American bluegrass band Nickel Creek first performed together as children at a pizza parlor in San Diego in 1989. The trio of mandolinist Chris Thile, violinist Sara Watkins, and guitarist Sean Watkins has since released seven albums, won a Grammy, and been credited with helping revolutionize folk and roots music. The Celebrants is the band’s first new record since 2014, following a hiatus during which the members pursued solo careers and other projects. With instrumental acoustic quartet Hawktail.
Thursday 6/22. $39–69, 7pm. Ting Pavilion, 700 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. tingpavilion.com
Botanical Garden of the Piedmont offers an enchanted nature escape in the heart of the city. Photo by Stephen Barling.
Some say the world will end in fire (thanks, Canada), / Some say in ice (running through the wireless veins of Chat GPT). / From what I’ve tasted of CODE PURPLE haze / I’d say we’ll all go down ablaze. / But if we dodge existential dread / And visit the Botanical Garden of the Piedmont instead, / We’ll romp in shady, leafy glee / And wind up hopeful as WALL-E.
I’ve been contemplating mass extinction lately, no idea why. The doomsday stuff piles up in my head even when I’m just driving home from the grocery store on an early summer day, not even listening to the news, just head-bopping along to a Harry Styles song (can you get more carefree than “Watermelon Sugar”?).
So there I am, singing the wrong words off-key (but also worrying about Ukraine), when I see the sign for the Botanical Garden of the Piedmont, and it beckons to me, like Merlin from Arthurian myth. How many times have I driven past barely noticing the place, or thinking, “Huh, looks like scrubby brush and a lean-to to me?”
Not this time. I pull over, park, and, crunching along the mulched path, I enter a little green glade. I see paths into the forest, a rough-hewn birdhouse, a garden shed, and Hobbit-like benches. My body softens into the breeze rustling the branches around me. I start down a trail, looking for fairies, when I spy, at a child’s eye-level, a twiggy, hand-painted sign that says: “Sit. Relax. Watch Birds.”
Fairies do exist! And so, it seems, does an arboreal antidote to apocalyptic angst: the Botanical Garden of the Piedmont.
What
A woodland utopia right down the street from Charlottesville High School.
Why
Because for free, from dawn to dusk, in the heart of the city, lies a storybook secret garden, just waiting to be explored.
How it went
Since 2008, community members have worked to transform the east side of McIntire Park (bordering the John Warner Parkway and Melbourne Avenue) into a space for environmental education, restoration, and recreation. Only a small part of the nearly 15-acre site has been developed so far, with plans underway for an amphitheater, canopy tree walk, pavilion, and more, but already there’s so much to see and do.
I’ve gone three times now, and each time I’ve noticed something new—a tree that loops up and down like a question mark; a heart-painted stone nestled in a groove between branches; a LOOK UP sign by the side of a stream. Once I joined local artist Robert Kamide and some folks building cairns, stacks of balanced rocks. Another time I happened upon a clearing where kids sat (and played) on tree-stump stools while a JMRL librarian told a tale.
On my last visit I was floored to find, where a week before I’d seen only weeds, a labyrinth, with this hand-painted sign at its entrance:
A labyrinth is not a maze.
A maze is designed for you
To lose your way;
A labyrinth is designed
For you to find your way.
Yes, the place is magical, alive with surprise and thoughtfulness, like the wide, wood-chip-covered trails (for those averse to ticks, poison ivy, and forest friends that even Merlin would avoid).
“Botanical garden” is such a formal, science-y term for a place that feels like an enchanted nature park. But as if through osmosis, the garden makes “science” feel like an adventure, a gambol, even a brush with the sacred. Go for a butterfly walk or an arts program. Volunteer. Or just wander over and take to heart John Muir’s words, chalked on the garden’s blackboard: “Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt.”
Arnold details the ambitious, muscle-bound rise of actor and politician Arnold Schwarzenegger. Image courtesy Netflix.
Director Lesley Chilcott’s three-part Netflix series Arnold has a subject so famous and ubiquitous that a first name is all the title requires. Arnold Schwarzenegger has lived an epic life, carving out his mythic existence with success in multiple arenas. In this series his biography is presented strictly by-the-numbers in a creatively unambitious documentary about this epically ambitious man.
