Month: December 2017

Categories
News

Morbidity rates: Optima’s health insurance premium calculations challenged

Sara Stovall and Ian Dixon met with Senator Tim Kaine, far right, and Kristen Molloy, his senior health policy advisor, and legislative correspondent Nicholas Widmyer. Photo courtesy Senator Kaine's office.

 

In November, Sara Stovall was grappling with a health insurance premium that had skyrocketed from $940 a month to $3,000 for her family of four in the Charlottesville market, which found itself with the highest rates in the country.

Now Stovall says she has a better idea of why this area’s rates are so high. She believes Optima Health—the area’s only individual policy provider—used a factor in calculating health insurance premiums that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services forbids—and she says its incoming CEO admitted as much in a December 14 meeting.

Stovall and fellow Charlottesville resident Ian Dixon met with Optima CEO Michael Dudley and his successor, Dennis Mathias. It was there that in explaining why Charlottesville’s rates are so high, according to Stovall and Dixon, Mathias said, “The morbidity of the people buying in this marketplace is higher than other parts of the state.”

The two say Dudley further explained that morbidity is “how sick people are.”

And that’s a big no-no in HHS’ 2018 Unified Rate Review Instructions: “Geographic factors may not reflect differences in morbidity by region.”

To Dixon and Stovall, inclusion of morbidity as a factor would explain why a Charlottesvillian would pay 68 percent more for a bronze health plan than someone in the Hampton Roads area.

They point out that Optima’s filings use an area rating factor for Charlottesville that’s 58 percent higher than Hampton Roads—but they say Anthem’s area rating for Charlottesville was lower than Hampton Roads. “There’s no history of our area being rated this high,” says Dixon.

Another factor they question is the difference between Optima’s individual policy rates and the small group rates it offers businesses. In Charlottesville, the small group rate is significantly lower than an individual plan, despite both using the same providers and the same provider reimbursement rates, says Dixon.

“We don’t see any justification for the 58 percent difference from small group and individual rates,” says Stovall.

“They said small groups are healthier,” says Dixon. “The health of the population and morbidity cannot be used in setting the rates.”

In a statement from Optima’s Dudley, he does not address the question of whether morbidity was used in how the company calculated its Charlottesville premiums.

“We have carefully revisited our 2018 premium calculations,” and determined the calculations were accurate, reviewed by third-party actuarial experts and approved by the Virginia Bureau of Insurance and the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services, he says.

Optima did not respond to a question about the statements allegedly made by Dudley and Mathias on morbidity, but says, “This is a very complex issue, and we correctly addressed all appropriate adjustments in accordance with state and federal laws, and, as required by the regulations, the geographic factors did not reflect differences in morbidity by region.

Stovall and Dixon met with people from Virginia’s Bureau of Insurance, and say that while those in the meeting initially were skeptical about their concerns, “by the end of the meeting they felt our concerns were valid,” says Stovall.

“You’ll have to rely on what they’re telling you as far as the meeting goes,” says Ken Schrad, spokesperson for the State Corporation Commission, under which the Bureau of Insurance resides.

“The bureau can always seek further information to be responsive to an inquiry or complaint from an already accepted filing,” he says.

Would Optima’s request for premium rates that are the highest in the country raise any red flags at the Bureau of Insurance? Says Schrad, “There’s so many factors that go into filing for insurance plans. To point out one factor alone as driving something would be hard to do.”

Optima maintains that when Anthem pulled out of the Charlottesville market, leaving zero insurance providers, despite business advisors telling the insurer to steer clear, it was asked by the commonwealth to come in and cover as many people as it could.

Optima Health is owned by Sentara, which also owns Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital here. Optima did not respond to a question about whether that also was a factor in its decision to offer coverage here.

The company did say it had lost more than $30 million in the past three years in Virginia under the Affordable Care Act and this “is not sustainable.”

And Dudley’s response to Stovall and Dixon suggests they move on. “The reality is that premium rates are locked in for 2018,” he says. He adds the wish that “Washington would establish an environment that allows for affordable health plans.”

While Dixon considers the response “evasive” in not addressing “the crux of our complaint about morbidity,” he and Stovall are with Dudley on one point. They plan to escalate with the Bureau of Insurance and go back to their senators and congressman to figure out why Charlottesville can’t get affordable care.

Updated December 27 with Optima’s denial that morbidity was used to calculate Charlottesville’s health insurance premiums.

