The week in review
Saddest accident: UVA first-year Thomas W. Gilliam IV dies March 27 after a fall off the Physics Building roof.
Worst anti-Semitism: Lawn resident Keenan Davis is the target of vandalism and theft over the weekend, according to the Cavalier Daily. A slur is written on the white board outside his room March 25, and the following night, he opens his door to discover the Israeli flag hanging outside his room is gone, and he sees two males fleeing toward Rugby Road.
Latest in the line-up for fall local elections: Lindsay Dorrier announces he won't seek a fifth term on the Albemarle Board of Supervisors, leaving the Scottsville district open. Cherry Avenue resident Scott Bandy announces his candidacy for City Council, as does incumbent Councilor Satyendra Huja.
Longest deliberations: A Greene jury takes 10 hours before convicting Stephen Fox, 18, of arson in the August 22 torching of Ruckersville Baptist Church, as well as four other related charges, according to the Daily Progress. Fox is found not guilty of six other charges stemming from the fire and of previous vandalism to the church a week or so earlier.
Longest history of violence: The man arrested for shooting his girlfriend in the neck March 27, John Wesley Morris, 53, served time for a 1984 double homicide and the year before that, was fined $1,000 for shooting his cousin in the back, Ted Strong reports in the Progress.
Creepiest: Two women in Louisa report being pulled over by a man in a car with flashing blue lights posing as a police officer on March 4 and March 22, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports. Neither woman was injured, and police advise that anyone stopped by an unmarked vehicle should slow down, turn on emergency flashers, and pull into a lighted area.
Best pooch policy: The Jefferson-Madison Regional Library now prohibits dogs from being tethered outside the library for more than 10 minutes, according to the Progress. Although no one has been injured, some patrons had felt threatened by menacing curs, and others were concerned about the welfare of dogs tied for hours.
Biggest grant: UVA picks up $14.7 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to study why oral vaccines don't work as well on children in poorer countries.
Second biggest grant: UVA alum/volleyball player Amy Mitchell Griffin, Class of 1998, pledges $5 million for the construction of a track and field facility.
Smallest grant with biggest local impact: UVA Law gets a $150,000 grant from the Jessie Ball duPont Fund to help with the legal needs of Central Virginia's working poor.
Most accepting: UVA sends out a record 7,750 thumbs up to applicants for the Class of 2015, and hopes 43 percent of those will opt for Mr. Jefferson's U for a first-year class of 3,360, part of a Governor Bob McDonnell-mandated plan to increase the number of state college degrees awarded to Virginians.
Most significant 50th anniversary: March 25, the date of Charlottesville's first civil rights march after UVA's first African-American College of Arts and Sciences grad student Virginius Thornton was refused admission to the whites-only University Theater on the Corner. Whites joined the three-day protest and called for a boycott of the theater.
Most astounding upset: Number 11-ranked VCU trounces number 1-ranked Kansas 71-61 March 27, and continues its wild NCAA ride to the Final Four, taking on Butler on April 2.
Most surprising cash cow: Horses and the industry around them pump $1.2 billion into Virginia's economy, according to the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Policy,
Biggest resurgence of a traditional industry: The Virginia ABC reports of surge in moonshine because of the bad economy and seized five stills in March, the Newsplex reports.