Schwarzenegger, 75, recounts his life on camera, with each episode spotlighting a specific segment of his career: “Athlete,” “Actor,” and “American.” Interspersed with interviews with his co-workers and friends, including James Cameron and Danny DeVito, the Schwarzenegger-sanctioned doc is light on controversy, and annoyingly stagey unnecessary reenactments of incidents from his life occasionally appear.
Episode one, “Athlete,” establishes that every stage of Schwarzenegger’s life was marked by a superhuman drive to be number one. He grew up in the tiny Austrian village of Thal with a father who was an abusive World War II vet on the German side—a martinet who instilled in Arnold and his brother, Meinhard, a fiercely competitive urge. While other Austrians focused on soccer or skiing, the adolescent Arnold became fascinated by bodybuilding after seeing muscleman Reg Park in a Hercules movie.
The rest is history. Schwarzenegger won the Mr. Universe competition by age 20, before he reached the United States. And when he did arrive in the States, he lived the supreme Horatio Alger success story: a muscle-bound kid with a heavy accent and an unpronounceable name taking America by storm.
Nicknamed The Austrian Oak, Schwarzenegger became a poster boy for muscle training with the help of weightlifting legend Joe Weider, winning title after title. After a decade of competing, it became “boring,” Schwarzenegger explains, and he chose to “leave it a winner.” But not before he filmed the 1977 hit docudrama Pumping Iron, which widely popularized massive delts and pecs throughout America.
In “Actor,” Schwarzenegger discusses his movie career, and from here on, the material becomes overly familiar. Star-making vehicles like Conan the Barbarian and The Terminator made him a box-office draw as one of the world’s biggest action stars. One of Arnold’s most amusing vignettes is an interview with Sylvester Stallone describing his relentless competition with Schwarzenegger in the ’80s, each of them vying for the biggest guns and most kills on screen. This echoes a telling phrase Schwarzenegger uses to describe what he loves about America’s hyper-ambitious culture: “Too big is not enough!”
Episode three covers Schwarzenegger’s marriage to Maria Shriver, a Kennedy, and his entrance into politics. After serving two terms as governor of California, Arnie’s marriage collapsed when it was revealed that he had fathered a child with the famous couple’s housekeeper. This, and some admissions of sexual harassment in his youth, are virtually the only aspersions allowed to be cast on his character throughout the series.
Therein lies the documentary’s major flaw: Arnold is essentially a promotional video for its subject, who is presented as godlike. Admittedly, Schwarzenegger’s extraordinary life makes most of it engaging, but it’s too worshipful. The bigger problem is that this is unexceptional, and low on insight or enlightening new information about the “Governator.” It’s basically fun, but for a documentary about Olympian bodies, its storytelling muscles lack tone.
Two-time academic all-American and four-time ITA all-American, UVA’s Natasha Subhash started playing tennis when she was 4. Image courtesy UVA Athletics Communications.
The Intercollegiate Tennis Association has honored University of Virginia tennis player Natasha Subhash with the national Arthur Ashe Jr. Leadership and Sportsmanship Award.
“It was definitely such a huge honor,” says Subhash about receiving the award. “Arthur Ashe is someone that I grew up looking up to and was extremely inspired by. He’s such a big role model for a lot of young tennis players, so being compared to him was incredible.”
The award honors collegiate tennis players at the regional and national levels who demonstrate “outstanding sportsmanship and leadership, as well as scholastic, extracurricular and tennis achievements,” in the spirit of tennis legend Arthur Ashe Jr.
A two-time academic all-American and a four-time ITA all-American, Subhash has excelled both athletically and academically during her time at UVA. She played for Virginia four years as an undergrad, and will play a fifth season while she works toward a master’s degree in accounting.
“I definitely just want to make the most of it, train as hard as possible, and meet all of our goals for the team,” says Subhash. “I know we have team goals of winning conference championships and the NCAA tournament as well. I think … [achieving] our full potential as a team in my last year would be amazing.”