Categories
News

The Heather Heyer way

Heather Heyer's coworker and mentor Alfred Wilson, mother Susan Bro, and Mayor Mike Signer spoke at the dedication of Heather Heyer Way on Fourth Street. Photo by Eze Amos

On the morning of December 20, around 50 people drew to the scene of the August 12 vehicular attack that killed Heather Heyer and injured dozens more, where dead flowers still line the street and brick walls are still chalked with messages that mourn the 32 year old and disavow the hate that came to town that day.

“It’s always hard for me to come to this street,” said Susan Bro, the mother of the woman who died after being run over by a white supremacist in a Dodge Challenger. “I find it easier to go to the cemetery than to come here, frankly,” she said.

Photo by Eze Amos

But on this particular day, Heyer’s friends and family, coworkers, city officials and community members on whom she left a lasting impression gathered for the dedication of a street in her honor—Heather Heyer Way.

“I’m proud of how she died,” Bro said. “What other legacy could a mother ever want for her child?”

She, along with Heyer’s father, Mark, and her mentor and coworker at the Miller Law Group, Alfred Wilson, cried as they spoke.

“The terror attack that resulted in Ms. Heyer’s death and serious injuries to dozens more shocked our community and touched the heart and soul of not only Charlottesville, but the entire country,” read Mayor Mike Signer from a proclamation he signed that day. “This honorary designation pays tribute to Ms. Heyer’s dedication to justice, fairness, equal rights for all and positive social change.”

Heather Heyer Way extends from Market to Water streets and is an honorary designation, so Fourth Street addresses will not change.

Categories
Real Estate

Luxurious and Eco-savvy Bathrooms

By Marilyn Pribus –

Whether you are building a new home or remodeling your old one, REALTORS® agree that a luxurious master bath is a big plus. You get to enjoy it now and when it’s time to sell, and only the kitchen is more important.

REALTOR® Todd McGee, Associate Broker with Nest Realty in Charlottesville, confirms that people take a very careful look at bathrooms. “People are looking for something to match their lifestyle,” he says. “They may not necessarily want a big soaking tub, but they like a larger walk-in shower with no-step access rather than those all-in-one fiberglass units.”

Other favored features, he says, include a separate “water closet” room and definitely higher vanities than were popular 20 years ago so you don’t have to bend over. “The medicine cabinet doesn’t necessarily have a mirror,” he continues. “Many these days have interesting frontings, enough shelves to keep things orderly, and often electrical outlets.”

A surprising number of bathroom upgrades can be Do-It-Yourself (DIY) projects by a reasonably handy homeowner, but projects involving bearing walls, major plumbing installations, tile setting, and rewiring are usually best left to professionals.

Universal Design
No matter what degree of luxury you seek, your over-arching plan should be a commitment to Universal Design. This planning scheme spells out easy access for persons with disabilities, injuries, surgeries or accidents that require walkers, crutches, or wheelchairs for mobility.

Universal Design is also important because an accessible dwelling makes it easier for homeowners to “age in place.” Besides, when it’s time to sell—whether next year or decades from now—these upgrades will attract a larger pool of potential buyers. 

In a bathroom, Universal Design features include barrier-free entry with a wider-than-standard door, no-step access to a shower, and enough room to maneuver a walker or wheelchair possibly with a helper present. Other important amenities: grab bars by the toilet and in the shower, shower controls at lower levels, a handheld showerhead, and a higher level toilet.

These features do not add a great deal to either initial construction or a remodeling project, but their absence can mean costly upgrades if they are gradually (or suddenly) needed.  Take, for example, the unhappy case of a local man who must use a motorized wheelchair after a serious accident. He faced expensive retro-fits including a no-step entry to the house, widened interior doorways, and a completely remodeled bathroom.

Choosing Your Style
Before you start considering fixtures—lighting and such—take time to decide on a theme. This small room can be an extension of your decor, but it could also stand alone. Here’s a chance for a bold color scheme in your favorite hues or a subdued palette with relaxing tones.

You can create a little greenhouse with vivid floral wall paper and even a greenhouse window with shelves for living plants. You could go rustic or sophisticated or retro.  Do you want gleaming tile climbing the walls to include the ceiling? How about natural stone and wood?  Do you want to punctuate it all with chrome or copper or brushed steel?

For ideas to trigger your imagination, visit model homes and open houses in the area. A search of the internet with word such as +bathroom +décor +style +eco +luxury +economy +plan +design will display hundreds of beautiful ideas.

If you are building your home, take time with your architect specifically for bathroom planning. On the other hand, if you are planning on your own and have a general idea of your direction, you might want to try available software to create your design.

