Tuesday, October 11
Don’t build affordable housing on sand
In 2004, Albemarle County adopted an “affordable housing” policy. But what does that actually mean? The Albemarle Planning Commission wrestled with that question during a work session tonight. With political pressure mounting to soothe the effects of an escalating real estate market, the County is considering several ways to reduce housing sticker shock. Local government could require that a certain percentage of large developments include a certain percentage of affordable homes; the County could offer density bonuses in exchange for affordable units; or the County could make developers pay a cash proffer if they fail to include affordable housing in their projects. County Attorney Greg Kamptner warned Albe-marle not to build their affordable housing regulations on shaky legal ground—rules that force developers to pay proffers or require certain percentages of below-market-rate units might face court challenges.
Wednesday, October 12
Youth arrested in shooting
Today police arrested 19-year-old Adrian Jamal Howard in connection with the shooting of a 31-year-old Albemarle County man. Last night police found the man in the Abbington Crossing apartment complex near Fashion Square Mall with gunshot wounds to his head and neck. Howard is being held without bond on charges of malicious wounding and use of a firearm in commission of a felony; today the victim was still being treated at UVA Medical Center.
Belvedere finally approved
After years of back and forth between Stonehaus Development and the Board of Supervisors, tonight the Supes finally approved Frank Stoner’s plans for 775 housing units on 207 acres in what will be called the Belvedere subdivision on Rio Road. And you thought traffic on Park Street was bad now…
Thursday, October 13
Elected board: panacea or not?
It’s tricky mixing politics with public schools. In a forum on elected school boards held tonight at Trinity Episcopal Church, Charles Martin explained some of the “problem areas” that arise when control of the public school system becomes overtly political. Martin, a former Albemarle County Supervisor (Albemarle has an elected school board), said that the expense of running campaigns could dissuade qualified candidates. Politics, said Martin, could “create bad blood between City Council and the School Board.” UVA history professor Jeffery Rossman, a leading proponent of an elected board, countered that an elected school board would have a “mandate” to solve pressing achievement issues among students. And how would that work? No one—elected or appointed—has passed that quiz yet.
Friday, October 14
Kids cheer t-shirt launcher, wicked dunk
Orange-and-blue clad preteens whooped it up tonight when sophomore forward Adrian Joseph skywalked across the lane, cupping the rock for a one-handed windmill jam. Joseph then threw down a two-handed reverse from the baseline, winning the Cavalier’s intersquad slam dunk contest—narrowly beating freshman guard Mamadi Diane, who dunked the ball while jumping over a standing teammate. After waiting in a serpentine line to have their posters signed by players during ‘Hoos Hoops Madness at University Hall—the start of the Cavs’ last-ever season in the spaceship-like building—kids in attendance were juiced to near-combustion by a Crutchfield employee firing t-shirts into the stands with a giant air cannon.
Saturday, October 15
Grisham sends more love to ol’ Miss.
Today Habitat for Humanity announced that it would build six house kits in Charlottesville for hurricane victims outside of Biloxi, Mississippi. The project is funded by local author John Grisham via his “Rebuild the Coast” fund. Grisham and his wife, Renee, started the relief fund with an initial contribution of $5 million just days after Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. The first two house kits will be built Sunday, October 23, with the UVA Habitat chapter. Two additional kits will be built on Saturday, November 5, at the west end of the Downtown Mall and will be open to volunteers. The house kits will be shipped to Mississippi as part of a nationwide effort by Habitat called “Operation Home Delivery.”
Sunday, October 16
Wahoos go apeshit
That roar you heard just past midnight this morning was the flicking of tens of thousands of flip-flops as Wahoos stormed the field at Scott Stadium, celebrating the UVA football team’s 26-21 win over the undefeated, 4th-ranked Florida State Seminoles. About 63,100 people—the second-largest crowd in UVA history—witnessed the upset. Al “Thank You, Jesus, for saving my job” Groh credited quarterback Marques Hagans, linebacker Ahmad Brooks and other dumbstruck Cavs with the win.
Monday, October 17
Come on baby, light my fire
Today the Associated Press reported that America’s heating bills could be 30 percent to 50 percent higher this coming year, according to the federal Department of Energy. The good news is government forecasters predict that temperatures this winter could also be warmer than normal.