During her time with the team, Subhash has gained experience both on and off the court. “I was fortunate enough to be co-captain the last two years,” she says. “I think just being in that role, I’ve learned a lot about what it means to lead.”
Subhash has played tennis since the age of 4, and attended Pass Academy, a tennis preparatory school, prior to arriving at UVA. During her time at PA, she trained under founder Bob Pass, and cites her coach as a major source of inspiration. “Unfortunately, he passed away last summer. I think it would have been really awesome for him to see me get this award this year,” she says. “He inspired me a lot to … be the person I am today.”
While in high school, Subhash made her competitive debut as a singles and doubles player, winning four titles before starting college.
She considered turning pro after college, but Subhash has decided not to play competitively when she finishes her master’s degree. “I still want to make the absolute most of my tennis while at UVA, so that hasn’t changed my drive while I’m in school,” she says. “I want to fully succeed in [tennis] while I’m here, but I think I’ll probably stop when I graduate and just focus on my career after that.”
“I’ll probably take a break for a little bit. I have some minor injuries that need some rest to fully heal,” says Subhash. “Eventually, I’ll definitely come back to it and play for fun, or play with my friends. I don’t think it’ll ever be completely out of my life because it’s been the biggest part of my life since I can remember.”
Neighborhood Development Services Director James Freas says a final draft of the zoning ordinance should be available at the end of July. Supplied photo.
A divisive battle continues over Charlottesville’s next set of rules for where buildings can go, and how many housing units are allowed within them.
City Council and the Planning Commission are expected to hold public hearings later this year to conclude a public process to increase both the number of homes and the number of affordable units allowed. A stated point is to make amends for the use of zoning as a tool to reinforce racial segregation.
A key feature is that owners of lots zoned for single-family residential would be allowed—but not required—to build more than one unit.
Before then, public conversations on social media and the internet continue to rage.
“The proposed Charlottesville zoning is too extreme and would be destructive to our beautiful city without the promised additional affordable housing so many residents need,” wrote city resident Martha Smythe.
An online petition, filed by an anonymous resident, has over 1,250 signatures, and was delivered to City Council.
“Slow down and dial back the Planning Commission’s current zoning proposal so that it reduces the likelihood of doing serious and irreversible harm to the City, increases the likelihood of achieving positive outcomes, and delivers the far more moderate plan that citizens want,” reads the petition.
However, the petition contains information that is factually incorrect, such as overstating the number of units that would be allowed under the new zoning. It also does not reflect some of the changes that are expected to be made following a series of work sessions this spring.
The petition prompted the group Livable Cville to write a response: “As detailed in the Fact-Checking section below, six of the seven claims are misleading and contain at least some degree of falsehood,” reads a statement on its website. “The spread of disinformation and misinformation by anonymous interests hinders progress and sows distrust.”
Livable Cville’s statement was unsigned at press time. The “about” section in its website does not list whether it has a board of directors or a staff, though the names of some volunteers were posted in response to this reporter’s questions.
According to co-chair Matthew Gillkin, the group is informal, and is registered with the State Corporation Commission.
“We advocate for politics to build an inclusive community in the Charlottesville area with affordable housing, sustainable transportation, and healthy neighborhoods that are welcome to all,” reads the about section of Livable Cville’s website.
In the meantime, city staff are working with consultants to complete a final draft of the zoning ordinance.
“At the end of July, you can anticipate a consolidated draft document with a complete set of comments that we’ve received on everything to date,” said James Freas, the city’s director of neighborhood development services.
There will be a couple of work sessions in July related to changes to the maps, as well as final tweaks on what can be built in the new Residential-A and Residential-B zones that replace the R-1 zoning that currently makes up half the city.
The current draft would allow three market-rate units to be built on R-A lots, and six market-rate units to be built on R-B lots. The draft allows provisions for those to double if all the units are affordable, but that will likely change in the new draft.
Meanwhile, properties continue to sell in the city under the current zoning. In late April, an entity called JLM Homes bought a duplex on Bailey Road that had belonged to Charles L. Barbour, Charlottesville’s first Black mayor. The company paid $152,000, which is about 14 percent below the 2023 assessment.
