ON THIS WEEK’S COVER:
Autumn of love: Locals look back on the summer of ‘67
Where were you in 1967, the so-called “Summer of Love,” and how was that summer different from this one? We posed that question to several local notables, and their answers may surprise you.

IN THE NEWS:
Ruth-less: Artists up in arms over missing critic
Local artists were vexed when they heard long-time Daily Progress art critic Ruth Latter had been axed. But the Progress denies the allegation and says Latter’s insights will continue their roll.

They’re here: Crozet cougar sparks debate
Its been rumored for years that cougars have been roaming the woods in Crozet, but this time one big cat spotter has a photo? Is that really a cougar? Decide for yourself after ready Courtney Stuart’s story.

IN ONARCHITECTURE:
Developing news: Jury picks winner for downtown lots
The judges have decided– after hearing what members of the public had to say– but eager development-watchers have to wait until October 5 to see the design they’ve chosen to grace two city blocks along Water Street.

ON THE HOTSEAT:
Mission district: DNA dude explains his sheriff quest
You may know that city cop Chip Harding is running for sheriff, but do you know what’s in his CD player or that he’s said a prayer for everyone hes arrested? Learn more about this top cop, and American Idol fan, in this weeks Hotseat.

LETTERS: Edward Deane questions why County prosecutor Jim Camblos refused to prosecute the driver who killed his wife and two granddaughters in 1998. Camblos claimed a large “mutant” bee caused the driver to loose control of the car. But Deane has a photo of the so-called “mutant bee”, which appears to be no bigger than a firefly.

Plus:
Dr. Hook on strep throat
Hillary and John mix it up at the Paramount
Dish remembers Tony’s Chuck Wagon
And Essayist Mona Gable on bad mommies

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UVA’s mammoth undergraduate classroom building, New Cabell Hall, long slated for the wrecking ball as part of the South Lawn Project, will not be demolished, according to a story in this morning’s Cavalier Daily, which points to funding concerns.

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When Jennifer Dowell White went before a Charlottesville grand jury August 20, jury members declined to indict her on charges of obtaining money under false pretenses. However, she wasn’t released from jail until today — more than a month later — because the paperwork was that would have freed her was “misplaced” in the Charlottesville Circuit Court clerk’s office– and attorneys say this is not an uncommon occurrence.

In a special hearing this afternoon, Judge Cheryl Higgins released White, 39, on her own recognizance. Her attorney, Valerie L’Herrou, says, “It’s been an ongoing problem for us to get indictments from the clerk’s office. We have requested this several times, including in writing.”

Last Friday, L’Herrou discovered that the grand jury had not returned a true bill of indictment against White. At 4:15pm — minutes before the clerk’s office closed — she and her boss, public defender Jim Hingeley, went to the Charlottesville clerk’s office to ask for White’s grand jury paperwork. “It took around 20 minutes before they could locate the file,” says L’Herrou.

The two public defenders immediately contacted Commonwealth’s Attorney Dave Chapman, who said in court he couldn’t find the grand jury paperwork either. Because all the judges were at a conference in Northern Virginia, Tuesday afternoon was the earliest they could schedule a bond hearing.

“It’s wrong,” says friend-of-the-family Curtis Byers. “If there are no more charges, you should be able to walk out. It’s their responsibility– the Commonwealth and the clerk’s. I’m tired of it. I’ve seen it for a long time, and something needs to be done. Somebody’s not doing their job.”

“I didn’t know what this was all about,” said Charlottesville Clerk Paul Garrett when he was asked in court if he could fax over paperwork for the judge’s signature to release White. “I’m not going to talk about it,” Garrett said to a reporter.

This isn’t the first time Garrett’s gotten heat recently. The State Compensation Board revoked $52,000 in funding for a database after Garrett falsely claimed three times that his office’s records were online, the Daily Progress reported in April.

“I don’t know what the problem is,” says Liz Murtagh, deputy public defender, who requested the indictment on September 6. “We had more difficulty this time.”

Attorneys from the public defender’s office listed other cases where defendants were held in jail because the paperwork was not processed from the clerk’s office. In one case, a man was found not guilty and his family called his attorney, Llezelle Dugger, the next day to say he still hadn’t been released, says Dugger. And in another case, a defendant sentenced to time served spent extra time in jail.

“It’s concerning,” says L’Herrou. “People are being held longer than they should be. And it’s not just a problem with our office. Other attorneys say they have the same problem.”

“It’s outrageous; it’s unconscionable,” says Murtagh. If Hingeley and L’Herrou hadn’t gone down to the clerk’s office, White would have been in jail unitl October, she adds.

“All of this came from someone dropping the ball,” says Byers.

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Nearly two months ago, Todd Hawkins found out that his employer could no longer fund mortgages and was belly up, leaving him and his wife– and eight other local employees– out of jobs. This week, he reports he’s back in the mortgage biz and will be opening a local branch for IndyMac Bank.

“I’m looking for office space and the people I want,” says an upbeat Hawkins, who shot to fame in the 1990s as a sportscaster for NBC29.
Unlike his previous lending employer, American Home Mortgage, a former national powerhouse that laid off thousands and declared bankruptcy August 6, the new company is not totally dependent on mortgages. IndyMac is a savings and loan.

“Charlottesville is one of the places they wanted a footprint,” says Hawkins, noting that IndyMac previously didn’t do retail loans. “They’re the leading provider of reverse mortgages. With all the baby boomers retiring,” he explains, “it’s tailored to people who have their houses paid for or have a lot of equity in them.”

Less successful in recovering from the mortgage morass are homeowners caught in the squeeze that’s made mortgage money hard to find– and buyers sometimes rarer still. For instance, Charlottesvillian Maurie Sutton found out about the time of the American Home collapse that the buyers for her condo backed out of their deal two weeks before closing. That prevented Sutton from closing on a new house she had under construction, and she still doesn’t have a contract on her condo.

“They don’t tell you in loan officer school how to tell a client, ‘Sorry, we’re no longer funding,’” says Hawkins.

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Musicians like Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, and even the Wu-Tang Clan’s GZA have been dubbed “genius,” but none has the paperwork to justify the title like Corey Harris. The local blues musician learned Monday from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation that he is the recipient of one of this year’s 24 MacArthur Fellowships– the so-called “genius grants”– and the $500,000 that comes with the honor.

Each year the Chicago-based foundation gives the award to individuals “for their creativity, originality, and potential to make important contributions in the future,” and its recipients are allowed to do whatever they want with the money.

Though several classical and jazz composers have won the award since its inception in 1981, Harris is the first blues musician to be honored.

What will Harris do with the money? He (more)

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Boredom never stands a chance when L. Douglas Wilder is running the show, but his City Hall in Richmond has soared to new heights… or new lows, according to these stories in Style Weekly and the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

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