4BETTER OR WORSE- The week in review

Published online 9:00am Thursday Dec 14th, 2006
and in print issue #0550 dated Thursday Dec 14th, 2006

Biggest mystery: Virginia State Police conclude their investigation of the October 20 shooting of Elvis Shifflett by two Charlottesville cops– but authorities still won't say whether Shifflett had a gun or reveal the specific circumstances of the shooting, according to a Rob Seal story in the Daily Progress. Shifflett was hit in the neck, chest and upper arm, say his family.

Longest sexual assault sentence: Joseph E. Osbourne, 43, who forced his way into a Pantops Mountain-area home April 7 while high on crack and attempted to assault a 13-year-old girl, earns a 30-year sentence for the B&E, abduction, and attempted sodomy.

Most alleged pervs in one week: Osbourne, Charlottesville music teacher Jonathan Spivey, and porn pastor Gregory Briehl, who is indicted on 20 counts of possessing child porn December 4, all make court appearances.

Worst plane crash: VCU oncologist Christopher Desch dies December 10 just east of the Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport in a likely engine-trouble-based crash witnessed by a Pegasus crew.

Most irate neighbor: Machete-wielding Jose Alvin Cruz Pineda, 37, bursts into the apartment below him at 1304 E. Market St., where an all-night party is still going on at 7:30am December 10, reports the DP. Cruz Pineda is charged with felony assault for allegedly hitting his neighbor on the head with the machete handle. The victim refuses medical treatment.

Worst crime wave: The Hessian Hills area has been hit with 14 burglaries, 12 larcenies from cars, and one stolen auto in the past three months– and no suspects, the Newsplex reports.

Biggest donation: The Curry School of Education gets $5 million from BET co-founder Sheila Johnson December 6.

Last early-decision options: UVA sends out 973 offers to become part of the class of 2011 before ditching its binding early-decision program in hopes of attracting more lower-income applicants.

Biggest literary discovery: Robert Dowling, a Central Connecticut State U assistant English professor, finds an unpublished short story by playwright Eugene O'Neill, "The Screenews of War," in UVA's Barrett Library, where it had been catalogued for 45 years.

Biggest turnaround: Four years ago, the Virginia ABC wanted to yank Foxfield's license because the event was a hotbed of underage drinking and public drunkenness. In 2006, the Foxfield Races Coalition, which includes the ABC and Albemarle County Police Department, receives an award from an organization called the National Liquor Law Enforcement Agency.

Next biggest turnaround: Albemarle Board of Supervisors has always resisted joining the Thomas Jefferson Partnership for Economic Development– until this year. On December 6, the supes also vote to join the Chamber of Commerce because county exec Bob Tucker lost his ex-officio seat on the Chamber board, according to Charlottesville Tomorrow. And they approve a $250,000 line item for economic development 4-2, with Sally Thomas and Dennis Rooker voting nay.

Best get for Greene: Video Gaming Technologies is moving to the Technicolor plant early next year and will hire at least 80 high-tech workers, according to Brian McNeill in the Progress.

Greenest school: The Charlottesville Waldorf Foundation picks up an award from Dwell magazine called the "Nice Modernist Award" for its plans to build a sustainable, affordable school with its $6.1 million capital campaign. (See On Architecture, page XX.)

Newest Albemarle historical landmarks: Bel Aire, the 1825 home of James Michie on Dickerson Road, and the Gothic Revival Mechum River Farm on Burchs Creek Road join the Virginia Landmarks Register December 6.