“Pressure is not a bad thing. Pressure is a good thing, and pressure is what makes
this team so great. I love it. It makes the game way more exciting.” Kyle Teel, cavaliers catcher. Image courtesy UVA Athletics Communications.
A baseball catcher has a dangerous job.
There are the usual risks, like knee strain and getting hit by foul balls, but junior Kyle Teel had something new to worry about on Sunday, June 11.
If the University of Virginia won game three of the best-of-three Super Regional against Duke, the team would celebrate qualifying for the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, with a dogpile on the pitcher’s mound.
The last time UVA won a Super Regional in 2021, Teel was a freshman right fielder. By the time he jogged home, he was able to launch himself into a coveted spot atop the pile.
Now, Teel would be squatting just feet from pitcher Brian Edgington, who was destined to become the epicenter of the celebratory crush.
Teel’s reward for becoming the first catcher in UVA history to be named a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award, given to the country’s best amateur baseball player, was to be crushed by his own teammates.
In the tunnel, Teel turned to graduate student outfielder Travis Reifsnider. “What should I do?”
Reifsnider considered. “Here’s what you’re going to do,” he said. “You’re going to tackle Brian Edgington. And you’re going to roll off.”
That was the plan.
When sophomore outfielder Colin Tuft caught the final out of the game to seal Virginia’s 12-2 victory, Teel launched himself into Edgington’s arms, then tried the Reifsnider roll.
He had forgotten to account for the fact that this would require Edgington letting go.
Edgington only clutched Teel tighter, and the two were suddenly buried beneath the entire Virginia baseball team.
“It was a little painful, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world,” Edgington said.
The risk of temporary suffocation was worth it. Just two days prior, it seemed possible that the Cavaliers wouldn’t even play a game three, let alone win it.
Jake Gelof is the team’s all-time home run leader, and broke Virginia’s single-season RBI record with 84 this season. Image courtesy UVA Athletics Communications.
Jake Gelof is UVA’s all-time home run leader, and he broke Virginia’s single-season RBI record with 84 this season.
When he stepped up to the plate for the final at-bat during game one of the Super Regional on Saturday, June 9, with two runners on base and the Cavaliers down by one, the home crowd was on its feet. If Gelof recorded a hit, Virginia would walk off with a win.
Gelof connected with the final pitch of the game so forcefully the crack could be heard across Davenport Field as the ball sailed toward the shouting audience behind the left-field fence.
Then Duke’s Tyler Albright leapt upward and snagged it out of the air, quieting the crowd and forcing UVA to concede a 5-4 defeat. It was only the fifth time in 42 games the Cavaliers had lost at home. That was enough to stun the players. It was not enough, however, to panic them.
“When you’re one loss away from ending the season, sometimes the team is really quiet and worried, but seeing everyone be confident still was really cool,” sophomore shortstop Griff O’Ferrall said.
In the tunnel before the do-or-die game two on June 10, Teel did his best impression of a broadcaster watching an upcoming Virginia win.
Into his imaginary microphone, Teel intoned the story of O’Ferrall hitting his first home run of the season. The bases were loaded, of course.
It might not have been a grand slam, but it turned out Teel’s prediction wasn’t too far off.
As the host of a Super Regional, the Cavaliers got the rare opportunity to be the away team at home when the batting order flipped for game two. That meant O’Ferrall, Virginia’s lead-off hitter, started the game at the plate.
“The crowd was all chanting,” O’Ferrall said. “That was the loudest I think I’ve heard the crowd.”
On the first pitch, Duke pitcher Alex Gow missed upwards. O’Ferrall knew Gow would zero in on the strike zone after getting behind on the count, so he decided to be aggressive on the next throw.
On the second pitch, O’Ferrall connected.
Brian O’Connor has taken the Cavs to the College World Series six times. Image courtesy UVA Athletics Communications.
Just like announcer Teel had called before the game, his hit went all the way over the left-center wall.
“It was really special to see him hit his first home run of the season in such a big spot,” Teel said. “He worked so hard, and he’s such a great ballplayer. It was really exciting to see.”
Starting pitcher junior Connelly Early stepped onto the mound in the bottom of the first with the cushion of both a 1-0 lead and a riled-up stadium.
