Charlottesville Breaking News
More details: Alleged fake IDers to remain in jail
The prosecution says more charges are in store for Alan McNeil Jones, Kelly McPhee, and Mark Bernardo for allegedly manufacturing fake IDs.U.S. Marshals/contributedThe alleged counterfeiters from the May 6 fake ID-ring bust on Rugby Road were in court again and will not be leaving jail in the near future as the government amasses evidence against them and promises more charges.
Investigators have found more than $2 million in cash so far– $1.3 million in the house alone and hundreds of thousands of dollars in multiple bank accounts, according to U.S. Attorney Tim Heaphy. The May 7 criminal complaint had noted $200,000 was in a safe in the house.
Despite such liquidity, that's not likely to help 31-year-old Alan McNeil Jones. He appeared in court May 16 with attorney (and frequent Hook legal analyst) David Heilberg, who said if Jones' access to legitimate funds to pay his fee fell through, he'd need to move to withdraw from the case.
Heaphy told Judge Waugh Crigler he had a couple of concerns about Jones' ability to hire an attorney, given that four to seven bank accounts and over $1 million cash had been seized and he was unaware of Jones having "a legitimate source of income."
"I understand Mr. Heilberg is expensive," said Crigler.
The judge informed Jones that he had the right to be indicted after a certain period. When Jones consulted Heilberg seated beside him, Crigler said, "I can repeat it. You don't need a translator."
Jones waived a preliminary hearing in which the government produces evidence to establish probable cause within 30 days, and he did not request bail at th...
In-depth TV: Barefoot teams with Newsplex for longform local news
Coy Barefoot's new show offers longform television on a local station.Jen FarielloCoy Barefoot's already known around town as a radio host, historian and author, and he's adding another title to his already lengthy resumé: TV host. On Sunday, May 19, Barefoot's latest effort, Inside Charlottesville, premieres on the local CBS affiliate WCAV, channel 19.
"It's a tremendous opportunity to do what television does best, and that's tell stories," says Barefoot, whose first guests are Rutherford Institute founder and First Amendment champion John Whitehead talking about drones, and photographer Ed Roseberry, whose classic photographs of Charlottesville and UVA cover more than half a century.
The half-hour weekly show, which will air at 11:30am on Sundays following Face the Nation, features a Charlie Rose-type set– two chairs with Barefoot and his guest– but it won't be limited to studio taping. Barefoot, who's also executive producer for the program, already visited the site of the 250/McIntire Interchange.
"It's going to completely transform the landscape down there," he says of the project, noting that he plans ongoing coverage. "We'll go in every few months and document the work that's being done. Not only are we doing smart compelling television, but at the same time, we're creating some important historic documents."
Barefoot's relationship with the Newsplex, also home of the local ABC and Fox affiliates, began about a year ago when he launched "Barefoot Excursions," a once-a-week feature on CBS...
Sheriff's posse tees off
Sheriff Chip Harding checks out the observation deck on the new mobile command trailer, while Lieutenant Tom Payne is ready for a rescue if the sheriff slips.photo by lisa provence
Harding officiated his first wedding for S&N communications CEO Allen Powell, right, who has the pork butts smoking with help from his bride, Heather, for the Sheriff's Posse Golf Round-up lunch May 16 at Old Trail. Powell had just donated a pickup truck for the mobile command trailer.photo by lisa provenceSheriff Chip Harding has turned into something of a fundraising machine, expanding the designated prisoner-transport/subpoena-serving role of sheriff in Albemarle and creating the largest volunteer deputy reserve force in Virginia. Last year, his Sheriff's Posse Golf Round-up raised enough money to buy a mobile command trailer, essential, he says, for search and rescue operations.
This year, he wanted to raise enough money to buy a truck to have attached to the command trailer and ready to go. Good news. By 9am May 16, he'd already had one donated, courtesy of Allen and Heather Powell.
About 180 golfers participated at Old Trail, and the sheriff's auxillary helicopter flew in twice during the day, courtesy of King Family Vineyards owner David King, another posse volunteer.
Harding says the event brought in at least $30,000, which will go toward defraying the out-of-pocket costs volunteers spend on uniforms and equipment, and toward programs such as Project Lifesaver, which provides transponder bracelets for those at risk of wandering off.
Red-faced: Red-light camera company caught in bribery scandal
They're watching you. Red-light cameras stand like sentinels facing the southbound lane of Route 29.File photo by Dave McNairThe red-light cameras that Albemarle County installed at the intersection of Route 29 and Rio Road in 2011 have caught thousands of red-light runners and generated thousands in ticket revenue. But according to a story first broken by the Chicago Tribune, representatives of the Australia-based company that operates the cameras, Redflex, have been caught red-handed bribing a Chicago transportation official. The company is now under federal investigation.
Following the Chicago bribery scandal, Redflex has also been losing contracts across the country. City officials in Orange County, Florida, San Rafael, California. Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, and Prescott, Arizona, who were considering using the systems, which nab red-light runners with still photography and video, have all decided against contracting with the company.
"I just don't think it's appropriate for us to congratulate a company that has this type of core value failure," Orange County Commissioner Fred Brummer told the Chicago Tribune, before a 7-0 vote against Redflex. "The appearance, to me, is just dreadful, and appearances matter."
Here in Albemarle County, police and government officials were enthusiastic about the installation of the controversial cameras, claiming they would eventually make the troublesome intersection safer. According to Albemarle spokesperson Lee Catlin, the county will "continue to closely monitor the situation [with the Redflex bribery...
Prose flows: Gatsby's over the top, but book shines through
Publicity photoBy RICHARD ROEPER
Given the wretched and sometimes wonderful excesses of Baz Luhrmann's Romeo and Juliet and Moulin Rouge, not to mention a trailer that gave the impression Luhrmann's interpretation of The Great Gatsby would be one extended anachronistic music video, it turns out Luhrmann's Gatsby is first and foremost F. Scott Fitzgerald's Gatsby.
Fitzgerald's heartbreakingly poetic prose wins out. Sometimes his work is literally right there on the screen– deceptively simple strings of a dozen words or so, as powerful and relevant now as they were nearly a century ago.
This is not to say the 2013 version of The Great Gatsby isn't a cinematic hot mess most of the time. It's big and bold and brassy, filmed in crisp tones dominated by blues and reds (and, of course, a certain green light), and it fills every second of its 142-minute running time with images designed to take your breath away, whether you're marveling at the overhead shots of Manhattan circa 1922 or appreci...
Latest from @readthehook