4BETTER OR WORSE- The week in review
Worst fall: A 17-month-old toddler plunges out of a second-story window onto his head May 18 at Heathwood Townhouse Apartments on Michie Drive and suffers a skull fracture and bleeding from the brain, the Newsplex reports. The boy's condition is unknown at press time.
Worst motorcycle wreck: A man going around 70mph crashes at the intersection of Sixth Street and Druid May 16, and is in serious condition.
Deadliest fire: A May 18 blaze in the 1800 block of Barracks Road around 2:30pm kills two cats. A man and woman in the house escape, as does a dog.
Most patricidal: Moriah Robin Tolton, who shot and killed his father in 2005 and was found not guilty by reason of insanity, is approved for release May 14 from Western State Hospital, Tasha Kates reports in the Daily Progress.
Highest profile U.S. Senate testimony: UVA prof/former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice adviser Philip Zelikow appears before the Judiciary Committee May 13 and discusses his 2006 memo challenging waterboarding and other controversial interrogation techniques and claims the Bush administration tried to destroy the memo, according to the Washington Post.
Heftiest hikes: Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority okays wholesale rate increases for fiscal year 2010: Albemarle's water jumps 11.3 percent and Charlottesville's 7.7. Sewer rates go up 12.53 percent for Albemarle and 12.9 percent for the city. Last year, the county saw wholesale rates up 2.44 percent for water and 10.65 percent for sewer, while Charlottesville's wholesale rates climbed 2.65 percent for water and 10.43 percent for sewer.
Best news for the drought weary: The inordinate amount of rain in April and May has substantially boosted groundwater levels in the western part of the state, according to UVA climatologist Jerry Stenger.
Best rescue: Two Boy Scouts are retrieved from rocks May 17 in the middle of the James River in the Balcony Falls area near Glasgow after their canoe overturns, according to the AP.
Best local job ops: The 2010 U.S. Census, and the bureau announces a Charlottesville office is seeking managers, according to a release.
Least enthusiastic response: Telephone town hall participants don't embrace an Albemarle plan to close its three smallest schools– Red Hill, Scottsville and Yancey– and consolidate them at a site beside Walton Middle School, Brian McNeill reports in the Progress.
Least surprising: See above.
Latest contenders: PVCC student and State Farm employee Andrew Williams, 22, announces a run for City Council as an independent, as does Bob Fenwick, McIntire Park defender. The two will face Democratic nominees Mayor Dave Norris and Kristin Szakos in November. In the Samuel Miller District, Philip Melita and Duane Snow seek the Republican nomination at its May 26 caucus to run for Sally Thomas' seat on the Board of Supervisors.
Latest update for 25,000 city voters whose info was in stolen laptops: No one's reported any identity theft yet, writes Registrar Sheri Iachetta, about the two computers purloined from Tonsler Park November 5 containing names, addresses, DMV identification numbers and years of birth of Charlottesvillians. Worried citizens can get new ID numbers from the DMV.
Latest big box: Kohl's readies for construction at Hollymead Town Center.
Trimmest: The new Whole Foods on Hydraulic Road originally planned to be 66,000 square feet has slimmed down to 40,000 square feet, Rachanna Dixit reports in the DP.
Lowest sperm count: Local biotech firm ContraVac ships out SpermCheck Vasectomy test samples that will allow men to check the success of their operations at home. Brian McNeill has the story in the Progress.
Most memorable brand name: SpermCheck is working on other products– SpermCheck Fertility to measure if a male has enough swimmers, and SpermCheck Contraception, birth control for men.
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