“When Griff O’Ferrall hits a leadoff home run, I mean, the fans are gonna be into the game right from the start, so I didn’t have to get the crowd going,” Early said.
Virginia extended its lead to 4-0 before Duke hit a pair of doubles to cut the Cavaliers’ lead to one in the bottom of the fourth.
That was when Early started thinking of graduate student pitcher Edgington, who was scheduled to start the next game, if there was a next game. Game three still had the dreaded parenthetical “if necessary” beside its Sunday start time on the NCAA schedule.
“I had a realization,” Early said. “I was like, ‘There’s no way I’m not going to give Brian a chance to pitch this third game.’ That’s all that was running through my mind. I was like, ‘I’ve gotta do whatever I can to be able to get Brian out there for what could be his last outing.’”
Early buckled down for the final three innings of his start, allowing zero runs on two hits and forcing four batters into swinging strikeouts.
Meanwhile, Cavaliers batters piled up 14 runs. Gelof joined in on the fun by finally getting that home run he’d been swinging for at the end of game one. It was enough to tie the series with a 14-4 win.
Kyle Teel is the first catcher in UVA baseball history to be named a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award, given to the country’s best amateur baseball player. Image courtesy UVA Athletics Communications.
It would all come down to Edgington in game three.
Before the winner-takes-all game three on Sunday, June 11, pitching coach Drew Dickinson pumped his fist.
Dickinson had just watched Edgington, who was warming up in the bullpen, hurl his split-finger. This pitch, thrown like a fastball with the pitcher’s grip spread into a V, surprises batters by dropping suddenly at the plate.
“When it’s not on, it’s [a] battle for him … but when he throws it with confidence, it’s good,” Dickinson said. “It just looks like a fastball, and then it gets to the home plate and just disappears. He had it going the other day, and I knew right in the bullpen. … As soon as he threw that first pitch, I was like, ‘It’s on.’”
Sure enough, the Blue Devils had no answer for that tricky pitch.
Edgington kept Duke off the scoresheet for the first half of the game, opening with five brutally efficient, scoreless innings while the Cavaliers’ offense got to work.
By the time the eighth frame rolled around, Virginia had scored 11 runs. Edgington had held Duke to two.
In the final two innings of a normal game, a starting pitcher would usually sit and allow a closer to finish out the win. This, however, was no normal game.
“As a kid, you always dreamed [of] a complete game, especially in sending your team to Omaha,” Edgington said. “I was just hoping they weren’t going to take me out. And that was never discussed.”
That dream looked like it would never come for Edgington when he injured his shoulder as a freshman at Saint Joseph’s University back in 2018. It wasn’t certain he would ever be able to throw again at full strength, let alone pitch a meaningful D1 contest.
Six years and three schools later, Edgington finally got the chance to pitch his dream game. It was the first complete NCAA Tournament contest from a UVA pitcher in nine years.
“I don’t think words can describe the joy, the excitement I was going through,” Edgington said.
Nine Cavaliers batters connected for hits in game three. In two must-win games, Virginia outscored Duke 26-6.
“Pressure is not a bad thing,” Teel said. “Pressure is a good thing, and pressure is what makes this team so great. I love it. It makes the game way more exciting.”
Of 299 D1 men’s baseball programs, only eight make it to the College World Series each summer.
In Brian O’Connor’s 20 years as head coach, the Cavaliers have made the trip six times, including their 2015 championship season and most recently in 2021.
“That’s something that we always talk about in the fall. We break the huddle saying, Omaha in three,” O’Ferrall said. “In this program, it’s something we talk about every day. It’s always in the back of our minds.”
On Saturday, June 18, six days after the Super Regionals game three victory, Virginia was eliminated from the College World Series after a 4-3 loss to Texas Christian University.
This is the end of the road for the Hoos this season, but “it doesn’t diminish what this team accomplished,” O’Connor said after Sunday’s loss. The team finished with 50 wins (for the fifth time in program history), and ended 50-15 overall. The Cavs’ 44 regular-season wins were the second most in program history, and just one short of matching the record. UVA also won 19 ACC games during the regular season, the most since 2016, and won its first ACC Coastal title since 2011. In other words, UVA’s 2023 baseball season was a big success, by any measure.
