The I Love CVille Show With Jerry Miller! - UVA Town Hall: Was This A Dubious PR Stunt?; Protest Outsiders: How Did The Police ID Them?

Episode Date: May 8, 2024

The I Love CVille Show headlines: UVA Town Hall: Was This A Dubious PR Stunt? Protest Outsiders: How Did The Police ID Them? Who Is The “Protest Fall Guy?” – Longo or Ryan? Kochis Improves CPD ��� 911 Non-Emergency Back VDOT Says CVille Deficient For Timely Projects 421 9th St NW: $699K Ask, Upzoning Potential Cities With Most Expensive Homes In Virginia Upcoming Guests: Mike ter Maat, John Schoeb 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.

to watch on Twitter. I share the YouTube link. Good Wednesday afternoon, guys. I'm Jerry Miller. Thank you kindly for joining us on the I Love Seville Show. A pleasure to connect with you through the I Love Seville Network. Our studio is on Market Street in downtown Charlottesville, 30 yards from the Charlottesville Police Department, 30 feet from a city counselor's law office, less than two miles from a protest site that will now forever live in infamy. And infamy, as it applies to the University of Virginia. We are a block away from where protesters earlier this week were in front

of the courthouses of Charlottesville and Alamaro County demanding justice and voicing their rights to free speech and protest. And of course, we are a block off the downtown mall. Today's program airs on all social media channels, and we have expanded the I Love Seville network through our software by including the Rumble platform in the mix now. So we're airing live on an additional platform as of this week, Rumble, for those that like to watch on that particular social platform. Take a look at the screen for today's headlines. What we do on this program is offer analysis, commentary that is unafraid, unabashed,

and unwilling to toe the company line. And we will continue with that commentary on today's show. We have a number of questions, Judah and I, about Saturday's protests, including why the arrest numbers continue to change. We have a number of questions about the outsiders, the protest outsiders that were the motivation for the University Police Department to call in the state police. Who are these outsiders? How were they identified if they were wearing masks as initially reported?

Now it's being reported that they were wearing all black backpacks and hats. Helmets. What's that? Helmets. Helmets, excuse me. And looking to conspire to attract other outsiders to grounds. Seems fishy to me.

Something is off with the narrative. Yesterday's town hall left many of us feeling the following. First, frustration because you could not log in. You had to register. It was initially marketed and probed as a town hall you could attend without registration. That was not the case. Second, why were the questions that were asked of UVA's executive team, Jim Ryan and his cabinet, why were they vetted and not truly authentic questions that challenged, that pushed, that questioned the narrative? They were softballs that seemed to be set up prior to the live stream. I have the following on my mind. Was the town hall yesterday a dubious public relations stunt used to manage narrative and what the community should think?

I'll unpack that on today's program. I wonder who the fall guy is going to be. We have a day that will live in infamy for decades, if not centuries to come. Who will this be associated with first, when the events are written in history books or when conversations are had at football games basketball games on the lawn in fraternity houses and sorority houses at graduation or from one university of virginia fan or alumni from generation to generation. I want to talk about all these questions and more on today's show. And folks, if you watch the program, you know I back and champion the blue. We will do that on today's show with Mike Kachis improving the Charlottesville Police Department yet again

with 911 non-emergency calls back in action. There was a time where non-emergency calls, a report or a call had to be done through the internet. Now you can go back to calling 9-1-1 and getting some response time. We'll talk Virginia Department of Transportation throwing significant shade to the city of Charlottesville, calling the city deficient in more ways than one. We will talk on today's show about a property in city limits being marketed and promoted for upzoning potential despite what is otherwise actual value. And a topic from Monday that came up on Real Talk with Keith Smith that we will unpack. The most expensive city in central Virginia when it comes to housing, when it comes to the value of homes.

It's not Charlottesville City. This may surprise some. It stumped Keith Smith this morning. The show airs on every social media platform you can find, podcasting platforms as well, and we encourage you, the viewer and listener, to join us in the discussion and shape the show by first liking the program, then sharing the show, and then asking questions of us, Judah Wickhauer and I. I'm going to offer a couple of minutes of commentary before I weave my distinguished director and producer Judah Wickhauer into the mix. Yesterday's town hall took place at 12.15 p.m. Our show airs at 12.30 p.m. I watched the first 15 minutes.

In fact, I was late to signing on to the town hall because of confusion, and I specialize in digital media. The town hall was marketed and promoted as free to anyone to join. And if you wanted to ask a question, you had to register. That ended up not being the case. You had to register to join the town hall, a trackable measure for whoever was hosting yesterday's town hall. Once I realized that you had to register, it was about six or seven minutes in. That frustration seemed to be on the fingertips and on the computer

and phone and tablet screens of many shared frustration. Upon signing on to the town hall, I saw the who's who of the University of Virginia. I saw the police chief of the University Police Department. I saw the president of the University of Virginia. And I saw a digital baton being passed from square to square to square on Zoom. It was as if we were playing, what was that game on television? Hollywood Squares? Yeah.

