Several reports indicate that that death and illness has resulted from tainted blood provided by Virginia Blood Services. This news comes from a radio report in Fredericksburg and a story on NBC 12 in Richmond, each saying that one death and two illnesses have been traced to bacteria-laden blood originating from Virginia Blood Services. Reportedly, VBS has cancelled all drives and ordered hospitals to stop using their blood and blood products. The Red Cross confirmed via telephone that they are still accepting and providing blood, presumably unaffected by the contamination.
Archive for October, 2002
City Council, reversing a 1995 stance,voted last night to request state funding for a study of traffic on Route 29, specifically the intersection at Hydraulic. As speculated might happen, Council didn’t express opposition (or support, for that matter) of the proposed Western Bypass. Elizabeth Nelson has the story in today’s Progress.
In response to the half-dozen killings by an unknown sniper in the last week, including a middle school student shot in front of his school yesterday, Charlottesville is now posting a police officer in front of each school at the beginning and end of each day, Orange County schools, the Daily Progress reports,, will have law enforcement personnel on school grounds at all times. Spotsylvania County, just north of Orange, is where a woman was shot by the sniper on Friday afternoon. Some schools in northern Virginia have cancelled all outdoor activities and are on “lockdown.”
The State Corporation Commission has given the go-ahead to Competitive Power Ventures to build Yet Another Power Plant in Fluvanna, WINA reports. The 520 megawatt gas-burning plant should be operational in 2005. Fluvanna broke ground on Tenaska’s 885 megawatt just a couple of weeks ago. This particular plant was approved by the Fluvanna Supervisors in June of 2001.
Troubled-adolescent mental health facility The Brown Schools of Virginia (the facility has been cited with 99 human rights violations in their not-quite-two-year history, ranging from staffer/patient sex to untrained temps injuring patients. The latest news is that a staffer attacked and threatened to kill a patient, and another one (who had never left the facility) tested positive for amphetamines, marijuana and prescription drugs. It turns out that the latter kid had also figured out how to open any locked door in the facility, which the staff was aware that he could do, but no steps were taken to prevent him from roaming freely thruogh the building. Claudia Pinto has the story in today’s Progress.
empty writes: The east side of McIntire Park is now open to non-golfers on Sundays. This part of McIntire has been a primitive golf course with sand greens for the last few decades, and has been open only to golfers. A city steering committee, which is considering redesign plans for the park, recently decided lift the golfing-only restriction from noon to 10 p.m. on Sundays. The Daily Progress (Oct 13) reports that the committee was spurred to this decision by citizens’ comments made at a July public hearing. Course supervisor Lynn Cubbage says he will not prevent golfers from using the course on Sundays, according to The Progress.
Yesterday afternoon, a UVa student, presumably attempting to commit suicide, placed her head on the tracks under Beta Bridge in front of an oncoming train. The train activated its emergency brakes and managed to stop before hitting the girl. Two men jumped off of the train, chased the fleeing girl and held her until police took her away to Region Ten. Martin Oliver has the story in today’s Cavalier Daily.
Hoo2LA writes: Governor Warner has just announced nearly $1 billion in budget cuts. U-Va, of course, was hit strongly — to the tune of $32 million. Has anyone noticed or heard of any direct impact on life in Charlottesville from these cuts (or of the augured cuts of the next budget in December)? An article in the Washington Post describes the cuts.
Hoo2LA writes: Charlottesville is certainly a town of conflicted identity - rural backwater, bustling university town, the usual middle-class place, home of the idle rich. To help marketers sort through the mess, claritas.com has given us exact breakdowns of who lives where and what sorts of people they are. Do you think they’ve got us nailed?
For example, here is what pops up for 22901:
Charlottesville 22901’s most common PRIZM Clusters are:
The Boomtown Singles like to paint, draw, sculpt and watch the X-Files. They have school loans and make about $35 grand.
So, which one are you? Keep reading to see claritas.com’s data on Our Fair City.
The Commonwealth Transportation Board has voted to install a synchronized traffic light system along Route 29 in Charlottesville between Barracks Road and the post office, at the county line. The new system should speed traffic flow along the entire corridor. Bob Gibson has the story in today’s Progress.
Leonard Sandridge has made it official: first-years at UVa will no longer be permitted to park their cars on grounds beginning next fall. Under the current system, first-years are permitted to have vehicles during the spring semester, but not in the fall. On average, 550 of the 3,000 first-years get parking permits in the spring. The change was prompted in no small part by the loss of 475 parking spaces this coming spring, a result of the construction of the new basketball arena. Alexis Unkovic has the story in today’s Cavalier Daily.
