News in review

Tuesday, November 2
Albemarle gets blue shading

Voters came to the polls in droves in both Charlottesville and Albemarle County today, with voter turnout topping that of the 2000 elections. In Albemarle, a whopping 75 percent of registered voters came to the polls to vote in the presidential race, as did 66 percent of Charlottesville’s registered voters. The Kerry/Edwards ticket landed a 72 percent share of Charlottesville’s votes (hardly a surprise), but Albemarle’s voters also leaned toward Kerry. The slim 888 vote margin by which Kerry topped Bush in Albemarle is a shift, as Albemarle went for Bush over Gore in 2000, and even for Dole over Clinton in 1996. The Kerry triumph in this area did not result in any electoral points, however, as Virginia went to Bush/Cheney by a 54 to 45 percent vote margin.

Wednesday, November 3
Tax hikes for roads?

The Albemarle County Board of Supervisors today discussed forming a regional transportation district that would include both the county and the city of Charlottesville. A joint approach would give local officials more muscle in developing and building road projects—such as an interchange for the Meadowcreek Parkway. But the transportation district would need money to have any power, so the Supes began discussing different means to raise the cash. One option is a gasoline tax, which, at a 2 percent rate, could generate $3 million per year. The other ideas County officials have suggested involve rate increases in property taxes.

Thursday, November 4
Seniors denounce road

About 50 people showed up at the Senior Center on Pepsi Place to hear City and County planners present plans for four alignments of the proposed Hillsdale Drive Extended, a road that would connect Greenbrier Drive and Hydraulic Road. The project is part of a City-County strategy to ease traffic on 29N by building parallel roads, instead of a bypass. Many people who spoke at today’s public hearing—most of them senior citizens who live in the apartments, condominiums and nursing homes in the Hillsdale corridor—denounced the road as unsafe and unnecessary. “We do not want the noise, dirt and volume of traffic passing so close to our communities,” said Robert Metzger, president of the Brookmill Neighborhood Association, to loud applause.

Friday, November 5
Looking back at “Left Behind”

At a summit held at UVA 15 years ago, then-President George H.W. Bush and the nation’s 50 governors came together at UVA to talk about education. That conference began the push for accountability standards in schools, which eventually resulted in the No ChildLeft Behind Act. The success of that policy, passed by the current Bush Administration, has been hotly contested nationally and locally. To mark the anniversary of the 1989 summit and to re-evaluate No Child Left Behind, Gov. Mark R. Warner joined U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige and other national education experts at a forum at UVA this week. At the event, Paige said No Child Left Behind is “our nation’s guarantee that all children will receive a good education,” reports Bob Gibson in today’s Daily Progress.

Saturday, November 6
UVA rolls again

Scott Stadium was a packed house today. The crowd of 63,072 was the biggest ever in the 73-year-old stadium’s history. UVA fans were treated to a big win as the Cavs used smothering defense and a solid ground game to grind-out a dominating 16-0 win over Maryland. With the win, the race for the ACC crown is solidly in Virginia, as UVA and Virginia Tech now stand together at the top of the rankings with 4-1 conference records. UVA, ranked No. 10 in the AP poll, controls its own destiny as it hosts the slumping Miami Hurricanes next week, then travels to Georgia Tech and finishes with a huge game at Virginia Tech to close out the regular season.

Sunday, November 7
Rough homecoming for Schaub

The Atlanta Falcons had no game today, so Falcons’ backup quarterback and former UVA standout Matt Schaub spent some of his bye week in Charlottesville. Accordingto an AP report, Schaub was allegedly involved in a fight outside of a Corner restaurant early Saturday morning. Schaub surrendered to Charlottesville police, and was charged with assault and battery before being released on his own recognizance.

Monday, November 8
NAACP takes a vote

The Albemarle-Charlottesville branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) holds its election of officers today, with votes being taken at the Quality Community Council offices on W. Main Street. The national organization of the NAACP is currently under investigation by the Internal Revenue Service, which is considering yanking the civil rights organization’s tax free status for alleged politicking against President Bush during the election season.

—Written by Paul Fain from local news sources and staff reports.

Gay like us
City Council puts out the welcome mat for same-sex unions

Time and again, Charlottesville has proved itself a liberal’s blue oasis in Virginia’s otherwise flaming red political landscape. Now City Council is telling its gay citizens that while Virginia may be for haters as far as they are concerned, Charlottesville is still for lovers of all persuasions.

 On Monday, November 1, Council approved a legislative package by 4-1 (with Republican Rob Schilling dissenting, as usual) that, among other things, will ask the General Assembly to repeal the controversial H.B. 751, which bans civil unions between persons of the same sex.

