Dahlia Lithwick speaking at the Charlottesville Senior Center.

In this podcast, Dahlia Lithwick, a renowned journalist and expert on the Supreme Court, addresses such questions as, “What health reform cases will be coming up in this important election year?” and “What other major cases are in the pipeline?”.

Ms. Lithwick is a senior editor at Slate Magazine, and in that capacity, writes the “Supreme Court Dispatches” and “Jurisprudence” columns. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Harper’s, The Washington Post, and Commentary, among other publications. She received the Online News Association’s award for online commentary in 2001 and again in 2005 for a series she co-authored on torture.

Dahlia was the first online journalist invited to serve on the Steering Committee for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. She was editor of The Best American Legal Writing of 2009 and the co-author of “Me v. Everybody: Absurd Contracts for an Absurd World,” a legal humor book. In addition, she has written “I Will Sing Life: Voices from the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp,” a book about seven children from Paul Newman’s camp with life-threatening illnesses. She lives in Charlottesville with her husband and two sons.

Ms. Lithwick spoke before a packed house Wednesday.

Ms. Lithwick spoke at the Wednesday, February 8, 2012 meeting of the Senior Statesmen of Virginia. The meeting was held at the Charlottesville Senior Center. Following the presentation, questions were taken from the audience. The program was moderated by SSV board member Grace Zisk.

Local historian Rick Britton speaking in the City of Charlottesville Council Chambers Wednesday.

Of the neglected figures in history, wrote Archibald Henderson, Thomas Walker is easily the most distinguished. In this podcast, local historian Rick Britton talks about Thomas Walker, Walker’s relationship with Thomas Jefferson, and how Walker came to establish the town of Charlottesville.

Today’s lecture is one of a noontime series offered by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities in conjunction with Charlottesville Tomorrow and Celebrate!250. The series concludes March 6, 2012. Our podcast is moderated by Charlottesville Tomorrow’s Jennifer Marley.

Audio of today’s event was provided by Charlottesville TV10 and is used here with permission.

Airing on the second and fourth Sundays of each month, CPN’s Dan Gould talks with local award-winning historian and cartographer, Rick Britton about a wide range of subjects from Virginia’s colorful 18th and 19th centuries.

In this episode, Rick shares his top five Civil War movies. Is yours on Rick’s list? Listen in to find out.

Click here to listen to all the episodes in this series.

Mark Beliles is the co-chairman of the Celebrate!250 organizing committee.

In this, the second of a brand new series on the Charlottesville Podcasting Network we talk to some of the people behind Charlottesville’s 250th birthday celebration. In this episode, CPN’s Dan Gould talks with Mark Beliles, co-chairman of the Celebrate!250 organizing committee.

Learn about how the Celebrate!250 committee was formed and about some of the great work its doing to help Charlottesville celebrate its 250th anniversary. Dan and Mark talk about the opening of the time capsule in May and about the gala celebration in November. It’s all here, on the Charlottesville Podcasting Network.

An aerial photograph of the Charlottesville Pavilion taken in late 2011 by local photographer Steve Trumbull. This and other historical photographs are on display at Charlottesville’s City Space until January 31st. (Used with permission)

A portion of Steve’s collection is on display at the Charlottesville On the Move exhibit at Charlottesville’s City Space until January 31st. Admission is free.

You can view more of Mr. Trumbull’s historical image collection at his blog Charlottesville Then And Now.

Chiefs of Police Timothy Longo (left) and Steve Sellers speaking before a full house at the Charlottesville Senior Center Wednesday.

Their joint presentation included an overview of area crime, a look at traffic safety in Albemarle and the Occupy Charlottesville demonstrations from a constitutional and operational perspective.

City of Charlottesville Police Chief Timothy Longo

Timothy J. Longo, Sr., Chief of Police, City of Charlottesville, is a 25-year veteran of law enforcement and is nationally-recognized in the area of police ethics and professional standards. He holds a law degree from the University of Baltimore and was admitted to the Maryland Bar in 1993. From 1981-2000, Longo served on the Baltimore police force, where he commanded several divisions and retired as Colonel in charge of Technical Services. Since 2001 he has served as Chief of Police for the City of Charlottesville, Virginia.

Longo lectures across America in the fields of Ethics, Professional Standards, Internal Affairs, and a variety of legal topics. He has served as adjunct faculty at Towson University and a guest lecturer at University of Virginia schools of law and business. Longo serves on the boards of the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police, the Virginia Center for Policing Innovation, the Virginia Law Enforcement Professional Standards Commission, the Central Shenandoah Criminal Justice Training Academy, the Charlottesville-Albemarle Commission on Children and Families, and Special Olympics Virginia. He chairs the Thomas Jefferson Area Community Criminal Justice Board. He is a non-voting member of the Charlottesville Police Department Foundation board. Other professional affiliations include the Police Executive Research Forum and the International Association of Chiefs of Police.

During his tenure on the Baltimore force, Longo worked in a variety of operational positions, led investigations of criminal wrongdoing within the department’s ranks, commanded the department’s Southeastern District, served as chief of staff to the police commissioner, and led the Communications Division to implement the nation’s first three digit non-emergency number, 311, for which the division received the prestigious Weber Seavey Award for innovative law enforcement.

