[caption id="attachment_33879" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Student Council, together with the Arts & Sciences Council, will assist in putting on a celebration of women and the arts Saturday.
Experts from China, France and the United States convened on Grounds for a three-day conference that ended yesterday to discuss how non-governmental organizations help to shape public health polices. The Trilateral Conference on HIV/AIDS and Public Health Access, hosted in Newcomb Hall's South Meeting Room, was co-sponsored by the University's Center for International Studies and the Paris-based Institute for Research and Debate on Governance, an organization that in part aims to analyze the interaction taking place between NGOs and state authorities, especially through forums such as the one on Grounds, according to the conference proposal. "A Franco-Chinese forum was organized in Beijing in 2007 concerning the role of NGOs in education and health care," the conference proposal states.
The Engineering School will host a forum focused on "ethics and academic life" today from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Charlottesville City Council is in the process of amending City Manager Gary O'Connell's fiscal year 2011 budget proposal of about $140.8 million, which is about $1.7 million lower than the fiscal year 2010 budget. "Much of the challenge in developing the FY 2011 Proposed Budget was balancing revenues and expenditures given the decreases in local revenues and state funding, and the needs to maintain quality services," according to the proposal. Leslie Beauregard, director of Budget and Performance Management, said the city must cut some expenditures because several revenue sources have declined.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to provide health care to 32 million uninsured Americans in a 219-212 vote Sunday, with all Republicans in opposition.
[caption id="attachment_33862" align="alignleft" width="199" caption="President John T. Casteen, III will address students at the 181st Final Exercises.
[caption id="attachment_33860" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="The University Judiciary Committee staged an open mock trial Monday evening in Newcomb Ballroom.
A local judge ruled last week that the City of Charlottesville does not have the legal authority to enforce a local ordinance that brings criminal charges against parties for not clearing their sidewalks of snow immediately, according to state code. After this winter's barrage of snow storms in the area - which ultimately cost the University $1 million in dealing with the aftermath - some local residents and businesses had been facing fines for not shoveling their sidewalks within 12 hours after the snow ceased falling, City spokesperson Ric Barrick said.
[caption id="attachment_33857" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Black netting at the top of the Rotunda's columns serve as a precautionary measure while the cracks are investigated.
[caption id="attachment_33826" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Crowds gathered outside Minor Hall and Monroe Hill last Friday, protesting John Yoo's presence on Grounds.
The recession may be easing in areas across the country, but unemployment figures in the Charlottesville metropolitan area from December 2009 to January 2010 showed a significant increase in the number of area residents looking for work. According to statistics obtained from the Virginia Employment Commission, unemployment rose from 5.4 percent in December 2009 to 6.6 percent in January 2010 in the metropolitan area.
[caption id="attachment_33823" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="The Amphitheater was stripped of its lawn last week to make way for new sod and a 10-foot wide gravel sidewalk.
The Charlottesville Park System will receive an additional 27 acres from local organizations to aid stream restoration projects and the city's trail development. Eighteen acres of land in the Meadow Creek Stream Valley were donated by Charlottesville firm Ja-Zan LLZ.
The No. 1 Virginia men's tennis team is set to come off bye-week with its second weekend of outdoor matchups against Maryland, Baylor and Gardner-Webb. Thus far, the Cavaliers have transitioned successfully from the indoor court to outdoor play, which began March 5 in a doubleheader against Old Dominion and Georgetown.
The Virginia Tech community remains on high alert after threatening e-mails were sent to students and university employees during the past week believed to originate from the same individual who threatened, via his YouTube page, an attack on the community in October.
[caption id="attachment_33778" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Placards on Copeley Bridge commemorate and also call for Morgan Harrington's murderer to face justice.
Charlottesville City Council held the first of two public hearings Monday night about the fiscal year 2011 budget, which likely will contain additional spending cuts in comparison to the current fiscal year budget. City Manager Gary O'Connell proposed the city budget, while Charlottesville City Schools Superintendent Rosa Atkins presented the proposed school budget, which is prepared separately from the city's and receives some of its own state funding.
[caption id="attachment_33766" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="The package of bills will establish College Partnership Laboratory schools, which will link education schools at colleges and universities with students from across the state.
The Virginia General Assembly released its budget proposal Sunday with less drastic cuts to higher education than expected.