And unfortunately, yesterday's version of Hollywood Squares was not for prize money or trips or vacation. Instead, yesterday's version of Hollywood squares was not for prize money or trips or vacation. Instead, yesterday's version of Hollywood squares was how do we pass this negative attention from one square to the other because we know whatever square the time clock falls on will have his or her legacy stained with this piss poor management for decades if not centuries to come. I'm going to ask this question and I wonder if you the viewer and listener have

similar questions. Was it a dubious stunt the town hall yesterday? I think we're in agreement it was the antithesis of the definition of a town hall. But do we take it a step further and call it a dubious PR stunt? Do we ask or wonder why the questions were not more challenging? Questions that pushed the narrative or picked the narrative apart like Thanksgiving turkey. Instead, the questions were softballs, the type of tosses and pitches our six-year-old receives in coach pitch within the Bonicello Little League. My fingers are crossed behind home plate,

hoping my Southpaw six-year-old can make contact with an aluminum bat and get on base. I wonder why the arrest numbers have changed. When the protest was finished and dis... How would you characterize what the police did with protesters due to Wickhour? Destroyed the protest. Disbarred the protest. You mean dispersed?

Dispersed the protest. I mean, they certainly dispersed it. Whittled the protest down like a number two pencil. Hammered the protesters. Pepper sprayed the protesters. Played Red Rover with the protesters. Squashed the protesters. Played Red Rover with the protesters. Squashed the protesters. All of the above.

When the protest was completed, there were 24, 25 people arrested. On Monday, that number became 24 people arrested. Today, there's 27 people arrested. Why is the arrest number changing? After the town hall yesterday, they marginalized the impact of tents. They said this was really not about tents. Despite on protest day, tents being the reason for calling in the state police. Jim Ryan in the town hall yesterday said,

we could have handled the tent documentation online much differently. We erred and made a mistake with the benefit of hindsight. Changing the rules the day of the protest. Jim Ryan said, that was a mistake on our part. Jim Ryan in the town hall yesterday said this, Judah, I realize trust with certain members in this community I have lost, and I am painfully aware that trust has been lost with members of our community. Showing some vulnerability there, the president of UVA. So many questions, my friend. I will ask this again of you as I started yesterday. In friendly, combative fashion, has your tune changed from Monday? Probably.

If I went back and watched my statements, yeah, I've gotten more information on the subject. More has come out, including this town hall. And, you know, I keep having more questions pop up with this whole thing. It just doesn't, there's a lot that just doesn't seem to add up very well here. And I don't have a problem with the tents thing. I don't think that was ever really a part of it. I mean, it was a part of it, but I don't think it was the direct reason.

I think it was kind of a... The thing is, they told them not to set up tents repeatedly. So I don't... Yeah, I think they made a mistake by going in and changing the wording. But that was just a mistake in terms of the visibility of all this. That's called changing the rules. But see, that's the problem. Everybody keeps pointing at it like it was a big thing.

It wasn't a big thing. It was a big thing. It wasn't a big thing. It was a big thing. No, because that was never... Yes, people are allowed to set up tents on campus. But if the campus police ask you repeatedly not to set up tents, it doesn't matter that the rules say that you can. Yes, it does. That's how the law works. No, it doesn't.

If a police officer comes to you and says, I want you to do something that is the opposite of the law, you could push back on that. The police officer's authority and his or her ability to hold you accountable is within the confines of the law. Okay. We'll have to disagree on that. Because if the cops ask you not to do something, you probably shouldn't be doing it. I'm sorry, but... If a police officer came up to you and asked you to stop doing something, insisted that you stop doing something, despite it being within your legal right, you would just say,

yes, master, whatever you say. No. Of course I wouldn't say, yes, master, Whatever you say. No. Of course I wouldn't say yes, master. Whatever you say. I might ask why they're telling me I can't do something that's within the confines of the law. Isn't that what was done? We're not going to get in the weeds on this and spend minutes on tense. We do need to get into the weeds here as you've identified your tune has changed since Monday about this being a dubious public relations stunt,

the town hall from yesterday. I'm very curious of your take on this. And then we'll get to comments coming in. Viewers and listeners, jump in the mix. We will relay whatever you have to say live on air. This fiasco has many layers to the proverbial onion that we are trying to peel off. Dubious PR stunt, yes or no? I think poor PR stunt, maybe. I think that it feels almost like they're trying to take the heat off somebody else. I kind of feel like the town hall was somebody's, was perhaps Jim Ryan taking the fall for this.

