The I Love CVille Show With Jerry Miller! - Prop Gun Found At Albemarle High School; Is Election Day Causing A Mental Health Crisis?

Episode Date: November 1, 2024

The I Love CVille Show headlines: Prop Gun Found At Albemarle High School Is Election Day Causing A Mental Health Crisis? ACPS Boss Emails Parents About Election Day Biz Owners Call On Council To Clean Downtown Former CVille Music Venue To Be Demolished Read Viewer & Listener Comments Live On-Air The I Love CVille Show airs live Monday – Friday from 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm on The I Love CVille Network. Watch and listen to The I Love CVille Show on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, iTunes, Apple Podcast, YouTube, Spotify, Fountain, Amazon Music, Audible, Rumble and iLoveCVille.com.

Good Friday afternoon guys, I'm Jerry Miller. Thank you kindly for joining us. The last show of the week, the first day of November. This is the period in the calendar year where the days really start moving quickly. You have Thanksgiving, you have Christmas, you have New Year's Eve. You just have a lot of holidays. And I find, I don't know if your family finds the same way. We get so caught up in the pop and circumstance, the dog and pony show of the holidays that you just don't, as Ferris Bueller said, stop and smell the roses. And before you know it, it's like December 18th, December 19th, and you're feeling the pressure of Christmas gifts. You're feeling the pressure of in-laws and family coming to visit.

And you just don't take a deep breath and relax. This particular year is also more convoluted from a calendar standpoint with the election on Tuesday. If anyone thinks we're going to have closure on Wednesday morning with this election, I don't think you're reading the tea leaves correctly. I think this is something that's going to be drawn out for an extremely long period of time. We had the superintendent of Albemarle County Public Schools, Matthew Haas, send an email out to students, family, and staff about election day and its quick approach. And the boss of Albemarle County Public Schools has basically encouraged parents and support staff to check in with children and engage their mental

health. He's alluding that Election Day for students in the largest school system in Central Virginia is causing in a mental health crisis and students need a little sit-down time with their trusted loved ones to see how their chutzpah and how their quality of life and how their spirit is progressing with a Trump-Harris race on the near horizon. Is it the most divisive race in American history? I mean, we'll weave Judah Wickhauer in on a two-shot. I'm curious if there is a more divisive race in American history than Donald Trump and Kamala Harris

and what's happening on Tuesday. We'll talk about that today. I want to ask you the question, is Election Day causing a mental health crisis, not just for students in Albemarle County Public Schools, but folks all over Central Virginia? I want to talk on today's program. A prop gun was found at Albemarle County Public Schools. An email was sent out to parents about said prompt gun on school grounds. This is not a real gun. I want to emphasize that. But

a gun that evidently was very close in resemblance to an actual weapon. And I had a number of parents send me the email that was sent to them yesterday in the morning about a gun found on school grounds at Albemarle High School. We'll talk about that today. I want to talk on today's program about haunted houses in the Charlottesville area. I don't frankly believe in ghosts. Judah has indicated he does believe in ghosts. So we'll have a discussion about what it's like to believe in ghosts. So we'll have a discussion about what it's like to believe in ghosts and to

have haunted localities in the Charlottesville metro area. We'll also talk on today's program what it's like to be single and ready to mingle and being on the dating scene and looking to meet gals. Judah's finding some success at the Jack Brown's watering hole. And ladies and gentlemen, this is an eligible bachelor, Judah Wickauer, who's single and ready to mingle. We'll give some love to Charlottesville Sanitary Supply, a partner of the program. 60 years and counting, Judah? Yeah.

A three-generation business, Charlottesville Sanitary Supply on High Street. John and Andrew Vermillion on Charlottesville Sanitary Supply are incredible people. Their family is incredible. Their team is incredible. We've spent some time at Charlottesville Sanitary Supply on High Street, and we've seen how the customer interaction is so far from transactional and more about a relationship and the history of the individuals coming into this family-owned business and just telling stories.

It was very impressive. I also want to encourage the viewers and listeners that are watching our Fine and Fair talk show, if you have yet to try Mexicali Restaurant on West Main Street, Judah's tried it. Oh, yeah. I've tried it. A street art museum meets a cocktail bar meets a music venue

meets Latin fusion cuisine. Mexicali Restaurant on West Main Street, River Hawkins and Johnny Ornelas. You guys are doing something oh so right. Judah Wickhauer's voice you've heard. Jack Brown's the watering hole for someone who's single and willing to mingle, Judah Wickhauer. Is that right?

Yeah, it's a fun spot. It gets an extremely wide range of characters that's very true I will say this there are I'm going to ask the viewer and listeners this question too Judah

question for you one of the reasons we patronize for those that do patronize watering holes saloons, bars dive bars, the pub. It's as much to wet the whistle as it is the sense of community. Yeah, I mean, you can definitely drink a lot cheaper

keeping it at home or with friends at a friend's house. But yeah, there's something about the eclectic nature of a watering hole that even for an introvert like me can be enticing. Bellying up to a bar, seeing strangers or people you recognize, friends or people you have no idea who they are, all in one location, it's a palpable energy. Palpable energy. I'm going to ask you, the viewer and listener, this question.