 The request comes as part of the City’s annual “legislative program,” a list of 18 policy statements and requests for action from Council to the General Assembly. The request to repeal H.B. 751 (which became state law in July) came from Councilor Blake Caravati. He says gay and straight constituents have encouraged him to officially oppose the controversial law that not only nullifies civil unions performed in other states, but also a variety of other contracts and agreements between people of the same sex.

 “Everything you do in the civil realm is threatened if you’re gay,” Caravati tellsC-VILLE. “There’s quite a few ideologues out there that are out to get homosexual people, ignoring the fact that we live in Virginia, the seat of revolutionary freedom.”

 Freedom seems none too popular, however—on November 2, 11 states, following Virginia’s lead, resoundingly supported bans on same-sex marriage. Virginia’s Republican-dominated legislature isn’t likely to take Charlottesville’s proposal seriously (“Maybe I should combine it with a Ten Commandments display,” Caravati quips), but gay rights activists say the symbolism in Council’s gesture nonetheless is appreciated.

 “The message they’re trying to send to Richmond,” says UVA Pride activist Claire Kaplan, “is the institution of heterosexual marriage is not harmed by encouraging strong families elsewhere.”

 But even around Charlottesville, not everyone sees it that way. Marnie Deaton, who runs the Central Virginia Family Forum, says via e-mail that her group believes civil unions are “dangerous” because they are available to both gay and straight couples.

 “Civil unions would basically create a second-class union,” Deaton says, “that would be easily dissolved, leaving deserted spouses without any avenue for alimony or legal claim to repair the union.”

 In the past, Council has also passed resolutions to oppose the Iraq invasion and the PATRIOT Act. Conservatives say these kinds of actions take away from regular Council business—which conservatives often don’t much care for, either.

 “If you just want something cheeky,” Deaton continues, assessing the possible upside to Council’s proclivity for symbolic gestures, “time that the Council spends on such resolutions is time not spent finding creative ways to spend tax dollars that conservatives consider outside the legitimate purposes of government.”

The RWSA gets serious

On Monday, Council also heard an update on the water supply plan from Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority Chairman Thomas Frederick.

 “Our goal is to get a federal permit and actually do a project this time,” Frederick said.

 That’s a relief. The RWSA has been trying to expand the water supply for about 20 years now, but to no avail. First, federal regulators shot down plans for a new reservoir on Buck Mountain Creek. In February, a consultant’s miscalculation forced the RWSA to scrap a plan to expand the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir.

 The two most promising options, according to Frederick’s report, are now expanding capacity at the Ragged Mountain Reservoir or building a pipeline to the James River. Strangely, despite past failures to build on Buck Mountain, several Councilors said they favored that project over other proposals.

 “This is pretty permissive environmental regime right now,” said Councilor Kevin Lynch. “I’m not sure I agree with all that, but at the same time, this involves the safety and welfare of our citizens.”

 Frederick responded that State and federal regulators would not support a new reservoir. “My impression is that there would be considerable opposition from several regulatory agencies if we pursue that.”—John Borgmeyer

Prosecution forces Alston to face his alleged handiwork
Accused murderer loses his cool during coroner’s testimony

The temperature in the room rose when Dr. Marcella Fierro, Virginia’s chief medical examiner, took the stand in Charlottesville Circuit Court as a witness in the trial of Andrew Alston, a former UVA student accused of murdering Free Union resident and volunteer firefighter Walker Sisk one year ago. Before Fierro began her testimony, Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney John Zug warned he was about to exhibit disturbing evidence, prompting the quiet exit of Sisk’s mother and other family members.

 Up until that point, Alston, the 22-year-old defendant, had listened impassively to eyewitness accounts of the early-morning altercation that occurred on the Corner on November 8, 2003. Numerous witnesses gave detailed testimony about the encounter, which began with two groups of young men exchanging insults across 14th Street and ended with Sisk’s murder near the intersection of 14th and Wertland streets. However, Alston’s demeanor changed during Fierro’s testimony.

 While Fierro began describing Sisk’s injuries, a courtroom television monitor displayed a mug shot of Sisk’s face as he appeared on the coroner’s table.

 “When I observed him, he had 20 stab wounds,” Fierro said, enumerating the length and depth of each of Sisk’s wounds in a relentless drone. “Exhibit number 11 is the lower back and buttocks of the deceased…”

 As this went on, Alston removed his wire-rimmed glasses, laid them on the table and began to wipe his eyes. His robust, high-powered Alexandria attorney, John Zwerling, offered him tissues.

