4BETTER OR WORSE- The week in review
First gov candidate: State Senator Creigh Deeds, the Democrat who represents Charlottesville, tosses his hat into the ring December 13. {See story this issue.]
First head to roll: Incoming Albemarle Commonwealth's Attorney Denise Lunsford fires Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Richard Moore, who's been a prosecutor in Charlottesville and Albemarle for more than 12 years, according a Rob Seal story in the Daily Progress. Lunsford, who praised the staff during the election, says only, "...I had to feel completely comfortable with and confident in every attorney that is going to be staying in that office."
First provost of the arts: UVA hires former Phillips Collection senior curator (and UVA grad) Elizabeth Hutton Turner to oversee its two museums and advance the growth of the arts at the university.
Worst trend: Armed robberies. A man walking to his home on Jackson Drive around 9pm December 10 has a gun put to his head by two fur-hooded-coat-wearing men who demand his money. A few hours later, around 2am December 11, a hoodie-wearing, gun-toting man holds up the Shell on Ivy Road. At press time, Albemarle police are also investigating a December 9 armed robbery on Commonwealth Drive and a December 10 home invasion at Townwood Court.
Worst flashback: The Ivy Road Shell was the scene of the September 22, 1998 murder of clerk Osama Hassan, who was shot eight times by a mentally retarded man set up by his friends in a heist that netted them $100.03.
Latest Whisper Ridge fallout: A former resident at the troubled center for troubled teens files a $10.35 million lawsuit, claiming he was physically and sexually abused while a patient there between 2003 and 2005, Seal reports in the Progress. The lawsuit against Psychiatric Solutions alleges that the patient, now 18, was assaulted by a male Whisper Ridge employee who slammed him to the floor, breaking his ankle. He also claims he was repeatedly forced to perform oral sex on a female employee.
Most refreshing take on zero tolerance: The auditorium at Buford Middle School is transformed December 19 into a Prohibiton-era speakeasy. Students need to know a password to enter to review for upcoming Standards of Learning, which include American history in the 1920s. According to a release, this is the second Speakeasy Day.
Meatiest day in court: Faux "certified organic" pork product producers Richard Bean and Jean Rinaldi plead guilty December 12 to one count of illegally transporting uninspected meat for sale, and prosecutors drop the remaining charges against them as long as they stay out of trouble and have their swine slaughtered at a federally approved facility, according to the DP. The couple also agree to have a state inspection at their farm so they can process their pork legally.
Latest North Pointe travails: After years of wrangling to get Albemarle County to rezone the 900-unit development north of town, now a site plan is rejected because of limited sewer capacity.
Best docs: 160 UVA physicians make it to the Best Doctors in America database, which represents the top 3 to 5 percent of doctors in the country.
Most all-American: UVA's Chris Long makes it onto his fifth all-American team, most recently the Associated Press All-American squad, only the third person to be unanimous and make all five such squads.
Barest: The shelves of the Thomas Jefferson Area Food Bank– and food banks throughout the country, where donations have dwindled while demand rises. Bryan McKenzie reports in the DP that the local food bank was two tons short of its November goal of 23,000 pounds.
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