Name some of the watering holes, the bars, the saloons, the pubs, the dive bars, that have the best sense of community. I'm going to rattle off a few. I'm not saying this is the definitive list. These are just coming to the top of my head. Jordy Nelly's is a great example of one. Yeah, no doubt. Jack Brown's, which you highlighted, is a fantastic one. Lazy Parrot at the base of Pantops. Kevin and Cassie Kirby's watering hole is a great example of one. Miller's on the downtown mall is a great example of one.

Rapture has a great sense of community. Maya Restaurant, especially with Ted Norris behind the bar, a great sense of community. Continental Divide fits that mold. I think Selvage Brewery on Ivy Road is starting to fit that mold. That's cool. What is it about these places that attract regulars

day in and day out? And I don't want to just make it about the boots. Why is it Judah Wickower is now frequently patronizing Jack Brown's? Are you going to make the push to St. Hood? Did you know I am a... No, I'm not sure.

Not St. Hood. I'm not sure. You register your first 100 beers on a card. And you get a T-shirt. It's more than a T-shirt. It's a button-down shirt, almost like a mechanics shirt. I don't think you get that anymore for just $100. Really?

There are, I mean, there are some. You get your photo hung in the bar still, right? Possibly. I'm on. Oh, you're filling out the card. Yeah, why would I go there and not fill it out? Excellent. I'm glad you are.

I was going to ask you if you are. I think I'm in the 40s somewhere. Very nicely done. All what, sour beers or porters and lagers? Yeah, there's a mix. There's sour beers. Is there any beer that's not on that list that's not a porter, lager, or sour beer? Yeah. There is? There are browns. There are lagers. There are – I mean mean I'd have to check the list

but yeah there's a big mix what is it about Jack Brown since you loved you? I think what I love about it and what people love about bars like that is just a sense of community I think we're

what did I see it highlighted was it I think it might have been Neil Williamson that linked to an article in one of our previous shows about the disappearing social nature of our communities. That was a suggested book to read. Yeah. You should read that book i'd like to um i i think a lot of people are looking for that missing you know that missing sense of community and a place like a bar where you're you know where you've got your

lightened inhibitions um i think it's a great place to cultivate those kinds of relationships. Lighten inhibitions. I like that, Judah. Well, even if you're not getting – I don't go to Jack Brown's and get smashed. I have a couple beers and enjoy the ambiance. But even those couple beers can help you be a little more talkative, just get into conversations with people that you might not in another setting. Livery Stables being suggested on the feed is a good example of this. I think the Livery Stable, if you enjoy that dive bar, is running on borrowed time, as it will soon be the home of a Marriott Hotel. Jeffrey Levin of New York City, half the time in Charlottesville,

and North Garden the other half the time, is going to develop that property in conjunction with an out-of-market partner and build a Marriott in the shadows of the Omni Hotel. Very interestingly. Ginny Hu says Vivace on Ivy Road. Vivace has got a fantastic sense, fantastic sense of community. If you took the Vivace bar, which I believe was rescued from out of state and transported to Ivy Road by the previous owners. If you took the Vivace bar and you straightened it out into one long line, because it's a curvy bar. Have you

been to Vivace? I have. I've never been at the bar, though. You should go to the bar. It's fantastic. And you straighten that bar out. I would say it's the longest bar by lengthwise, feet-wise, in Charlottesville or Alamo County. Viewers and listeners, what is a longer bar than the Vivace bar? Here's another question for the viewers and listeners. Help me figure out this question right here. Is what bar in Charlottesville can seat the most people at it? Are you talking about sitting just at the bar? Just at the bar.

Bellied up to the bar in a stool or a chair. What bar in Charlottesville can seat the most people at it? I have a sincere question. I would love to know the answer. Is it the Pabachi Bar? And I'm just talking at the bar proper. I'm not talking the lounge area. You're going to have a hard time Googling that answer, J-Dubs.

I really don't think that's what you're trying to Google right now. I just want to get a picture of it. My favorite Charlottesville trivia questions are the ones that you cannot Google. Oh, I'm not trying to get an answer. I'm just trying to get a picture of what the bar looks like. What bar in Charlottesville can seat the most people at it? Very curious what the answer to that question is. This is a follow-up question to this.

Who can name, we talked earlier in the week that volunteerism is down significantly. We talked that a lot of the fraternal order of the Eagles and a lot of these clubs that are tied to volunteerism are struggling with membership. And without new members, especially younger members, the dues cover the overhead associated with the club. You're seeing a lot of clubs just go dark and close. As a result, we've seen the fireworks show become a thing of the past. We've seen First Night Virginia, the family-friendly New Year's Eve celebration become a thing of the past. We've seen the Dogwood Parade become a shadow of its former self. This is the question I have for you.

