All four Democrat constitutional officers in Charlottesville are re-running for election. Commonwealth Attorney Dave Chapman, Sheriff Cornelia Johnson, Treasurer Jennifer J. Brown and Commissioner of the Revenue Lee Richards are all unopposed, for now, and the Republicans don’t plan to run anybody. Today’s Progress has the story.
Archive for May, 2001
At a March Board of Supervisors meeting, taxpayer after taxpayer stood up at the microphone and asked that they not get a part of the county’s $1.2M budget surplus. The County had intended to provide tax refunds after last year’s surplus, giving the average resident $30 of the $1.4M refund. But everybody speaking that night said that there are far better uses for that much money than simply returning it. The result of this is that the real estate tax bills were sent out this weekend, and they give everybody the option of sending in a check for the amount of their refund. That’s a little backwards, but the concept is good. To read the full story, see Peter Savodnik’s piece in today’s Progress.
18-year-old Jamie Poindexter has been arrested, charged with the murder of 28-year-old UVa graduate student Alison Meloy. Poindexter, who lives next door to Meloy, has also been charged with robbery and grand larceny. WVIR had the story on their 11 o’clock broadcast.
The good news is that the ten-acre forest fire at Humpback Rock started earlier in the week is finally under control. The bad news is that it turns out that it was caused by a Piper Cub that crashed into the mountain, killing the pilot. Remember the Cessna that crashed into a house in Wintergreen in early April? Turns out that was caused by “pilot error.” It’s been recommended that he lose his license. WVIR is the source of all this airplane news.
Jock writes: “I want to jump in the ocean. I want to jump into the beautiful Caribbean sea and wash off the circumstances of the prison for us,” Michael Spicer said today after High Court Justice Kenneth Benjamin acquitted him of all charges. “Justice has been done.”
According to the website for Court TV, this morning Judge Benjamin aborted the trial against Michael Spicer, and his friends Alexander Benedetto and Evan George. Police had charged them with participating in the murder of Louis McMillan in January 2000.
“You are discharged,” Benjamin said after he directed the jury to enter verdicts of not guilty in each case. “You are free to go. Step out of the box.”
The Judge called the case against Spicer “less than thin,”
referring to the .003 grams of sand that the prosecution claimed put Spicer on the rocky shoreline where the victim’s body was found. He blasted prosecutors Theodore Guerra and Terrence Williams for attempting to trump up additional charges at the last minute. His rebuke reminded the prosecutors that they are “ministers of justice” and advised that such legal maneuvers never be attempted again.
Spicer and three friends have been in jail awaiting trial for over a year. The trial had been postponed at the prosecution’s request, twice.
A fourth defendant, William Labrador, still faces the jury because of the testimony of Jeffrey Plante, a convicted con artist who has been housed and protected from U.S. extradition by Tortola authorities while the case was pending. Plante asserted he overheard Labrador confess, while in prison.
Spicer said of Labrador: “He’s kept there by the word of a con man who lied about him and lied about me.” Spicer told reporters he was confident Labrador would be cleared as well, and predicted:
“I’ll be home in America tomorrow I believe.” Woo-hoo! Keep reading to see Jock’s full write-up.
Eric Swensen in today’s Progress reports that UVa professor Louis Bloomfield has referred 122 students to UVa’s Honor Committee on charges of plagiarism and multiple submission. Bloomfield caught the students by using software that analyzed every paper submitted and compares it to other papers. All the students were in his popular How Things Work course.
There’s been another arrest in the murder of Alison Meloy, WINA reports. The suspect is a 16-year-old Waynesboro boy, and he’s been charged with being an accessory after the fact to her murder, as well as an accessory to grand larceny. Today’s Progress explains that he and another male youth were picked up in the victim’s car by suspect Jamie Poindexter, who told them what had happened. The unnamed youth is being held in a juvenile jail in Staunton.
According to today’s Progress, Charlottesville’s poshest market, Foods of All Nations, is branching out. “Foods,” as regulars call it, will be opening their second location in Virginia Beach. Foods is well-known for their selection of excellent and rare foods, as well as for treating their staff well. If all goes well, they hope to open up a third location in Richmond.
Albemarle County Commonwealth Attorney Jim Camblos has dropped charges against Dylan Tyree in the murder of Osama Hassan at the Shell Station on Ivy Road in 1998. Though the evidence was strong enough that his conviction seemed likely, a state appeals court ruled that crucial evidence was inadmissible on a technicality. Carlton Arnold and Isaac Brown have already been convicted of murder in the case. Today’s Progress has the story.
Jock writes: A week after his acquittal on murder charges in the British Virgin Islands, Michael Spicer was back in Charlottesville. Last night he and his friend and former Tortola cellmate Evan George, enjoyed an evening together on the Downtown Mall.
