Ron Hutchinson, superintendent of Charlottesville schools, has made his budget recommendation to the school board, and it’s ugly. There’s a $1.76M shortfall, or 3% of the budget, resulting in the worst funding situation in memory and requiring that Hutchinson recommend a large number of cuts. All but a million of that is a result of an adjustment in state funding. 61% of the school budget comes from local funds, 31% from state funds, and 8% from federal funds, but unfunded mandates like the state Standards of Learning and the federal No Child Left Behind Act have left the schools scrambling to find the money for these new obligations. Since much of the cost of funding schools is staff, Hutchinson has recommended eliminating a number of faculty positions, while sticking to his assurance of a 6% raise to work on making teacher pay competitive. Julie Stavitski has the story in today’s Progress.
Monthly Archive for January, 2004
Ever since Louisa chief of police John Wilson was arrested on Thursday, Louisa Online has found itself a hotspot of activity, as Wilson has used the site’s discussion board to defend himself against charges that he assaulted Sgt. Robert Rigsby Jr. one month ago. Site operator Amy Collier reports that the site has gone from receiving about 30 posts per day to around 130. Braxton Williams has the story in today’s Progress.
City Councilor Meredith Richards has announced that she is seeking reelection, WINA reports. Richards was first elected eight years ago, and is currently the only woman on City Council. Richards is the fourth Democrat to announce their intention to seek the Democratic nomination for the three council seats, and one of two incumbents in the race. Richards sought the party nomination for Emily Couric’s seat in 2001, but lost out to now-Senator Criegh Deeds, and ran against Rep. Virgil Goode for the U.S. House of Delegates in 2002, but was defeated in that effort, as well. With the nomination convention less than two weeks away, any new candidates that are interested in the nomination ought to announce their intentions as soon as possible. 01/27 Update: David Dadurka has a story in today’s Progress.
Mayor Maurice Cox, a two-term City Councilor, has announced that he is not seeking reelection to Council this May, citing an interest in spending more time with his family and his career. Cox has made major changes in the city’s approach to transit, development, and architecture in the past eight years. With Kevin Lynch having announced that he’s running for a second term, that leaves only Councilor Meredith Richards to announce her intentions, something that is expected next week. Liz Nelson has the story in today’s Progress.
City Councilor Kevin Lynch has announced that he is seeking reelection, WINA reports. Lynch was elected four years ago by the Democrats for Change group, having been a well-known neighborhood activist for some years prior to that. He wants to continue his work supporting community policing, public transit, and education. He is the only one of the three incumbent Democrats up for reelection that has yet announced his intentions, although Mayor Maurice Cox intends to make his announcement Thursday morning at 11am. Just seventeen days remain until the Democratic nomination convention, and only three people have yet declared their candidacy for the three seats, with chiropractor David Brown having announced on Monday, and UVa doctoral candidate and Rose Hill Neighborhood Association president Kendra Hamilton having announced today. 01/22 Update: See Liz Nelson’s story in the Progress for the detailed story.
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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