What is creating and building a sense of community in the greater Charlottesville area? The clubs we've highlighted are going by the wayside. We've highlighted big-time holiday events and celebrations like I just rattled off have been forgotten. We've highlighted the hybrid work, remote, transplant nature of the Charlottesville area because we have quality of life. And since the pandemic, there's been a boatload of newcomers to the Charlottesville area that certainly gentrified and changed the landscape and character of the community. This is the question I have for you. What, besides a saloon, a bar, a watering hole, can create a sense of community that is being lost in Charlottesville? And I think one of the things that's causing Charlottesville much headwinds and headache is that lost sense

of community, that lost sense of keep your dollars in the community by shopping local, even if it means paying a little bit more money, that lost sense of the University of Virginia choosing to partner with businesses locally, even if it means paying a little bit more from a bottom line standpoint than a national company that's out of market. That lost sense of community when it comes to the changes and challenges we're seeing on the downtown mall. We got an email from an established and known downtown mall restaurant owner. He copied me on the email. He copied Mayor Juan Diego Wade, the rest of city council, and some of the staffers at City Hall.

And he showed photos in his email of what's happening outside City Hall. It's become a quasi shanty town. Every nook and cranny around City Hall is being commandeered by the houseless. And Mayor Wade in the email said, this is not what we want our city hall to look like. And the restaurant owner replies to Mayor Wade's response and he says, what are you going to do about it? And city council is saying, we got a plan that we're figuring out. And maybe that plan is tied to converting a thrift store on Cherry Avenue into a homeless shelter to help the Salvation Army house more homeless. Maybe

that's what it is. But I think one thing we're all in agreement as we head into the fourth quarter of 2024, then Judy, you jump in. As we head into the fourth quarter of 2024, as we are about to ring in a new year, we're 60 days from ringing in a new year. And this is how the calendar is going to flip book apart. The calendar is going to start the next 60 days by us being enamored, almost hypnotized, by the Trump-Harris election for the next two weeks to the point of mental health crisis. We'll talk about that. When that gets finally behind us in the next two weeks to 30 days, maybe longer. We will be talking about Thanksgiving and Turkey Day. And from Thanksgiving and Turkey Day, it's a sprint to Christmas, holiday parties, and New Year's Eve. And before you know it, it's January. Your credit card bills

are due. It's another year and you're making resolutions. One of the resolutions we should make, perhaps Charlottesville, Alamo County, and Central Virginia finding its brand identity again, its sense of self, and its sense of community again. You roll your eyes. Why do you roll your eyes? I don't know. I just don't see

what would be the impetus for that. Who is pushing for that? Maybe it's you and I. Maybe it is. Maybe it's you and I. Using this platform to encourage the viewers and listeners, hey, we need to spend more locally if we want the businesses that we love to survive. Maybe it's you and I saying get out there and volunteer.

The Dogwood Parade is about to crumble and fall apart and go by the way of the fireworks show on the 4th of July and by First Night Virginia on December 31st. Do you want that at the Dogwood Parade? I don't. It used to be a really big deal. What is going to build a sense of community here? It's not the University of Virginia. We talked on Wednesday's program how Jim Ryan's been in this community seven years. They don't have the institutional memory of a John Castine and a Leonard Sandridge. Look at the president's position since Castine peaced out.

Terry Sullivan was here for a cup of coffee. Jim Ryan was here for what started out a fantastic beginning to his tenure and now is crumbling like aged blue cheese. I made the mistake of calling it Gouda in a previous show, and you chastised and corrected me. Aged blue cheese. Will that work? Is Jim Ryan's tenure not crumbling like aged blue cheese? Well, it's not just that. I mean, look at what we've been talking about with the schools, with organizations and institutions around the area. I don't think it's just UVA. I think it's, like roads and bridges, but is there some underlying crumbling of the fabric of Charlottesville society? I don't know that that's necessarily true,

but... Is this more collateral damage of COVID in the pandemic? It could be partially. Where we've seen a large... I don't think that's the sole driver but uh yeah i think that's a large flux of insiders now living in the community that's also part of it is this a reflection of affordability where folks are so disenchanted and angry and bitter that they're like what the hell we've lived here forever and now we can't do it anymore we're having to go to waynesboro to live we're having to go to the outer counties to live that's also part of it. See what we're talking about, folks? We are losing our sense of community in Charlottesville and Alamo and Central Virginia. We don't celebrate and champion holiday events like we used to.

We have our eight blocks that are the most important in the region that are shanty towns like a shanty town yeah I was walking up I was walking up and down the downtown mall last night and I'm fortunate to be you know I'm fortunate to be a man fortunate to be a man you're going to catch some heat for that no I don't mean it like that.

I just mean in terms of not having to worry about catcalls. Describe what happened to you. Describe what you saw. People do it. I mean, I'm very aware of my surroundings, so I tend to look ahead and pick which side of the mall I'm walking on, whether I'm going to walk past someone or take a side street up to market

and walk along there. You don't have Liza by your side anymore. RIP Liza. Folks messed with you less when you had Liza next to you. That's probably true. I mean, I didn't have anyone mess with me. But like I said, I'm very aware of my surroundings. I lived in Los Angeles for six years and went back for a year at USC. So I'm generally not taken by surprise. But that being said, there's a lot,

whether it's people sleeping in doorways or just groups of people sitting with signs and yelling to passersby for donations. I can definitely see why people would want to come to the downtown mall with a group rather than walk it alone. There you go. Judah Wittkower, very sensible person right there. Judah Wittkower is on point today. We're not championing the holidays

with community events like we used to do. The downtown mall is struggling. That's fair. Pains me to say that. It's struggling. I think it may be trying to turn the corner, but it needs someone to push it around the corner and well past the crossroads where it's currently at.