While some of this software is for sale, there are a number of websites where you can play with it online. Since it’s often in 3-D, you can get a real feel for what your finished design might look like. You can move fixtures, check door clearances, choose between a wall-hung or pedestal sink, and much more.

Windows, Ventilation and Heating
It’s always lovely to have at least one window for natural light, fresh air, and ventilation in seasonable weather. Of course, with bathroom privacy always a consideration, this may not be a great choice.  In this case, skylights or light tubes are great options.

Especially in original construction, glass bricks can be a handsome choice. While open windows are fine during mild seasons, alternative ventilation is essential in colder weather  to prevent mold, or unpleasant odors. A clever addition is a humidity-sensing fan that operates automatically.

Although bathrooms are generally part of a home’s heating system, they sometimes require a bit of extra warmth. Infrared light bulbs are an easy addition and space heaters recessed in a wall are also cozy. With new construction or remodeling, the installation of radiant heat mats under floor tile is surprisingly inexpensive and truly luxurious on a chilly morning. For real pampering, there’s nothing like a heated towel bar.

Being Luxurious
Many people these days are opting for a spa-like master bath.  A new trend is combining both a tub and a shower in a so-called wet room. In this case the tub edge or deck becomes a shower bench. A luxurious extra touch can be supplied by a digital shower system programmable for each user’s preferred temperature, flow rate, and mode. 

Often these new wet rooms aren’t completely enclosed, but have glass walls rather than doors. Sometimes a partial wall of tile or stone protects privacy while the use of smoky glass gives a feeling of both openness and privacy.

Steam showers, “rain” showers, multiple shower heads, and soaking tubs with air or water jets are also popular. Remember that some of these devices need extra space for their “mechanicals.” For example, a steam shower needs a steam generator nearby, is generally built large enough for at least two people, and requires a complete enclosure These days, the final touch can be  matching faucets, shower heads, and a drain that is an artistic statement—so much more elegant than that old chrome circle.

Happily, you can be luxurious and eco-savvy at the same time. Select water-saving shower heads that introduce motion or air into the spray to make it seem more generous. Low-flush toilets are significant water savers, requiring as little as a gallon of water for a flush. Both the City of Charlottesville and the Albemarle County Water Authority offer substantial rebates to replace older toilets with low-flow options.

Wall-hung toilets are gaining in popularity.  They can be installed at any desired height and the floor beneath is clear for easier cleaning.  Since the tank is in the wall, these toilets are also space saving and there is even hand-free technology for flushing with just a wave.

One of the most expensive features of a new bathroom can be the tub with surprising price tags. To keep the cost in check, visit an architectural salvage shop such as Caravati’s Architectural Salvage in Richmond; Salvagewrights, Ltd. in Orange; or the Habitat ReStore in Charlottesville. Even if a tub you like is badly stained, you can have it professionally reglazed for around $500 to $700 to look like new.

Facelift or Full Remodel?
“You can always tell when a house was built before about 2002 or 2003,” declares Bill May of ERA Bill May Realty Company. May’s been a REALTOR® for 45 years and confirms that after the kitchen, the next thing home shoppers check out is the master bath. “Since 2003, bathrooms have been getting larger,” he says. “People really like to have two separate vanities and mirrors and a soaking tub big enough for a party.”

If you’re remodeling, however, you’re likely to be working with a much smaller area, so you’ll want to save as much of the existing bath as you can. “You can’t do much to change small square footage,” he points out, “but there are things you can do that work like a charm.”

The first thing people look at is the floor, he states. “Replacing vinyl with tile is the simplest thing.” In some cases, he says, tile can be laid on top of well nailed-down vinyl rather than having to remove the original floor, but it would be wise to check with a professional first. This could also be a golden opportunity to add radiant heat under the new flooring.

Professional bathroom designers agree the floor has the biggest impact so if you have the money to splurge a bit, that’s the place to do it. One clever way to economize is to lay a “rug” with a few square feet of elegant tile, and surround it with larger, less expensive tiles.

“After the floor,” says May, “look at the vanity top and maybe replace the mirror. These things aren’t expensive.” Consider a second sink with a mirror for each or opt for a wall-to-wall mirror, since mirrors are less expensive than tile on a wall. Especially in a small room, mirrors can visually double the space.

New or refurbished cabinets can be wall-mounted or, in some cases, recessed to make a flat surface that makes the area feel larger. A lighted magnifying mirror is a luxurious touch and modern cabinetry often includes chargers and speakers for powering up your devices, to hear the news of the day, or to enjoy music.