Okay, I want to hear you back to explain this because that very well could be. That very well could be. Why do you think Jim Ryan is the fall guy here? Because he's a smart guy. He's a political guy. He's the president of UVA.

A million dollars plus in total compensation when including residents. And I don't think anybody goes around accusing President Jim Ryan of being an idiot for lack of, you know, for not wanting, you know,

right? Nobody goes around saying Jim Ryan is, you know, doesn't know what he's doing. For the most part, he's done a fairly good job of running the school. And I think he does have the school's best interests at heart, but this all seems a little, it seems off brand. Significantly off brand. Great use of that term so why fantastic use of that why was he why was he sitting in a command post instead of making statements why was he in a command post as opposed to being on site yeah on actual site of the protest like keep going you're on fire we we all we all know the numbers there were there was another article that or maybe it was this one there was an article that talked about

the fact that uh that the uh the protest camp whatever you want to call it was actually losing numbers and i think they mentioned that they were scared that it might scared that the numbers might grow, that some of these helmeted outsiders were calling for more people to come in, and they were afraid that this would overflow the area or something along those lines. But on Saturday, when there were a couple dozen, a few dozen people, does anyone really believe that Jim Ryan or Tim Longo or the university police were worried about their... Safety? Yeah, their safety.

Their well-being? Getting hurt? Worse? on hard fat hard to believe far-fetched exactly so why all of this i i it just seems seems like there's something being hidden here and it irritates me because because it means there are pieces missing that just don't make sense. Furthering the irritation and the confusion, 82 arrested at a similar protest in Virginia Tech. A protest that was dispersed peacefully. Photos you can find online. John Blair shared one from Cardinal News.

And a story written by Dwayne Yancey that shows protesters are resting peacefully, agreeing to give themselves up without riot-geared, pepper-spraying state police. I'm wondering if the Virginia State Police at VCU had the same equipment that the officers had at UVA and just chose not to use it. I fully believe that what started as somebody calling the Virginia State Police was not intended to be, I don't think anybody intended for tear gas to be tossed. We hope to God not. Why? What would be the... All right, I'm going to offer some commentary here. Deep Throat will get to your comments.

LH will get to your comments on YouTube. Viewers and listeners will relay your thoughts live on air. Rotate those lower thirds on screen. The lower thirds you want to rotate are the ones tied to the protest, if you could. I'm going to ask you very straightforward questions, Judah. Does the Board of Visitors, the team or the group that is Jim Ryan's boss, does the UVA Board of Visitors have complete cohesion? Are they totally backing Jim Ryan as the president of UVA? Or are some on the board of visitors opposed to what Jim Ryan and today's UVA

looks like? I don't know that they have complete cohesion, but I think it's fair to say that there are some that would disagree with the direction of UVA. Okay. Name one of them that disagrees with the direction that UVA is currently in. Should I use this? You can use whatever you want.

I'm just going to ask you straightforward questions. Name one of the Board of Visitors that has an issue with what the University of Virginia is today. I mean, there's Razorblade Ellis. Razorblade Burt Ellis. Who appointed Razorblade Burt Ellis to the Board of Visitors? I believe that was Glenn Youngkin. That's correct. Razorblade Burt Ellis is the co-founder of which group?

Is that the Jefferson group? You're on fire. The Jefferson Council. Members of the Board of Visitors, who are Jim Ryan's boss, who are vehemently opposed to what the University of Virginia, its brand and its ideology, its curriculum, and its image look like today? Some, many, appointed by the governor, Glenn Youngkin. Do they, behind the scenes, men and women,

as sophisticated as sophisticated gets, titans of business, titans of business, titans of politics, titans of influence? Are they behind the scenes working the puppets on strings with a bigger picture of changing what the University of Virginia looks like perhaps at the start of the totem pole

with something like this? You and I are in agreement that Jim Ryan's very much looking like the fall guy here. His house is in spitting distance of where this protest took place. And he was reported in this town hall to be at a command center as opposed to the protest site. That is a huge red flag yeah i mean what the hell is that were they expecting like some type of nuclear bombs i honestly don't know like what what was being expected here your house is in spitting distance

of the protest site yet you were not on location of the protest you are at a command center that no one knows where it's located. That's perplexing, to say the least. Definitely. Hard to believe, to say the worst. And even if you're there, out of touch, frankly. And the opposite of what past predecessors have done, like the current president of the, the current namesake of Alderman Library, former President Shannon, who was on location and emits protesters during his time when folks were protesting Vietnam and what happened at Kent State.

Mistake number one. Mistake number two. State police riot gear pepper spray for a small group that was shrinking in numbers yeah and because there were four air quotes outsiders in a small group shrinking in numbers that you were fearful of These four outsiders were wearing helmets and all black clothing and had black backpacks on, as reported in the town hall yesterday. Can we get more information about these outsiders? For instance, how did you ID them if they were wearing helmets? I don't know, but they didn't necessarily have to be helmets with the faces covered.

