HookCast for November 29, 2006
Police shootings, school bus seat-belts, dumbing down students
ON THIS WEEK’S COVER:
Riddled: What happens after police shootings
The news of police shootings is sensational, but what happens in their aftermath? In this week’s Hook, families of two men disabled by police bullets–including Elvis Shifflett, the subject of a seven-day manhunt in October– speak out.
ALSO IN THIS WEEK’S ISSUE:
Unbuckled: no belts on local school buses
When an Alabama school bus plunged off an overpass recently, killing four students, the issue of seat belts on school buses made national news. So what do local parents and officials think about the idea of installing seat-belts on our school buses? Courtney Stuart has the answers.
A gentle tap: 8-inch sapling replaces 148-year-old beech tree
Question: What’s the cost of violating a special use permit in the city of Charlottesville? Answer: $200 dollars. That’s how much a local developer was fined for cutting down a irreplaceable beech tree on University Circle. The developer also paid the neighborhood $5000 dollars, and offered up a 8-sapling to replace the old tree. Did the developer get off too easy? Read about it in this week’s On Architecture column.
and
Dumbing Down: Proposed changes rile county parents
The library at Albemarle High School was the scene of a ruckus on November 27, as angry parents accused school officials of “dumbing down” their kid’s education with some proposed changes to the curriculum. Lindsay Barnes tells us what all the fuss is about.
Plus:
� Why local car dealers really love CarMax
* UVA brain surgeon Neal Kassell heats up the HotSeat
* Caroline Preston on the writer’s life in this week’s Facetime
� And Outdoor Social Club member defend an odd contract
Great podcast– I’m registering today. How about that ruckus among the parents of Alb. schools. But what’s with the dude “umming” and chatting in the background??