Tuesday, September 12
Artist David Breeden dies
Conway David Breeden, known as David Breeden, died today at the age of 68. His obituary in The Daily Progress listed the cause of death as heart failure. Breeden, a well-known local figure who ran Biscuit Run Studio south of town, lived and worked in Charlottesville for more than 30 years. His interest in public art was expressed not only in his seven soapstone sculptures around town and works in other cities, but also through the “Art in Place” program with which he was associated. Lately his name had become familiar in real estate circles as the long-planned sale of Biscuit Run now opens the door for a giant residential development that will drastically change the county landscape.
Wednesday, September 13
Three cheers for population control
Advocates for a Sustainable Albemarle Population (ASAP) held a press conference today at the County Office Building, asking that County officials pick a size—any size—for the Charlottesville-Albemarle area and let that dictate planning decisions. “Some fear Albemarle’s growth will soon lead us to a tipping point beyond which our unique geographical, historical, and social characteristics are irreparably altered,” said ASAP in a news release. “We now have about 130,000 residents together in Charlottesville and Albemarle County; do we want 150,000? 200,000? 500,000? What do these different scenarios mean for our future quality of life and the sustainability of other life forms and natural systems?”
Thursday, September 14
What’s so funny?
The Cavalier Daily felt the wrath of the God Squad after two “Quirksmith” comics by student Grant Woolard prompted thousands of letters from Christian groups, a demand for an apology from the head of the Catholic League and a scolding from Bill O’Reilly. One comic depicted Jesus crucified on a Cartesian coordinate plane, another mocked a nativity scene, with Mary saying her rash had been “immaculately transmitted.” The Cavalier Daily initially refused to apologize for the comics, a move that was lampooned as hypocritical, given the paper’s tail-between-its-legs apology over a comic last year that offended the gay community. O’Reilly called the comics an “unbelievable assault on Christianity” and demanded that UVA donors halt donations until the paper was booted off campus. Eventually, the newspaper removed the comic from its website and Woolard apologized.
Friday, September 15
Shroomin’ in Bristol
Construction worker Denton Brubaker discovered a “giant puffball” mushroom near Highway 381 in Bristol, according to The Daily Progress. The mushroom has a circumference of 3.5′, and was mistaken for a ball by Brubaker. To the delight of stuffed mushroom fans, the Calvatia gigantea is edible, though a such a huge ‘shroom will gather lots of dirt and can “turn pretty quickly” once harvested. It is unknown if additional overgrown foodstuffs were found by the interstate.
Saturday, September 16
Wahoo wuh??!
Looks like UVA football fans are in for a long season after today’s stunning 17-10 loss—on Homecoming, no less—to the lowly Western Michigan Broncos—the first Mid-Atlantic Conference team ever to beat the Cavaliers. Head Coach Al Groh kept the quarterback carousel in full-rotation: a junior, a senior and a redshirt freshman all got snaps under center. Groh pulled starter Kevin McCabe in the first half after he threw two interceptions (leading to 14 points for the Broncos). Jameel Sewell, the freshman, played the entire second half, and it looks like he’ll play on Thursday, when the Cavs travel to Atlanta for their first conference game against Georgia Tech.
Sunday, September 17
Let the games begin!
Virginia’s senatorial hopefuls faced off for the first time today on “Meet the Press,” where Tim Russert grilled Senator George Allen, the incumbent, and James Webb, his Democratic challenger, for one clip-o-riffic hour. Throwing up his trademark “gotcha” quotes and excerpts, Russert needled Webb on his 1979 article “Women Can’t Fight” (“I’d say, look at my actions regarding women in the military since then,” Webb parried), grilled Allen about the “macaca” thing (“If I thought that that was slurring anybody based on their ethnicity…I would never do it,” Allen insisted), and smoked both candidates on their preferred type of tobacky (that would be chaw). On that point, at least, the candidates were in complete agreement: Bad habits die hard.
Monday, September 18
Tune in to a “different kind of radio station”
Sorry, static fans. Today marks the last day you can tune your radio to 106.1 and get an earful of that familiar crackle, because starting tomorrow, that frequency will be occupied by new station 106.1 The Corner. The Charlottesville Radio Group, which already operates 3WV and WINA, is launching The Corner in an apparent effort to (wait for it…) corner the eclectic market—meaning a little Gnarls Barkley, a little Bob Marley, and a little B.B. King. Programming kicks off tomorrow with a whopping 10,000 songs in a row. Early adopters should also rejoice, as they’ll finally have a station in the Charlottesville area that broadcasts a HD signal as well as regular old analog.
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