But is that a fair question? What I'm curious about is it sounds like the IDing took place before Virginia State Police arrived, which means that they were identifiable by Longo and the University Police. That's correct. Which, I mean, you know, I doubt they have access to a database that would, you know, give them IDs on somebody that was active in wherever. Are these people ID'd by memory? By facial recognition software? By mug shots on file? Are they ID'd by rank and file saying that's Tommy Lee Jones and Wesley Snipes and Dwayne The Rock Johnson and Steve Carell?

Or were they actually on site as people who law enforcement were fearful of, or are they smoke and mirrors? Is this an excuse for force utilized and if it was only four why not target the four why not utilize your red rover crowd control tactics to encircle the four outsiders and arrest them when the protest was shrinking in numbers. I mean, that would have been a much more manageable story if you had said, look, we may not have had anything today specific on these guys, but we know who they are and we didn't want them to escalate the situation.

That would have gone over much better with the public than, know coming into a camp and pushing people around and uh arresting a 41 year old woman and the lone arrests for a police assault was a 41 year old woman who we've seen video was protecting an elderly woman an older woman who was utilizing a cane to walk around the protest with a claim that she threw a punch. And multiple video angles show the 41-year-old woman that was arrested did not, in fact, assault anyone. And both of us are in agreement

that those charges will most likely be dropped. Yeah, I can't imagine them going forward with those and not ending up covered in egg. Exactly. So was there more to the story that Ryan is becoming the fall guy because the people in power

do not like where the University of Virginia is going? This would not be the first time the Board of Visitors has done a coup in the background. Teresa Sullivan, because she refused to embrace Coursera and online learning. Helen Dragas, the former chairwoman

of the Board of Directors, Board of Visitors of UVA. She and others, a coup that got Sullivan ousted and it was only because Sullivan's underlings, the professors at the University of Virginia, the folks that make UVA work, they, in collective bargaining fashion, went to bat for Sullivan, and she kept her job. However, if that had not have happened,

Dragas and her small contingent on the Board of Visitors would have ousted the president, Teresa Sullivan. Okay, but there's a difference between an ouster and someone consciously taking the fall. And this seems too much like Jim Ryan is in on this. Why would he be in on something that's going to stick to his legacy for decades to come? Because of all the stuff that he said in the town hall. It sounds like he's at least withholding enough so that he continues to look bad.

Why would he strategically... Why would he politically... Why would strategically and politically he do that? Why would he hold... I agree. That's a great question. ...information that challenges the goodwill and equity he has built in his few years on the job? He's already on the record saying,

I know I've painfully lost community trust. He's already on record saying, we shouldn't have changed the rules with the tents and permitting on Saturday. Would he say those things, though, if somebody was trying to make a play to get him kicked out? It sounds to me like he's taking the fall for it. If Jim Ryan becomes the fall guy of what happened on Saturday, is that enough headwinds and political pressure

to potentially start mustering with razor blade Burt Ellis and the Jefferson Council the ammunition to push Ryan out of the president's office. Could be, but he would know that. And so that's why I'm saying, why would he go through with this town hall? Unless he had no other choice. He answers to the governor. He answers to the board of visitors. Which means he's taking the fall. Could the board of visitors say, you're going to be doing this town hall. You're going to get in front of this. And if that's the case, the folks that are on the board, are they enough foresight thinking, or do they have enough vision to say,

geez, if this guy goes on this digital town hall, he's going to become the scapegoat. He's going to be hung in effigy. And that scapegoat hung in effigy that material he's going to become the scapegoat. He's going to be hung in effigy. And that scapegoat hung in effigy that materializes is going to be what pushes him out of the job and gives us the leverage and ammunition to ouster him out of the president's office. But if they realize that, you better bet your patooties Jim Ryan recognizes that. But he's stuck in a rock and a hard place because they're his boss. Which means he's taking the fall. This is a crazy story. It certainly is.

Right? Yeah. There's so many questions. So many. Keep going. I mean, like we said, why didn't they just detain the outsiders? Why did they let it escalate? I mean, why did the Virginia State Police come armed with tear gas? Why were they...

Why has Glenn Youngkin not said anything about what happened on saturday yeah why are they why have we not heard from the governor of virginia about the university of virginia the governor of virginia has not said anything about a violent protest that ended with 27 arrests and tear gas why has there been no comment from the governor? Was this his mic drop? Why would this be his mic drop? Because we've seen what happened at VCU. We've seen what happened at Columbia. We've seen situations far, far, far worse than the events that happened at UVA on Saturday. So could this have been his, like, a parting shot? Like, hey, look, you may think you can escalate to, like, this degree or this degree or this degree, but we're going to put an end to it long before it gets to that. And UVA is, I mean, you've got to admit, UVA in Charlottesville is a fairly visible market.

