Last week, a UVa fiction teacher took 23 students on a field trip to the abandoned Blue Ridge Hospital, by way of inspiration. As the hospital is owned by UVa, they figured they were OK. Not so: a UVa Foundation representative had them arrested for trespassing. Hilarity ensued. Ultimately, UVa persuaded commonwealth’s attorney Jim Camblos to drop the charges, and the students got off with $66 in court fines apiece. Kate Andrews has the story in today’s Progress.
cvillenews.com
News and meta-news about Charlottesville, VA, since 2001.
One-time Republican City Council candidate Ann Reinicke recently used her access to the city’s reverse 911 system, which automatically calls city residents to alert them to emergencies, to encourage 3,000 residents to attend the Election Study Task Force public hearings that have been taking place throughout the city. Reinicke and other local Republicans favor an overhaul of the electoral system, which they believe would give them a leg up in City Council elections. Though she is authorized to use the City Watch Automated Voice Service System, it’s not intended for such purposes, and she neither sought nor received permission from the city to do so. Reinicke is, characteristically, not talking to the media. John Yellig has the story in today’s Progress.
Tuesday, the Daily Progress carried a letter by the president of the Central Virginia chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, in which he encouraged people to avoid driving on Sunday, when Foxfield will be held, because of the “alcohol consumption at the races and the distressed phone calls we receive annually.” Foxfield president J. Benjamin Dick was none too pleased about this, and tried to get the chapter of MADD shut down for the assertion. It’s well worth nothing that alcohol consumption at the races do make the roads quite unsafe (2001, 2002, 2003), though the problem isn’t in the fall, but in the spring, when college students from across the state descend on the track, oblivious to the presence of horses or, in fact, races. MADD and Dick appear to have worked out their differences — MADD has clarified (but not retracted) the point, and Dick has wisely realized that attacking MADD isn’t the best way to help with Foxfield’s image problem. Julie Stavitski has the story in today’s Progress
One of the eight companies indicted today for illegal contributions to U.S. House Majority Leader Tom Delay’s (R) PAC is Charlottesville tech firm Questerra. The company, whose offices are in the Omni, develops mapping software, with the Department of Homeland Security counted among their customers. They’re accused of routing $50,000 to DeLay’s Texans for a Republican Majority PAC, circumventing Texas campaign finance laws, which bar contributions from corporations. DeLay has not yet been indicted. The Washington Post has the story.
The headline might seem harsh, but there’s just no better way to put it. In Barbara Nordin’s column in this week’s Hook, she handles a complaint from John Casey, who subscribed to the Daily Progress until mid-2003, when he decided to stop getting it. He got a letter from the paper about his “EZ Pay” subscription, seeking updated information about automatically sucking money out of his bank account to pay for his nonexistent subscription. It turns out that in the past year, they’ve taken a total of $158.34 out of his bank account without his permission — he never signed up for any such payment plan. (It is a fundamental and frightening aspect of the banking system that anybody can do this to anybody’s account at any time, armed with no more information than the account number, as written on the bottom of every check; there’s no way to block it.) When Casey’s wife called the Progress to demand her money back, they refused, caving only after Barbara Nordin called to investigate. The Progress refuses to explain what’s going on, leaving, as Nordin writes, some serious unexplained questions.
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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