Less than two months after they were installed, the county has decided to remove the huge boulders that were strewn about in front of the county office building in an effort to protect Albemarle from terrorists. Large planters will take place of the boulders, intended to serve the same purpose. The rocks are going to be moved to county parks, where presumably they will protect trees and streams from coming under attack. WINA has the blurb.
cvillenews.com
News and meta-news about Charlottesville, VA, since 2001.
In July, word spread that the Nelson Sheriff had seized a lampshade allegedly made of human skin, purported to be an artifact of Nazi atrocities during the holocaust. The Holocaust Museum has tested the lampshade and found that it’s a run-of-the-mill paper lampshade, as has been the case with every allegedly-human-skin lampshade ever found. Lampshade owner Donald Avery maintains the the lampshade is made of human skin, saying of the findings that, simply, “they’re wrong.” Claudia Pinto has the story in today’s Progress.
In June, after the amphitheater was turned over to Coran Capshaw, it was up in the air whether Fridays after 5 would continue. An attempt was made to clear things up, but all that was known that some sort of a free weekly event would continue to happen. After all, why wouldn’t Capshaw want to sell tickets to see prime performers on Friday nights? Now the folks at Charlottesville Downtown Foundation, the creators and operators of the concert series, have declared Friday’s concert to be “the last Fridays After 5 as we know it.” Councilor Blake Caravati says that Fridays isn’t ending, but that the city is just going to “take it to the next level,” while a Capshaw rep. promises that there will be a charitable concert every Friday, although the contract makes no such promise. CDF isn’t so sure that Caravati and Capshaw are going to come through, and so they’re looking for a new venue to carry on the event. In short, nobody’s knows what’s going on. Lisa Provence has the story in this week’s Hook.
While unemployment in Central Virginia may be pleasantly-low, particularly when compared to Southside, things are still slumping in ways that pure employment numbers don’t capture. 3,100 jobs were lost from ’98-’03 (largely thanks to NAFTA), with notable mass-layoffs including Comdial and Technicolor. Most of those people found jobs, but instead of making $35k performing skilled steps in the manufacturing process or managing the assembly line, they’re welcoming people to Wal-Mart. A just-completed study found that the job growth of the last few years has occurred in jobs that pay 40% less than the jobs that were lost. The result? The rich are just as rich as always, while more and more people are becoming poor. Reed Williams has the story in today’s Progress.
Thanks to a $1,000 DNA analysis, DNAPrint Genomics has determined that the serial rapist is — get this — a black man. In an interview, a representative from the company, which was hired by the Charlottesville police, said that this shows that “this guy’s not Caucasian or East Asian or a guy from Mexico.” That clears that up. Reed Williams has the story in the Progress.
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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