Platform. Platform. Target. Yeah. Ecosystem. Something like this happens. Battleground. Everybody's going to see it.

Everybody's going to know, okay. It's going to be linked to August 12, 2017 by everyone. So that means it's going to hit the news cycle very hard. And Youngkin doesn't even have to say anything because now any student in any Virginia school is going to see what's going on here and being like, okay, they're not playing around anymore. Not that that's going to stop some students,

but it may be enough to squelch enough of what is coming to at least keep the peace until most of these students go home. What does Youngkin have to gain from this? Not having to deal with further escalations in other places. Or does Youngkin say, in my tenure, in my term, I helped reshape the

University of Virginia? You think this is to reshape it? I think the most plausible is the following. Board of Visitors, Jim Ryan's boss, state police, their call. Jim Ryan's not making this call as the president of UVA.

This state police come break up the protest probably got to Yonkin in some capacity. I think the Board of Visitors knew that if the state police came and used shows of militant force, that a correlation would have been made with August 12, 2017, 100%. I think the Board of Visitors is very self-aware that Charlottesville is vulnerable and still healing from A12 2017, A11 2017, when Nazis were carrying tiki torches on grounds not far from where this protest site was happening, within eyesight of where this protest was happening. And I think certain members of the Board of Visitors are more influential than others. And Razorblade, Bert Ellis, the co-founder of the Jefferson Council,

is one of the most influential. And I think Ellis has serious issues with how Jim Ryan and the University of Virginia exists or breathes today. And if you ask Razorblade, Burt Ellis, how he sees the University of Virginia right now, he would probably utilize terminology like woke, extreme left, not what I remember when I attended, unrecognizable, far from what Thomas Jefferson intended. He would describe it in that capacity. I'm confident of that. Yeah, no doubt. And I think Razorblade, Burt Ellis, and the Jefferson Council, if

you ask them, they would write, they would like a university not led by the current president. And I think for them to have a university not led by the current president the Jefferson Council, Razorblade, Bert Ellis and others on the board of visitors they need leverage and ammunition to make change I can go along with most of that

but again do you really think that Jim Ryan would just... He's stuck. What can he do? You've got a group that's his boss saying you have to do this town hall. He lives next to the protest site. He was not on the protest site. The protest ended as bad as it could possibly... I'll take that back. I want to be very accurate with what I'm saying.

Jim Ryan lives next to the protest site. He was not at the protest site. The protest ended horribly. It could have ended way worse, so I'm going to rephrase as bad as it could have ended. It still ended horribly. The day will live in infamy for decades, if not centuries. I will be talking about this with my sons.

My sons will probably be talking about this with their kids. My father and I have already talked about it. My brother, who's on the West Coast, I had a conversation with him. He lives in California. We talked about it last night. He said this is a terrible look for all involved. He made sure when you're on the talk show to say this, Jerry, which we covered yesterday and the day before, the protesters' demands were outlandish and outrageous.

That's how he described them. Insisting that Israel be banned from the entire curriculum and study abroad programs be banned from Israel is ridiculous. Divesting of any investment that's associated with Israel in any capacity, the university investment management group that runs the $13.6 billion endowment, that's absurd for an 18, 19, or 20-year-old to ask of that. Yeah. I mean, I can understand them asking to divest of certain investments, even though I disagree. The investment management team at the University of Virginia is investing this endowment into funds.

These funds have many layers to them and many ways they make money. It's not just take a billion dollars, we have 13 billion of them, take one billion dollars and invest it into the Acme Corporation in Israel and get 12% return. That's not how it works here, 18, 19, and 20-year-old protesting students. And to say that there's no study abroad program in Israel and to eradicate Israel from the curriculum,

are we also going to say the same thing about Germany? You can't study abroad in Germany? Or you shouldn't learn about Nazi Germany or Adolf Hitler? Or Al-Qaeda in 9-11? Or Iraq and the Persian Gulf and Saddam Hussein? I mean, you're going a bit far. How am I going a bit far? How is it any different? Because none of those things are happening right now. It's a comp. It's a comparable. And we base everything in life on comps and comparables, home values, business transactions, crime. I understand. Enforcing the law is based on comps and comparables,

degrees of murder. Comps and comparables. I'll sit back. I'm obviously getting passionate about this. I don't want to overwhelm your vantage point or your perspective I can understand them asking for de-investment, disinvestment not that they're likely to get it

not that I think they should get it I too think it's absurd but I can understand them asking for it. But them asking for UVA to cut all ties with Israel. I mean, Israel has, in the past, come up with cures. They've come up with ingenious inventions. Israel is one of the most entrepreneurial countries in the world. Yeah, and some of what UVA is involved in

has to do with that. And it doesn't have anything to do with what the government of Israel is doing in Gaza. And so, you're right. For students 18, 19, 20, however old they are, 19, 20, however old they are, 25, 30, who cares? For them to be asking for UVA to cut all ties is just patently absurd. Patently absurd. Sarah Hill Buchenski watching the program.

