Trusty field reporter Cory Capron tells us (well, not “us,” but “me”…and there aren’t any cvillenews.com reporters, either, as long as I’m confessing, just my girlfriend’s brother, who just called me) that anti-war protesters have completely blocked the Ridge-McIntire/West Main Street intersection, at the Lewis and Clark statue. Motor traffic has come to a standstill, with angry motorists getting out of their cars in the rain. police attempting to control the situation, and ambulances arriving at the scene, indicating that fighting has probably started. 03/21 Update: Be sure to read the comments for a better description of what happened.
cvillenews.com
News and meta-news about Charlottesville, VA, since 2001.
Cecil writes: Several student groups at UVA are coordinating to plan a walk-out from classes at 2:00 today, to protest the U.S. attacks on Iraq. See the Cav Daily story for more.
In addition, a rally on the Downtown Mall is planned for noon, and a protest on the corner of Ridge/McIntire and West Main at 4pm. Lousy day for protesting. If anybody wants to write about their experiences with these protests, this’d be the place to do it.
The (now-former) CEO of moulding-manufacturer Ivy Industries, John Reid, has confessed to stealing $2.4MM from Albemarle First Bank. Reid says that he set up the check-kiting scheme between Albemarle First and SunTrust in an effort to keep his business afloat. He was caught when he tried to tie a new bank, Southern Financial, into the scheme. Ivy Industries laid off 40 of their 50 employees last Friday. Monday, Albemarle First filed a $10MM suit against Reid and four of the organizations’ officers. David Dadurka has the story in today’s Progress. 4:09pm Update: Also, see The Hook’s story for a whole mess more information.
WVIR (NBC 29) has a fancy new website. Of relevance here, they’re back to providing local news, although it looks like they’re not archiving it at all, but presumably overwriting it every day. Not linkable, unfortunately, but certainly worth reading. Remember not to go to WVIR.com, boys and girls, because that’s a porn site.
Albemarle First Bank has lost somewhere in the vicinity of $2.4MM in a scam known as “check kiting.” It involves a chain of checks between banks, the final one in the chain being left holding the bag when it comes time to produce the money. Albemarle First does not think that they’ll be able to recover the money. Consequently, the bank will now has a first-quarter loss of $1.94. In heavy trading, their stock dropped 28% on the news. Dow Jones has the story.
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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