The week in review
Biggest bust: The six-to-10-inch snowfall predicted for January 17 that had Albemarle schools closing for the day despite no stickage.
Biggest Culpeper trial: Former police officer Daniel Harmon-Wright, 33, goes on trial January 22 for the murder of unarmed Patricia Ann Cook, 54, who was in her car in a church parking lot February 9, 2012, when Harmon-Wright shot her to death and claimed it was self defense.
Biggest political-appointee casualty: James Rich, a former Commonwealth Transportation Board member appointed by Governor Bob McDonnell, is given the boot, he says, because he voted against the Western 29 Bypass. Charlottesville Tomorrow has the story.
Most boneheaded move on MLK Day: Senate Republicans in the General Assembly decide to redistrict when African-American civil rights leader, Senator Henry Marsh, goes to the inauguration, giving Republicans a 20-19 edge for the controversial redrawing of lines to create a black majority district, some of which slices from Marsh's own Richmond district.
Most thoughtful MLK activity: A discussion of local Civil War monuments, such as Robert E. Lee in Lee Park, and what they mean to those who are not sons of the Confederacy, is sponsored January 20 by the city's Dialogue on Race and University and Community Action for Racial Equity, Ted Strong reports in the DP.
Most resolved: All 225 members of UVA's student council vote to tell the General Assembly to not reappoint Helen Dragas as Board of Visitors rector– although Dragas' confirmation has already sailed through the Senate.
Worst forcible fondling: A UVA student is accosted January 21 around 8:30pm near Wilson Hall, WINA reports. The black-glove-wearing attacker flees toward Varsity Hall.
Worst driving: A motorist hits a house on 11th Street at Grady Avenue early January 20 and flees the scene. According to the Newsplex, damage is estimated at $10,000.
Most protective: In 2012, Albemarle puts 1,500 acres under permanent conservation easement, protecting the land but also providing often-wealthy owners tax credits for not developing the land.
Latest James Halfaday travails: The former City Council candidate, who was convicted of making a false statement on an election form, is arrested January 14 for violating probation by contacting his former domestic partner after making threats from jail. NBC29's Henry Graff reports that Halfaday is denied bond January 17 and has been diagnosed with both narcissistic and antisocial personality disorders. He'll be back in court in February.
Latest UVA football recruit arrested: Taquan Mizzell, 19, is charged with underage alcohol possession around 2:30am January 20 on 14th Street.
Boldest Albemarle agenda item: The Board of Supervisors will weigh a resolution to separate industrial hemp from marijuana in February, Aaron Richardson reports in the Progress. The United States imports tons of the stuff from Canada and China, and proponents see it as an extremely versatile cash crop used for fiber, food, and biofuel. But hemp has been illegal since 1970, and the Drug Enforcement Agency refuses to differentiate it from its higher THC-containing cannabis cousin.
Biggest grant: Dominion Virginia Power gives $150,000 to the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center to help renovate the auditorium.
Best get: Former senator Jim Webb will speak at UVA's commencement in May.
Second best robotics team: CHS's BACON– Best All-around Club of Nerds– is a runner-up in the 2013 MIT-NASA Zero Robotics U.S. Tournament, January 11 in Boston.
Oddest place to run into Big Ray and the Kool Kats: The local swingmeisters turn up in a Washington Post story in which two reporters face off to see who can attend the most inaugural balls January 20. Journalist Dan Zak runs into the Kool Kats at the Florida ball and scores points when they play "New York, New York" and a kick dance ensues.