Viewers and listeners, your rankings, ilovecevil.com forward slash viewer rankings, SHB, her photo on screen. She says, this definitely seems weird. The swift use of force to dispel the protest seem uncharacteristic for this UVA administration. I definitely do not think it was Ryan's decision, but I am surprised he's willing to take the fall. Kevin Higgins watching the program in Greenwood, he says this, Israel experienced a 9-11 times 10. He's saying what happened with Israel was 10x what happened to us with 9-11. Of course they are responding the way they are. It's time to step back and look at what

is happening now. This will continue as long as children get killed, period. I really believe we can find these scumbags and buy the land they get buried in. Indiscriminate responses need to be a thing of the past. I feel for the innocent people of Palestine. I can't imagine their fear. There's got to be a better way to find these cockroaches and exterminate them. Look, I'll make this comment, and I've made it in past. I've made it in past, okay? You can have empathy and be heartbroken over what happened to Israel because of Hamas and their terroristic attack on Israel.

You can hate Hamas. You can feel for Israel. And you can have empathy and feel and sympathy for the Palestinians. This is not a black and white situation. My heart breaks for 30,000 plus people that have been killed in Palestine, many of them women and children. My heart breaks for Israel for what Kevin Higgins just described as 9-11 times 10. And I hate what Hamas is doing.

You can have all those feelings and not be wrong. You can have the feeling that UVA students have a right to protest on grounds. And I champion the right to protest as someone that leans libertarian. Someone who wants small government. I'm all for the right to protest. You can back the police like I do all the time on this program. And you can question the use of turning the police into a militant force, like what happened on Saturday. And you're not wrong.

You can ask yourself, if you go to the University of Virginia, or you went to the University of Virginia, why is the university I love so dearly making such piss-poor decisions and still be passionate about the University of Virginia. This is not linear. Deep Throat watching the program, he highlights this. He talks about the folks that disagreed or disobeyed to the folk the police officers that said take down the tents ultimately if you disagree with the cop on the beat you comply in the moment within reason and then take it to law you don't litigate with thrown water bottles exactly that's why i said it doesn't matter that they changed what doesn't matter if they changed

the writing on a on a piece of paper somewhere the fact of the matter is if the cops are repeatedly asking you not to put up tents it doesn't matter what the law is you're asking for trouble if you say

sorry cops but this is the law we're allowed to do what you're telling us not to do. Bill McChesney watching the program. He says supporters ran past local police into the protest group. Did the protesters use any chemical agent against the state police? It has happened before. I haven't read a single thing about protesters using chemical agents against the state police folks. I haven't either. I have read the use of umbrellas in a threatening fashion. I have read water bottles thrown at police. Yeah. I have read not backing down to orders. I have seen the metrics that only one person has been arrested for assault on a police officer.

And that was a 41 year old woman who was trying to have the back or support an elderly woman walking around with a cane. And I've seen multiple video angles, multiple video footage of the 41-year-old woman that was arrested for assaulting a police officer. And from the two different video angles that I saw, she did not assault a police officer. And Judah's nodding his head for those that are not watching the video. Is that what you saw? I only saw one of the videos. You saw one of them.

I certainly, there was nothing to indicate that she was so much as a threat. Certainly not, you know, certainly I didn't see anything that made it look like she was attacking an officer. And in regards to umbrellas and water bottles, I think some people have asked why they... I think the question is, why weren't people arrested for the use of those in terms of assaulting officers? I think in the heat of the moment, it's hard to catch somebody from three rows back

tossing a water bottle over other people's heads. And I think those were more inciting actions to the ultimate attacks by the cops. But I don't think they were, I mean, I don't think anybody thinks the water bottles or umbrellas were a serious threat to anyone. John Blair has a couple of comments. Number two in the family. Mr. Blair says, Jerry, I have a couple of questions that I don't feel were answered. You should hear these too, Judah. Yeah. First, I believe that UVA has close to 80 sworn police

officers, which is larger than the city of Stanton police force. They have mutual aid agreements with the Charlottesville Police Department and the Alamaro County Police Department. I would like to know why the immediate response was a call to Virginia State Police. Maybe there is a good reason, but given all the resources, does one alleged thrown water bottle and four outsiders with helmets automatically escalate to Virginia State Police involvement? Great question. Definitely great question. We agree. We wonder the same. And that's why I feel like Jim Ryan's taken one for someone. Potentially.