Walton’s store closing up shop
After more than two decades of peddling every possible knick-knack associated with “The Waltons” television show, the Walton’s Mountain Country Store near Schuylur is closing. Joyce Wood opened the store in 1983, but she died last year and her children are looking for a new tenant, according to the Daily Progress.
Written by John Borgmeyer from staff reports and news sources.
Physician, heal thyself
Former UVA pediatric fellow convicted of abusing his own child
On October 14, after three days of testimony in medical minutiae, former UVA pediatrician Iain Gainov was convicted in Albemarle County Circuit Court on one count of felony child abuse in a case involving his own baby.
Gainov (pronounced Guy-nov) was originally charged with attempted murder, and multiple counts of child abuse and malicious wounding. The single charge for which he was convicted carries a possible sentence of two to 10 years. Judge Paul Peatross Jr., who heard the case with-out a jury, set sentencing for De-cember 21.
According to court testimony, between September 2004 and March 2005, Gainov’s baby, Megan, sustained third-degree burns, a fractured skull, retinal hemorrhages, brain swelling and seizures brought on by water intoxication. The burns happened in September 2004, when Megan was 3 months old; by his own admission, Gainov was using a hairdryer to dry a wet spot on her shirt. Over the next few days, burns developed under her chin.
In a separate incident four months later, Gainov had Megan on the couch. He left the room and, in the interim, she fell onto the floor headfirst. A week later, Gainov and his wife, Colleen, took Megan to the hospital where she was diagnosed with a fractured skull
Two months following, on March 1, Gainov was left in charge of Megan for the entire day—the first time since the couch incident. That afternoon, Megan began to show signs of seizing. She seized for a total of two hours.
Taken again to the hospital, doctors deduced that Megan had dangerously low sodium. Coupled with the significant excess of water they found in her system, signs pointed to water intoxication. They also diagnosed Megan with retinal hemorrhages and brain swelling, both associated with what’s known as Shaken Baby Syndrome. The child abuse charge from this incident was the only one for which Gainov was ultimately convicted; the dismissed attempted murder charge stemmed from this incident, too.
In each incident, Colleen was either out of the room or out of the house and Megan was in the care of Gainov.
Throughout this testimony Gainov sat stoically beside defense attorney Denise Lunsford and assiduously took notes and flipped through medical records. Oc-casionally, he would smooth his tie, which featured either Winnie the Pooh or Garfield, depending on the day.
Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Cynthia Murray sounded three themes: First, the incidents illustrated a pattern of child abuse, as opposed to merely a series of coincidences and boneheaded parenting. Second, given Gainov’s extensive medical training and experience, coincidence and boneheaded parenting were no excuse. Third, Gainov consistently lied about the details of each incident.
The most damning evidence to this end was a jail phone call from Gainov to Colleen, in which Gainov admits to flushing Megan’s nose out with water “three, maybe four times” because she was congested, on March 1.
“You’re not supposed to do it for this age,” he said. This was the first and only time Gainov admitted to anyone he gave his daughter any water that day.
The defense attorney “ob-jected” strenuously throughout the prosecution’s case, seeming to stymie Murray and thwart her momentum in presenting the Commonwealth’s case. Murray often switched tactics or dropped lines of questioning entirely. For example, when Murray questioned a child abuse expert, Lunsford repeatedly objected to whether or not his expertise extended to burns. Peatross consistently sustained her objections, until Murray abruptly announced she was through with the witness.
Defense attorney Lunsford, expectedly, successfully advanced the all-important “shadow of a doubt.” Over the course of the week, she repeated her suggestion that Megan’s low sodium on March 1 was exacerbated by diarrhea and vomiting. She also reiterated that while each incident may have been the result of stupidity, no “malice” was intended—each injury was accidental.
Her tactic worked, for with each “not guilty” verdict that Judge Peatross read last Friday, he cited a lack of proof of malice. But Gainov didn’t make it away entirely clean. When the child abuse conviction was handed down, he sat still momentarily, then began preparing with deliberation to be taken into custody. His hands trembled as he took out his wallet and keys, removed his belt and Garfield tie. He then put his hands behind his back and was handcuffed.
Colleen, who had been watching and from whom he is now separated, hugged him and kissed him on the cheek. She had cried the day before when testifying about seeing Megan in the hospital after the seizure.
