As has been long planned, Dave Cupp is leaving WVIR 29, and Friday will be his last day. His been with the station for 26 years, and served as news director for a mighty long time, but is leaving to follow his wife to Cambridge, where she’s worked at the Harvard Graduate School of Education for the past couple of years. Cupp’s departure comes a a little over a year after the departure of Robert Van Winkle, another WVIR veteran, who is now with WBBH, WVIR’s Florida sister station (both are owned by Waterman Broadcasting). As has been noted repeatedly, WVIR is hemorrhaging talent, and their new competition from WCAV (CBS 19) and WVAW (ABC 16) isn’t going to make things any easier, to say nothing of the proposed Fox station and the elusive WCVL cable station. John Yellig has the story in today’s Progress.
cvillenews.com
Albemarle County has received a $23,450 grant from the Virginia Department of Conservation and the Environmental Protection Agency’s Chesapeake Bay Program to fund the installation of a green roof on the county office building. (The structure need to be re-roofed, anyhow.) Rather than using traditional roofing materials, the new roof will essentially be a lawn on top of the standard rooftop. Green roofs have become popular for environmentally-friendly construction, because they keep the structures cooler in the summer, warmer in the winter, and handle runoff that would otherwise have to be dealt with through channelling. It won’t be whole roof, just 20%. Replacement will be done next summer. Liesel Nowak has the story in today’s Progress.
The Daily Progress is poised to begin requiring an invasive registration process to read stories on their website. It’s well beyond anything I’ve ever seen before for a news outlet: they require an e-mail address, password, full name, street address, year of birth and ZIP code, and in registering, one must agree to receive spam — there is no opt-out function. Not just spam from Media General’s 27 daily newspapers and 26 TV stations, but from any of their advertisers. The mind reels. Registration is not possible without a valid e-mail address. As of this writing, it’s still possible to use the website without registration, but the “please register to read stories” banner appearing intermittently on the front page makes clear that this will be changing very shortly. If they don’t want people to use their website, they should just shut it down. This is just boneheaded.
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights is investigating UVa’s affirmative action admissions policy, the AP reports. The investigation is based on a complaint filed by the parent of a white, male student from New York, who was denied admission to the incoming 2003 class. The father alleges that his son would have been admitted if he had been “a girl or a minority,” but it’s not clear how he knows that. The complaint is the first since the Supreme Court ruled in favor of UVa-styled affirmative action programs in 2003, in Grutter v. Bollinger, simultaneously striking down affirmative action admissions policies that are quota-based in Gratz v. Bollinger. (I’m writing a paper on these two cases for finals right now, which is how I’m justifying not actually working on the paper right now.) The complaint against UVa was filed in May of 2003, before the court ruling. 12/09 Update: Kate Andrews has the story in today’s Progress.
A really nasty accident blocked the 29 bypass in both directions this evening, WINA (and several submitters) report. Specifics aren’t available just yet, but since all four lanes were blocked, traffic had to be diverted, creating a ripple effect that left gridlock throughout the city, miles away from the accident scene. Three people are hospitalized with serious injuries. Anybody have any details?
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
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 #
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