Second question for Mr. Blair. Come July 1, the Board of Visitors will be a majority of Yunkin appointees. Keep an eye on that. People forget, but Youngkin was elected in November 2021, and Ryan got a contract extension under the Ralph Northrum Board of Visitors. Youngkin had not appointed anyone in March 2022 that ran through 2028. Youngkin's term ends in January 2026. You can draw your own conclusions there. Great comment from Mr. Blair, who follows up with this. Jerry, ask your viewers if they recall this. In 1998, UVA played San Jose State in football.

A San Jose State player made a play, and I remember a water bottle flew from the student section and hit the player. The alleged bottle thrower was escorted out by the ushers. I seriously doubt there was a criminal charge filed. I really don't remember anyone but an usher doing anything. I also have seen many other contradictions when it comes to the use of tents on grounds, which I've highlighted in past shows. Good comments from Mr. Blair.

Kevin Higgins says, that's a great question from John Blair. Today the focus is the state police and not UVA police. This won't be in the news in three days. I respectfully with Mr. Higgins disagree with him. This is why I think this will be in the news in three days. You know why? Graduation.

Not this weekend, but the following. And I think this brouhaha has a lasting effect on short-term memory. And short-term memory is an incredible influence or motivator come graduation weekend. I would expect similar protesting brouhahas for graduation. Agree or disagree on that? You're saying you expect more protesting come graduation because it'll attract cameras?

Because it'll attract cameras and how the protesters were treated on Saturday. Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised. Let's see what happens, ladies and gentlemen. We follow this story closely. I'll close this topic as we move to the next one. This appears to be a very dubious PR stunt, the town hall from yesterday. The next headline, Judah, if you could put the lower third on screen and let the viewers and listeners know what the headline is, please. Are we skipping down to number four?

Let's see. This is good news. I think most of us can agree. The CPD was previously downed quite a few officers, I believe 30 orville.gov website about the CPD resuming response to non-emergency calls for service. This means 911. I don't know if everyone remembers, but they had taken away responses to certain calls that they didn't consider emergencies. Here are the details. In late 2021, the CPD suspended its response to calls for service that were not deemed an emergency, including credit card fraud, larcenies, and vandalism. And this was in response to the staffing emergency. Over the last 16 months,

the police department has made significant strides in filling sworn vacancies. I believe they're now three officers short, which is well within, I think, I believe Koch has said that they're actually planning on keeping the three slots open. They don't, small enough of a number that they don't need them. And this will allow, this will allow the police department to respond to non- emergency calls for service. And with a quote from Chief Kotchess, police presence is not just about responding to emergencies. It's about being a visible and proactive part of the community. By being present in times other than in crisis, police officers can help create safer, more connected, and resilient communities. We give props to the police.

Chief Kachis expanding the services of the police department, or should I better say, returning the services to what they were before the department got strapped with its Cuban capital. Not emergency calls through 911 operator are back. And that is a big deal. Yeah. Including vandalism, larceny. That is a big deal. Fraud. Good job. That's not so good. VDOT had some harsh words to say about Charlottesville.

You want to set the stage? Or should I? I'll happily do it if you'd like. Yeah, you can set the stage. This is through a memo. You can find this memo online. In fact, we'll help you find the memo by encouraging you to go to charlottesvilleva.portal.civicclerk.com.

The memo was published May 6th, so what is that, two days ago. The presenter was Stephen Hicks, Public Works Director, and Ben Chambers, Transportation Planning Manager. The title, City's Locally Administrated Project Portfolio. And the basics, VDOT, has pretty much thrown significant shade on the city. I mean, I wouldn't even call it shade. This sounds more like a...

How would you not call this shade? Because it's not like they're calling them out. This is like a performance review. It's not personal. It's just saying, hey, you're doing very poorly, and if this isn't fixed, we're going to have to take into consideration what we'll allow you to do for yourselves.

VDOT says Charlottesville has an F. It's failing at VDOT-funded projects. They pointed this out years ago. Deep Throat put this on my radar. They're saying you cannot get projects done, transportation projects done, in budget and on time. Help me, viewers and listeners. Does memory serve correct that the West Main Streetscape project had some VDOT funding? And the West Main Streetscape

project, which could have gone down as Heather Hill's, what's it called, the metaphor when this is something that you can point to when your time. You know, like something in your cap. Your legacy. Could be essentially her legacy was the West Main Streetscape Project. That fizzled. You had UVA funding if memory serves correct.

You had VDOT funding if memory serves correct. You had a plan in place for a while. And then Nakia Walker and her team basically, and Livable Seville kiboshed this as well. The money was shifted from the West Main Streetscape Project to schools. I'm all for funding schools, but I'm also for doing what was on a multi-year agenda as well, especially for a project like West Main Streetscape that is the entry to downtown and UVA. Deep Throat says this, number one in the family, the deficiency was raised with the city back in 2022. It's still not fixed. And we have lost our chief engineer and several other senior engineering staff.

