The week in review
Worst trend, part 1: Nine people overdose on heroin in Culpeper and Spotsylvania last week, and two die, according to a release.
Worst trend, part 2: Virginia's suicide rate is the highest in 13 years, while the homicide rate has plunged, making suicides three times more common in the Old Dominion, Capital News Service reports from Richmond.
Most ambitious fundraising campaign: UVA meets its $3 billion goal started in 2004, President Teresa Sullivan announces at Final Exercises May 19.
Most wasted: Chronic wasting disease, which affects deer, elk and moose, has been found within 25 miles of the Shenandoah National Park, and biologists are dubious about being able to contain the spread, Aaron Richardson reports in the Daily Progress.
Worst fast-food sex crime: McDonald's at Barracks Road does not report an alleged February 19 incident in which a male employee asks a female coworker to perform oral sex on him in the stockroom and sexually assaults her when she resists, according to a search warrant reported in the Progress. Police seize internal records for the fast-food franchise's internal investigation.
Worst IED incident: An improvised explosive device along side the road in Pastures in Augusta County detonates early May 16 and blasts a 2004 Toyota truck, causing significant damage to its right front side, according to Virginia State Police. The driver, a 61-year-old man from Staunton, is not injured.
Most like Afghanistan: See above.
Worst forcible fondling: A female student is groped walking on 15th Street NW around 1am May 17. The suspect, described as black male, six feet tall with a heavy build and wearing dark clothing, flees when the victim screams, WINA reports.
Most crashes while allegedly driving drunk: Police say Michelle Lynn Powell, 42, of Stuarts Draft, took out three cars in two separate incidents May 15 in Waynesboro and blew a .20 after she ran into a pole. She's charged with DUI and felony hit-and-run.
Most DUIs: Waynesboro resident Philogene M. White, 40, is charged with his sixth DUI early May 19 after being pulled for going 17 miles over the speed limit, according to the News Leader.
Most assault charges: Orange County substitute teacher Laurie Millard, 49, is charged with six counts of assault and six of contributing to the delinquency of a minor when something apparently went seriously wrong in a sixth-grade math class at Locust Grove Elementary May 16. NBC29 has the story.
Worst move for transparency on UVA BOV: Richmond businessman Bill Goodwin is tapped to be vice rector– a stepping stone to the top chair– when new Rector George Martin's two-year-term ends in 2015. Goodwin, a vocal Helen Dragas supporter, has described the Freedom of Information Act as a "deterrent" to smooth board functioning and told UVA's Faculty Senate Chair it was time to "leave the past alone" when he pressed for answers about what really happened with President Teresa Sullivan's resignation.
Best reporting: WVTF's Sandy Hausman receives a national award from the Society of Professional Journalists for her story, “Naming the Fralin,” which explores the questionable way in which a member of UVA's Board of Visitors secured naming rights to the university's art museum. Hausman also wins two first-place Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards awards from the Radio Television Digital News Association.
Latest in UVA prof's lawsuit: Paul Allaire, 71, drops his $100K suit against the university, which claimed damages from a university police investigation into allegations he misused UVA assets for his private business. K. Burnell Evans reports in the DP. No charges have been filed against Allaire.
Latest Culpeper corruption fallout: Commonwealth's Attorney, Megan Frederick, is banned from the Culpeper County Juvenile & Domestic Relations Court clerk's office after she's accused of assaulting a probation officer, an allegation Frederick denies. No charges have been filed, and the Culpeper Sheriff's Office, which was implicated in the wrongful imprisonment of Michael Hash and whose sheriff, Scott Jenkins, is being sued along with others in the department by Hash, is investigating. The Star-Exponent has the story.
Latest Civil War skirmish: The Sons of Confederate Veterans go to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn Lexington's 2011 ban of the Confederate battle flag on city light poles, contending the ban violates the group's free speech and ability to honor Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee, the News Leader reports. The group was shot down in federal court last year.
Most controversial commission: On May 20, after years of study and debate, Charlottesville City Council approves funding for a human rights commission with limited enforcement capability at an estimated annual cost of $200,000, NBC 29 reports.