Champion Hospitality Group’s Hunter Smith has been accused of mismanagement, but some say other CHG leaders are also to blame for the abrupt closure of several area restaurants and breweries. Photo by Eze Amos.
Champion defeated
Charlottesville staple Champion Brewing Company will close its doors on June 30.
In an Instagram post announcing the closure, @championbeer wrote, “It is with a heavy heart that we announce that Friday, 6/30/23 will be our last day of operations. … It’s always an emotional journey to start, operate, and wind down a business, but through your support, we accomplished everything we set out to do and more.” The company turned off comments on the post.
This closure is the latest restaurant owned by Champion Hospitality Group to go under, with Passiflora shutting down abruptly earlier in June. Other locations operated by CHG that have shuttered are: Brasserie Saison, Brasserie Superette, Champion Grill, Champion Outpost, and Reason Beer.
Many in the Charlottesville community are blaming the spate of closures on CHG owner Hunter Smith, claiming the businessman overcommitted himself. Smith and CHG have been a hot topic in area circles for months, particularly on social media. On the Charlottesville subreddit, user atomicskiracer commented: “Gross mismanagement, complete disregard for the humans he employed, and an incredible ignorance (ego?) towards what brought him the degree of success at these places [Smith] enjoyed,” the user wrote, “and when the shit hit the fan, rather than stepping up and running the taproom serving beers, he was nowhere to be found. He’s someone born into privilege who pretends to know hardship, and when the hard times came, he ran away. Pathetic.”
While other posters argued there may be more blame to go around among CHG leaders, there is a seemingly broad consensus that Smith is at least somewhat responsible for the restaurants failing.
It is unclear if the closure of Champion Brewing Co. will coincide with an end to Champion beer production. In December 2022, Champion passed its distribution responsibilities to North Carolina company Bevana.
Arrest in WPD death
A suspect has been arrested in the fatal shooting of Wintergreen police officer Mark “Chris” Wagner II.
In a statement released June 19, Virginia State Police announced that Daniel Barmak of Towson, Maryland, has been charged with three counts, including capital murder. The incident occurred at approximately 10pm on June 16, when Wagner was killed while responding to an emergency call reporting an assault.
Wintergreen police officer Mark “Chris” Wagner II was fatally shot on June 16. Supplied image.
According to VSP, investigators currently believe that “during the course of the struggle over Wagner’s department-issued handgun, Barmak shot and killed the officer.” Barmak was also shot during the altercation, but his injury was not life threatening.
Wintergreen Police Chief Dennis Russell posted a memorial to Wagner on Facebook following the tragedy. Russell wrote, “Chris is remembered for always going out of his way to cheer others up and his infectious laugh was loud and echoed throughout the office.”
The WPD is a private police force, so the family is not eligible for state line-of-duty death benefits. A fundraiser has been organized for Wagner’s family by the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police, and can be found on the Wintergreen Police Department Facebook page.
In brief
Picking battles
Charlottesville “sign guy” Mason Pickett will face trial for misdemeanor assault and battery on June 29, 2023. Picket has been arrested multiple times for assault and battery, but has not received jail time for any of the incidents. According to an anonymous employee who works on the Corner, Pickett shows up more than twice a week with his signs, regularly yells profanities at workers, and has assaulted employees who work in the area.
Mason Pickett faces trial for misdemeanor assault and battery. Staff photo.
Mulch combustion
According to Albemarle County Fire Rescue, smoky conditions around Panorama Road on June 15 were the result of the spontaneous combustion of a mulch pile. After speaking to landowners about fully extinguishing the mulch, the Albemarle County Fire Marshal’s Office said the smoke will likely dissipate quickly. According to the Virginia Department of Forestry, there are hundreds of mulch fires every year, and people should keep “a minimum of an 18-inch clearance between landscaping mulch beds and combustible building materials.”
ACPS appoints principals
Albemarle County Public Schools appointed Brad Handrich and Wendy Eckerle the new principals at Baker-Butler and Murray elementaries, respectively. Handrich is succeeding Seth Kennard, the new Mountain View Elementary principal, while Eckerle takes over from C’ta DeLaurier, Woodbrook Elementary’s next principal.
