(Commentary by Geoffrey Skelley, associate editor at UVA’s Center for Politics) The 2017 Alabama special election for the U.S. Senate kicks off with party primaries this coming Tuesday. Both sides have crowded fields, but given the dark red hue of the state, most expect the eventual Republican nominee to hold the seat for the GOP.
(Commentary by William I. Hitchcock, history professor and faculty fellow at UVA’s Miller Center) Do nuclear threats work? President Trump seems to think so. His recent warning that the United States would rain down “fire and fury” upon North Korea may have been improvised, as some media reports suggest, but it may also be part of a strategy to intimidate the North Koreans and get them to restrain their nuclear program.
Changes could be coming to Charlottesville's Downtown Mall, but it might be a while before those changes take place. Charlottesville's PLACE Design Task Force met Wednesday to discuss adding additional public seating on the Downtown Mall. PLACE is drafting a memo to Charlottesville City Council seeking $50,000 for this Downtown Mall study and plan. The group is hoping to work with University of Virginia's Center for Cultural Landscapes on this project.
The Albemarle County Police Department and University of Virginia Police will be assisting Saturday by responding to emergency calls in the city. The University of Virginia Medical Center is also preparing for Saturday’s events by having more staff on call and in the building, particularly the intensive care unit and emergency department.
While police prepare for protests, local hospitals also are gearing up. Both Sentara Martha Jefferson and the University of Virginia Medical Center are making preparations for the rally by increasing some medical and security staff during the event. “As we routinely do when large events occur in the Charlottesville area, we are preparing for the possibility of incidents that could lead to an influx of patients,” said Josh Barney, a spokesman for the UVA Medical Center.
Just ignore the event. The spectacles created by counterprotesters, says Lecia Brooks, the SPLC’s outreach director, only serve to embolden the speakers and allow them to portray themselves as victims. "The best response is not to show up at all," Ms. Brooks said. "It is the better strategy." That’s the same advice Teresa Sullivan, president of the University of Virginia, gave to the UVA community regarding a gathering of white-nationalists in Charlottesville, planned for this Saturday.
Hamilton Lombard of UVA’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service says the story of labor force participation is a tale of two Virginias. "So if you go into the larger metro areas in Virginia, particularly suburban counties in Northern Virginia, Richmond, Hampton Roads, there’s only a small share of the working age population that isn’t working.”
With the total eclipse of the sun sweeping through 14 states on Aug. 21, University of Virginia Astronomer Ed Murphy is preparing to witness his third. Murphy talks about what to expect and why being in the “path of totality,” is so important.
Two Virginia schools, Virginia Military Institute and the University of Virginia, have made a list of 25 public colleges and universities with the highest mid-career salaries.
(Commentary) The University of Virginia president distributed a mass email Aug. 4 that urged students, faculty and staff avoid the Aug. 12 rally for their own safety. She wrote that “to approach the rally and confront the activists would only satisfy their craving for spectacle. They believe that your counter-protest helps their cause.” The email goes on to say, “The organizers of this rally want confrontation; do not gratify their desire.” This will help to cover the university should violence erupt, but it does not speak to our function in society.
At a hearing earlier this year, UVA President Teresa Sullivan said lawmakers were undertaking "an experiment" on students and likened Everclear to a "date rape" drug that could be used in sexual assaults. In an emailed statement this week, Sullivan welcomed the protections in ABC's distribution plan and urged officials to closely monitor the situation.
For those looking to avoid Saturday’s Unite the Right event, there will be more than a dozen counter-events, including prayer services, music and public education opportunities available – including a series of free lectures at the University of Virginia.
Two hours’ drive from South Boston at the University of Virginia, John McLaren was among the small school of economists worrying that overall gains from international free trade were smaller than his colleagues suspected – and the local impact much worse.
A local charity is helping the UVA School of Medicine research a rare disease that has no common name. About 50 children across the world are impacted by the disorder, suffering symptoms such as severe developmental delays, seizures and movement disorders.
The UVA Medical Center has contingency plans for Saturday. In response to the “Unite The Right” rally, hospital officials are preparing for the possibility of incidents that could trigger a swarm of new patients.
The UVA Health System has been ranked the No. 1 hospital in Virginia and has several specialties listed as among the best in the United States.
The UVA Medical Center has been named the No. 1 hospital in Virginia for the second consecutive year, according to U.S. News & World Report.
Researchers at the UVA School of Medicine have reversed depression symptoms in mice by feeding them Lactobacillus, a probiotic bacteria found in live-cultures yogurt. Further, they have discovered a specific mechanism for how the bacteria affect mood, providing a direct link between the health of the gut microbiome and mental health.
New research points to treatment strategies for multi-drug antibiotic resistance using currently available drugs. The study, publishing Aug. 8 in the open access journal PLOS Biology by Phillip Yen and Jason Papin at the University of Virginia, demonstrates how different adaptation histories of bacterial pathogens to antibiotics leads to distinct evolutionary dynamics of multi-drug resistance. In an era where there are few new antibiotics in the R&D pipeline and bacteria are developing resistance to the drugs now available, exploiting bacteria's past may be a major breakthrough for the fut...
UVA is offering a day of events to display its commitment to mutual respect and inclusion. Faculty and staff members will lead discussions on various topics on Saturday, including constitutional rights, citizenship, community dynamics, local history and more. The overall theme of the discussions will be peaceable democracy.