Diving in
Local swimming star Thomas Heilman has qualified for the FINA World Aquatic Championships in Fukuoka, Japan. The 16-year-old qualified for the competition earlier this summer at the Phillips 66 National Championships in Indianapolis, where he also broke two national age group records, including one set by Olympian Michael Phelps.
Since stepping (er, swimming) onto the competitive scene, Heilman has made quite a splash at the local, national, and international levels.
Locally, Heilman led the Western Albemarle High School boys swimming and diving team to two consecutive VHSL Class 4 state championships. Training with Cavalier Aquatics at the Brooks Family YMCA, he’s gone to numerous national competitions alongside his teammates. The two-time central Virginia boys swimmer of the year has broken 25 national age-group records since 2021, and has medaled six times at the Jr. Pan Pacific Championships.
Diving into action at national championships this year, Heilman placed second in both the 200- and 100-meter butterfly races. While he didn’t get the gold, his times of 1:54.54 and 51.19 still broke both national age-group records. The previous records for the 200m and 100m butterfly were held by Phelps and Heilman respectively.
Heilman is the first male American swimmer 16 or younger to qualify for the world championships since Phelps in 2001. The teen will be joined in Japan by four University of Virginia swimmers—Kate Douglass, Alex Walsh, Gretchen Walsh, and Maxine Parker—and UVA Associate Head Coach Blaire Bachman.
The FINA World Aquatic Championships will be held from July 21 to 30, with Heilman’s preliminary heats occurring on July 24 and 27.
Dismissed!
On July 14, a Charlottesville Circuit Court judge dismissed a portion of the complaint in the Trevilian Station Battlefield, Inc. v. City of Charlottesville lawsuit, which deals with the disposition of the Robert E. Lee Statue that previously stood in Market Street Park.
At the hearing, Judge Paul M. Peatross, Jr. ruled that Trevilian did not have standing to sue due to its failure to make a timely offer to acquire the statue. As a result, Peatross dismissed two of the three counts in the case.
With only a FOIA claim remaining in the suit, the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center anticipates moving forward with its Swords Into Plowshares’ plan to melt down the statue and use the bronze for a new work of public art. In a press release, JSAAHC shared its excitement to “create new art that reflects the Charlottesville community’s values of racial inclusivity and healing.”
“We are encouraged to know that we are moving closer to a resolution of this case,” said JSAAHC Executive Director Andrea Douglas. “As our team prepares to send out a Request for Qualifications to artists, we continue to fundraise for the project and to engage our community about the importance of cultural landscapes for creating community identity.”
In brief
Sweepy McSweepface
Voting has opened in the contest to name Albemarle County’s first street sweeper. Area residents have until 5pm on August 7 to rank the top 10 names submitted: Bruce Streetclean, Beeper the Sweeper, The Clean Machine, Lightning McClean, Sweeping Beauty, Lil Bo Sweep, Sweepzilla, Dirt Vader, Emily Broomte, and Sergeant Sweeper. While the county is still waiting for the machine it ordered to arrive, a rented sweeper has collected 100 tons of trash and debris over the course of two months.
Departmental leak
On July 17, a major water leak led to the closure of Charlottesville City Hall. According to city officials, the leak was the result of broken plumbing on the second floor, and caused substantial damage to the building. While a majority of city staff reported to work, Monday night’s City Council Meeting was moved to CitySpace. At press time, no further details about the extent of the damage or the anticipated timeline for repairs had been released.
Trouble upstream
Citizen’s group No Floodplain Buildings has created a website detailing its opposition to proposed development along the Rivanna River off of East High Street. Announced in a press release on July 4, the website details Seven Development’s proposed plans for 245 multifamily housing units, and highlights the potential impacts of construction in the floodplain. While the city has rejected all four iterations of the development plans, No Floodplain Buildings emphasized how the proposal is inconsistent with the city’s Comprehensive Plan, will impact local ecosystems, and could lead to flooding.