Yearly Archive for 2006

Page 21 of 71

Why’s Gas So Expensive Here?

Published by Waldo Jaquith on September 12, 2006 in Ask cvillenews.com and Business. 19 Comments

I’ve heard tell about gas prices dropping, but it’s been so little that I haven’t noticed. As it turns out, that’s just Charlottesville. I see on NBC 29’s Gas Price Watch page that fuel is $2.30/gallon in Waynesboro, $2.34/gallon down the street from me in Barboursville, and $2.43/gallon in Ruckersville. Here in C’ville it’s between $2.65 and $2.69 a gallon, which is a bit higher than the national average of $2.61 and significantly higher than the $2.30/gallon average in metropolitan areas across the nation. Our prices are, in fact, the highest in the state.

What’s going on? Did I miss a memo?

09/13 Update: Bryan McKenzie has a lengthy article on this very topic in today’s Daily Progress.

Restauranteurs Headed to Waynesboro?

Published by Waldo Jaquith on September 9, 2006 in Business. 9 Comments

In today’s Staunton News Leader, Alice Mannette reports on the boom in restaurant spending in Waynesboro and its correlation with Charlottesville restauranteurs considering moving over the mountain. Waynesboro doesn’t have particularly rich dining options (though I understand The Purple Foot is always good), so it’s an easier market to tap into than C’ville’s apparently restaurant-based economy.

I’ve long wanted to cultivate a healthy Springfield/Shelbyville type of rivalry between C’ville and W’boro. Maybe we can start it over food.

New Yorker on Zero Tolerance

Published by Waldo Jaquith on September 8, 2006 in Education and Law and Justice. 1 Comment

The September 4 issue of The New Yorker features a brief “Talk of the Town” piece by well-known author Malcolm Gladwell (known for “Blink” and “The Tipping Point”) entitled “No Mercy.” Gladwell argues against zero-tolerance (“ZT,” as it’s known) school rules, specifically citing a case of attempted murder, explaining that ZT does nothing to deter bad behavior. He believes that schools have an obligation to look at each student individually and make the decision that best serves that child’s interests, rather than treating each matter as a worst-case scenario.

I mention this because, of course, of the recent and ongoing smoke bomb case.

200 Yard Firearm Ban Proposed

Published by Waldo Jaquith on September 7, 2006 in Law and Justice and Politics. 18 Comments

Jack writes:

According to Channel 29, Commonwealth’s Attorney Jim Camblos is pushing the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors for a ban on the discharge of firearms within 200 yards of any house in Albemarle. Including rurally-zoned property.

Camblos reportedly told the Board that he was shocked that no such law is currently in place, which appears to conflict with the fact that Albemarle County already bans the discharge of firearms within 50 feet of a house or road. The discharge of a firearm is already illegal in residentially-zoned subdivisions. The measure would prevent most rural residents of Albemarle County from either engaging in target practice or hunting on their own land.

Board member Denis Rooker spoke favorably towards the proposal and indicated a willingness to vote for it. The measure was proposed as a response to the ‘Bentivar cat-killer’ case, despite the fact that shooting your neighbor’s cat is already illegal and the culprit was convicted and given a prison sentence.

An errant bullet from a .22 will travel up to 2 miles unless it hits a target or a safe backstop first. Thus it is unclear how regulations banning the discharge of a firearm within 200 yards of a house would be any safer than either the current 50 foot rule or even a 1 mile rule.

Lethal Wrecker = After Five Towing

Published by Waldo Jaquith on August 31, 2006 in Business. 9 Comments

Consider this a public service announcement: Lethal Wrecker is changing their name to After Five Towing. They’ve gotten such a terrible reputation that apparently they figure a name change will allow them to leave it behind. (From the Whisper Ridge School of Business?) The company is also planning to file for bankruptcy, not because they’re going under, but to avoid having to pay up after being caught overcharging their victims, as well as to avoid paying up in the $20M suit recently filed by a man left crippled after his car was crushed by a Lethal tow truck.

I think I may have to run PSAs on the site periodically to remind people that After Five Towing is one and the same as Lethal Wrecker. I’d hate for anybody to forget.

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