Monthly Archive for June, 2003

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Council Raises Water Rates

In a 4-1 vote, City Council decided last night to raise water rates by 30%, a result of the increase in the amount that the RSWA is charging for the water. This rate hike expires at the end of the year, by which time a city study should have been completed exploring, among other things, alternate pricing schemes. The new water rates go into effect on July 1st. WINA has the story.

Tropea Resigns from RSWA/RWSA

Larry Tropea, the executive director of the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority and the Rivanna Solid Waste Authority for the past 18 months, has resigned. His attorney cited a lack of support for Tropea on the part of the RWSA/RSWA boards for his resignation. This comes shortly after a sharp hike in water rates, a few months after the effective closing of the Ivy Landfill, and after last fall’s summer and fall drought, a crisis which made Tropea well-known. The organizations are left attempting to provide ongoing solutions to inevitible future water shortages, facing unpopularity due to increased water rates, and funding the entire system without the income that the Ivy Landfill once generated. David Dadurka has the story in today’s Progress.

Alb. Deputy Accused of Sketchiness

In March, an Albemarle County sheriff’s deputy claimed that he was shot by a “suspicious” black loiterer on Berkmar Drive; now he’s being investigated by the county police, and has been accused of lying about what happened. Deputy Stephen Shiflett claimed that he saw a suspicious-looking black man standing out front of Pet Food Discounters that, when the deputy approached him, show at him, hitting his bulletproof vest and his patrol car. The man was later found, but not arrested. Turns out Deputy Shiflett had attacked and arrested a couple who had reported an unlocked convenience store when Shiflett was a Louisa deputy in 2000, with a federal judge consequently awarding half a million dollars to the couple for having their constitutional rights violated. Sheriff Ed Robb, who declared the March attack to be a “hate crime” at the time, says that he’s “established very high standards for Albemarle County’s sheriff’s deputies,” citing Deputy Shiflett’s lack of a criminal record and punctuality. Reed Williams has the story.

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