 Moments later, Alston was bent over, sobbing, shaking and creating such a disturbance that Fierro had to temporarily suspend her testimony. Zwerling, his arm around Alston, led his client from the room. When the court returned to session, Alston had waived his right to appear for Fierro’s testimony.

 In the late afternoon of November 3, the day before Alston’s meltdown, Zwerling and Zug laid out their opening arguments to the bow-tied Judge Edward Hogshire and to the jury. Many members of the 12-person jury were selected based at least partly on their unfamiliarity with media coverage of Sisk’s murder, some of which included accounts of Alston’s juvenile assault convictions and acquittal for an earlier 2003 assault charge. Alston now stands accused of second-degree murder for which he could face up to 40 years in prison.

 In his arguments, Zug described Alston’s loss of control as he attacked Sisk with a knife. The one lethal wound, Zug said, was a cut that penetrated the heart. According to Zug, Sisk then doubled over as Alston continued to repeatedly stab him in the back, shoulders and buttocks.

 In her opening arguments in Alston’s defense, Zwerling’s co-council, Andrea Moseley, described how Alston acted in self-defense.

 “There is little doubt that when Walker Sisk was sober, he was a very fine person,” Moseley said, in her customary barely-audible monotone. “But when he was drunk, his personality changed.”

 She described how Alston had been a peacekeeper for most of the verbal altercation, and painted Sisk as Alston’s aggressor, describing the victim as 40-pounds heavier than Alston, tattooed, drunk, and wearing a t-shirt with a Confederate insignia.

 Investigators never recovered the murder weapon. Moreover, despite Alston’s ex-girlfriend testifying to his propensity for carrying knives “pretty regularly,” and Alston’s neighbor testifying to having seen him show off a knife “big enough that it made me uncomfortable” earlier on the night of the murder, none of the eyewitnesses could confirm having seen a knife in Alston’s hands as he “punched” Sisk, as eyewitnesses described it. Thus, Zug’s task was to explain what happened to the knife.

 Zug reasoned that Alston’s brother, Ken, who was with Alston at the scene of the murder, disposed of the knife using Alston’s Jeep Cherokee. Blood samples found in the Jeep matched Andrew Alston’s DNA profile and Zug contended that this blood came from an injury to his right hand, incurred while he stabbed Sisk.

 To prove that Ken Alston ditched the murder weapon, Zug interrogated Officer Mark Frazier of the Charlottesville Police Department. The prosecutor showed Frazier an evidence envelope containing Andrew Alston’s bloodstained car keys, which Frazier discovered in Ken Alston’s pants pocket a few hours after the murder. The blood on the keys belonged to Andrew Alston.

 Throughout the first four days of the trial, Zug’s red-faced, fiery courtroom style was countered by Zwerling’s relentless cool. After asking a witness a particularly difficult question, Zwerling would pause for effect and flip through a thick notebook bursting with Post-it notes. Occasionally, he would rub his be-ringed fingers through his gray beard.

 Frazier, who helped arrest Alston, testified that when police found Alston in a bedroom at a friend’s residence farther up 14th Street, Alston refused to show his right hand, first hiding it under the covers, then under a pillow.

 To treat the cut on Alston’s hand, Frazier took him to the UVA Hospital Emergency Room. There, lying on a hospital bed with his hands cuffed across his chest, “on several occasions, [Alston] fell asleep and started to snore,” Frazier testified.

 The prosecution had not concluded its case by press time, and the defense was scheduled to then begin Andrew Alston’s case for self-defense on the morning of Monday, November 8. The trial should conclude by the end of the week.—Nell Boeschenstein, with additional reporting by Paul Fain

Sweet home Alabama
Legal Aid attorneys working on Hispanic issues head south

Charlottesville’s Legal Aid is losing another attorney who specializes in issues affecting local Hispanics. Yet Legal Aid director Alex Gulotta says the move won’t permanently sideline the group’s efforts to help the growing number of immigrants living and working in Central Virginia.

 Last month, Legal Aid attorney Mary Bauer left Charlottesville for Montgomery, Alabama, to join the Southern Poverty Law Center. Now, Legal Aid attorney Andrew Turner will soon be joining Bauer in her effort to create the SPLC’s first migrant-worker justice center.

 “We’re losing a couple of great advocates,” says Gulotta. “We’ll hire two new great advocates. I’m fully confident we’ll find good people, but it will take time.”

 Bauer started working for Legal Aid in 1991. Her litigation against seafood processing plants on Virginia’s eastern shore helped establish Charlottesville’s Legal Aid as a powerful force in the struggle for fair working conditions for Hispanic immigrants. Bauer left Legal Aid last spring to stay home with her kids.

