 Last Saturday, as Katie Couric and Governor Tim Kaine looked on, the West Parking Garage at the UVA Hospital was demolished to make way for the Emily Couric Clinical Cancer Center. |
Tuesday 4/8
Goode ties Iraq death count to illegals
Our dear U.S. congressman, Virgil Goode, has never been shy about heaping opprobrium on illegal immigrants, but today’s version of the “Goode News”—a weekly newsletter he puts out—takes his vitriol beyond the limit of Goode taste. “Over the last five years, 4,000 U. S. soldiers have died fighting for freedom from Islamic extremists in Iraq,” Goode writes. “…However, the untold story that the media does not focus on is the number of persons in the United States who have been killed by illegal aliens.” He then goes through a patently flawed math exercise to “show” that in 2004 “three times the number of Americans were murdered at the hands of criminal aliens than died in the terrorist attacks on 9/11.”
Wednesday 4/9
UVA’s Zoll picked in WNBA draft
UVA women’s basketball point guard Sharnee Zoll, the ACC’s all-time assists leader, was drafted in the third round of today’s 2008 WNBA draft. The Los Angeles Sparks made Zoll the 29th overall pick, according to the UVA athletic website. While at UVA, Zoll broke former WNBA star Dawn Staley’s 16-year-old ACC career assists record and was also a three-time all-conference selection, leading her team to the second round of this year’s NCAA tournament.
Thursday 4/10
Scalia awarded TJ medal
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia visited UVA Law School today. Making the case that judges should adhere more closely to the letter of the law, Scalia “noted that both the Declaration [of Independence] and the Jefferson-authored Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom mention a deity,” according to the Daily Press coverage. Scalia’s visit was not just a stop in some kind of “God made this nation” cross-country tour. He was in town to receive the Thomas Jefferson Medal in Law, the top external honor at UVA.
Friday 4/11
PACEM honors its volunteers
“We are all worthy of love,” PACEM Executive Director Dave Norris told a crowded foyer of the JPJ Arena on Friday night. The couple hundred there erupted in applause, and the mayor joined in. They were all assembled to recognize the many volunteers that serve the homeless through the winter months and beyond. Hors d’oeuvres, music and cans of cookies were balanced by a disappointing announcement. Director Tom Shadyac would not be coming as announced—his father was ill. The show went on anyway, with First Presbyterian pastor Sam Massey awarded the Golden Pillow for his longtime work for the homeless. “I wish that nobody was receiving this award,” he said. “I wish there was no PACEM.”
Saturday 4/12
Couric Cancer Center going up
As rumors of her departure from CBS swirled, Evening News anchor Katie Couric attended the groundbreaking of the Emily Couric Clinical Cancer Center, the $74 million facility planned for the corner of Jefferson Park Avenue and Lee Street and named for her sister, the late Virginia senator. Couric joined Governor Tim Kaine and UVA President John Casteen for the hour-long, invitation-only event, during which the Cavalier Marching Band played the “1812 Overture” while an excavator “invaded” a wall of the West Parking Garage currently at the site. The center is slated to open in 2011.
Sunday 4/13
Red Light lands Roanoke amphitheater deal
Roanoke has selected Charlottesville-based Red Light Management to develop and manage an outdoor amphitheater at the former Victory Stadium site. Red Light, a part of Coran Capshaw’s music empire, will be responsible for completing a feasibility study, designing the facility and operating the amphitheater once it’s completed, reports the Roanoke Times. Though Roanoke officials declined to comment on specifics, they have said in the past that they envision a 7,000-seat facility that might eventually become part of a river-front park. Consultants estimated last year that the project could cost $12.6 million.
Monday 4/14
Median sales price keeps rising
Here’s the quickie version of the first-quarter market report just out from CAAR (the Charlottesville Albemarle Association of Realtors). There are tons of houses on the market—3,673, to be exact. Many of those have been for sale for ages. Sales are down 27.4 percent from the first quarter of 2007. Still, the median sales price for the market area is up 3.9 percent. Albemarle County in particular saw median prices rise nearly 18 percent.