You have an influx of new folks to the community since COVID. You have housing at 40, 50% more expensive since COVID. You have housing at 50% more expensive since COVID. Rents and ownership. Inflation has made groceries an issue. Credit card bills are out of control. Speaking of groceries, there are

more and more people that are opting to buy online. And you know what? I am one that talked about this and I hope Neil Williamson is watching this program. I will make a commitment, our family, to changing that behavior and doing it

much more real time and local. I will make a commitment to do that. I want this is the theme of the show before we get into some of our other headlines what can recreate

or reimagine the sense of community that seemed much stronger in 2019 in pre-COVID in the greater Charlottesville area than it does now, five years removed? I think someone needs to start organizing some things and making them very visible

because I think part of what needs to happen is for people to see a change, people to see things going on, see things that they can become involved in because there are a lot of those things. There are things that they can become involved in. Because there are a lot of those things. There are things that you can get involved in around town. But I don't know how visible they are. Like the fact of this former Seville music venue, which is about to be demolished.

Magnolia House. I've never even heard of the place. Magnolia House being purchased by an Orange County resident. Give them the who, what, when, where, why. You can put that lower third on screen if you'd like. That's basically it. I'm not sure when the Orange County resident bought the property. Neil Williamson, welcome to the program.

I'm glad you're watching, Neil. But they've already filed to have the place demolished. And, I mean, I don't know how you could or would try to stop that. Deep Throat says this, and then Judy, you can give us the who, what, when, where, why. Do you think the de-kidification of Charlottesville has something to do with the dwindling of the events you are talking about? In my experience, a lot of these civic public community activities are patronized by families with children. My wife, 48 hours ago, made the comment next to me as we were sitting in bed and watching something on television before we went to sleep.

I am struggling to find things to do for our six-year-old and our soon-to-be two-year-old. Our two-year-old turns two in 26 days. I am struggling to find things to do. Deep Throat highlights the quote, the air quote, de-kidification of the community. If the community becomes so expensive that it takes baby boomers

who sold their homes to be able to live here now, folks with bags of money, those individuals that have the bags of money may be not on the younger end of the life spectrum and be parents of children in their elementary or middle school aged years. And if that's the case,

do we not have these community events because we don't have folks that want the events around or will patronize them? Do you buy that? You're saying there are not enough people to support events that include children? I think you're saying with Charlottesville

and a good chunk of Albemarle County, the community becoming so expensive that if you did not have your house or your piece of real estate prior to COVID, a young family is going to struggle to buy into Charlottesville City or much of Alamaro County now. And that young family is the family that has the elementary and middle school aged children. And those elementary and middle school aged children and their parents that are on the more youthful side of the spectrum are the ones that are going to be leading or yielding the volunteerism, the community events, and driving the sense of community,

because they are committed to where they live for quality of life for their kids. Very curious. It's a little sociology and anthropology right there. It's a Brad Wilcox type of question. I'm also curious, and this is a Weldon Cooper data question, a Hamilton Lombard type question. Is the age of the community becoming older? I'm talking specifically Charlottesville City and Albemarle County.

Are the age of those two jurisdictions becoming older? Kevin Higgins of Greenwood says, Jerry, the bar you're talking about with Vivace, the previous owner, Zipper of Vivace, brought in that bar from out of state, from a bar his mom and dad frequented. And he says, I would never go to this particular place, Applebee's, but that might be the bar with the most seats at it.

Applebee's. I'm still going to go with Vivace having the most seats at it. Anyone have a bar in Charlottesville that can seat more people at it than Vivace? Applebee's on Pantops does have that horseshoe bar that can seat a lot of people. I don't know the Branchlands. Is the Branchlands Applebee's still there? The theme of the show is the sense of community that seems to being lost in our region and why that's happening. And I point to it for, I point to it first, UVA and its leadership changing quickly and being a turnstile. I point to the president's position with Theresa Sullivan and Jim Ryan, far from the institutional length of John Castine.

I point to other leadership positions at UVA, like Craig Kennett with UVA Health, who's been here for a hot minute, Kibbe, the dean of the medical school, who's been here for a hot minute, and some of the other C-suite that have been here for a hot minute and some of the other c-suite that have been here for a hot minute i point to the change in demographics because of covet and the pandemic the ability to work remotely or hybridly which is creating an influx of transplants i point to the extremely expensive nature of the community i point to the disenchantment of the community because affordability is clearly a problem. I point to the city having a zoning ordinance that is so ass backwards that folks are choosing to build hotels instead of housing and openly telling the world about it.

Our friends over on Market Street, Roger Voisinay and Richard Price, have said their project has stalled because of the city. And they would have been one of the first to market in Woolen Mills. I point to schools. We could put this lower third on screen. Yesterday a prop gun was brought to Albemarle High School. And the principal had to notify parents that a prop gun, so real and look, was on grounds. And they figured it out quickly.

