4BETTER OR WORSE- The week in review
Grimmest find: The remains of a blonde, black-clad person are discovered at Anchorage Farm on U.S. 29 south January 26.
Worst first: Two men are shot– one fatally– late January 22 at the Mountain View Mobile Home Park where they were socializing in front of a trailer and two black males approached the group, according to police. Miguel Lugio Salazar, 32, is pronounced dead at the scene and Raphael Valina Ayala, 25, is wounded. At press time, no arrests have been made.
Worst mass murder: Eight people are killed January 19 in Appomatox. Suspect Christopher Speight allegedly fires upon a police helicopter, rupturing its fuel tank, before turning himself in early January 20.
Worst alleged patricide: First-year UVA student Alan Yuan Chang, 19, is charged with the first-degree murder in the slaying of his father, Jian Zhang, 47, on January 15 in Richmond.
Wettest: Heavy rain January 24-25 leaves 30 roads in Albemarle flooded and closes county schools. The James River crests 4am January 26 at 22 feet– two feet over the flood line, but the levee and pumping keep the streets dry.
Biggest misappropriation? In its $9.8 million purchase of Biscuit Run for a state park, Virginia officials used $4.8 million in federal transportation funds without obtaining approval from the Metropolitan Planning Organization as required by federal regulations. Charlottesville Tomorrow has the story.
Biggest drug busts: Police seize 30 pounds of pot worth an alleged $150,000 in two separate January 22 busts. Arrested are James B. Gunn, 59, of Barboursville, where authorities say they found four pounds of marijuana, two firearms and $6,245, and Jeremy Manning-Smith, 52, of Keswick, where 26 pounds of marijuana and $55,202 were seized.
Most sensible legislation: Republican Delegate Harvey B. Morgan proposes to decriminalize marijuana possession, making it a civil rather than criminal charge. His bill also raises the quantities for personal use from one-half to one ounce and presumes growing five pot plants is for personal use, rather than felonious manufacture with intent to distribute.
Longest child porn sentence: Mineral man Patrick William Kreutzer, 37, gets 11 years in prison January 21 for possessing and mailing child porn.
Latest casualty of Virginia's denial of felon voting rights: Bonnie Nicholson, 57, pleads guilty to election fraud and forgery for lying about her felon status when she registered to vote in the 2008 election. She gets a 10-year suspended sentence and two years of probation January 21, according to the Daily Progress.
Best sign best-value rating is having an impact: UVA gets a record 22,396 applications, up 3 to 4 percent over last year, according to Dean of Admissions Gregory Roberts. Total cost for current first-years is estimated at $21,140 for Virginians and $43,140 for out-of-state students, and the university's Access UVA financial aid package guarantees help to needy students.
Most painful cuts: Superintendent Pam Moran recommends how to bridge a $6 million budget shortfall to the Albemarle School Board, including 10 percent budget cuts in departments, reducing 30 staff, including teachers, and eliminating some sports programs.
Best resolution: The U.S. House of Representatives commends the UVA men's soccer team, which won the 2009 national championship.
Best-selling booze: Jack Daniels, Grey Goose, and Jim Beam top the Virginia ABC's fiscal 2009 sales, Cvillain reports.
Zippiest: Governor Bob McDonnell proposes raising the speed limit on rural interstates from 65 to 70mph.
Worst discount at Wal-Mart: A man reportedly offers oral sex for $5 to a 23-year-old male in the paint department at the Staunton store January 24, according to the News Virginian. Police say it's not the first time the suspect has made such solicitations.
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