The week in review

Best news for Republicans aspiring to party leadership in Virginia: A vacancy is created when state executive director Edmund A. Matricardi III resigns following his indictment for eavesdropping on telephone calls of Gov. Mark Warner and other Democrats.
Worst late-breaking development in the assaults of UVA students: After months of hearing about black townies charged with assaulting white-looking gownies, we learn that one of the youths who pled guilty to being an accessory to robbery is a white female. It took a month for police to “clarify” the number of assailants and number of victims, but The Hook has to wonder, couldn’t the reports that all those charged were black have been “clarified” before the court date?
Best quip on cvillenews.com about Albemarle Detective K. W. Robinson being restored to his job while awaiting trial for allegedly beating a suspect: “Does the county have a ‘restorative’ justice program for which Detective Robinson might be eligible?”
Worst theory of the week for why Charlottesville High teens assaulted UVA students: Too many statues of white historical figures and not enough of local black icons, according to a letter-writer in the April 9 Daily Progress. 
Best perk for city and county employees in Jefferson country: They get TJ’s birthday, April 13, off, or, in this year’s case, the Friday before.
Best part of the Jefferson birthday celebration: The annual Jefferson Muzzles, awarded by the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression for the most egregious assaults on free speech. Our favorite this year (and it’s so hard to choose): the Massachusetts vocational school that suspended five students after they took a “confidential,” unsigned survey providing their opinions about the school and evaluating its strengths and weaknesses.
Best indication that the community virtual chalkboard may be a fad: On April 10 there is only one comment on the blackboard: “Big Brother is watching you! And you, too.” By April 12, there are no messages posted. At press time, however, the board is again a hotbed of free expression.
Best news for ice hockey lovers: The Charlottesville Ice Park will remain open, thanks to Colin Rolph’s planned acquisition of that money-draining property in his split of assets with former partner Lee Danielson.
Worst haul from an armed robbery: A gun-wielding couple knock on the door of a Dice Street home and abscond with $1.72, according to the Daily Progress.
Worst reward for apprehending a murder suspect: Rosco, the Covington, Tennessee, police crossbreed dog that helped arrest Billy Dean Martin, suspected murderer of Harold Edward Tuel, will “probably get some Alpo,” says Covington police Capt. Bennie Carver in a Jake Mooney Progress report. Rosco actually was thinking prime rib.
Worst news for horse-loving gamblers: Oak Ridge Estate cancels its fall races after losing nearly $1 million and after a Senate bill is defeated that would have “increased betting opportunities,” according to an Austin Graham article in the Daily Progress.
Worst traffic hazard: A 275-pound black bear in a tree ties up U.S. 29 north traffic for hours on April 11.