Other inexpensive “facelifts” include new faucets—stainless steel, brushed, or oil-rubbed—with coordinated cabinet knobs and towel bars. Most new faucets are water savers and some even work with a wave of the hand to prevent spread of germs.  Curved shower rods, often seen in hotels, add spaciousness and even the simple addition of a new shower curtain, new towels, and a new rug can really jazz up your surroundings. 

Lighting
REALTOR® May’s final point: “If you have a light fixture from 1952, it’s time for a new one!”

Yes, indeed. Bathrooms need plenty of task lighting and it’s important to have a mixture of fixtures to reduce the chance of shadows. The general choices are light bars or wall lights. Shadow-reducing light bars can be mounted either above the mirror or vertically at about eye level at the side. Wall lights include sconces and brackets to complement other lighting.

Both kinds of lighting come in almost endless style varieties from Mason jars to elegantly marbleized shades. Many people choose adjustable lighting—having it bright for shaving or applying make-up and more subdued for a relaxing soak or shower—so a dimmer switch is a nice addition.

Lighting for the shower or wet room is specifically designed to resist high moisture. A recessed light is best here and there are a variety of water-resistant trims and lenses available.

Marilyn Pribus and her husband live in Albemarle County.  Their main bathroom (with grab bars) is a virtual aquarium of ocean mementos including seashells, a large glass fishing-net float found on Iwo Jima, and a cornetfish skeleton hung from the ceiling.

Categories
Real Estate

How Not to Break the Holiday Bank

By Marilyn Pribus –

If you’re one of us who hasn’t quite finished shopping for this year’s holidays, and have three truly tough names on your list that you absolutely have to get something for, here’s a budget and stress-saving checklist for next year. Tuck it in your purse or copy it on your smart phone.

Plan Ahead

  • Shop post-holiday clearance sales at stores or online.  And, come December, 2018, remember where you stashed the items.
  • Pay attention. When you hear a mention of, “I wish I had [fill in the blank],” write it down right then. It could be a wish for a Cville tee shirt, extra pairs of SmartWool socks, or a peppermill. You’ll think you’ll remember, but when it’s time to shop it can be hard to recall.
  • Be alert for that special gift. Whether you’re shopping a sale, browsing on vacation, or wandering through an antique mall, keep in mind the people on your holiday list. Would that pastel scarf be perfect for Aunt Madeline? How about those whacky squirrel earrings for your neighbor who buys sunflower seeds in 25-pound bags?
  • Recycle gift boxes, holiday ribbons, bows, wrapping paper, and holiday greeting cards.
  • People have mixed feelings on re-gifting, but if something you received would be absolutely perfect for someone else—a person who will positively never, ever see the original gifter—why not. CAVEAT: Be utterly certain to remove any gift tags.
  • DIY. These days, when people are so busy, there’s nothing like a home-made or home-baked gift. And they are usually less expensive than purchasing something that might be the wrong color or size.
  • The internet is a great source for holiday recipes including variations for vegetarian or gluten-free friends. Assemble mixes—with everything blended except the liquids—for muffins, cookies, hot chocolate or any number of other recipes.
  • Construction projects. If you have youngsters in your life, recruit them to make holiday cards for you from sturdy paper stock and last year’s cards.  Provide glue sticks, scissors, and colored felt pens plus a supply of ribbons, or do-dads from a thrift shop. Guaranteed to bring a much bigger smile from the recipient than a store-bought card.
  • For more ideas, search any combination of Christmas + low-cost + quick +easy +crafts +ideas +thrifty + decorations and you’ll find hundreds of clever inspirations. One quick visit had ideas on making “stained glass” jars (use colored tissue paper and glue; insert candle), creating wrapping paper from potato “stamps,” preparing a holiday feast for the birds from pinecones, and designing clever décor from Popsicle sticks and festive paper.

Decorating

  • Store away this year’s wreath frame and settle on next year’s theme such as birds or trains or the seashore, then keep an eye out for related items when you’re shopping in thrift shops or yard sales.
  • Hate that old Christmas sweater?  Cut it up to make stockings to hang from the mantel.
  • Don’t have a fireplace? Create one from a painter’s drop cloth and “blackboard” paint.
  • Float votive candles in water-filled wine glasses. (We’ve found wine glasses and other pretty glass containers in local thrift shops for as little as 20 cents each.) 
  • Collect a variety of candlesticks at garage sales or thrift shops, then unify them with matching spray paint—silver or gold or metallic red, perhaps—for a dramatic assembly on a shelf, mantel or as a table centerpiece.
  • Make a popcorn snowman.