Spicer and George had drinks at Miller’s, played pool at Rapture, and ate a late dinner at Escafé. While sampling Escafé’s shrimp ceviche, George remarked that the food was much better than at Her Majesty’s Prison at Balsam Ghut, Tortola. The menu there sometimes included cooked fish heads. “There is not much meat on a fish head,” he remarked.
Four Americans: Spicer, George, Alexander Benedetto and William Labrador, spent 470 days in a Tortola jail awaiting trial on charges of killing a young woman, Louis McMillen. After the Crown Prosecutors presented their case, High Court Justice Kenneth Benjamin concluded there was “absolutely no evidence” against George and a “very weak case” against Spicer and Benedetto, and directed the jury to acquit them.
The fourth defendant, William Labrador, is still on trial. Today Judge Benjamin instructs the jury and they begin deliberating. If convicted Labrador could face up to life in prison.
The main evidence against Labrador was the testimony of convicted con artist Jeffrey Plante, who alleged Labrador confessed to the crime. Defense lawyers vigorously attacked Plante’s credibility on cross-examination. They also presented testimony from his former parole officer, who said she would never believe a word he said.
Labrador took the stand in his own defense. He denied having had anything to do with the murder, and testified that Plante was lying.
Spicer said he expects the jury promptly to acquit Labrador.
Tomorrow (Friday) morning Spicer, George and Benedetto are scheduled for an interview on NBC’s Today show with Katie Couric. Saturday, CNN’s Larry King will interview them. The CBS program 48 Hours is also preparing a documentary on the trial.
“I never expected to be a celebrity,” Spicer said.
Northwest Airlines announced Wednesday (WINA, WVIR and the Progress all carried the story) that they’ll be offering three daily flights to Detroit. Thank God — I know we’ve all been eagerly awaiting this, just like the non-stop flights to Cincinnati (or whatever) that CHO started offering a few years ago. I eagerly await daily flights to Bismark.
Live Arts B’s “No Shame Theatre” has started off quite nicely, according to Live Arts’ Clinton Johnston. If you’re interested in trying out a 3-5 minute theater piece in a no-pressure, crash-and-burn-
Rocky Mountain Media Watch has filed a formal petition with the Federal Trade Commission over four Denver TV station’s news broadcasts. They’re asking the FTC to declare advertisements promotion the local news programs to be deceptive because, according to their press release, “the entertainment-oriented content of the local TV ‘news’ programs cannot be considered news.” If this works, I wonder if we might see a similar action against WVIR somewhere down the line?
Local civil liberties organization The Rutherford Institute has suggested to the county school system that Henley Middle School stop taking field trips to Yogaville. Rutherford apparently believes that the visits were a violation of the separation of church and state. School Board member Gary Grant sent out news of this in his May 11th Constituent Report.
In an attempt to resolve feuds between the goths on the Downtown Mall and police, all parties involved have started attending mediation. This was prompted by a police officer’s arrest of a teenaged girl for swearing in public. Apparently, the mediation is working out well. Some of the benches are back on the west end of the Mall, the manager of the Downtown Grill(e) is happier, and Officer Dillon is on a speaking relationship with the kids again. Today’s Progress has the story.
The City plans to renovate the Market Street parking garage, according to Jake Mooney’s article in today’s Progress. The most visible change will be installing four retail spaces in the overhang that the parking garage creates over the Mall. (Think of how far back the former WINA studios are and you’ve got the idea.) Additionally, there’s talk of installing an antique carousel in front of the Virginia Discovery Museum. It’s been some time since City Hall has made any modifications to their end of the Mall.
The three police officers that shot and killed a pitchfork-wielding mentally ill man have been exonerated by Commonwealth’s Attorney Jim Camblos. Officer Raleigh Anderson shot and killed William Wingfield, Jr. on January 23rd after Wingfield lunged at an officer with the pitchfork. Why did the officers shoot to kill? Says Camblos, shooting solely to injure is “something out of the movies.” Today’s Progress has the story.
Just last year, UVa had a historic marker installed to mark the spot of the University’s surrender to Union soldiers on March 3, 1865. The only problem is that nobody knows for sure if that ever happened, or if UVa even had the legal ability to surrender. It is known that two UVa employees met with Custer to ask for mercy, and it’s also well-known that the Union intended to destroy Charlottesville’s railroad tracks. But the City surrendered, and Custer ensured that neither Charlottesville nor UVa was harmed during their three-day occupation of the town. See Carlos Santos’ Progress article for more.
Today’s Progress reports that, stunningly, local on-line gaming company Boxerjam has laid off nearly all of their employees, leaving 25 folks jobless. The layoffs are a result of the incredible deflation of on-line advertising values; companes like Boxerjam that rely on advertising revenue have watched their sole revenue stream dwindle to a tiny percentage of what they were two years ago. To all you ex-Boxerites, might I recommend putting your résumé on The Neon Guild’s site?
