4BETTER OR WORSE- The week in review
Worst flooding: Tropical Storm Gaston drops 10 inches of rain on Richmond August 30, wrecking Shockoe Bottom and leaving five dead in its wake. Governor Mark Warner declares a state of emergency in the capital.
Ugliest recurrence: Police confirm a seventh attack by the serial rapist, who punches and sexually assaults a woman August 18 in her Webland Drive home. [See story, page xx]
Worst decision for Sheriff Willy: Former Greene County top cop William Morris is convicted August 25 of the assault and battery of a prisoner last June and sentenced to a 30-day suspended sentence and $500 fine, Olympia Meola reports in the Daily Progress. Morris's lawyer vows to appeal.
Least order in the court: Convicted drug dealer and killer Gregory Antonio Bates "Capone" Felton spews profanities at Judge Norman K. Moon before being sentenced to life in prison August 30, according to Liesel Nowak in the Progress. Tadashi Keyes, another member of the Ninth and Estes gang, also receives a life sentence.
Best break for murder suspect: The prosecution can talk about former UVA student Andrew Alston's knife-wielding habits but cannot use his juvenile felony record during his November trial for the stabbing death of firefighter Walker Sisk, WINA reports.
Most-botched justice (tie): Two wrongfully convicted men are released after spending decades in prison. Michael McAlister is paroled August 19 after serving 18 years for an attempted rape that even the prosecutor and lead detective don't believe he committed. And DNA evidence clears Arthur Lee Whitfield after he spends 22 years imprisoned for a rape he didn't commit.
Graceful exit: Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, author of On Death and Dying and former UVA professor, dies in her Scottsdale, Arizona, home of natural causes August 25 at age 78. She owned a farm in Highland County, where she wanted to care for AIDS babies, a plan unwelcomed by her neighbors. When the house burned in 1994, arson was suspected.
Worst loss for pro-choicers: Dr. Herbert Claiborne Jones, 77, the man for whom Planned Parenthood's new health center on Hydraulic is named, dies August 25 from lung cancer.
Worst loss of a public servant: Bill Finley, who served eight years on both the Albemarle County School Board and Planning Commission, also dies August 25.
Best car seat testimonial: Two tots are left hanging upside down in their car seats when their mother falls asleep and flips her minivan on I-64 August 25, according to the Progress.
Best of/worst of times: The median household income in Virginia– $52,587– makes the state the seventh wealthiest, according to a U.S. Census report, but the same report shows an increase in the number of Virginians living in poverty to 9.3 percent, and 12.5 percent don't have health insurance.
Most well-endowed: UVA, with $1.8 billion, is tops in Virginia, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.
Biggest gathering of Republicans: Their convention kicks off August 30 in New York.
Biggest protest: 200,000 demonstrators take to the streets in New York August 29 to let the GOP convention-goers know how they feel.
Best way to protect John-Boy's home: The Hamner house in Schuyler, where Waltons creator Earl Hamner grew up, is being considered for both the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places.
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