Sneaky Santa

Instead of struggling to buy presents for everyone in the family, establish a “Sneaky Santa” gift swap for those 16 and older. All this is usually more entertainment than actual gifting. The basic rules (with endless variations from family to family) are:

  • Everyone brings a wrapped gift—new or white elephant and with a price limit—and puts it with the gift “pile.”
  • Each person draws a number and sits where everyone can see every gift that is opened.
  • Person #1 opens any gift. Then person #2 may either steal the first gift (before opening gift #2) or open gift #2. Subsequent players may steal any previous gift. If your gift is stolen, you can steal another one (but not the one stolen from you.) After 3 steals, the turn ends.
  • The person who drew #1 gets the last turn. Some families limit the number of steals to three per item because there is invariably that one gift that almost everyone hankers for.

Traditions

Establishing traditions is a great way to keep your budget in good shape. Remember, the best memories are invariably events rather than items and Sneaky Santa is just one example. Instead of hiring a house decorator, have all the men (and boys) in the family hang those lights while all the women (and girls) hold a cookie-baking marathon. (Then next year get the females outside and the males in the kitchen.)

Other annual (and inexpensive) traditions:

  • Going to cut your own tree.
  • Caroling in your neighborhood or at a nursing home.
  • Walking or driving to see Christmas lights.
  • Watching a Christmas movie with popcorn, hot chocolate, and perhaps mulled wine for the adults.

Marilyn Pribus and her husband live in Albemarle County. She has made or bought tree ornaments for family members for many years. They often represent a special event—anything from baby’s first Christmas to the golfer’s hole-in-one or the college logo for the PVCC freshman. 

Categories
Living

Family ties: Fifeville diner feels like home

Cherry Avenue Diner, run by Gordon Faulknier and his sons, Andrew and George, serves breakfast all day at affordable prices, as well as lunch and dinner offerings. Photo by John Robinson

On a recent Tuesday morning, a frigid wind whipped through Charlottesville, but all was warm and cozy inside the Cherry Avenue Diner at 820 Cherry Ave. in Fifeville. Sparkly snowman decorations hung from the wall sconces lighting each wooden booth, and two waitresses bustled about behind the counter, one wearing a green elf apron and the other wearing a red Mrs. Claus apron, complete with faux fur trim.

A pink-frosted cake sat under a clear plastic dome on the counter, a spoon stirred cream into a mug of coffee and bacon sizzled on the grill. The whole place smelled like breakfast.

Two men sat at the high-top counter and scrolled through social media apps on their phones. The diner’s only been open for a couple of months, but already, they say, it’s a favorite spot: The place has good food for a reasonable price. So far, they like the eggs and corned beef hash breakfast ($5.29) and the biscuits and gravy ($4) best.

The Cherry Avenue Diner is owned and operated by Gordon Faulknier and his sons, George and Andrew. Before opening the diner, the family ran a convenience store in Buckingham County, and when they heard the spot in the Cherry Avenue Shopping Center was open, they thought a diner would be a good fit, Faulknier says.

From a booth near the back of the restaurant, Faulknier points to a hamburger poster hanging in the front window—that’s a photo of an actual hamburger made here in the diner, he says with pride—and talks about how they source their beef from Reid’s Super-Save Market on Preston Avenue because it’s the best beef in town.

The Cherry Avenue Diner is open from 7am to 6pm daily. An egg breakfast with toast or biscuit, home fries and a choice of meat will run you between $5 and $7, pancakes are about $4, and omelets are around $5. Breakfast is served all day, but there are lunch and dinner offerings, too, including hot dogs, grilled cheeses and burgers, plus sides of macaroni salad, potato salad, mashed potatoes, coleslaw, French fries and more. There are salads and pizzas, pork chop and country-fried steak platters, and Shirley’s Southern fried chicken—famous out in Scottsville, Faulknier says—made in-house by Shirley, herself.

More dough

Janet Dob and Cynthia Viejo, aka the Bageladies, known around town for their Bake’mmm bagels and City Market staple bagelini sandwiches, are finalists in the Spark Tank $20,000 Business Accelerator Giveaway, a “Shark Tank”-style competition sponsored by Valley Inbound Marketing out of Staunton and Viking Forge Design out of Waynesboro.

The Bageladies are among the eight finalists who will present business plans to a panel of judges and a public audience at James Madison University on Saturday, January 13. And if they win the $20,000 marketing package, that might mean more bagelinis for all of us: Viejo and Dob are currently working on getting a bagelini bus up and running.