They're going to punish the student as the policy sees fit. But we need to notify you because a boatload of students at Alamaro High School were scared. I mentioned that to my wife. She said, of course, this is going to scare the hell out of kids. They hear about gun violence in schools all over the national news, all over TikTok, Instagram, and social media. Today, an email is sent from the boss of Alamaro County Public Schools. Put that lower third on screen. Matthew Haas telling parents to check in with kids because the election day is around the

corner and he fears it's become a spur or a catalyst for mental health issues with students election day. I ask you, the viewer and listener, this question. Many of you are adults watching the program. Minors are in school when this show airs live. Those that are watching live right now, is Tuesday's election the most divisive one in American history? Probably so.

I don't know about all of American history. I would say definitely recent history. What are you going to put on there? You said not all of American history, so you have to make a compelling argument for one being more divisive. I'm not an historian, but there were I mean... Succinctly. Mud slinging.

The stuff that we're seeing today is not new. It may come and go in cycles, but I don't think that this is the most – What election is more divisive than Trump and Harris in American history? Okay. You're right then. I don't know. I don't know enough about all the past elections to say that. Viewers and listeners, what election is more divisive in American history than Donald Trump and Harris right now? And is it causing mental health issues for people?

This comes via Facebook direct message. You have a lot of people that are working two jobs, including teachers who have tough enough jobs as it is. When you need two jobs to get by, it makes it hard for people, particularly younger people, to volunteer for causes they care about. He's 100% right, this direct message via Facebook. 100% right. And you know what?

I've said it. I have not seen a comment on this show that's pissed off. The comment that I'm about to make has pissed off people more than just about any other comment I've ever made on this program. And I'm going to say it again. And it's a fact. And it pisses people off. It's not a 40-hour-a-week community even more. When I said that to you, Judah Wickhauer, the first time in this show, you pushed back and were offended by it. And then maybe a year later, you said, you were right.

It's not a 40-hour-a-week community anymore. You want to live in Charlottesville. You want to be a single person. You want to be an up-and-coming family, an up-and-coming couple. It's a 60-hour-a-week community. It's a 70-hour-a-week work week if you want to own and live in Charlottesville or own and live in Alamaro County. And people are stuck on this romantic, nostalgic, yesteryear

notion that you could have the white picket fence, the backyard, the four bedroom, two and a half bath in a great school district on a half an acre in a subdivision and work 40 hours a week, nine to five and leave your office, your desk at 5.01 PM and make it home by 5.30 PM dinner with your kids and your wife or your husband and your children. And that is just a notion in a romantic, yesteryear, fable, idea that is not today's Charlottesville reality.

And that offends folks. And folks are offended by that because they don't want to spend the majority of their time on this planet clocking hours to make money. I get it. I totally get it. And I totally also understand it. You jump in after I say this. I think they're offended by your presentation of it. Okay.

How can I, what, succinctly and accurately and factually? A bit aggressively? Another thing that folks are offended by. You ready for this? Mm-hmm. And I get it. I empathize. My wife drills this into me weekly. She said, Jerry,

the large portion of people that work don't like what they do for a job. And she said, you're fortunate, you love what you do. And she's right. I love my work. I love it.

I love it. You know I love it. I love it. And I don't mind doing it because I love it. I love it. You know I love it. I love it. And I don't mind doing it because I love it. And most aren't that way. But if your notion, or what if you were taught your entire life, Judah, and viewers and listeners by your parents, by your mom and dad, by your dad and dad, by your mom and mom, is that you go to college, you do well in high school, you get into a good college. You do well in college, you get a degree. You get a job, you work your nine to five, you save your money, 25 or 30% of your paycheck every week, you buy your house, you go for the four-bedroom, two-bath, the three-bedroom,

two-bath in the subdivision with the white picket fence and a good school district, and that's the American dream. And now that American dream, this brainwashing that's been done of generations, young millennials, Gen Zers, Gen Alpha, is just not reality anymore. And their reality in their eyes is perhaps nightmarish. And the nine to five is the first shift. And the next shift is three to four days a week from 530 to 10. And that creates resentment. And that limits volunteer volunteerism and the resentment breeds bitterness and the bitterness erodes community and the community creates no holiday championing and events around the 4th of July, around Memorial Day, around Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. New Year's Eve.

Then you sprinkle in expensive groceries, floating debt that really never drops since Powell cut the rate. I think it's dropped like a point. What was it? I was reading on CNBC today. What was it? Let me see if I can find the headline. Here it is. Despite a half-point Fed cut, sorry, it wasn't a point. Despite a half-point Fed cut, the average credit card APRs fell by just 0.13%. Pound cuts the rates, says inflation's in check. Groceries are only up two points, three points inflation-wise.

That's compounded on what it was last year. Over what it was the year before, the year before that, and the year before that. And then you add the fact that the credit cards haven't gone down, the floating debt, the housing prices have gone through the roof, and you have a good portion of the community that's not just disenchanted. They're demoralized and downright depressed. And there's your sense of community. Maybe that's why you have prop guns being brought into Alamaro High School. Maybe that's why last week you had students creeping into convenience stores and buying vape cartridges, which they thought they were smoking the Chiba of mommy and daddy's year, and instead are buying carts and vapes of God knows what they're inhaling. I'm still not fully on board with that narrative.

