Dems ready for Senate primary

Poor George Allen. Back in March, The New York Times reported that the Virginia Senator is bored with his job. The paper quoted him telling a crowd in Iowa that the Senate is “too slow for me.” Well, be careful what you wish for-he Republican pseudo cowboy now has a pair of Democrats injecting some real excitement into his life.

Waiting list for head start

The local Head Start, a federally funded preschool program, ended last month, but officials are already concerned about how they will meet the growing demand for next year\’s classes.

City working on property tax relief

New legislation from the General Assembly gives Charlottesville\’s City Council more power to assist local homeowners with skyrocketing property taxes. Councilors are currently working out the details of the new tax relief program—so far, though, local homeowners shouldn\’t expect too much help.

Rain eases drought fears

As summer approaches, City and County officials are supposed to be coming up with a coordinated drought-management plan that will set usage restrictions in case of a water shortage. They haven\’t gotten the job done, but recent rains have eased fears of a summertime drought.

Soccer coach jailed on porn charges

Raja Jabbour was the girls’ junior varsity head soccer coach at Albemarle High until he was dismissed from duties on May 2, six days after his April 26 arrest and almost two weeks after he was indicted by a grand jury for possession of child pornography. He remains behind bars pending a third hearing in federal court to determine whether he will be released on a $50,000 conditional bond.

Would-be Teen bomber gets out

The 15-year-old Albemarle County High School student found guilty of plotting with three other teens to use explosives on two area high schools has been allowed by an Albemarle County Circuit Court judge to return home to his family. Reached for comment, neither the teen\’s mother, nor his lawyer, David Bruns, would comment on why the court decided that the 15-year-old could—or should—go home, because the case remains closed to the public. The teen\’s mother did say that her son is home permanently, and that she and her husband have plans to home-school him. She says that he needs to catch up on the last quarter of 10th grade since he\’s fallen behind due to his legal woes. He will have the summer off and then, his mother says, will continue his 11th grade studies at home in the fall. She also says that, “He\’s doing great. He\’s doing very well,” and that both she and her husband are pleased with the outcome.