State delegate Paul Harris has announced that he’s taking a job with the Justice Department, according to today’s Progress. President Bush has appointed him to be a deputy assistant in charge of tort litigation. I guess he’s not as committed to Central Virginia as he said he was when he was running for office.
The Development-areas Initiative Steering Committee’s primary growth plan, the “Neighborhood Model,” has been accepted by the Albemarle Board of Supervisors in a unanimous vote. The description of the Neighborhood model on their site certainly sounds logical, and as if it could go a long way toward slowing down sprawl.
Anonymous writes: The UVa men’s ice hockey team will be competing in the first annual Iceland Invitational Tournament in Reykjavik, Iceland this Thanksgiving. Coach Roger Voisinet, UVa players Scott Forrest and Garrett Smith and USA hockey official, Steve Malley, just returned from a planning trip courtesy of IcelandAir and the Icelandic Tourist Bureau.
IcelandAir has given the team two free round trip air passes to raffle off as a fund raiser. This would entitle the winner to travel anywhere IcelandAir flies to: London, Paris, Stockholm, Oslo, Copenhagen, Frankfurt or Rejkjavik. Raffle tickets will be sold on the Mall Friday May 25th at 6pm between Millers and Hamilton’s. They are $5 and only 2000 are available. They can also be purchased via email at hockey@cvilleproperties.com or 980-3357. For more tourney details see: http://www.icelandinvitational.com
Kevin Armstrong’s annual summer concert in Buckingham won’t be happening this year. Buckingham Supervisors denied him a permit to allow 2,000 people to watch country musician David Allen Coe perform on Armstrong’s five-acre property. Zoning Administrator Dennis Carney pointed out that the event could lead to “over-exuberance.” And the vice president of the Buckingham branch of the NAACP objected on the basis that Coe’s music is offensive to women, blacks and gays. Today’s Progress has the story.
I’ve got an interview with local musician devon over at nancies.org. A few months ago, I visited her studio to see how her new album was coming along, find out what her musical plans were, etc. The new disc isn’t out yet, but maybe this will whet your appetite for now.
GE Fanuc has laid off 34 people, and has cut back on the hours of 350 other employees, or just over a third of their workforce. The company blamed the slowing tech economy for the cutbacks. Reed Williams has the story in today’s Progress.
Chap writes: The local theater group Offstage will be performing Shakespeare’s “Titus Andronicus” behind PVCC’s new Dickinson Theater. Show dates are May 31 through June 2, and June 7 through June 9. Doors open at 6:30 and the show starts at 7:30. The play will (weather permitting) be held outside at the ampitheater, so bring blankets/lawn chairs. Rain dates are June 14 - 16. This is a fairly macabre (read: interesting) play so young children are not encouraged to attend. Tickets may only be purchased at the door. Email a fellow monitorhead with any questions - This is a show not to be missed!
The Progress reports that Raymond Winkler of Bumpass has plead guilty to 15 counts of breaking and entering. He’s accused of 50 burglaries in Fluvanna, Louisa, Orange, and other less-relevant counties. I don’t actually care about this story — I just wanted a chance to have the name “Bumpass” in a headline. Isn’t it hysterical that we’ve got a town named “Bumpass?” Bumpass, Bumpass, Bumpass. OK, I’ll never do this again, I promise.
Local uber-rich guy John Kluge is donating over 8,000 acres to UVa. University President John Casteen would like to use the land to create an arts center akin to Boston University’s Tanglewood. Though the dollar value of the donation hasn’t been officially determined, the Progress reports it to be $125 million.
Kevin Armstrong’s David Allen Coe concert is happening after all. After the Buckingham Supervisors nixed it last week, he was forced to move the show out of the county. Now it’s taking place at the Augusta Expoland in Fishersville, a venue known mostly for their monster truck rallies. (”Sunday, Sunday, SUNDAY!!!”) Though this doesn’t exactly signal a victory for Armstrong, at least the concert is happening as planned. Today’s Progress has a brief story about this.
According to census data, we’ve got more renters than home owners in Charlottesville. In fact, we’re in the top cities in the state when it comes to having a high percentage of renters. No doubt UVa has something to do with this, but houses do cost a lot in this town. I imagine I’ll be renting for a long time to come. The news is from WINA.
Following sexual assult allegations earlier in the month, the UVa Medical Center made good on their promise (threat?) to fire convinced felons. Today, they fired nine employees, all of whom were either temp workers or had been hired in the past six months.
Remember the SWAT team’s stand-off with some poodles in Belmont a couple of months ago? They destroyed the house, and the folks that lived there have been living in the Best Western Mount Vernon ever since. Says one of the residents of the house, “they’re doing us real good.” The city says that no city money is covering this, but also deny that the insurance company will be paying for it. Your interpretation may vary — see Reed Williams’ article in today’s Progress for details.
The Charlottesville Albemarle Legal Aid Society was profiled in yesterday’s L.A. Times. The extensive article describes how unusual, resourceful, and essential that Legal Aid is to the area. I had no idea.
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