ABC Pride by Louie Stowell and Elly Barnes was released in 2022, and is illustrated by
Amy Phelps. Image courtesy Penguin Random House.
Controversy exploded in Charlottesville when a video of students at Johnson Elementary School was posted by local radio host Rob Schilling. The video shows fourth graders reading ABC Pride, a children’s book about Pride month, at a school-wide morning meeting.
Schilling posted the video on his website and played a portion of the audio on his WINA radio show. Under the headline “De-based: Charlottesville schools defend pre-k to 4th-grade grooming assembly,” Schilling linked to a YouTube video of the fourth graders reading the book. The video has since been made private, and Schilling has taken down the post.
Before “The Schilling Show” took down the content, the video was picked up by multiple right-wing media outlets, including Fox “Primetime” with Jesse Watters. The Fox host used a clip of the video to open a longer segment of his show, “We All Have a Breaking Point,” and talked about the Johnson Elementary meeting for several minutes.
“Nine-year-olds shouldn’t know what ‘non-binary’ means,” said Watters. “I don’t know what that means.”
Schilling and Watters’ comments are the latest in a broader conservative criticism of LGBTQ content in schools.
While several conservative pundits—including Watters—have labeled the book “perverted,” ABC Pride is a book written for children 3 years and older, and never mentions sex.
According to Charlottesville City Schools, the video was taken and posted without permission. In a statement released to the public, the school system said, “Each month, grade-level teachers coordinate the morning program, sometimes working with their students. For the June meeting, fourth-grade students took the lead to coordinate the program. As one part of the summer celebration, they decided to read an alphabet book about LGBTQ acceptance, which included words like ‘belonging,’ ‘gender,’ and ‘kindness.’”
For many Charlottesville parents, the video was alarming not because of its content, but because of the unauthorized publication of media featuring students.
In a Twitter post @SexonBekah alerted local parents to the video, tweeting, “Cvillle Parents! If your child has just finished 4th grade at Johnson, you might want to make sure your child’s image is not included on the video making the rounds on right wing social media. Tell the school system you did not give authorization for this release.” CCS responded, tweeting that it “did not authorize the release of this video to media,” and was “reaching out to impacted families.”
“It’s disgraceful that an adult chose to weaponize that compassion just to make a political point,” says Charlottesville parent and elementary school music teacher Michael Salvatierra. “Whether or not it was legal to film, this person who took the video still put students in danger, and broke trust with other families and the school. I hope that the person will step forward and take responsibility for the harm that they have caused. All media outlets that amplified the video also acted irresponsibly and should be held accountable. The video absolutely needs to be taken down.”
While the continued circulation of the video is concerning to Salvatierra, the meeting itself highlights students’ positivity.
“As a parent and as a teacher, I have seen firsthand that when students of any age are known and loved just as they are, they are more ready to learn,” says Salvatierra. “When we listen to them and give them space and language to talk about who they are and how they experience the world, that security allows them to thrive in school in ways they never did before. Even more importantly, they become kinder, more empathetic people. Isn’t that what we all want for our kids?”
Salvatierra adds that some children who identify with the LGBTQ community aren’t always supported by families and caregivers at home. “School may be the only place where they can be honest and not feel alone in their struggles,” he says, “so I’m glad that teachers are working to see this happen at Johnson and throughout the division.”
Although Schilling has since taken down all posts related to Johnson Elementary School on his website, links remain on his social media accounts. The radio host returned to air on June 19, and interviewed Republican House of Delegates candidate Steve Harvey.
The cast of Charlottesville Opera's Guys and Dolls in rehearsal. Supplied photo.
Charlottesville Opera kicks off its summer season with four performances of Frank Loesser’s classic Broadway hit Guys and Dolls. The Tony Award-winning musical follows a pair of New York City gamblers, a missionary, and a showgirl on a high-stakes game of love. Keith Phares, Elise Quagliata, Chauncey Packer, and Cree Carrico perform beloved songs like “Sit Down You’re Rockin’ the Boat,” accompanied by a live orchestra.
