Tuesday, July 10
TJ in the tabloids
Clip this UVA headline: In the recent edition of Weekly World News—”the world’s only reliable newspaper”—tabloid reporters inform us, in a “July 4 Shocker,” that Thomas Jefferson fathered an alien love child! Apparently the greenish creature inherited Jefferson’s strong nose and a permanently attached white wig. Unfortunately, it also professed an avowed desire to pursue constitutional law with a strong federalist slant. One of the future campaign slogans TJ’s child is considering? “To put the ‘alien’ in inalienable rights.”
Wednesday, July 11
We’re tops
 Governor Tim Kaine announced what most of us already knew: Virginia’s got this economic thing on lock down. Forbes.com ranked Virginia No. 1 in “Best States for Business.” |
Governor Tim Kaine’s office announced today that not only is Virginia the No. 1 place to have a total Yankee/Dixie crisis when driving from one part of the state to another, we also lead (for the second consecutive year) Forbes.com’s “Best States for Business” ranking. According to the Thomas Jefferson Partnership for Economic Development, the Charlottesville area is doing its share of the economic heavy lifting with a workforce of more than 134,000 “well-educated, technologically sophisticated, and extremely capable people.” The Forbes.com rankings accounted for business costs, labor issues, regulatory climate, economic climate, growth prospects and quality of life.
Thursday, July 12
Young nerds aspire to climate change
Today was a special day for a group of middle schoolers attending a science camp hosted by UVA’s School of Engineering and Applied Science: ExxonMobil Day! The energy company, a sponsor of the camp, sent some of its engineers to conduct interactive demonstrations with the kids and talk to them about careers in engineering. The activities are meant to counteract a projected deficit in the number of American scientists: a shortage of half a million by 2010, reports UVAToday. The two-week camp is free to students, not counting what their parents spent on gas (ExxonMobil?) to drive them to the engineering school.
Friday, July 13
Zimmerman is awesome
 According to The Washington Post, Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman is…how to put this nicely?…the only player on the roster worth hanging on to. Except, of course, for manager Manny Acta, who’s pretty good too. |
Oh those Washington Nationals, so lovable in their last-place standing in the National League. Well, maybe “lovable” is stretching it. In fact, by the All-Star break, the Nats had welcomed 39 new players to the team, hardly the setting for a long-term love affair between team and fans. Today’s Washington Post had a mid-season assessment of the Nats’ rosters, and it wasn’t pretty. Aside from manager Manny Acta, third baseman and former Cavalier standout Ryan Zimmerman is the only player on the roster that the Post says is a concrete piece of a winning team. The other 28 players? Not so much. So if your 10-month-old’s starting to look like a lefty, maybe now’s the time to start working on his slider. He could fit in nicely with the Nats just as they’re starting to turn it around.
Saturday, July 14
Survivor in Charlottesville
Local “Survivor” hopefuls had two minutes at Rivals Sports Bar & Grill to land their 15 minutes of fame. WCAV-TV, CBS19 held an open casting call from 10am to 2pm for the 16th (really…16?) season of the apparently neverending reality show. Each interviewee had two minutes to wow interviewers from the show, proving that they had what it takes to “outwit, outplay and outlast” other preening jerks on a deserted island full of krieg lights and buffet tables for camera crews.
Sunday, July 15
Mixed rap for DMB
 Remember when the Dave Matthews Band dumped a load of raw sewage on tourists in the Chicago river? Yeah, well, they’re sorry about that. They’re making it up for it with bikes and by being totally enviro-friendly. |
Variety today became the latest news outlet to, in the same breath, repeat the embarrassing story about the Dave Matthews Band’s tour bus dumping sewage on tourists in the Chicago River in 2004, then extol the band’s environmentalist efforts—from donating $100,000 to clean up that same river to calculating the carbon offsets needed for all that touring. (We at C-VILLE now continue the tradition.) Variety also mentions DMB’s participation in the community bikes program here in Charlottesville, but does not explain where all the bikes went.
Monday, July 16
Virginia Greene, 73, joins Peace Corps
Retirement isn’t for everyone. Charlottesville resident Virginia Greene, 73, will leave for Philadelphia Tuesday, July 17 to begin her tour of duty with the Peace Corps, The Daily Progress reported. Greene, who earned a doctorate in chemistry from UVA, will receive a few days of training in Philly before she ships out for Johannesburg, South Africa. There Greene will undergo three more months of training before she will work to educate primary school teachers. Though she’s in the 5 percent of Peace Corps volunteers who are over the age of 50, Greene’s not the oldest. A volunteer in Thailand recently turned 80.