empty writes: Today at 5:00 PM I tuned to WINA for the top of the hour news, but heard instead what seemed to be a Schoolhouse Rock parody with lyrics pretty rough for talk AM (”a noun can be a person, like a hooker, or a pimp,” for example, approximately). This was followed by the techno hit “Sandstorm” by DaRude, and then several minutes of silence. Malicious operator? Pirate prank? Format experiment? It wasn’t quite as weird as the time WVIR broadcast porn, but it still caught my attention.
With music like that, I would definitely spend more time listening to WINA than just a half-hour in the morning.
Charlottesville’s hotshot investigative reporter Reed Williams has a lengthy story in today’s Progress about lying ex-deputy Stephen Shiflett, including interviews with candidates for Albemarle Sheriff, ex-sheriffs, and anonymous sources close to the case. Sheriff Edgar Robb acknowledges that his actions and those of also-Republican Commonwealth’s Attorney Jim Camblos look suspicious, but insists that the two are not in cahoots. One of Robb’s opponents in the November election questions Robb’s judgement in hiring the “cop with an attitude”, which Robb has defended by saying that Shiflett was not only quite punctual, but had never actually been convicted of a crime. (It was a civil suit that Shiflett lost while a Louisa deputy, not a criminal case.) Concludes retired county detective and former deputy Donald Byers, “it’s kind of hard for me to understand that there’s not enough evidence for him to be charged.” Be sure to read the whole story for all of the details.
The NAACP is concerned about Commonwealth’s Attorney Jim Camblos’ decision not to prosecute lying ex-deputy Stephen Shiflett, after Shiflett claimed that he’d been shot by a black man and Albemarle Sheriff Edgar Robb declaring the shooting a “hate crime.” When it became clear that Shiflett had invented the story, Robb apologized to the black community, but neither Robb nor Camblos (whose offices are just a few feet apart from each other, incidentally) pursued an investigation of what had really happened. The Charlottesville chapter of the NAACP has launched an inquiry as to why Shiflett was never charged, saying that they “are concerned about all issues that might be indicative of some impropriety or injustice.” Reed Williams has the story in today’s Progress.
WVIR veteran Robert Van Winkle will be leaving WVIR (and the area) on the 15th, according to Bob Gibson in today’s Progress. Van Winkle’s long time position as weatherman has made him well-known, but his hundreds of appearances at public events made him the face of NBC 29 for much of the community. Charlottesville being a small market, it’s difficult for a station like WVIR to retain talent for long, so a recognizable face is a rarity. Van Winkle intends to move up to a bigger market, but declined to provide further details. WVIR has not yet publicly announced Van Winkle’s departure.
Albemarle County police officer Karl Mansoor has settled his lawsuit against Albemarle County, which alleged that his freedom of speech was violated. Mansoor filed the suit in 2000, claiming that Police Chief John Miller, then-Captain Doug Rhoads and deputy County Attorney Mark Trank violated his right to free speech by demanding that Mansoor refrain from criticizing the county in order to retain his job as a police officer. Mansoor, who had sought $633,000 in damages, has settled for an undisclosed sum. Mansoor claims that the county contines to bar him from speaking freely, and has filed another lawsuit for $250,000. Claudia Pinto has the story in today’s Progress.
ColinC writes: Government officials broke ground yesterday on new renovations to the Court Square district of downtown Charlottesville. The area will take on a more historic look in order to attract tourists, with brick streets and sidewalks guiding visitors from the Downtown Mall to Court Square. Utility lines will be moved underground, and plaques will be set up at the sites of Charlottesville’s original buildings. The project is expected to cost around $3 million. WINA and the Daily Progress have the story. (From 91.9 WNRN.)
Commonweath’s Attorney Jim Camblos says that the investigation into former Deputy Stephen Shiflett’s alleged shooting by a black man is still open. Camblos says that he wants to see “appropriate charges brought against that person or persons who has broken the law.” Camblos has thus far refused to charge Shiflett, and there had not previously been any indication that the case remained open. The Progress filed a FOIA request with Albemarle for the investigative report that police had provided to Camblos Reed, but it was denied by the county. Williams had the story way back on the 9th. (Ntelos can’t installed my phone line/DSL at my new place in Blacksburg until this weekend at the earliest, so I have to steal bandwidth here and there. I don’t know the area very well yet, so it’s only every couple of days that I can get on-line.)
