So (not) long!
Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, widely labeled as a Donald Trump fangirl who approaches topics like alleged space lasers and fringe internet theories with bizarre confidence, made an appearance at the Albemarle County Office Building on Wednesday, June 5.
She and a posse of supporters pulled up in a bus with a large portrait of Trump on its side. They had a message for the people of Charlottesville. The only problem? No one could hear it over the hordes of protestors.
“Make Authoritarianism Go Away,” “Try being nice, Margie,” and “Y’all means all” drowned out the congresswoman’s megaphone speech.
Greene is allegedly on the campaign trail for John McGuire, the candidate challenging Congressman Bob Good for the 5th District representative seat in the upcoming GOP primary. She publicly called Good a “backstabbing traitor” for endorsing Ron DeSantis for president rather than Trump.
Three minutes passed from the time Greene entered and exited the rally, marketed as an opportunity to “stand up for MAGA” and vote early. The crowd cheered as Greene and her train of Trump devotees got back on their red, white, and blue bus and exited the “belly of the beast,” as McGuire later dubbed it on Facebook.
“We can’t afford backstabbers when the USA is at stake,” he wrote. “Trump needs loyal fighters by his side. Thank you to MTG and to my bad ass supporters for standing up to that mob.”
‘Hoos on first
The UVA Cavaliers baseball team is headed back to the Men’s College World Series for the third time in four seasons and their seventh overall appearance in program history. Facing Kansas State in the first ever meeting between the two teams, the No. 12 Hoos beat the Wildcats 7-4 on Friday, June 7, and 10-4 Saturday, June 8, to sweep the best-of-three series in front of two sold-out crowds at Disharoon Park.
Clutch hitting was the story of the series, with 15 of the 17 runs UVA scored in the Super Regional coming with two outs. After leading just 5-4 in the bottom of the eighth inning of Game 2, the Cavalier bats came up big in the top of the ninth, driving in five more runs before shutting the door on K-State with a 1-2-3 out bottom of the ninth. The Wahoos now head to Omaha, Nebraska, where they will try to win their second MCWS, having won it all in 2015. As of press time, the match-ups for the first round series have yet to be determined.
School’s out
Charlottesville City and Albemarle County Public Schools are officially out for the summer. Final exercises began May 31 with Western Albemarle’s ceremony, and finished with Charlottesville High School’s on June 6, putting a cap on graduation season. Rising K-12 students wrapped up classes on Friday, June 7. Congratulations to the class(es) of 2024!
Inside addition
In other education news, construction crews have started work on the interior of the new Charlottesville Middle School building. To commemorate the milestone, on June 7, Buford Middle School students and staff signed a steel beam set to become part of the new gymnasium. The four-story academic building is on track to open before the start of the 2025-2026 school year, though only seventh and eighth grade students will move to the new facility at that time.
Fatal fire investigation
The Albemarle County Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating a fatal residential fire that occurred over the weekend. Albemarle County Fire Rescue responded to a reported residential fire in the 6000 block of Monacan Trail Road at approximately 5:10pm on June 8. One person was home at the time of the fire and died as a result of their injuries. At press time, the identity of the deceased has not been released, and the cause of the fire does not appear suspicious.