4BETTER OR WORSE- The week in review
Biggest loophole closure: Those who've been ordered to seek mental health treatment and declared dangers to themselves will no longer be able to purchase firearms in Virginia. Governor Tim Kaine signs an executive order April 30 in the wake of Seung-Hui Cho's rampage at Virginia Tech.
Worst first: Schuyler resident William W. Godsey, 48, becomes Albemarle County's first 2007 murder victim when he dies April 24 from injuries received during an April 12 robbery outside Wood Grill Buffet. Godsey was escorting his wife, the night manager, to the bank to deposit money when they were attacked around 1:30am. Crimestoppers offers a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the two attackers, who are described as tall and skinny, and short and stocky.
Biggest oops: After spending years getting county approval, developers of Albemarle Place at the corner of U.S. 29 and Hydraulic Road discover that the Meadow Creek interceptor, the sewer line there, is at capacity and can't handle the new development.
Most strong-arm robbery arrests: Catrell Lamarr Harris, 23, Julian Hawpe Taliaferro III, 30, and Roderick Wayne McDowell II, 23, are charged in an April 2 robbery on Commonwealth Drive. Harris and McDowell are also charged in a March 25 robbery.
Best break in the Carmike Cinema spate: Christopher James Benck, 18, is charged in the April 21 and April 28 robberies at the hold-up-prone theater, which has been hit by armed robbers six times since June.
Biggest plunge: An elevator in Old Cabell Hall at UVA drops four stories April 28 with three people inside, Aaron Kessler reports in the Daily Progress. The passengers escape without injury, and broken fittings are blamed.
Most regretful: On the April 13 birthday of its slave-owning founder, UVA's Board of Visitors expresses regret that the state's flagship university was built on the backs of slaves.
Latest report from UVA facilities management: After landscaper Deborah Tyler, who is African American, complains about racial taunts, she's offered a transfer, not the supervisor who allegedly made the remarks, according to an Aaron Kessler story in the DP. In March, the Hook reported about longtime facilities management associate director Will Shaw, who was transferred to a "do-nothing" job after he took UVA to court for not complying with a Freedom of Information Act request and for filing grievances alleging racial and gender bias.
Newest provost: UVA med school Dean Tim Garson is named to succeed Gene Block, who leaves to become president of UCLA.
Newest dean: Early childhood expert Robert Pianta takes over the Curry School of Education, succeeding David Breneman, who steps down in June.
Best mock lawyers: UVA's mock trial team wins its second Mock Trial National Championship Tournament, held April 13-15 at St. Petersburg, and perhaps even more gratifyingly, dusts Harvard in the championship round for the second year in a row.
Busiest graduation schedule: Author John Grisham does the commencement address for the law school at Washington and Lee May 12, and then talks to UVA grads May 20.
Most mourned moniker: Game wardens in Virginia will henceforth be known as "conservation police officers" because people just don't take seriously the police powers of a "game warden," according to the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.
Worst case of lightning striking twice: Robert Wayne Lawhorne's mobile home in Tyro blows over for the second time April 15, the Nelson County Times reports. Lawhorne's trailer tipped over seven or eight years ago during a thunderstorm.
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