Monthly Archive for May, 2009

Downtown Mall Overhaul Done-ish

Published by Waldo Jaquith on May 30, 2009 in Development and Government. 53 Comments
Old Mall Bricks
The gnarly old brickwork that’s been replaced.

The city held a ceremony to rededicate the overhauled Downtown Mall last night, Rachana Dixit writes in the Daily Progress. The old, mortared bricks were all replaced with bricks laid in sand, the aging electrical infrastructure was replaced, and some of the slab underlying the brickwork was replaced. The great bulk of the work was done a few weeks ago, but minor development has continued for the past few weeks. The project manager describes it as “99.9 percent done.” The final bill hasn’t come in, but the city has said all along that the project will come in below their target price. With the job also completed more or less within the four-month timeframe, neither of the main concerns raised by critics have come to pass.

Mudhouse Opening Crozet, Closing in Pantops

Published by Waldo Jaquith on May 29, 2009 in In Brief. 2 Comments

Mudhouse is opening a Crozet location, though owner John Lawrence tells me they’re closing their in-gas-station Pantops location at the same time.  #

Judge Upholds Balloon Sign Fine

Published by Waldo Jaquith on May 28, 2009 in In Brief. 1 Comment

Judge Downer has ordered that former 29N rug store owner to pay the fines he knew he had coming for floating that huge balloon in front of his store.  #

School Board Discussing Restructuring System

Published by Waldo Jaquith on May 27, 2009 in Education. 17 Comments

The Charlottesville school board held a workshop about restructuring the school system last night, Henry Graff reports for NBC-29 , about which reader Aileen writes:

I attended the forum last night, and what NBC doesn’t mention, is the fact–confirmed by Rosa Atkins last night—that the school division has complied with changes recommended by the efficiency review, and that restructuring, i.e. closing an elementary school or returning to K-5 elementary schools and two middle schools, is not mandatory. Last night, we listened to remarks by Rosa Atkins and Gertrude Ivory—Ivory’s plan to realign the curriculum with the “real world” and “career skills” was troubling to me, but I don’t know how other people felt. Then we broke into small groups and were given the opportunity to share what we thought were pros and cons of each of the four restructuring possibilities. The meeting ended with each group presenting a summary of its discussion, and Rosa Atkins answered questions from the community.

Rachana Dixit writes about parental fears of the effects of redistricting in today’s Daily Progress, specifically the concern that establishing a second middle school would basically result in a black school and a white school. The school system is trying to figure out if greater efficiency could come of rethinking how we divide up kids between grades and schools, but there’s not yet any commitment to doing anything at all.

Snow Nominated for Board of Supervisors

Published by Waldo Jaquith on May 26, 2009 in In Brief. 3 Comments

County Republicans nominated Duane Snow for BoS this evening, pitting him against Democrat Madison Cummings and independent John Lowry.  #