Monthly Archive for June, 2004

Lack of Morning Radio in Charlottesville

Published by Waldo Jaquith on June 28, 2004 in Entertainment. 16 Comments

BetterLife writes: I was just curious about what others may think about our local morning radio choices. Trust me, I despise Clear Channel radio stations, but I don’t know how much more of 3WV BGB (Big Greasy Breakfast) morning show I can stand. This act is so old. Yeah, I’m sure they are great guys, but hey– you guys are probably around 40 years old now. You aren’t fooling the younger crowd by saying things like “yo, aish” (whatever the hell “aish” means) yessir, etc. Now you’ve got that poor kid “Highway John” trying to sound just like you. One of the Beavis & Butthead twins was on his honeymoon last week and this Highway John kid was filling in for him and ended every sentence with “aish!” Come on Brad Eure, you have been able to maintain local radio without selling out to Clear Channel. Isn’t it time to flush the BGB and try something different. I’m not the only one complaining. Many of my co-workers have switched to other stations because the act, sound effects, and music is just so stale. Sorry Max, Rick & John, time’s up!

I’ll just stick with WVTF…

Fridays After 5 Apparently Intact

Published by Waldo Jaquith on June 24, 2004 in Music. 2 Comments

After control of the downtown amphitheater was turned over to Coran Capshaw a few weeks ago, it was unclear what the future of Fridays After 5 would be, or if it even had a future at all. But after a meeting last week between the Charlottesville Downtown Foundation and a representative of Capshaw’s, it appears that all is well, if uncertain. The two parties agree to work together to continue the free weekly concerts, but it’s not clear whether they’ll continue to happen every single Friday, who will book the acts, and other logistical issues. It is clear, though, that the mission of Fridays After 5 will continue to be to support area non-profits. Lisa Provence has the story in the current issue of The Hook.

Metro Going Out of Business

Published by Waldo Jaquith on June 24, 2004 in Business. 2 Comments

Metro(politain), the restaurant that started it all for the restaurant biz downtown, is closing down in a week. Owners Tim Burgess and Vincent Derquenne, who also own Bizou and Bang!, are ending the restaurant’s 13-year-run due to a decline in business that their 2002 renovation and renaming couldn’t solve. The two report that they’re doing well with their other restaurants, but the large number of restaurants downtown means that something has to go. Metropolitain, after opening in 1991, was so popular and well-reviewed as to kick off the trend of opening fine dining establishments downtown that continues to this day. (C&O Restaurant, to give credit where credit is due, is the granddaddy of them all.) Courteney Stuart and Hawes Spencer have the story in this week’s Hook.

Portico Buys SC Weekly

Published by Waldo Jaquith on June 24, 2004 in Business. 4 Comments

Portico Publications, the Charlottesville partnership that owns C-Ville Weekly, has used the proceeds of their recent sale of Blue Ridge Outdoors to purchase the Columbia, South Carolina weekly, Free Times. The 17-year-old weekly has a circulation of 35,000, and appears to be quite similar to C-Ville Weekly. Richard Karpel, executive director of the Association of Alternative Weeklies, believes that this physically-distant purchase indicates that Portico is looking to build up a chain of weeklies. South Carolina’s The State has the story.

Jefferson School a No-Go for JMRL

Published by Waldo Jaquith on June 23, 2004 in Politics. 2 Comments

The Jefferson School Task Force, searching for some organizations to occupy the Jefferson School, recently settled on the central branch of the Jefferson Madison Regional Library as a potential occupant, despite the library’s lack of need to move or interest in doing so. However, an engineering report has shown that the school simply isn’t constructed in a manner that would permit it to hold the many tons of books that are housed in the library, making it a no-go without extensive structural modifications. What hasn’t been discussed publicly thus far is the possibility of moving JMRL’s administrative offices to the Jefferson School, given that they are in need of a centralized location for coordination of the branches, in order to free up space at the central branch. Elizabeth Nelson has the story in today’s Progress.

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