Nacho fast

Cho’s Nachos closed December 17 after serving nachos galore (poke sushi nachos, buffalo chicken nachos, fajita nachos, even s’mores nachos) for just under a year. The restaurant, which opened in the longtime McGrady’s spot at 946 Grady Ave., announced on its Facebook page the space will relaunch as a sports bar concept.

Categories
News

“Me too:” Sexual assault victim speaks out

Ronna Gary, the alleged victim of two counts of forcible sodomy, says she's devastated that she lost her case on March 6. She says she understands why victims don't come forward. Photo by Eze Amos

Sitting on a black ottoman in her living room, the same room where she says an on-duty Charlottesville police officer sexually assaulted her in November 2016, Ronna Gary draws invisible lines with her pointer finger to illustrate the ways she’s rearranged the space since the cop allegedly pressured her to her knees, unzipped his pants and forced her to perform oral sex on him right next to her exercise bike.

She ditched the bike, for the record. The new layout makes her feel more comfortable in the “crime scene” she avoided for several months.

Christopher Seymore. Courtesy of the CPD

The Shamrock Road resident doesn’t like reliving the early morning hours of November 18, 2016, when ex-cop Christopher Seymore responded to a drunk driving incident on her street and entered her house to ask about what she saw. He allegedly left some belongings sitting on the bicycle while he went out to sign for a tow truck, and when he came back inside to retrieve them, she noticed he had removed his body camera and covered his badge.

Gary testified in court that she was terrified, at eye-level with the uniformed officer’s handgun holstered on his belt, as he forcibly sodomized her. When the sun rose and he was off the clock, she says she awoke to the sound of Seymore beating on her bedroom window, and when she let him inside again, he led her to her bedroom and sexually assaulted her again.

“I should have never opened the door,” she says, wearing a gray, long-sleeve T-shirt with the words “Me Too” written across the chest, her back to a miniature Christmas tree with white lights and red and gold ornaments. She didn’t put up a tree last year—she wasn’t in the holiday spirit—but this year, she says she’s trying.

On December 12, Gary and about 15 of her supporters, with protest signs in-hand, rallied in front of the Charlottesville General District Court and police department to demand a new trial date for the man who is charged with two counts of forcible sodomy at her expense.

She thinks Seymore’s defense attorney, Liz Murtagh, is intentionally using stall tactics to prolong the trial, which was initially scheduled for the beginning of December and was continued.

“Justice delayed is justice denied,” said local activist Jalane Schmidt at the protest.

Murtagh says the December 7 trial was continued because a subpoenaed police officer was sick. On December 18, the trial was rescheduled to start March 5.

“I just want the first available [trial] date,” Gary said before it was rescheduled, surrounded by a vast selection of scented candles and a dozen framed photos of her loved ones. “[Murtagh] gave this guy one more Christmas, and she took one more Christmas from me.” Gary says she put up a $10 tree from Dollar General. “I just figure, you know, he’s not going to get this Christmas.”

Pausing to blink back tears, she says, “I’m better than I was last year. I’m not 100 percent, but I’m not as bad as I was.”

In the past year, Gary has undergone extensive therapy through the local nonprofit Sexual Assault Resource Agency.

She says she’s gone days without sleeping, and had a hard time getting out of bed some mornings. She’s been told the alleged rape was her fault and she was “asking for it,” lost a job for missing work, had animal carcasses left in her front yard—”dead rats, because I told on an officer, so I’m a rat,” she explains. Her house has been shot with paintballs, her motorcycle vandalized and her tires slashed.

Now she has a surveillance camera peeking through her front window, and “shockingly,” she quips, knocking on her wooden coffee table, “the incidents have stopped.”

“And [the defense] is threatening me in court with bringing out stuff about my past,” Gary says. “There’s nothing in my past that I’m ashamed of. Not one thing. But that’s what they do to victims—they put you on the stand and they rip you in half.”

In an April 13 preliminary hearing, during which Gary gave an emotional testimony about the sexual assault for more than an hour, she says she saw Seymore for the first time since the incident in her bedroom.

“I wanted to look him in his eye when he didn’t have on that blue uniform and he didn’t have a gun,” she says. “It was important for me to look at his face.”

He looked at the ceiling and he looked at the floor, but Gary says he wouldn’t look back at her.

“I was disgusted and angry,” Gary says. “He took my spirit for a bit.”