After two firings of police chiefs in the past few weeks, Louisa town manager George E. Morrison III has resigned. Former police chief John Cetrulo, who was demoted to lieutenant several weeks ago and fired on Tuesday, had threatened to open a probe into Morrison prior to Cetrulo’s dismissal, and believes that is part of why he was fired. Morrison claims that his resignation from his two-year job has nothing to do with the police disputes, and says it’s just “bad timing.” The Progress’ Austin Graham has the recent story on the firing of the former chief, plus today’s story about Morrison’s resignation.
Technicolor’s Albemarle and Greene CD/DVD manufacturing facilities are being moved to Tennessee and Mexico. Technicolor (nee Nimbus Records) is one of the region’s largest employers, and it is speculated that their move will deal a serious economic blow to the Charlottesville area. Explains the company CAO, labor is simply cheaper in Guadalajara. Layoffs of the 750 employees will begin in January. In the Daily Progress, Olympia Meola has an overview, and David Dadurka has a story on the economic impact of the closing.
The Albemarle County Service Authority’s Water Emergency webpage reports that the water level is currently at 69.3%, a tremendous increase over the low-50s of mid-September. If that almost-70% figure sounds interesting, that’s because it’s somewhat of a magic number. The most draconian restrictions, notably on car washes, could be lifted at 70%. It’s not until a week at 85%+ that other local restrictions (the price of water, among others) could be lifted. The governor’s restrictions, however, would remain in effect. Daily water usage remains at an admirable 7-8 million gallons per day, a tremendous decrease from our summertime average of 14 mgpd. Josh Goodman has the story in today’s Cavalier Daily.
A U.S. District Judge has dismissed a lawsuit against the University of Virginia by two former UVa students accused of honors violations. The students were one of many accused of cheating on an assignment for professor Louis Bloomfield’s class last year. The two students, known only as John and Jane Doe, graduated a year prior to the accusations, and believe that they should be immune, given that they are no longer students. If found guilty, they would be retroactively expelled. Said the judge, “[the students’] reading of the bylaws would lead to a loophole where, for example, fourth-year students in their final semesters would never be accountable for honor code violations in that semester unless the charges were somehow initiated in the short period before graduation.” Eric Swensen has the story in today’s Progress.
In light of some Charlottesville High School students’ violent behavior, it should come as no great surprise that some people have begun to paint the entire school with that reputation. (The two most notable incidents being the gang attack in September and last winter’s unprovoked attacks on UVa students.) Some students believe that the school now has an unfair reputation, and are trying to distance themselves from the criminal element in their school. Ron Hasson has the story in the current Observer.
The multi-year Foxfield drinking saga continues, the latest chapter being the hearing regarding whether the ABC should yank their liquor license due to the drunkenness of many attendees. (The running joke, of course, being that UVa students are not aware of any horses being at Foxfield.) Foxfield organizers have made efforts to improve the event’s image over time, but the complaints continue to roll in after each spring and fall race. Given that Foxfield doesn’t actually need a liquor license (since people bring their own alcohol), the purpose of removing their liquor license is somewhat unclear. A ruling is expected by December. Peter Savodnik has the story in today’s Daily Progress.
The Albemarle County Service Authority has lifted their ban on car washes and power washers, WINA reports. The reservoir is now at 76% of capacity, well above the 70% level at which such restrictions were to be reconsidered. The city is reportedly considering removing their similar restrictions. I expect that Henry Weinschenk will be breaking out a bottle of the bubbly soon. :)
Prompted by a recent Cavalier Daily column decrying UVa’s Griot Society as a wolf in sheep’s clothing, 400 students recently marched on the Cav. Daily’s offices and convinced the paper to work to represent black interests more fairly. The column, by associate editor Anthony Dick, said that the the black-student-awareness group “fosters racial tension on Grounds” and said that it “seems to advocate racial violence,” concluding that they appear to be “just another hate group.” Explained one of the protesters, “the column was only a symptom of a larger problem. Basically, students for a while now have been pretty fed up with coverage they have received, particularly African-American students.” Wahoo Pundit has some back story on the Cavalier Daily’s coverage of African-American topics. Central to the debate is the fact that the Griot Society’s website says, explaining the colors of the Black Nationalist Flag, “The Red, or the blood, stands as the top of all things. We lost our land through blood; and we cannot gain it except through blood. We must redeem our lives through the blood. Without the shedding of blood there can be no redemption of this race.” Additionally, there are letters galore in the Cavalier Daily. So are the students overreacting, or is Dick way off-base?
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