In Charlottesville, Longo has guided the police department through a transition from a traditional reactive force to a proactive problem-solving model. Under his leadership, the department has instituted a comprehensive strategic plan for community policing throughout the organization, and has undertaken major initiatives to improve police effectiveness, transparency and accountability. Those include a sophisticated crime analysis software system, a monthly Compstat process, an intensive 8-week Citizens Police Academy, a community-wide gun violence project, a strict internal quality assurance process, advanced leadership training opportunities, and community partnerships for targeted problem-solving projects.

County of Albemarle Police Chief Steve Sellers

Steve Sellers, Chief of Police, County of Albemarle, is a 29 year police veteran in Virginia and was appointed as the Chief of Police for Albemarle County in January 2011.

Shortly after the events of September 11, 2001, Sellers developed a plan to improve criminal intelligence and information sharing between local, state and federal law enforcement and helped to create the National Capital Regional Intelligence Center (now the Northern Virginia Regional Intelligence Center) staffed by local, state and federal agencies. The Center is now heralded as a national model for the sharing, collection and investigation of criminal intelligence.

In 2003, Sellers led the Washington Area Sniper Prosecution Taskforce, responsible for the successful prosecution of Lee Malvo and John Mohammed. In coordination with his counterpart in the Prince William County Police Department, his role was to lead the 26-agency team, responsible for the investigation and prosecution of the Washington Area Snipers.

Sellers is married with three children and resides in Crozet, Virginia. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Capital Wireless Information Network and is on the Board of Directors for the Fairfax County Police Historical Association. His hobbies include fishing, boating, motorcycles, blue grass music, wood working, hiking and amateur radio.

Sellers holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration and a Masters Degree in Public Administration from Virginia Tech. Additionally, he is a graduate from the FBI National Academy and is a graduate and alumni of Leadership Fairfax.

Sellers enjoys membership in the International Association of Chiefs of Police, FBI National Academy Associates and the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police.

Chiefs Sellers and Longo spoke at the Wednesday, January 11, 2012 meeting of the Senior Statesmen of Virginia. The meeting was held at the Charlottesville Senior Center. Following the presentation, questions were taken from the audience. The program was moderated by SSV board member Jim Perkins.

Airing on the second and fourth Sundays of each month, CPN’s Dan Gould talks with local award-winning historian and cartographer, Rick Britton about a wide range of subjects from Virginia’s colorful 18th and 19th centuries.

In this episode, Dan talks to Rick about the Federal naval blockades in the American Civil War and how the South found ways to run them. Blockade running was so profitable that a Southern captain could afford to loose his ship after only two runs. Learn why blockade runners never fired on Federal ships. In answer to Dan’s question, 16 knots is approximately 18 miles per hour.

Click here to listen to all the episodes in this series.

Airing on the second and fourth Sundays of each month, CPN’s Dan Gould talks with local award-winning historian and cartographer, Rick Britton about a wide range of subjects from Virginia’s colorful 18th and 19th centuries.

In this, our special Christmas day episode, Dan talks to Rick about Christmas and the American Civil War and how some of the iconic Christmas images we know today were created during this period. Learn how soldiers looked forward to receiving a Christmas package from home and how they were sometimes disappointed.

Rick’s book, “Jefferson, A Monticello Sampler”, described in this podcast, is available here.

Click here to listen to all the episodes in this series.

A Seminole Trail Volunteer Fire Department engine decked out for Santa’s Run

This year Santa’s motorcade will include the department’s brand new Engine 82, a state-of-the-art fire engine that includes side air bags, stability controls, anti-lock breaks and hydraulic tools to help with car accidents.

New for this year will be a food drive. Residents wishing to contribute to the food drive are asked to gather at major intersections in their neighborhood to make their non-perishable food donation. Food items can also be dropped off at the STVFD station on Berkmar Drive.

Click here to learn more about this year’s STVFD Santa Run.

Airing on the second and fourth Sundays of each month, CPN’s Dan Gould talks with local award-winning historian and cartographer, Rick Britton about a wide range of subjects from Virginia’s colorful 18th and 19th centuries.

In this episode, Dan talks to Rick about how a Civil War army on the move fed itself. Learn about the “mess”, the basic cooking unit of a marching army, and about “the cat that would not boil”.

Click here to listen to all the episodes in this series.

Dennis Bigelow speaking at the Charlottesville Senior Center.

Rick Britton is a Charlottesville-based author, lecturer, and cartographer. An award-winning historian, Rick also organizes history-related lecture classes in conjunction with the Charlottesville Senior Center.

On October 11, 2011, Fifth President James Monroe – in the flesh! – presented the final lecture in a new series entitled “Virginia History 201: Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe, A Dynasty of Friends.” Monroe, of course, passed away in 1831 (on the Fourth of July), but historical interpreter extraordinaire Dennis Bigelow – in his period clothing, and possessed of a fascinating amount of historical detail – is the personification of our fifth president. (A Vietnam veteran and well-trained thespian, Mr. Bigelow portrays James Monroe for Ash-Lawn Highland, the president’s restored “cabin castle.”) Listen and learn about Monroe’s amazing political career.

This is the final part of our five part series. Click here listen all five parts of this series.

Airing on the second and fourth Sundays of each month, CPN’s Dan Gould talks with local award-winning historian and cartographer, Rick Britton about a wide range of subjects from Virginia’s colorful 18th and 19th centuries.

In this episode, Dan talks to Rick about how a marching Civil War army was like a city on the move. Learn how soldiers coped with the boredom of long marches and about the instant “cities” that sprang up when they ended.

Click here to listen to all the episodes in this series.