Back in her living room, there’s a painting of a woman who looks much like the alleged victim, with light brown skin and boldly lined lips of a darker hue. The woman on the oversized canvas has lustrous tears pouring from sad brown eyes, and inside her pupils are small, circular cutouts of the faces of people Gary has loved and lost in her own lifetime, she explains about the piece of art commissioned from Maryland-based artist Geraldine Lloyd.

Gary has lived in town for nearly five years, but says she hopes to move back to Maryland where her two young daughters are currently located.

“I want out of Charlottesville,” she says. “I could fight harder and stronger if I weren’t here.”

To help her raise enough money to relocate, a friend of Gary’s has started a donations campaign called Get Ronna Safe on youcaring.com, a lesser-known crowdfunding site.

Gary encourages victims who feel like they don’t have anyone to confide in to reach her through the website.

“I’m proud of every woman who has come out,” she says about the #MeToo movement. “There’s safety in numbers.”

She adds, “I can honestly say I see why women don’t. You’re treated like hell.”

Categories
Arts

Photo project shows people through another lens

Lorretta Goins was the first portrait Sarah Cramer Shields took after the events of August 11 and 12, launching the project “This Is Charlottesville,” on display at VMDO Architects now through the end of 2017, and on Instagram at @thisischarlottesville. Photo by Sarah Cramer Shields

As the events of August 11 and 12 unfolded across Charlottesville, photojournalist Sarah Cramer Shields watched it happen on the news.

“I was putting two small children down for naps when it happened,” Shields says in an interview with C-VILLE. “I wanted to be on the front lines telling the stories of what was happening, but I knew that wasn’t the right place for me.”

Watching live as national and local outlets broadcast the violence, she saw “a ton of Nazi symbols, people’s heads being bashed in, people being killed. I remember thinking, That’s not our town.”

Shields wanted to show the world a different side of Charlottesville: one that embraced and celebrated its residents, people who come from all places and all walks of life.

Determined to contribute somehow, she asked herself what the community might need as it began to heal.

“I think people need to connect,” she says. “I think change only happens when we step outside our comfort zone and see and talk to people who are outside our daily paths.”

Shields, who began taking photos in middle school and turned pro after graduating from UVA in 2005, says she seeks out the human connection in all her work, whether she does it for weddings, editorials or other projects. She decided to put her skills to work documenting the people of her town and launched an ongoing project called “This Is Charlottesville.”

Just a few days after August 12, she began walking through town one day a week and asking strangers if she could photograph them. Ninety-eight percent of the time people said yes.

“For some reason, I make people really comfortable. They just pour their souls out to me,” she says. “I’ve been surprised by how much people really want to talk about things, and there really isn’t a platform to do so.”

When Shields takes photos, she asks everyone the same five questions. (She also asks her subjects to nominate up to three people to be featured in the project; her goal is to create one new profile per day.) Then she goes home, transcribes the interview and posts the highlights on Instagram and Facebook. “This is Charlottesville” has 85 profiles and counting. The response, she says, has been amazing.

“People love to hear other people’s walks of life,” she says. “You’ve got people in Hogwaller reading about the dean of the UVA medical school. People on the Downtown Mall seeing the stories of people in Friendship Court.”

Certain connections stand out, she says. Like “the Afghan father who moved here with four kids. He was looking for work but has an incredible skillset, which came across in his profile. I got emails from people who said, ‘What great skills he has, I’ll keep him in mind for jobs.’

“There’s a girl in Friendship Court who is a die hard Cavaliers fan. She’s never missed a game, but she’s never been to a game, either. Within an hour of me posting her story, 20 different people reached out to say, ‘Here, she can have my tickets to this weekend’s game.’”

Shields feels “blown away” by these experiences, which hint at the potential of her project to become an even bigger bridge within the community.

“I think we have a lot of issues in our town, our city and our state that we need to talk about,” she says. “I know this [project] is not a cure by any means.”

But as a personal response to local events, “This Is Charlottesville” allows Shields to highlight the connection she experiences every day.

Whenever she photographs someone, she waits for the moment when her subject lowers his guard. (It usually happens while people talk about something they love.)

The instant her subjects open up, she says, it reveals who they really are.

“I look for honest warmth and openness. A pure, real moment where someone is lost in themselves and they trust me to take their photo.”

That authenticity is the potent stuff that allows strangers to feel close, no matter how different their lives look on paper—or in pixels.

“I’m not some heroic problem solver,” Shields says, “but I see the main issue as the fact that we are not connecting. I don’t know how change is going to happen unless we start listening and seeing how other people live their lives.”

