Tuesday, June 12
Elisa Kelly locked up
After serving beer at her son Ryan’s 16th birthday party five years ago, Elisa Kelly began serving something completely different this week: her 27-month jail sentence. Kelly was charged with nine misdemeanor counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Originally sentenced to eight years (eight years!), the sentence was reduced, but not before Kelly began a series of appeals ending in the Virginia Supreme Court. The BBC commented on the conviction by saying, “The Presbyterian Puritanism of the pilgrims and the founding fathers still haunts a nation that is forever trying to live up to abstract ideals and forever failing to do so.” We’ll drink to that.
Wednesday, June 13
Capital murder execution delayed
 People opposed to the death penalty held a vigil outside the City Courthouse for Christopher Scott Emmett, who was scheduled to die this week for capital murder, but received a pardon by Governor Tim Kaine. |
Convicted murderer Christopher Scott Emmett received a stay hours before his scheduled June 13 execution. Emmett killed a co-worker in a motel room with a brass lamp when the co-worker refused to give him $100 to buy crack cocaine. Governor Tim Kaine granted the stay two hours before the scheduled execution and hours after the U.S. Supreme Court had denied a stay with a 5-4 vote. Emmett had filed an appeal to the Court, which it won’t consider until late September. Given that Emmett was working on a bit of a deadline, Kaine delayed his execution until October 17. Emmett claims he wasn’t adequately represented and that his attorney didn’t give the jury vital information about his abusive childhood.
Thursday, June 14
Charity gets technology bucks
 Maryrose Sylvester, GE Fanuc president and CEO, presents a check for $20,000 to Cathy Train, Caroline Emerson and Gary Henry (left to right) from the United Way. The charity will spend the money on the mysteriously named “Virtual Academy for Science and Technology.” |
Normally, when corporations give big donations to charities, we applaud it and then ignore it, given the volume of philanthropic, successful companies in this town. But, when they provide high-res photos, how can we resist? GE Fanuc, the joint venture between General Electric and FANUC LTD of Japan—and a major local employer—gave $20,000 to the United Way in honor of the venture’s 20th anniversary. The company provides efficiency solutions for industrial businesses through software and technology. The company also made a technology donation to the University of Virginia’s School of Engineering & Applied Sciences.
Friday, June 15
Foreign citizen rides for 9/11
Today a German national who was so moved by the September 11 tragedy that he decided to bike 2,700 miles rolled through Charlottesville on his way to Ground Zero in New York City. Robert Diener, a 41-year-old German police officer embarked from Pueblo, Colorado, on the journey in hopes of raising money for Tuesday’s Children, which provides programs to more than 5,000 family members who lost a loved one on September 11. Diener apparently speaks only enough English to get by, and is expected to arrive at Ground Zero in mid-July, with only a touring bike, tent, camping mattress, sleeping bag, and a cell phone in tow.
Saturday, June 16
Geeks gather
Today occurred one of the most confusing events we’ve ever covered. The BarCamp “unconference,” which is basically a workshop run by participants who are interested in stuff like open-source software and Web applications, held a Charlottesville version called beCamp at the Fry’s Spring Beach Club today. The “Open Source Geek Gathering” brought the technology-curious together in what participants touted as a “technology Woodstock!” Pretty cool, we guess, if it hadn’t taken our minds so long to recover from the indecipherable press release.
Sunday, June 17
Jim Webb even more likeable
 Senator Jim Webb appears with the rock stars in the current issue of Rolling Stone. A slim 9,000-vote victory landed the Iraq-war opposer a whole mess of issues, including representing destitute constituents in Southwest Virginia. |
Whilst flipping through the pages of Rolling Stone this weekend, getting the skinny on this summer’s DMB tour, our eyes scanned rocker upon leather-clad rocker until, wait…is that Jim Webb in front of the Capitol? Jeff Sharlet’s piece on the new Virginia senator takes Webb’s opposition to the Iraq war and weaves it with the story of his military career, explaining, among other things, his respect for the American redneck and fierce opposition to class divisions. “America’s top tier,” Webb says, “are literally living in a different country.” The old pictures of Webb—in military gear, as Ronald Reagan’s secretary of the Navy—are illuminating. The in-depth look at the military man-turned-author-turned-freshman senator will simultaneously make you feel really wimpy and sort of proud.
Monday, June 18
Declaration of independent
Peter Kleeman declared his bid as an independent for City Council today in front of City Hall. The transportation activist last ran for Council in 2000 with Democrats Maurice Cox and Kevin Lynch, both of whom won seats. Kleeman is one of only two candidates to challenge Democratic hopefuls Satyendra Huja, Holly Edwards and Mayor David Brown, since the Republicans didn’t drum up a candidate this year.
