In the next week, the Charlottesville School Board plans to hold a pair of closed sessions to discuss personnel matters. That’s not terribly exciting in itself, but given the recent turmoil surrounding Superintendent Scottie Griffin, there’s the possibility that this may involve either Griffin or Assistant Superintendent Laura Purnell, who called out Griffin in a letter last month. Or, of course, it could be something routine and uninteresting. The Hook‘s got the story.
News and meta-news about Charlottesville, VA, since 2001.
Monthly Archive for March, 2005
Page 3 of 7
There’s been a lot of talk in the past few years about the achievement gap in Charlottesville — that is, that black students tend to score lower on standardized tests than do white students. With the racial concerns stirred up around Superintedent Scottie Griffin, the issue has gotten quite a bit more attention recently. What’s not clear, though, is whether the problem is an economic one that tends to manifest itself along racial lines, or whether it’s a problem with race at its roots. In the African-American Reflector, Corey Carter has an article addressing that question:
It is true that poor children be they black or white have achievement problems, generally speaking, because of their home environment. However, it is reckless to assign poverty as the primary cause for the achievement gap in a feeble attempt to deracialize institutional racism. Whether a black child lives on Hardy Drive, or in Greenbrier, or in Farmington, they will be subjected to institutional racism and have less opportunities to be successful in school.
I don’t know if the root cause is racism or class-based disadvantage, but I’m glad we’re talking about it.
Anybody who has tried to make an account or retrieve their forgotten password since the switch to the new system on the 20th will have been met by stony silence. Sorry about that. There were a couple of bugs (one in Postfix, one in WordPress) that conspired against you. It should work now. Thanks to Jim Duncan for his help with this.
There’s a whole website dedicated to fighting the proposal to pipe in water to Charlottesville from the James. It’s got a bunch of data about the potential effects of drawing water from such a large watershed.
In the summer and fall of 2002, the water supply was about all that anybody could talk about. Usage restrictions were put into place in September, it was forecast that we’d be all out by December, and the Rivanna Sewer and Water Association started making doomsday plans. Thankfully, by November 13, the reservoir was up to 87% of capacity, and the bullet was dodged. Since then, Charlottesville and Albemarle have been trying to figure out what to do — the population keeps growing, but we have the same amount of water capacity that we’ve always had. The RWSA is considering four options, three of which include modifying the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir and the Ragged Mountain Reservoir.
The fourth option — piping in water up Route 20 from the James at Scottsville — was dealt a small blow on Monday night. Town Council unianimously passed a resolution opposing that pipeline, citing the need to preserve the James’ water level and the great potential for development throughout southern Albemarle if a water pipeline eliminated the need for wells. Though it’s just a resolution — it doesn’t have any legal weight — it’s not the sort of publicity that the RWSA wants for their efforts.
Julie Stavitski has the story in today’s Progress.
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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