4BETTER OR WORSE- The week in review

Published online 8:00am Thursday Oct 12th, 2006
and in print issue #0541 dated Thursday Oct 12th, 2006

Worst fallout from school terrorism: Culpeper closes all schools– both public and private– October 5 because of a bomb threat.

Worst copycatting: A 14-year-old Culpeper girl is arrested for calling in a subsequent bomb threat October 9, and PVCC cancels evening classes that same day after an anonymous caller claims a bomb could be at the community college, the Newsplex reports.

Worst stabbing: A 21-year-old female and 24-year-old male are knifed early October 8 at a home in Crozet. Police arrest Kim Conroy, 24, and say the stabbing was the result of a verbal altercation between Conroy and the female victim.

Best city website: Charlottesville takes the coveted Pinnacle Award from the National Association of Government Webmasters, edging out last year's high scorer for a city of this size, Evanston, Illinois.

Biggest gift by a UVA administrator: UVA President John Casteen and his wife, Betsy Foote Casteen, donate $500,000 to go toward scholarships for children of faculty and staff. (See news story, page XX)

Most honored: UVA CEO: Leonard Sandridge gets a door and a road named for him. The door is the entrance to the John Paul Jones Arena, henceforth to be known as the Leonard W. Sandridge Portal. The North Grounds Connector is now the shorter Sandridge Road.

Best hearing: Three U.S. Court of Appeals judges for the Federal Circuit hear cases at the UVA Law School October 3.

Most tasked: Governor Tim Kaine appoints City Councilor Dave Norris to the new Urban Policy Task Force, a Cabinet-level organization.

Biggest windfall: Albemarle County posts a $9.2 million surplus, according to a preliminary financial report.

Biggest downfall: Firetrucks are banned from the newly rebuilt one-lane bridge on Proffitt Road because the 16-ton trucks exceed the bridge's 12-ton limit, Jeremy Borden reports in the Daily Progress.

Greenest endorsement: Fifth District congressional candidate Al Weed gets the nod– and a $1,000 donation–- from the Sierra Club

Harshest fashion indictment: Braids, twists, cornrows, and dreadlocks are banned at Kokoamos Island Bar, Grill and Yacht Club in Virginia Beach, earning the club a letter from the ACLU pointing out those hairstyles are primarily worn by African Americans and that the policy violates the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Worst indictment of social norms campaigns: A Penn State study indicates that such campaigns are ineffective in influencing college students' drinking, the Cav Daily reports. UVA opened a much-ballyhooed National Social Norms Institute in September with a $2.5 million donation from Anheuser-Busch.

Biggest deal: Google plunks down $1.65 billion to buy YouTube.

Most anticipated fall event: Bulky waste amnesty days at the Ivy Landfill, when Albemarle County residents can dump hazardous household waste October 14, furniture and mattresses October 21, old refrigerators October 28, and tires November 4.

Most exclusive: Bulky waste amnesty days are open to county residents only.

Best get: Alias/Motorcycle Diaries actress Mia Maestro attends a screening for Crozet filmmaker Rick Preve's Chagas: A Hidden Affliction October 7 at the Los Angeles Latino International Festival, and signs on to spread the word about the disease Preve calls the "AIDS of the poor."

Best sign there's a new John Grisham book: The mega-selling author is all over the media, both local and national, promoting An Innocent Man, his first foray into nonfiction.

Oddest media event: Independent Greens of Virginia Senate candidate Gail "For Rail" Parker invites the press to her swim workouts October 11, 13 and 15.

Best chance to be in pictures: Cavalier Films is looking for extras when they shoot Disconnected in Staunton October 24 through November 17. Email for more information.