But our genius of a new deputy city manager and former neighborhood development services head told us don't worry about infrastructure demands from NZO. We will deal with infrastructure the way we always have. He also adds a couple of other items that I cannot mention on air, voicing his frustration. He's referencing Jim Freeze, who recently got a promotion to an assistant deputy city manager under Sam Sanders. He was formerly the head of Neighborhood Development Services. A state organization saying Charlottesville is deficient on budget, keeping things in budget, and actually getting stuff done.

We need to know that as a community, that VDOT is saying that. They have nothing to gain by throwing shade on Charlottesville. Next headline, Judah Wittkower. Judah Wittkower, Let's see. This one is all you. Got upzoning potential? I saw this and had multiple viewers and listeners send us this link. I would encourage anyone that loves to peruse real estate listings,

I love doing this and spend ample time on the MLS, to check out the address 421 9th Street Northwest. 421 9th Street Northwest. The listing by friend of the program, Valerie Easter, who's come on the show. I think Valerie is doing great by her client. She's pursuing maximum value. I hope Valerie is watching this program. I think she's doing great by her client with a $699,000 asking price,

trying to get as much as humanly possible. Five bedrooms, two baths, 2,036 square feet, a lot that is a post stamp. The commentary or the marketing copy of this is the following. Great development opportunity with RNA zoning, which allows a property owner to get up to three units on one lot by preserving the existing building on the site while building a new one. They could get up to six units on the lot if the bonus units are affordable to households at 60% of the local area median income.

This is a curb cutout already on the second lot. This is a curb cutout already on the second lot. There is a curb cutout already on the second lot. Walking distance to dairy market. You are looking at the 10th and Page neighborhood, a home built in 1925, Judah. This is a 100-year home. There's one photo on the listing. And we have an asking price of $700,000.

Why is the asking price $700,000, Judah? Like you said. Upzoning potential. Yeah. We've highlighted on this program that upzoning would backfire when it comes to affordability. It would make the land more opportunistic, which would increase its value, and we continue to show examples of what we have been talking about for years. This is yet another one.

And props to the agent, Valerie Easter, who understands the concept of market dynamics. It's no secret listings like this that are 100 years old in the 10th and Page neighborhoods are coming on the market. They are more valuable now than they've ever been. And a homeowner has rights, and part of their rights is pursuing top dollar for their property. That's what's happening. Next headline.

Cities with the most expensive homes in Virginia. We stumped Keith on this this morning. Yeah. And as you mentioned, the terminology is a little questionable. Not a fair. You set the table well on Real Talk this morning. Set the table again. Most of these are Northern Virginia. Yeah.

I think that's the big point. is that this is a 30-point list, and all but two of the cities on the list are in the Washington, Arlington, Alexandria metro area. All of them, except for two. And Charlottesville, not itself as a city, but it's got a city quote-unquote in the Charlottesville, Virginia, metro area that made it to number 22.

Kazwick. Yep. Keswick. The most, it's 22nd most expensive city, town, jurisdiction, zip code in all of Virginia.

In all of the Commonwealth. With the large majority, if not every single one, but two in Northern Virginia. Yeah. Typical home value is $783,653. One year price change is at plus 6.4%. Five year price change is at plus 6.4%. Five-year price change is at plus 39.3%. Bananas. Market's on fire. That particular pocket in particular is on fire. No doubt.

Is there any other headlines on the Wednesday edition of the show where I thought you've done an excellent job today? Yeah, we've got one about our upcoming guests. Oh, upcoming guests. Let them know who they are. We have... On Monday, we have...

Yeah, that is... That's this Monday. On the 13th, we have libertarian presidential candidate... I may be pronouncing this wrong, but I'm going to just go ahead and try. Mike Termott. Seems like an interesting individual, though I haven't done a deep dive into him. The Libertarian Party presidential candidate is in Charlottesville. Their party reached out to yours truly, asked if they could come on the I Love Civo show. I don't think he's the overall Libertarian candidate.

He's just one of many, but certainly an interesting individual. In studio on Monday. I'm eager to hear what he has to say. On Tuesday, Dr. John Shabe and Brian Combs of Pro Renata to highlight the brand and businesses expansion into the Shenandoah Valley. Dr. John Shabe will offer that commentary and perspective. On Tuesday in the show, Pro Renata is on absolutely fire. It's the Disneyland of Crozet. And the Disneyland of Crozet is going to be in downtown

Stanton very soon and is now going to be in another place in the Shenandoah Valley. He will relay that story on air. It has a real estate development component. It has a takeover component. It has an expansion component. And it has a local government component. All those stories, giddy up and get ready next week, Monday and Tuesday, on the I Love Seville Show. Judah Wickhauer on point today.

Thank you kindly. Thank you. My name is Jerry Miller, and this is the I Love Seville Show. So long everybody. Thank you.