Friday 6/23–Sunday 6/25. $20–75, times vary. The Paramount Theater, 215 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. charlottesvilleopera.org
It may not be the obvious choice in warmer weather, but chillable red wine is an excellent way to explore new flavors and challenge conventional norms. File photo.
As temperatures rise, wine enthusiasts naturally adjust their drinking preferences. Besides the desire for something chilled, lighter, and more refreshing in the glass, the culinary options tend to be lighter as well. Seafoods, salads, grilled chicken, and similar dishes pair better with lighter-bodied wines with higher acidity.
Opting for a red wine, instead of white or rosé, is considered an unconventional choice in the summer. Red wines are typically served at room temperature to allow their depth, body, and complexity of aroma and flavor to shine. However, as it heats up outdoors, so does the temperature of wine in the glass, which can amplify the perception of alcohol, often already high in bigger-bodied red wines, making it heavier and less refreshing.
Warmer temperatures also intensify the higher amount of tannins in red, resulting in a more astringent and drying sensation on the palate that’s unappealing when seeking out a thirst-quenching beverage. What is often overlooked is that some red wines benefit from a slight chill. They may even be intentionally crafted in a style best served at a lower temperature. These wines offer an interesting and often delightful alternative for warm weather enjoyment.
In general, chillable red wines possess characteristics that allow them to retain the allure of red wine while providing a pleasurable experience when chilled. Look for reds that are lighter bodied, lower in alcohol, higher in acidity, and lower in tannins.
To produce these lighter wines, producers turn to grape varieties such as pinot noir or chambourcin. Harvesting fruit earlier, at slightly lower ripeness levels, helps retain acidity and can result in lighter-bodied wines with lower alcohol levels. Limiting skin contact before pressing the grapes will decrease tannin levels. And some winemakers blend white grape varieties with red grape varieties, reducing body and tannins.
When served chilled, wines of this nature often reveal vibrant fruit flavors and refreshing acidity, in addition to exhibiting great versatility when it comes to food pairing. Keep in mind that even red wine meant to be chilled is not typically served as cold as white wine, and overly cold temperatures can mask the flavors in wine. By experimenting, you might find the best of both worlds—a chilled and refreshing drink that still retains the complexity and flavor associated with red wine.
Play it cool with these local reds
Early Mountain Vineyards 2022 Young Wine Red ($24) The hybrid grape chambourcin grows consistently in Virginia, and provides a unique combination of good color extraction and low to moderate tannin levels. The 2022 Young Wine is 58 percent chambourcin blended with 42 percent vidal blanc, which is a white hybrid grape. This is intentional winemaking that creates a highly approachable, lean-bodied wine with minimal tannins, low alcohol content, and refreshing acidity.
Lightwell Survey 2022 Between the Light and the Dark ($25) A collaborative project with Troddenvale Cider, this intriguing blend combines 67 percent grapes including chambourcin and vidal blanc, with 33 percent Ashmead’s Kernel apples. Flavors of citrus, cranberry, green apple, and blossom finish with a hint of gentle tannins. With a modest alcohol level of only 10 percent and refreshing acidity, this blend is light on the palate and very easy to drink.
Bluestone Vineyard 2022 Half Bubble Off-Center ($27.50) Bluestone characterizes this as rosé, but it has enough color to be considered a light-bodied red wine. Made with 100 percent chambourcin, the bubbles were created utilizing the pétillant naturel method. In short, the wine was bottled just prior to completing fermentation, allowing the naturally occurring carbon dioxide to remain as it finished fermenting in the bottle. The result is a playful wine that delivers red fruit flavors accompanied by a rolling effervescence on the palate.
Ankida Ridge 2021 Pinot Noir ($58) Pinot noir is suitable for chilling. The grape thrives in cooler conditions, which help preserve its acidity and keep alcohol levels moderate. Additionally, the grape has thin skins, resulting in lower extraction and tannin levels. This example from Ankida Ridge features flavors of bright red cherry and cranberry, complemented by notes of dried leaves and spice. Wonderful without chilling, but a light chill makes it an excellent option for a summer evening.
