cycles for us to work the process out.
9pm Update: I’ve got some graphs of the results up on my blog. Schilling didn’t even come vaguely close to winning any precincts. Perhaps this will put an end to talk of a ward system being the key to Republican victories in Council races. I suggest a less-exciting tactic: running better candidates.
Remember, kids—today’s the Charlottesville election. You’ll be voting for three School Board members and two City Council members. The polls are open until 7pm, so get on it.
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 four six 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 #
Archive for Sideblog »
Recent Comments