You're not on board that today's drugs are stronger than the drugs when we were growing up judah are you are you definitely not i'm definitely not uh on board with that can someone besides me push back with judah about today's drugs can and are today's drugs stronger than the mushrooms we got from piles of poo and yards or or the weed that was growing in the back of Johnny's house, or in Susie's closet in her fish tank under a light? Come on now. Judah, have you ever heard of the word fentanyl? Yeah.

Was fentanyl popping around when you were crushing on Kelly Kapowski and wishing you were Zach Morris? Or chilling by the pool with Brenda and Kelly and Donna and 90210? I think you're projecting. I'm not projecting. I'm trying to entertain. I was never a big fan. I'm trying to entertain. I'm never a big fan of any of those.

And you act like... You always do this. What do you mean? You're acting like when we were... Our childhoods were like the inception of drugs in America.

That's not what I'm saying. They haven't been around since before we were born. They weren't always... They've never always just been, just been things that sprout out of the ground. You are honestly telling me that you don't think the drugs of today are scarier and more dangerous

than the drugs of 30 years ago? I think fentanyl is terrifying. But that being the case... I'm asking you a very succinct question. Do you think the drugs of today are more potent, stronger, and dangerous than the drugs of 30 years ago? Some of them are.

Juan Sarmiento, I agree with you, Jerry. The strains of marijuana today are astronomically higher in THC than the pot of yesteryear. He's 100% right. Yeah. I have no problem with that statement. But marijuana is not the only thing out there. Like, PCP has been around for a long time.

You know what people used to do on PCP? Angel dust, barbiturates. Weed is not the only drug, you know, that was going around for the last 50 years. Deep Throat has got a graph on the Twitter DM. Can you put that on screen for the viewers and listeners that are watching? It's a chart that highlights cannabis and its potency over the years. From 1995,

the percentage of THC until 2014. He says, that's just the flower. Forget about the extract. As someone who has some experience with cannabis, the potency of today is exponentially more significant than that of the weed that I was smoking in high school. John Snow. Judah is not, Judah is Albert Clifford, A.C. Slater, abnormally charming. Albert Clifford. Do you know who Albert Clifford Slater was? I mean, I've got a general idea. Who? He wasn't Screech, was he?

Dustin Diamond. Rest in power, Dustin Diamond. Although you became a very scary, demented, and sketchy person, somewhat perverted and deathly tormented, you are in a different place that I hope offers you more solace than your last few years on Earth, where you were spending time in hot tubs with sketchy porn stars. a different place that I hope offers you more solace than your last few years on earth where

you were spending time in hot tubs with sketchy porn stars. Mario Lopez was A.C. Slater. Albert Clifford, I'm normally Charlie. Gotcha. That's right, Johnstone. We are talking on today's program about why we see a sense of community seem to be eroding in the greater Charlottesville area. Somehow Judah is convinced. Do you have the chart on screen? No, I'm trying to get it. Judah is convinced the drugs of today are significantly less potent and dangerous than the drugs of yesteryear. All right. If you're going to miss...

That's literally what you said. No, I never said that. You cannot say that was what... That's what I've been saying. Because I never said that. Teenagers today are at much greater risk than the teenagers of 30 years ago. The teenagers of 30 years ago were not PCPing and angel dusting.

The teenagers of 30 years ago were smoking flour, eating some boomers. And drinking smeared off ice. Maybe some Gilby's vodka. And some Beast Light, Beast Ice, and Natty Ice and Natty Light. Maybe a Bud Heavy. The teens of today have drugs purchased online and mailed from China or somewhere foreign to P.O. boxes in Fifth Street Station or the Food Lion Pantops Shopping Center. Thinking it's something, being tricked into something else, popping them, and risking their life. They're going to gas stations, buying vape cartridges, hitting them on their lunch break, coming back to school, foaming at the mouth, picking up desks and chairs, throwing them

at other students before collapsing, folding like a chair to the ground, ghost white eyes rolled to the back of their head, CPR being performed on their chest as their stretcher carted out of the classroom down the hallway into an ambulance and rushed, whisked by rescue squad to the hospital. Did you ever smoke the cheese, the hippie lettuce, the grass, the weed, the cannabis, the green, the cabbage,

and have your eyes roll backwards, foam at the mouth, pick up desk and chairs and throw them at your friends, and then have the rescue squad called because you OD'd and needed CPR done and ambulance take you to the hospital? That happened last week. Does that sound like the weed that you

smoked? Of course not. And as someone, I'll tell you this. I'll tell you this right now. I am as free market, free business, support the small business entrepreneur as much as anyone. sketchy drugs and trying to pass it off as everyday weed to minors on their lunch break during the school day they should get the hammer dropped on them i agree i just don't know that i actually think that's happening you don't think that what i don't know that went? I don't know. Where's your proof that vape shops are selling illicit drugs to kids, no less, in Charlottesville? Well, the email that was sent out by Haas to the parents said that they procured the drugs during their lunch break. And the parents that reached out to us said. So you believe him now?