As they left the courthouse neither Lunsford nor Murray had a comment on the outcome.—Nell Boeschenstein
Preborn to be wild
Planned Parenthood expects a tough session in the General Assembly
With recent changes in the Su-preme Court raising questions about the future of abortion rights, the local Planned Parenthood is facing more restrictions in the next General Assembly session.
On Tuesday, October 11, organizer Becky Reid gave about 17 volunteers a preview of Planned Parent-hood’s strategy in the upcoming General As-sembly session, which begins January 11. The group will direct most of its lobbying and public relations energy toward thwarting some legislators’ attempts to restrict access to emergency contraception.
Although often confused with RU-486, known as the “abortion pill,” emergency contraception is actually nothing more than a high dose of conventional birth control that women can take up to 72 hours after unprotected sex. EC can prevent a fertilized egg from implanting in a woman’s uterus, thus preventing pregnancy. Many of Virginia’s right-wing politicians, however, believe life begins at fertilization, not implantation—and they want that belief reflected in State law. Del-egates like Bob Marshall (R-Manassas), Dick Black (R-Ster-ling) and Kathy Byron (R-Lynchburg) are pushing a bill that would prevent Virginia’s public colleges and universities from providing female students with emergency contraception. Other bills would equate emergency contraception with abortion, or extend the State Constitution’s “right to the enjoyment of life” to “preborn human be-ings…from the mo-ment of fertilization.”
“The General As-sembly has passed about every restriction they can on abortion services,” said Reid. “Now they’re trying to apply those restrictions to emergency contraception.”
Much of Planned Parenthood’s lobbying will likely focus on 58th District Delegate Rob Bell, who represents eastern Albemarle and Greene coun-ties, and 25th District Del-egate Steve Landes, who rep-resents western Albemarle. Both are Republicans who supported some restrictions on abortion clinics, but who also opposed Marshall’s at-tacks on EC, according to Planned Parenthood’s Repro-ductive Rights Report. That makes Bell and Landes rare in the General Assembly—Republicans not necessarily wedded to the right-wing’s conservative Christian ideology.—John Borgmeyer
Hazard signs
Are pols breaking the law with campaign signs?
Signs, signs, everywhere a sign. If that Five Man Electrical Band song has been stuck in your head recently, it’s no wonder—it seems like you can’t go anywhere without seeing political campaign signs. They’re staked in the ground everywhere from front lawns to the side of the highway.
“The point of the signs is to remind people of the election and increase name recognition and visibility,” says David Toscano, the Democrat who’s running for the 57th District House of Delegates seat. But the signs can’t be placed just anywhere; there are specific rules for siting them.
“They get stuck in pretty random places sometimes, and that can be a problem,” says Lee Catlin, spokesperson for Albemarle County. Signs that are in the VDOT right-of-way—which includes highway medians—are illegal. They can be put on private property, but only if you own the property or have the owner’s permission. Catlin also says that zoning districts have an impact on a sign’s legal size.
If you’re worried by all the trees, plastic and metal sacrificed in the name of promoting democracy, Catlin says there will be a recycling program offered through the Rivanna Solid Waste Authority that should take place, as in the past, at the McIntire Recycling Center after the election.—Molly O’Halloran
Your tax dollars at work
Recent adventures in government spendingCity Council recently approved the following appropriations:
$2,400 from the Charlottesville Weed and Seed Network to the Commission on Children and Families to train citizens on how to spot local gangs and prevent the infiltration of national gangs into Charlottesville schools and neighborhoods.
$82,308 from federal and State grants, plus a $20,577 match from the City to hire a second Adoption Social Worker for the Department of Social Services, and to pay for increased overtime and travel costs in the department.
$250,000 from the State to pay for a location study that will determine the future path of an Eastern Connector between Pantops and 29N. Albemarle County is chipping in $350,000.—John Borgmeyer
A brief history of whine
It’s always something with the Pavilion
Earlier this month, Bel-mont residents gave City Council an earful about noise from the Charlottesville Pavilion. Dinner parties and book club meetings interrupted! Conversations spoiled! Early bedtimes compromised!
Folks who never bought a ticket still got to hear Wide-spread Panic and the Pixies, and we were all ready to sympathize with them—until some Hinton Avenue residents said that the once-shady street was “almost better with gunshots” than noise from the Pavilion. We know Spin Doctors suck, but let’s get a grip, shall we?
Truth is, the Pavilion has been prompting noisy outbursts long before any bands took the stage.
