Tommy Jr., the robotic car set to compete for the $2 million prize in an upcoming Defense Department competition in California, can be tracked on the internet on his way to the big race (he just passed through Little Rock). Presumably, Tommy– who got a Starr Hill send-off on October 6– is currently driven by a human as he utilizes the Interstate Highway system. That’ll change in California!
Local elections heat up; Charlottesville Wrecker driver in tragic accident; Smelling smoke on Rio Road; Million-dollar suit in Buckingham sheriff’s race
Plus:
*The Crozet Music Festival
*Controversy over a new Darden School building
*Where to go to eat in the dark
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In the face of a continued dry spell and a forecast from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that drought conditions are likely to “persist or intensify” in this area, the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority has announced it will continue the current “drought warning” status and advise citizens to continue to conserve water.
“I wish we had better news,” says RWSA executive director Tom Frederick, “but based upon our current analysis of the overall situation, we are asking our community to maintain its efforts to conserve our supply wherever possible.”
The main concern for the water supply is not the coming winter, when plants aren’t taking moisture out of the ground; what has Frederick and others on alert is (more)
The six-month anniversary of Virginia Tech massacre will be commemorated tomorrow on the UVA Lawn as 32 students lie down in protest.
The participants represent the fallen students and teachers whose lives were taken in Blacksburg on April 16. The amount of time they remain still on the ground represents the short period organizers allege it takes for a citizen to obtain a gun in this country.
Though the group began as 32 women from Alexandria voicing their disbelief over the magnitude of the shootings at Virginia Tech, it has motivated local campus leaders, such as the principal UVA organizer of the demonstration, Dillon Hauptfuhrer, who feels deeply affected by the incident because it hit so close to home.
One UVA student whose life was particularly touched by the tragedy is Randa Samaha. Among those lying down tomorrow, she will be honoring her late sister, Reema Samaha, one of the massacre victims.
“Federal and state governments should be proactive in closing mental health and gun-show loopholes,” said Samaha in a release. “There may be a cost to doing so, but it is a small price to pay compared to the lives of our sisters, brothers, mothers, fathers and other valuable members of society.”
Two weeks after the killings, governor Tim Kaine closed one loophole which allowed the gunman to get his hands on a handgun despite his history of mental illness.
The student demonstration is actually part of a wider effort started by a group, called protesteasyguns.com which has already staged over 30 “Lie Downs” across the country in major cities and at various universities to raises awareness and ultimately push tighter gun control laws.
Tomorrow’s lie-in begins at 5pm in front of Old Cabell Hall.
Actor and director John Turturro is the latest addition to this year’s Virginia Film Festival lineup. Known for his memorable on-screen turns in films like O Brother Where Art Thou, The Big Lebowski, Quiz Show, and Do the Right Thing, Turturro will be on hand to screen his third work from behind the camera, as the writer and director of Romance and Cigarettes. The event is scheduled for 6:30pm on Saturday, November 3 at the Paramount Theater, and will feature an on-stage interview with New York Magazine film critic David Edelstein.
The film features an all-star cast, including James Gandolfini, Susan Sarandon, Kate Winslet, Christopher Walken, Mandy Moore, and Steve Buscemi, in a musical about how an extramarital affair affects a working class family in New York.
“John Turturro is one of the most talented and consistently adventurous actors in the film world today,” says festival director Richard Herskowitz. “In a year where we are focusing so much on filmmakers, it is particularly appropriate he’s coming here as a director.”
Romance and Cigarettes is a labor of love long in the making for Turturro. After casting the film, Turturro had to wait two years for Gandolfini to (more)
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