Tuesday, January 16
A little ditty about Mamadi Diane
 Mamadi Diane threw 26 points for the Cavaliers—more than he’s scored in the last three games combined. The ‘Hoos defeated ACC rival Maryland 103-91. |
Sean Singletary dumped in 25 points and forward Jason Cain lived up to his potential with 13 points during the UVA men’s basketball team’s 103-91 victory over a ranked Maryland squad this evening. The real story, however, was sophomore Mamadi Diane, who dropped 26 in the bucket—more than he has scored in the previous three games combined. According to The Daily Progress, Singletary, who shot a scrappy 5 for 12 from the field, called Diane a “really streaky guy.”
Wednesday, January 17
Fightin’ Jim Webb picked to holla back
 The perfect guy to talk back to Bush: Jim Webb was selected by Dems to rebut the president’s "State of the Union" speech January 23. |
Democrats from Virginia have a little streak going in rebutting the president’s “State of the Union” speech. Last year, freshman Governor Tim Kaine had the honor, and this year, freshman Senator Jim Webb was picked by fellow Democrats to bring the fire, The Washington Post reports. Webb, well known for his criticism of Bush foreign policy, will likely have plenty of quips but no comment about how his own son is doing in Iraq. (The former Secretary of the Navy garnered criticism for his disrespect of the presidency when he told Bush his son’s well-being was none of his business.) If the Dems want to take a strong stance against the war given Bush’s recent announcement that he will deploy 21,500 more troops, Webb seems like the perfect choice.
Thursday, January 18
Japanimation caper? No, plane landing.
 The Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport got a surprise visitor from Philadelphia on Thursday when a small plane traveling to Roanoke emergency-landed due to flames in the cockpit. |
A small airplane was forced to make an emergency landing at Charlottesville airport today after the pilot reported a cracked windshield and flames in the cockpit, the Associated Press reports. The plane was a Piedmont Airways (a division of U.S. Airways Express) commuter turboprop traveling from Philadelphia to Roanoke. The fire was caused by a windshield heating device—the pilot made a graceful emergency landing and none of the 13 passengers were injured.
Friday, January 19
Who’s sorry now?
We’re betting Virginia Delegate Frank D. Hargrove wishes he’d made no comments whatsoever about slavery, Jesus or the Jews. Hargrove made comments that black Virginians should “get over” slavery in response to a General Assembly bill calling for the State to apologize for that peculiar institution. Hargrove reportedly asked, “Are we going to force the Jews to apologize for killing Christ?” Daily Progress veteran political reporter Bob Gibson’s piece about the controversy was picked up by the Associated Press and The Washington Post, among other news outlets. Republicans have argued the comments were blown out of proportion, while NAACP leaders are calling for an official apology from Hargrove. Still no resolution on whether the State will apologize (or whether anyone will feel any better).
Saturday, January 20
UVA to let freedom ring
Look out, College Republicans! The Board of Directors of the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia unanimously approved a new chapter at UVA today, according to an ACLU press release. Liberty-minded UVA students will join the over 500,000 ACLU members nationwide—UVA is the fourth chapter at a Virginia college, including a chapter at the UVA Law School. Chapter founder, and valuable member of the C-VILLE staff, David T. Roisen, thinks the organization will do T.J. proud.
Sunday, January 21
Buckle down for snow
Despite Florida-like weather last week, today Charlottesville saw the first snowfall of the year, which hit around 10:45am and let up overnight. Charlottesville got less than an inch of snow, plus freezing rain, which didn’t keep people from mobbing grocery stores to stock up for the snow day. The Daily Progress reports there were accidents on every major roadway in the area, and Albemarle cops responded to 92 calls for service by 3:30pm, many traffic related. An accident on Interstate 81 left a Barboursville woman dead when her Toyota SUV lost control and hit another vehicle. The driver of the other vehicle, a Charlottesville woman, was injured.
Monday, January 22
Political Action Committee moolah
If you’re wondering who wrote the big checks to the General Assembly this year, the Richmond Times-Dispatch has a roundup of the largest PAC contributions to legislative candidates. Top contributor: nuke-loving Dominion Power’s PAC, with $134,312. Virginia Beer Wholesalers Association PAC gave $64,737 and Virginia Wine Wholesalers Association PAC gave $52,814. Cheers! Local delegate Rob Bell raised $199,684 through his Piedmont Leadership PAC, and military contractor Northrop Grumman, with an office in Charlottesville, contributed $53,050 to candidates. For full disclosure, the Virginia Public Access Project has the holdings of all candidates at http://www.vpap.org.