A November 27 post at the popular boingboing.net suggests that the reason visitors aren’t allowed to take pictures inside Monticello is– get this– copyright law. But according to Monticello spokesperson Wayne Mogielnicki, that’s almost right.

“Our policy is no photos in the house,” Mogielnicki. “It’s for some legal and some practical reasons.”

The legal reasons stem from the fact that Monticello does not own all its furniture and art, and some are reproductions by artists who may wish to control copying. Others objects are lent with special conditions. “We have some things on permanent loan where the owners are leery of having them photographed,” says Mogielnicki. “When we have film crews come in doing travel pieces or documentaries, there are things they can’t photograph by themselves– only in situ.”

In other words, Monticello doesn’t want to break any deals it has made to obtain a particularly sweet piece. “Sometimes the guides misstate this as saying we don’t have copyright, and the head guide has assured me he will address this,” Mogielnicki says. Still, there’s another really big reason why in-house photography is verboten: it could distract the non-photographers.

“It would be impractical and would diminish the quality of the tour,” says Mogielnicki, “and it would slow the tour.”

#

Comments(2)

A former member of the Albemarle First Bank board of directors claims in a recent magazine article that the bank ran into trouble because of reckless lending that essentially made it a “welfare agency.”

In the fall edition of Region Focus, retired economics professor and banking veteran Richard Selden portrays the early loan committee at Albemarle First as a bunch of yes men afraid to ask tough questions. “That was lacking at Albemarle First,” Selden says in the story, which notes that in 2002, the bank had among the nation’s highest level of (more)

Comments(1)

There’s been a big stink in the Woolen Mills neighborhood, but yesterday’s action by the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority may lessen the smells. As reported by the Daily Progress this morning, the Authority board voted yesterday to truck its waste off-site instead of composting at the edge of a neighborhood, as it has done for at least a decade.

The action comes with a cost. In addition (more)

Comments(1)

Billy Joel, the “piano man” who shot to fame in the mid-1970s with a moving song by that title and then successfully danced through various musical genres, is bringing his tunes to town.

According to an email sent out to customers of the John Paul Jones Arena shortly after 10pm Sunday, Joel will perform Friday, February 23, and tickets go on sale December 1.

How big is Joel? The Recording Industry Association of America estimates that he’s sold over 100 million records.

Formerly married to supermodel Christie Brinkley, Joel has another twenty-something as his current bride. And although he pronounced himself retired from music making in the mid-1990s, his occasional tours often produce phenomenal results, such as appearing before nearly half a million people in Rome on July 31 of this year.

#

Comments(4)

The Holiday Survival Guide, The end of 10-4, CarMax muscles in on Pantops

That’s right, you read correctly. Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, this week’s issue hits newsstands a day early this week. Our regular Thursday releases will resume next week.

ON THIS WEEK’S COVER:
The Holiday Survival Guide
Each November and December, an ever growing chorus sings the same refrain: “The holidays have gotten too commercial!” But luckily for us we live in a town rich in holiday traditions that, by and large, don’t require spending a dime. So flex your vocal cords for singing, sharpen your saw for cutting a tree, and check out all the wonders our area has to offer at this “most wonderful time of the year.”

ALSO IN THIS WEEK’S ISSUE: (more)

 

 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Comments(0)

Public outrage over O.J. Simpson’s upcoming book, If I Did It, and a FOX interview with the former football star acquitted of murdering his wife spills to the local airwaves. Gray Television, parent company of WAHU FOX27, announces today that it will not air the controversial Juice interview by publisher Judith Regan November 27 and 29. No word on what alternative programming will be scheduled, but presumably it will be tamer, less inflamatory FOX fare. Viewers unable to avert their eyes from the Simpson train wreck can still catch the interview on WTTG Channel 5 in Washington, which is owned by FOX.

3:55pm UPDATE: Roger Burchett, general manager of the local Gray stations, calls the O.J. special “a rehash of a 10-year-old murder” and “a two-hour infomercial to help somebody sell books.”

4:10pm UPDATE: Rupert Murdoch, whose News Corp. company owns both HarperCollins publishing and FOX-TV, announces that both the O.J. Simpson If I Did It TV special and book have been cancelled. “I and senior management agree with the American public that this was an ill-considered project,” he tells Fox News (also a News Corp. company). Fox News also notes that a dozen Fox affiliates had refused to air the controversial Simpson interview this evening.

Comments(0)