 “The SPLC called out of the blue in April,” says Bauer. “I wasn’t really looking for a job, but I came down for a visit and got really excited about the project and the opportunity to start something from scratch.”

 Bauer will lead the SPLC’s first Immigrant Justice Project, which will join similar projects in Florida and Virginia that serve Hispanic migrant workers. Founded in 1971, the SPLC became one of the country’s premier civil rights firms by defending death row inmates and suing to desegregate all-white institutions. Bauer’s new job is a big one—she will create and oversee a program that will serve migrant workers in nine southeastern states: North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, Kentucky and Arkansas.

 Little is known about the Hispanic workforce in this region, says Bauer, except for the fact that it’s growing. “Our first project is to go out in the field and talk to people over this huge expanse, and figure out where we should concentrate our energies,” says Bauer.

 To help her out, Bauer says the SPLC snagged Turner, who started working for Legal Aid in 2002 fresh from law school at New York University. “I think he’ll enjoy traveling around, learning about the players and the industry,” says Bauer.

 Turner says the local Hispanic population has become more stationary in recent years. Instead of following agriculture jobs around the southeast, more immigrants are settling in Charlottesville and taking permanent jobs with construction crews, hotels and local restaurants.

 While Turner says he’ll miss the quality of life Charlottesville affords, he says there’s a “belly of the beast” appeal to working in the deep South.

 Judy Bartlett, a Latino outreach coordinator with a local group called Rural Health Outreach, says Bauer and Turner have had a discernable effect on working conditions for Hispanic workers.

 “People know about Legal Aid because they’ve done a lot of outreach,” Bartlett says. Bad-guy employers know about Legal Aid, too, she says. “Most people are now well behaved since Mary’s been there.”

 Still, there’s work to be done. A common problem is that some restaurants only pay their immigrant workers tips, and that’s illegal; and Legal Aid gets more requests for help with immigration issues, Gulotta says. For now, Legal Aid attorney Doug Ford will help fill Turner’s shoes.

 Gulotta, Turner and Bauer all say they’re glad to see the SPLC embrace immigrant justice, and that there are only good vibes about the transition.

 Gulotta says it shouldn’t be toohard to recruit Turner’s replacement. “Charlottesville’s a pretty attractive place,” he says.—John Borgmeyer

Decision Day
November 2, 2004

The day was glorious—the balmy temperatures and crisp colors of Indian Summer inviting optimism as record numbers of registered voters took to the polls in Charlottesville and Albemarle. By day’s end, we had cast 31,841 votes for Fifth District challenger Al Weed and 25,883 for Right-wing incumbent Virgil Goode. We gave an even more decisive margin to John Kerry over George W. Bush—33,160 to 25,356. But victory would follow another course by nightfall as shortly after 9 o’clock at Downtown’s Gravity Lounge, a tired-seeming and genuinely appreciative Weed addressed a couple-hundred Democratic supporters, conceding the election to Goode. The four-term Republican vigorously outflanked Weed in the final days of the campaign and ultimately captured 64 percent of the district’s votes. Asked later what he might have done differently, Weed said, “I don’t speak in sound bites.”

 Despite the sound drubbing, Weed said, “I’m not embarrassed” of his energetic, almost two-year campaign across the sprawling Fifth District. And though Weed wouldn’t say if he’d run again, he confirmed, “I’m not out of politics.”

 Meanwhile, over at Wolfie’s on Rio Road, traditional gathering spot for Albemarle Republicans, the mood grew progressively upbeat as the returns started coming in. The standing-room-only crowd spilled out onto the patio, swelling to about twice its expected size, said Delegate Rob Bell, who circled among loyal supporters, reporters and casual spectators. “This is not the usual volunteers who show up for everything,” he said. Though few were focused on the inaudible punditry of TV’s talking heads, applause and cheers of “four more years” erupted as red state by red state appeared on the screen, and word of Goode’s victory spread. As 10 o’clock rolled around, the crowd dwindled, but the party was still going strong. “We’re gonna keep going, so long as an apparent resolution is in sight, even if it’s 1 in the morning,” Bell said.

 But the sun would rise on one more perfect autumn day before the presidential outcome would be decided. As 2pm approached on Wednesday, dozens gathered outside the C-VILLE office, where the Mall-facing TV is always tuned to CNN, to watch as a somewhat combative John Edwards introduced the man who won Charlottesville but not enough of everywhere else. Someone in the crowd muttered something about theocracy. Someone else suggested Kerry had a good long nap coming to him. The crowd grew denser, Kerry gave his thanks, and then the passers-by dispersed, perhaps unaware that the next day they really would awaken to a cold, heavy rain.—C-VILLE editorial staff