The parents that reached out to us said it's happening a couple of ways. One, there's a kid or kids that have been dealing in school grounds during school hours. Which is far more believable than... And two, there are kids that are going to local convenience stores close to the school and buying them during school hours themselves and smoking stuff that they don't know what it is. I just find it hard to believe that a vape shop is, first, has... They're not allowed to sell marijuana, so it's illegal. Second, that they're selling it to kids.

And third, that they would actively be selling something that's laced with random drugs. Can I respond to those comments? Yeah. I'll start with third. Of course you can. It's your show. It's our show. I'll start with third. They don't know what they're selling. They don't know what they're selling. They don't know what they're selling.

It's an unregulated market. It's the wild, wild west of vape cartridges. They don't know what they're selling. They're buying stuff from middlemen or wholesalers that are telling them it's this when they don't know what it is. They don't know what chemicals are in it. Two.

Are you just guessing? Two. No, I'm not just is. They don't know what chemicals are in it. Two. Are you just guessing? Two. No, I'm not just guessing. How do you know then? Because I'm a sophisticated person and I read. And I have common sense. And I have, I grew up as a trouble making kid. And I still know a lot of trouble makers locally.

And I won't say who they are, but they watch this program routinely. And they're very savvy and experienced when it comes to this. And they're letting me know what's going on. And I may or may not go to their houses and hang out with them. And two, you're saying you don't believe that a vape shop would sell something to a minor? Dude, do you remember when we used to buy beer and booze when we were minors from the same retailers? We would go into convenience. Do you remember Oak Hill Market off of Old Litchburg Road by the Vills at Southern Ridge, close to where your parents lived in Redfields before they moved down the street? You mean next to? Jim Shank's Barbershop.

The Stab and Grab is what the teens would call it. The stab and grab next to the trailer park. That place was notorious for selling beer to minors. There's always going to be retailers that prioritize making some money by selling to minors. Always. I am not trying to be combative here. Maybe that's just part of what my nature is here. But your give people the benefit of the doubt genuine purity is the complete opposite of my...

The complete opposite of my... It is the complete opposite of your – let's take an anecdote of what we used to do as kids and expand it to say that – to say that – Judah, you were – Like every vape shop is selling laced marijuana cartridges to kids. when the parents are calling me, and I know you're not hearing what they're saying, but you're hearing the parents calling me and reach out to me, and me taking notes at an aggressive clip on paper. One time in the car, one time while we were right here in the studio. And the parents are telling me this is what happened with their kids. One parent told me that his daughter at Monticello High School

was buying drugs from another student at Monticello High School. Another parent told me that his kid at Monticello High School was buying drugs from another student at Monticello High School. Another parent told me that his kid at Monticello High School left during the lunch break and went to a local, and I'm not, I'll let the police do their investigation, I'm told it's happening right now, went to a local hut or castle, procured what they thought was weed ended up as Matt Haas called it ingesting it

I don't know what kind of weed Matt Haas was smoking but you're not ingesting vape pens Dr. Haas you're not eating the vape pen Dr. Haas or the cartridge I'm pretty sure you're smoking it. And then went back to school, foaming at the mouth, picking up desks and chairs, throwing at other students before folding like a chair, collapsing to the ground,

eyes rolled back, ghost white, CPR pumping on the chest, stretcher rolling kid out of the classroom down the hallway into an ambulance. And then we wonder about the mental health of students when they see that, the mental health of students when they see a prop gun, but we want to prioritize the mental health of students when it comes to the election on Tuesday with messaging to parents today, check in on your kids, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. They're running for president on Tuesday.

You should check in on them with that mental health. It's not the prop gun or the ODs. That may be triggering kids too. Who are we to say? What, the election? I think the kids don't even care about that.

I think you're wrong there. I think they would care about seeing their buddy fold like a chair with their eyes rolled back by their head, ghost white, and CPR performed on their chest after having to dodge and duck, flying desk and chairs. I agree. That's just me.

I agree. This comes via Facebook DM. I will say that a girl in my high school class ended up in the ER because someone laced some pot she smoked he also says you're not wrong that just ordinary pot is stronger now and drugs like fentanyl definitely have made things

more dangerous fentanyl scares the bejeebus out of me anything you want to add to this? Yeah. Kevin's showing a graph. You see what Kevin said? The number of drug overdose deaths in the United States from 1999 to 2022 by gender.

Look at the chart. Can you put Kevin's chart on screen? Holy je jebus. In 1999, there was 17,000 drug overdose deaths, according to this Statista.com chart. In 2021... Drugs are bad. You're talking 110,000. It's 10x'd.

10x'd, Judah. Yeah, drug overdose tests. This is a reflection of the drugs being stronger and that's why the viewers and listeners are setting us this tangible evidence. You're choosing. I'm not choosing. This is being said to me by viewers and listeners.

First one, Deep Throat, who we are in agreement is a very intelligent person. Second one, Kevin Higgins, who we're in agreement, is a very intelligent person. Yeah. John Snow. Reminds me of the synthetic weed that was being sold back in the day at 7-Eleven and made people crazy. I'll tell you a crazy story.

