Lots of great photographs of the weekend’s snowstorm are circulating online, which are great for those of us still snowbound (which is to say, most of us) who want to know what the outside world looks like. Here’s a slideshow of some of them:
You can add your own Flickr photos to this slideshow by tagging them with “charlottesville” and “snowpocalypse.”
We’re in the midst of getting a metric pantload of snow. There are 17″ of the powdery stuff on the ground here in the northeast corner of Albemarle right now, which seems to be the average in the area. This is the biggest December snowfall here in recorded history. The National Guard has been called out in response to the states of emergency declared by the state and the county, with dozens of them currently searching for stranded motorists along 29S and 20S. Twitter is full of people reporting that they’re trapped in their cars, most of whom have been stuck since last night. Hundreds of cars have been abandoned on the major roads alone. Rescue crews are trying to get to these people; many are being sheltered at the Monticello and North Garden fire stations, and a new shelter is being set up at AFC. Dominion’s map shows hundreds of homes without power (a number that might start to look pretty good). The city, putting Twitter to great work in the past 24 hours, has called for volunteers with 4WD vehicles (who know how to use them—your Subaru Outback doesn’t count).
If you’re looking to go anywhere, don’t. If you haven’t bought all the stuff you need to for Christmas, don’t—you don’t need it that much, and everybody else is in the same boat. Everything is closed, anyway.
The Charlottesville Board of Architectural Review says that the demolished Victory Shoes façade has to be restored, Liz Palka reports for CBS-19. It was illegally demolished last month, with property manager Bill Rice and building owner Joe H. Gieck claiming (implausibly) that they had no idea that a permit was required to demolish the façade of a historic structure. The BAR is pissed off, and has ordered them to set it back the way it was. In what sounds like a lucky stroke for the duo, somebody called the BAR to say that they’d removed the curved glass portion of the storefront, rather than allow it to be destroyed, and they’re willing to give it back. Gieck is going back before the BAR next month with a proposed storefront, one that’s premised on the restoration of the old one.
The Rutherford Institute thinks that Rep. Tom Perriello should move his office to a more protestable location, Brian McNeill writes in today’s Progress.. As Lisa Provence explains in The Hook’s cover story this week, angry protesters are intimidating patrons of neighboring businesses, insisting that they have every right to protest on private property, and complaining that the sidewalk next to the building isn’t close enough for their liking. (Let’s all pause to consider the irony of property rights advocate insisting that they have a right to protest on private property.) Rutherford president John Whitehead says that when the congressman’s lease expires on the space in a year, he should move to a location that is friendlier to protestors. Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression president Bob O’Neil thinks that it’s possible that it would be a good thing for Perriello to do that, but has to wonder what location this could possibly be.
So, let’s figure this out. Who can think of a privately-owned building that leases a space appropriate for a congressman’s regional district office, that’s surrounded by public land, located in a more popular and well-trafficked part of the city than this one (two blocks off the Downtown Mall), but has no neighboring offices, businesses, or residences, and has rent that’s low enough that anti-government protestors won’t complain about it? Anybody? Anybody? Bueller?
A UVA project has virtually recreated Vinegar Hill in its heyday, the university writes in a press release. (If you’re not from here: Vinegar Hill was a large, mostly black neighborhood around the McIntire/Main intersection that was demolished by the city for “urban renewal.” The city relocated people from their own homes into public housing.) Undergraduates researched archival records to look at who owned property, when and how it changed hands, what it was appraised for, where people went after they lost their homes, and lots of similar information, combining it all into a series of visualizations fronted by a website called The Vinegar Hill Project. I’ve spent a while exploring this website, and it’s just a treasure trove of data, veritable infoporn for local history buffs. Set aside an hour to pore over this site.
It’s a shame that the historical society is too stuffy to do this kind of thing. They prohibited their last executive director from blogging.
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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