There’s a fifth person in the City Council race: democrat David Simmons. The 50-year-old Simmons, a nurse at the UVa Medical Center, ran in 2000, but withdrew from the race in order to bring end to fighting within the party. Simmons intends to work to help the education system deal with the Standards of Learning and increase the amount of affordable housing in the city, among other things. Jake Mooney has the article in today’s Progress.
News and meta-news about Charlottesville, VA, since 2001.
Sideblog
Police announced this afternoon that their investigation into what was initially believed to be a fatal fire on Rugby Avenue is now a homicide investigation. #
The Virginia Supreme Court has denied George Huguely’s appeal. His second-degree murder conviction will stand, WRIC reports. #
In a carefully worded story, and not citing specific sources, WTVR reports that forensic evidence belonging to Jesse Matthew Jr., the main suspect in the disappearance of Hannah Graham, matches forensic evidence collected during the investigation of Morgan Harrington’s 2009 murder. #
In the wake of Hannah Graham’s disappearance, and the evidence that came from private security footage, city officials are revisiting the question of installing security cameras on the downtown mall. #
Both Charlottesville Registrar Sheri Iachetta and former Electoral Board member Stephanie Commander have turned themselves in to the police on
foursix and four felony counts of embezzlement, respectively. #Ten years ago, the National Institutes of Health budget doubled and schools like the University of Virginia built massive new research facilities. A decade later, those buildings remain largely underutilized. NPR visits UVA in this story on the effect of federal binge and spurge spending in the sciences. #
In 2012, Council approved a new student housing complex on West Main—now some council members are questioning whether what they were shown matches what was built. #
The Architectural Review Board has approved a bike-themed mural on West Market, below the McGuffey Art Center, although at least one member expressed concerns that it might look like the bicyclists were riding away from Charlottesville’s downtown. #
City Police Chief Tim Longo is meeting with city leaders to work on protocols regarding the use of military surplus police weapons in Charlottesville. #
A 100-year-old Colonnades resident received military honors for her service in the WWII Women’s Army Corps #
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In the past 48 hours, I just haven’t had time to track somebody else down to write about Council stuff. I fully intend to locate a person that is unaffiliated with any of the candidates who can write about Council issues — it just hasn’t happened yet. In the meantime, my apologies for not immediately ceasing to write about Council race issues. It seemed far, far worse to fail to mention David Simmons’ entrance into the race than to write about it from my surely-biased perspective.
Hey Waldo: silly goose. You do just fine writing objectively about the City Council election in the third person. Maybe you should establish a new “editorial page” to publish first person screeds when the spirit moves.
In the meantime, please tell me where to find your campaign platform. In particular: Meadowcreek Perkway–for or against?
Then go watch Citizen Kane. Or read Benj. Franklin’s biography The problem of news publishers meddling in politics is not without precedent. Your reticence to abuse your almighty web-power is of course commendable.
In the meantime, please tell me where to find your campaign platform. In particular: Meadowcreek Perkway–for or against?
I’m against. That said, I don’t feel that my opinion should be particularly relevant: this needs to be handed over to being a portion of a much larger transportation plan (including considerations regarding mass transit, improved urban design, etc.) and see if it makes sense in that context. Additionally, (and I credit this idea to my opponent, Joan Fenton) it may be time that the Parkway was taken to a referendum. It’s been 30 years — every time some anti-Parkway guy like me gets on Council, it’s put on hold. Then we get road-builders on Council, and it’s back again. We either need to do it or not do it, and perhaps a cooperative city/county referendum might be the way to do it.
That’s right, I said city/county.cooperation. Some say it’s not possible, but without agreement between the two parties, construction a much-debated new roadway linking the two entities is unlikely to ever proceed in a reasonable fashion.
But, yes, I am opposed to new road construction, at least prior to a complete and exhaustive regional transportation plan. I hope to be able to offer a more complete and researched answer in the near future, but please accept this as a token response for now.
Hey pretty good response. Okay you’ve almost got my vote. I’ll wait to see the rest of your platform. So post it.
As to referendae: dangerous business. They are meant to empower the people but in practice they do the opposite. The special interests take over. Paid signature collectors. Blanket advertising. Deliberately misleading language like “The Pollution Initiative” a few years back in California. People voted for it not realizing it was an industry sponsored proposal to LET factories pollute. The individual voter is helpless against big money–which does talk, often in well-hyped lies. And the special interests use referendae to bypass elected representatives who are familiar with their tricks and would know better.
Re-think your support of referendae. We voters elect you to represent us with your good informed judgement. We have better things to do than exlore the details of every governmental decision and try to decide it ourselves.
I’ll wait to see the rest of your platform. So post it.
It should be up on votewaldo.org within a matter of days.
Re-think your support of referendae. We voters elect you to represent us with your good informed judgement. We have better things to do than exlore the details of every governmental decision and try to decide it ourselves.
Agreed — referendae (good plural, BTW) are too often called upon to settle issues that lawmakers should be able to settle. The primary reason that I’m interested in one in this case is because it would enable cooperation between the city and the county. That’s really what’s important to me, when you get right down to it, is knowing that the decision being made is one that is what’s best for both entities. I’ve been attempting to determine what method would be best for that. If not a referendum, then I’d certainly like to see some similar method of allowing a joint decision on the parkway.