In 2002, when City Council first proposed a massive renovation of the Mall’s east end, the complaints were simple: Don’t do it. By then, however, it was far too late to put on the brakes. City Council already had $6.5 million in federal grants, and there was no way then-mayor Maurice Cox, an architecture professor at UVA, was going to pass up a chance to spend it on urban infill development (naturally, it was all backed up with drawings and models out the wazoo).
More controversy came later, when the City brought Dave Matthews Band manager and real estate magnate Coran Capshaw into the picture. In December 2003, City Council transferred the amphitheater property to its development arm, the Char-lottesville Industrial Develop-ment Authority (CIDA). CIDA then gave Capshaw a 20-year, $3.4 million low-interest loan to build and operate what’s now known as the Charlottesville Pavilion.
At the time, people worried that the once-public amphitheater would become completely private. Fridays After 5 had given Char-lottesville an expectation of free concerts; to satisfy City Council, Capshaw promised to hold “free or reasonable” concerts on Friday afternoons in the summer. Capshaw also said that between shows, the Pavilion would be open to the public, just as the old amphitheater had been.
Although designs for the Pavilion had been floating around City Hall for two years, people didn’t start paying attention to it until bulldozers started rumbling. East end businesses griped that construction limited available parking and that before long they’d all have to shut down. And when the metal arch and fabric awning finally rose from the dirt pile in late July, grumbling started anew. It’s too big. It’s too ugly. A local architecture columnist called it a “lobster trap.” Others yearned for the Fridays After 5 of old, mourning the loss of a simple stage, a grassy seat and an afternoon with Foreigner to the Pavilion’s corporate veneer. The Pavilion didn’t fit with the small-town image of Charlottesville that some people want to preserve.
And therein lies the source of the noise about the Pavilion: friction between what Charlottesville has been, and what it is becoming. The City is trying to turn Charlottesville into an urban destination, where people live close together and within walking distance (and earshot) of offices, stores and concert venues. When urban convenience conflicts with the suburban urge for isolation, things start getting loud.—John Borgmeyer
A good night’s sleep
UVA’s neonatology director talks about preventing SIDS
Sleeping like a baby has new meaning thanks to just-released recommendations by an American Academy of Pediatrics’ expert committee, chaired by UVA baby doctor Dr. John Kattwinkel, who directs neonatology at UVA Hospital’s Department of Pediatrics.
To lessen the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), Kattwinkel and the four other committee members advise that newborns sleep in their own beds with pacifiers. These suggestions have made big news—Kattwinkel has appeared on national television (“The Today Show,” as well as “NBC Nightly News”)—and the October 10 edition of The Washington Post described how the committee’s recommendations have roiled breastfeeding and family-bed proponents.
“It is true that taking a baby to bed with you makes bonding and breastfeeding easier,” admits Kattwinkel, who has chaired the Academy’s task force since its formation in 1991. “But when you’re ready to go to sleep, put him in his own environment, a crib or bassinet in the same room as you. Room sharing is a good thing, but our evidence suggests that bed sharing can be dangerous.”
As for the fear that pacifiers will cause nipple confusion and hamper breastfeeding, Kattwinkel says, “If you’re breastfeeding, don’t use the pacifier for the first month or so, and stop using it at the end of the first year, when dental issues become a factor.
“Keep in mind that these are not mandates; they’re recommendations to reduce risk,” adds Kattwinkel, who was asked by the academy to chair the committee “primarily because I’m not a SIDS investigator. I’m a neonatology expert who’s done a lot of research on apnea and prematurity, but I don’t have a vested interest in SIDS.” In its first set of recommendations, released in the early 1990s, the committee, which now updates its guidelines every five years, said infants should be put to sleep on their backs, and after “tracking results very tightly,” Kattwinkel says he “has no doubt that sleep position has changed the SIDS rate and 3,000 babies a year aren’t dying that were dying.”
To continue to reduce the rate of SIDS, Kattwinkel says the group is focusing on secondary caregivers, such as daycare providers or grandparents, “who may not have gotten the message about putting babies to sleep on their backs. Babies who are used to sleeping on their backs and then put on their stomachs are at more risk.”
Kattwinkel moved to Charlottesville in 1974 with his wife and two young daughters when he was recruited by the department of pediatrics to start a newborn intensive care unit. He says being on the committee is “very gratifying and satisfying; something that came out of the blue for me.”—Susan Sorensen