Kurt Kroboth Tried to Kill His Wife, Wants it Kept Quiet

Published by Waldo Jaquith on January 4, 2012 in Crime and Meta News. 11 Comments

A guy who tried to murder his wife is concerned that it’s interfering with his life, Lisa Provence writes for The Hook, so he’s demanded that the weekly help him scrub media coverage off the internet. You might remember the story of Kurt Kroboth, the Charlottesville guy who failed in his efforts to hire a hitman to kill his estranged wife, so he put on a vampire mask, snuck into her home, and attempted to chloroform her. That earned him six years in prison, a term that he completed recently. Now living in Arizona, he’s demanded that The Hook bar search engines from indexing stories about him, and threatened to sue them if they don’t do so. He says that the paper’s coverage of him is inaccurate, but refuses to say what, specifically, is inaccurate about it.

This is a classic example of the Streisand effect, wherein the attempt to suppress information online only makes it available more broadly.

Overhaul Afoot for Shoppers World?

Published by Waldo Jaquith on January 4, 2012 in Business and Development. 11 Comments

The Shoppers World shopping center on 29N is better known as “the Whole Foods shopping center.” Or at least it was—now it’s “the shopping center where Whole Foods used to be.” After losing their anchor tenant, things have been looking rough for the aging complex. Ragazzi’s closed down in anticipation of reopening farther up 29, and Super Shoes is gone, apparently to reopen in Seminole Square. Lisa Provence explains in The Hook that the fact that China King’s lease was non-renewed is an indication that the Maryland owners of Shoppers World may be planning an overhaul just as soon as they clear out some more space. Like Albemarle Square, Shoppers World has been hollowed out by the glut of commercial real estate on 29N, and they’ll have to do something different if they want to pull out of their shopping center death spiral.

Huja Selected as Mayor

Published by Waldo Jaquith on January 4, 2012 in Government and Politics. 7 Comments

The new City Council unanimously selected Satyendra Huja as the new mayor, Graham Moomaw writes in today’s Daily Progress. Newly elected councilors Kathy Galvin and Dede Smith also joined in the unanimous vote to name Kristin Szakos the vice mayor. Huja replaces Dave Norris as major, who had served in the position for the past four years. Our strong city manager form of government means that the mayor has relatively little power—he can set the agenda for and preside over meetings, but the position is largely ceremonial.

VNB Board Members Leave En Masse

Published by Waldo Jaquith on December 31, 2011 in Business. 10 Comments

There’s been a shake-up on the Virginia National Bank board, Hawes Spencer wrote for The Hook last week. Mark Giles, the chairman and founding president of the local bank, quit the board effective immediately on December 19, along with Claire Gargalli and Leslie Disharoon; UVA neurosurgeon Neal Kassell left a couple of days later. Spencer writes that the initial three resignations resulted from “a disagreement over the composition of its board of directors,” though nothing specific is public yet. Though it may be unrelated, it cannot go without note that board members Hunter Craig and Wick McNeely appear to be in serious financial trouble as a result of their investments in the failed Biscuit Run housing development. To the extent to which their personal financial wellbeing is tied up in VNB stock, their short-term interests for the bank may deviate from other members’.

Giles’ departure from the board is particularly notable. More than any other individual, Giles has been the face of VNB.

Athletic Fields May Be Incorporated into Biscuit Run

Published by Waldo Jaquith on December 31, 2011 in Development and Sports. 4 Comments Tags: .

As Biscuit Run State Park starts to take shape south of town, one of the uses that some county residents would like to see is the provision of athletic fields. Unfortunately, the state doesn’t provide such things—it’s the job of localities, which aren’t allowed to build them in state parks. A proposed land swap might solve the problem, Brian Wheeler reports for Charlottesville Tomorrow, thanks to Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville. The non-profit owns the 100-acre Southwood Mobile Home Park, directly adjacent to Biscuit Run, and they figure they can donate thirteen acres to Biscuit Run in exchange for being given thirteen back. Then they’d take seven of those and provide them as a proffer to the county in exchange for permission to increase the density of housing in Southwood. All of this requires sign-off from the county, the General Assembly, and the Department of Conservation and Recreation, but there’s nothing extraordinary about the request, so it’s well within the realm of the possible.

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