Categories
Arts

ARTS Pick: Phil Vassar and Kellie Pickler

On their first tour together, Phil Vassar and Kellie Pickler are showcasing their holiday collaboration “The Naughty List,” a single that pairs infectious melodies and soulful lyrics in a swinging new favorite. Publicity photo

On their first tour together, Phil Vassar and Kellie Pickler are showcasing their holiday collaboration “The Naughty List,” a single that pairs infectious melodies and soulful lyrics in a swinging new favorite. Each of the country stars has become known for covers of Christmas favorites, and by teaming up in concert, they’re sure to melt away the winter cold with their warm connection to the season.

Saturday, December 23. $29.75-99.75, 8pm. The Paramount Theater, 215 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. 979-1333.

Categories
Arts

ARTS Pick: A Christmas Carol

Scrooge wants you at ASC’s A Christmas Carol. Photo by Michael Bailey

The publication of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol in 1853 served to revive interest in some long-expired holiday traditions, including caroling and feasts, and generated the iconic tale of personal transformation that’s been replayed in December for more than 150 years. Responsible for imprinting “Merry Christmas,” “Bah, humbug!” and Scrooge on the seasonal lexicon, Dickens also infused a spirit of generosity into the celebration of Christmas. The Wicked Folly Tour stages the story with new twists and surprises in a production filled with music and cheer. $29-59, times vary.

Through December 27. American Shakespeare Center, 10 S. Market St., Staunton. 540-885-5588.

Categories
News

In brief: Soviet-era propaganda, a landmark vote and a grisly death

The Rotunda at UVA. Photo by Ibn Batuta

Dollars and sense

A story published December 7 in UVA Today boasted that minimum wage for the school’s new hires has increased by more than 16 percent since 2011, and President Teresa Sullivan and Chief Operating Officer Patrick Hogan presented this milestone to the Board of Visitors earlier this month.

The current minimum wage for newly hired, full-time staff at the university is $12.38 per hour, which beats the federal minimum wage of $7.25 and an estimated $11.86 living wage in Charlottesville, according to the report.

“This article reads like classic Soviet-era propaganda,” writes former mayor Dave Norris on Facebook, citing what he called a gross mischaracterization of a living wage in the city.

While, sure, data collected by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology shows that $11.86 is the living wage in the city, Norris points out that that’s for a single adult, when “many hard-working and low-wage UVA employees have children.”

According to MIT’s living wage calculator, that number for a household with one parent and one child is $25.40 an hour and $30.06 for an adult and two little ones.

Norris says no one’s asking the university to raise its minimum wage to 30 bucks an hour, “but maybe stop patting itself on the back so vigorously when the best it chooses to do for the workers who make the university function is $12.38.”

Concludes the former mayor: “Try harder, UVA.”

Landmark vote

The Landmark Hotel. Photo: Ashley Twiggs

City councilors voted 3-2 at their December 18 meeting to not give John Dewberry a $1 million tax break over 10 years on his planned reconstruction of the Downtown Mall’s derelict Landmark Hotel. The Atlanta-based developer has promised Charlottesville he’ll turn the eyesore into the luxurious Dewberry Hotel.

Song of August 12

Southern rockers the Drive-By Truckers released “The Perilous Night” in November, with the lyric, “Dumb, white and angry with their cup half-filled, running over people down in Charlottesville.” Proceeds from the single will go to Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate groups, according to the Roanoke Times.

What’s with West2nd?

The Planning Commission okayed higher density for the Keith Woodard project that will be the future home of the City Market December 11, but refused to approve new designs for the L-shaped building, reports Charlottesville Tomorrow. Woodard won a competition for the project in 2014, but earlier this year said that design was financially unfeasible.

Parking petition

At press time, 738 people had signed an online petition written by Jennifer Tidwell to nix the new parking meters installed around the Downtown Mall over the summer. “Plain and simple, we do not need them,” it says.

Grisly death

Police say Bethany Stephens, a 5-foot and 125-pound Goochland native, was mauled to death by her two pit bulls over the weekend as she was walking them through the woods near her home. When her father found her body, it was being guarded by the canines, reports the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Quote of the Week:

The weight of the urn in my arms was about the same weight she was when she was born… I flashed back to the day they put her in my arms when she was born, and I sat and held her for a long time. —Susan Bro, mother of Heather Heyer, in a December 14 Daily Beast interview

Susan Bro, mother of Heather Heyer, walks into Charlottesville Circuit Court to see the man charged with killing her daughter for the first time. Photo by Eze Amos