What was that synthetic weed called? I shouldn't tell this story. What was it called? K2 or Spice? I think it was Spice. I think it was called Spice. I'm not going to utilize names. Because a lot of people watch this show,

including the people that were there. I'm sitting on, at 208, I walk into the place I was renting with three buddies at 208 Little Graves in Belmont. The year was 2006. We're fresh out of college at UVA. Me and three other friends, Tall Tom, Mad Dog Henny Brown, and S-Child, who climbed a rope ladder to live in the attic because they got cheaper rent. The four of us are broke, but we choose to live on Little Graves because we could stumble home from the bars in the mall.

I walk into 208 Little Graves, and a buddy is sitting on the couch, and he says, I got something you should try. I think it was spice. He put it in a binger. We ripped it. I looked around after ripping that binger, and the walls were melting down.

For five minutes, I legitimately lost my mind. Legitimately lost my mind. The walls were melting down before us. I could not stand. I was trying to rip off a bookcase from the wall. And this was in 2006. God knows what's happening now. And I was 25 years old.

What's a 15-year-old doing? What's a 16-year-old doing? What's a 16-year-old doing? For five or six minutes, a 25-year-old lost his mind, saw the walls melting, saw everything literally melting, and without knowing what I was doing for five or six minutes, no concept of what I was doing was trying to rip bookshelves off the wall. What is a 15-year-old or 16-year-old doing in a classroom who has no experience? And I was extremely experienced. Vanessa Parkin, if we would stop allowing our government, particularly the federal government, to be so intertwined with our daily lives.

I believe we would be less stressed. The more power and control we hand over as we ask the government to fix all our problems, the less freedom we have to make our own independent decisions. The more others tell you what you can and cannot do, and the less money you have left in your own pocket because politicians take more and direct those funds, how they see fit, feelings of hopelessness are bound to grow. She says, self-responsibility, civic duty, and helping our neighbors is being replaced with a nanny state that many are becoming dependent on

because we are hopeless. We can do better. We have to believe in ourselves and the idea that American principles give us opportunities we can't find anywhere else. Immigrants see the possibility. It's too bad that so many of us living here do not. Love that, Vanessa Parker. Nora Gaffney, thank you for watching the program.

I have a counselor, a supervisor watching the program. Kevin Higgins says, Harris Teeter sells Narcan now over the counter. That speaks volumes to the potency of today's drug. Kate Sharts, thank you for watching the program. The message we get from Matthew Haas today is to check in on your students and your kids as it pertains to the mental health anguish they're experiencing from Tuesday's election. I would like the commentary to be from the superintendent.

Check in on your students and your kids because their mental health could be in peril because they saw some of their classmates stretchered out into an ambulance because of overdoses that happened on their lunch break or because they saw a prop gun carried into school that looked so real that kids thought a school shooting was happening? Am I diminishing the impact of an election as it pertains to guns on campus and overdoses in schools? Yes. Because I don't think the election is gonna have the same mental health damning impacts as overdoses and prop guns in hallways and classrooms.

This is the Friday edition of the I Love Seville show. If you put me on a one shot then I'll go to you with some closing thoughts I want to close with supporting the businesses in this community we want to see survive because there's many in the community

that are on fragile, fragile, thin ice very fragile and thin ice and that'll start with me and our family making an even greater focus of shopping less online and more in stores. I want to close with the business owners that are reaching out to us and copying City council on cleaning up the downtown mall, I feel your pain because many of you are in significant debt with idle loans that are now coming to do loans that were given to you at low interest rates or delayed payment during COVID. And at the same time, you have EIDL loans and COVID loans coming due. Your labor increased dramatically from a cost.

Your goods increased dramatically from a cost. And your rent continued upticking 5% or 6%. You're dying the death of 1,000 cuts. I'll close with this. The University of Virginia, your prioritization on the bottom line and nickels and dimes

over the community we call Charlottesville, Albemarle, and Central Virginia is leading, leading this charge of changing the community for the worse. Stop it.

And then I'll close with this. Judah Wittgower is a man of reason and good thought. Sometimes I'm a little combative with him, and it's not because of Judah. It's just who I am as a person. Some final thoughts for you on a Friday, Judah. Payday. Is today payday? I believe it is.

Happy Dia de los Muertos. Halloween is over, but if you got your costumes ready, I say put them back on. I had a lot of fun at Jack Brown's last night. I don't often get to let it hang out and put on a fun... What did you let hang out? It's a phrase, Jerry. Okay. I was letting it hang out on Real Talk with Keith Smith in that Deviled Egg costume. Full Monty under that Deviled Egg costume. No, you weren't.

Judah Wickhauer, single, ready to make... Oh, he was in Boxer Briefs. That's it. That's not the full Monty under that devil down costume. No, you weren't. Judah Wickhauer, single, ready to make... Oh, he's in boxer briefs. That's it. That's not the full Monty. Pretty damn close. I was extremely comfortable in that chicken costume. Are you going to wear it tonight? I don't know about tonight.

Maybe tomorrow. There you go. What's tomorrow? Going to hang out with friends tomorrow, so who knows? I'm going to pick a costume. That's a great idea. Good job today. Enjoy the weekend, guys. Thank you kindly for watching the I Love Seagulls show.

My name is Jerry Miller for Judah Wickauer. So long. Thank you.