eattheyuppies writes: Back in January a well-known local professional, Owen Young, suddenly went missing. There was a flurry of media reports on his case, including some chatter on cvillenews. Some of the reports cited a claim that a suspicious black man was seen driving Mr. Young’s car. (It’s always the black male who gets blamed, ain’t it Shiflett?!) Members of Young’s church eventually held a memorial service for him and many gave him up for dead. Fast forward 7 months. Over a week ago, there was a small blurb in the Daily Progress saying that Young had turned up safe and sound in Tampa, FL. It seems odd that there has been no other public discussion of this rather remarkable turn of events, no chatter here on cvillenews, no follow-up articles in the Hook, no nothing. Isn’t anyone curious to know what this guy’s been up to these 7 months, why and how he disappeared and abandoned his life here and all of his commitments here, what the reaction of his family and friends has been to this news, etc., etc.? Is he a great swindler, did he have a fit of amnesia, or…? Inquiring minds want to know!
If somebody could provide a citation for this Progress blurb — or, better yet, a full quote — it’d be appreciated, since I didn’t see it and it’s not on their website.
After shooting a 30-year-old man in the chest three times, Albemarle County police officer J.M. Fields has been placed on administrative leave, and is now the subject of a state police investigation. At 2:15am, Officer Fields stopped the suspect (Ray — or possibly Roy — Riviere) on Rt. 20 north, suspecting that he was driving under the influence, but the suspect escaped. Fields caught the man and tasered him, but the suspect took the taser and knocked down Fields. It was at that point that the officer shot the suspect in the chest three times with his 9mm. Amazingly, the suspect escaped on foot at that point, but was later apprehended by two other officers. Interestingly, the man seems to be a French citizen. Riviere is now in the ICU at the UVa Medical Center. A joint Albemarle-state news conference is planned for Monday. Liz Nelson has the story in today’s Progress.
The Daily Progress has included extensive daily updates on the cases of the Frenchman shot by Albemarle County police officer J.M. Fields last Sunday, each driving home the main problem with Officer Fields’ claim, which centers around his user of a Taser. Officer Fields says that he Tasered Raimond Riviere, who then recovered and took the Taser from Fields. Fields then shot Raimond in self-defense. Raimond’s attorney, defense-lawyer-about-town Deborah Wyatt, contends that her client never touched the Taser. A brochure for the Advanced Taser M26 (PDF) says that the suspect injury rate after being Tasered was just 1.6%, and that “no deaths have ever been directly attributed to the Taser.” In apparent conflict with this, the Albemarle County Police Department only allows the use of deadly force in defense of anybody in immediate danger of serious physical harm or death. The Virginia State Police are investigating, and they will turn over their findings not to Albemarle commonwealth’s attorney Jim Camblos, but to Goochland’s commonwealth’s attorney. Raimond remains in the hospital, having been shot twice in the chest, once in the liver, and once in the hand. Claudia Pinto has the story in today’s Progress.
Amid all of the debate over growth in Albemarle and the surrounding counties, Charlottesville’s growth rate and capacity are often ignored. With 3,900 people per square mile, Charlottesville is one of the least-sprawled areas in the state. With the city’s boundaries having been locked at 10 square miles, municipal growth can only go one way — up. In Saturday’s Progress, Liz Nelson took an extensive look at where we are, where we’re going, and what needs to happen (tax rates, transportation, cost of living, etc.) in order to get there.
A trio of area businessmen have launched a novel new business — bicycle-based taxi services downtown. They’re going to run the “pedicabs,” as they call them, in Barracks Road, at UVa, and along West Main down to the Mall. Their plan is to recruit off-duty cops and UVa students to lease the pedicabs, who would operate them and keep the profits. It’s $3.50 for a ride from the Downtown Mall to UVa. The bright-orange vehicles will be kept on West Main Street, at the U-Haul center, and will be available on-call. Liz Nelson has the story in today’s Progress.
Dozens of people were trapped on Thursday evening when heavy rain and strong winds collapsed a tent at the Albemarle County Fair. At least three people were injured in the mess, including one that had been hit by lightning. It was caused by a sudden, heavy thunderstorm that hit the North Garden fairgrounds, flooding the tent before it collapsed on the families seeking shelter there. The fair will be closed today, and it’s not clear what will happen come the weekend. Reed Williams has the story in today’s Progress.
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