The week in review
Worst pediatrician publicity: "M.D. accused of trying to kill baby" reads a headline in the May 21 Daily Progress. Former UVA Medical Center doc Iain Galnov is charged with the attempted murder of his 11-month-old daughter by water intoxication.
Worst road rage: Six cars traveling together force a Buckingham County couple off the road near Covesville May 20 after Edward Bourne makes a hand gesture. Bourne and his wife are pummeled by at least three assailants until one of the other drivers breaks up the brawl, and the party of six heads north on Monocan Trail.
Worst driving: Eighty-year-old Bessie Birkhead plows into the front of University Florist on Berkmar Drive May 20 when she attempts to park, Birkhead tells police. No injuries are reported, but the building sustains approximately $5,000 in damages.
Worst decision for party-throwing parents: A Court of Appeals panel upholds 27-month prison sentences for George and Elisa Robinson, who originally were sentenced to eight years in jail for buying booze for a teen party they hosted in August 2002, Liesel Nowak reports in the Progress.
Latest Buford incident: A car is torched in the parking lot early May 18. This follows the shooting of a 14-year-old student May 7 and the stabbing of male student over a girl April 29.
First (and worst) Covenant incident: Two students, a 15-year-old female and 16-year-old male, are charged with threatening Columbine-style harm to numerous students and staff.
Biggest downside to teen popularity: The cool kids are more likely to experiment with drugs, booze, shoplifting, and vandalism– even if they're better adjusted– according to a study by UVA psychology prof Joseph Allen in the current issue of Child Development.
Worst alleged patricide: Moriah Robin Tolton, 28, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of his father, John Julius Tolton, found dead May 16 from multiple gunshot wounds in his Nelson County home. The younger Tolton was nude when he was taken into custody the next day and had self-inflicted wounds in his hand that he claimed were from trying to remove a metal plate to avoid detection by infrared devices, according to a James Fernald report in the Progress.
Weirdest burglaries: A 55-gallon fish tank and a Jelly Fantasy vibrator are purloined in two separate incidents, reported May 16 and 17 respectively. In the second break-in in the 100 block of North Baker Street, a pair of red panties and a white bra are also missing.
Closest but no cigar: UVA women's lacrosse team, last year's NCAA champions, lose the title game to undefeated Northwestern May 22.
Best lacrosse player: UVA's Amy Appelt, according to the May 22 New York Times.
Best local review in the Sunday NYT : Of Ann Beattie's new collection of short stories, Follies.
Next best Times mention: A May 20 NYT article takes note of Jefferson Vineyards, Keswick, Barboursville, Kluge Estate, and King Family Vineyards.
Juiciest local angle in a Caroline County murder: A May 22 Washington Post article, "Blood Feud," quotes Charlottesville attorney Benjamin Dick, whose client, defendant John Ames, after years of hostilities, allegedly shot his neighbor, Perry Brooks, when he went onto Ames' property to pick up an escaped bull.
Biggest '70s celeb sighting: Actress Teri Garr speaks at a multiple sclerosis fundraiser May 23 at Farmington.
Biggest opening– ever: The sixth and final episode of Star Wars– Episode III: Revenge of the Sith– opens May 18 and takes in $50 million.
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