 And the sand played on: Last Saturday, the John Paul Jones Arena was teeming with leaping, scantily clad women and men, and a crowd itching for summer, as the AVP Crocs Hot Winter Nights Tour brought pro beach volleyball to town. |
Tuesday 1/29
Population boom surrounds Charlottesville
Virginia’s population reached 7.7 million people on July 1, making the state the 12th largest in the nation, according to figures released by UVA’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service. Although it’s an increase of more than 633,000 people since 2000, the rate of growth has actually dropped in recent years, reports the Associated Press, with the city of Charlottesville seeing the least amount, as it grew from 40,099 residents in 2000 to 41,274 in 2007. Meanwhile, the surrounding area boomed, with Fluvanna, Orange and Louisa counties realizing the highest population increase.
Wednesday 1/30
UVA’s Darden in Top 100
The Financial Times has ranked UVA’s Darden School of Business 33rd in the world and 16th in the U.S. The University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business was ranked No. 1. Of course, this may not be news Darden wants to trumpet. Its world ranking in 2008 dropped from 26th in 2007. In 2006, Darden was ranked 24th.
Thursday 1/31
New job tolls for Bell?
 Though Rob Bell hasn’t announced he’s running for Virginia Attorney General, he has already raised $300,000, more than any other potential candidate. |
In today’s Washington Post, Staff Writer Tim Craig puts Delegate Rob Bell, who represents much of Albemarle County, at the top of the list of five Republicans who are possible candidates for Virginia Attorney General. According to the article, Bell has an early advantage because he has raised, as of December 31, $300,000—the second candidate on the list has only $74,000 in his coffers. “The former prosecutor has a reputation for using his seat on the Courts of Justice Committee to push for laws to crack down on crime,” Craig writes, “but some activists say he goes too far in wanting to lock people up.”
Friday 2/1
Rutherford to move on NFL lawsuit
John Whitehead, president of the Charlottesville’s Rutherford Institute, has been itching to sue the NFL over its ban on big-screen Super Bowl church parties. The Washington Post reports today that he has set his sights on an Alabama church as the centerpiece of the lawsuit. While smaller screens limit the size of an audience, screens larger than 55′ infringe on the copyright of the telecast. “It’s ridiculous,” says Whitehead in the Post. “You can go into these stores now and buy 100-inch screens. The law is just outdated.”
Saturday 2/2
State delays Wise plant
The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has added a second public hearing and extended its public comment period for Dominion Power’s controversial proposed coal-fired power plant in Wise County. The second public hearing is scheduled for February 19 in Richmond. The original hearing will be February 11 in Wise County. The public comment period has been extended by 15 days to March 12.
Sunday 2/3
TJ, the self-serving swindler
The patron saint of Charlottesville is taking several more blows to his reputation thanks to a new book, Twilight at Monticello: The Final Years of Thomas Jefferson, reviewed in today’s Washington Post. The book portrays the post-presidential Jefferson as “an irresponsible, impractical, self-serving and self-deluded man who rarely lived up to his ideals.” In one particularly nasty episode, a friend and Florentine horticulturalist had Jefferson look after his American holdings, “only to find out that the Sage of Monticello had sold them and loaned himself the proceeds to continue his architectural experiments.”
Monday 2/4
Blue scare
Frothy-mouthed carpetbagging liberals are raising their skinny fair-trade lattes in a toast to the news that Tom Perriello, Democratic challenger to Republican Congressman Virgil Goode, raised more money than the incumbent in calendar year 2007. Meanwhile, Goode is spinning the numbers by telling the Danville Register & Bee that New Yorkers, Californians and Charlottesvillians (august company, no?) are behind the $266,665 Perriello raised last year; Goode himself pulled in $165,010.
