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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It shows that the City is awash with so much money it doesn’t know what to do with. Council is always looking for ways to spend money (and buy votes). Now Mayor Norris is bellyaching about not having enough money for the schools.
I have no problem with this, especially consider their lack of raises and a future outlook that doesn’t have any raises on the horizon. It must be demoralizing.
Yeah but lets look at the other revenue sharing agreement news articles (specifically this one) which preceded the one in the other Cville News thread, and the complaints made in it by the city about losing education funding from the state as a result of Delegate Bell’s bill. It was this funding that restarted the revenue sharing debate.
The money the city and county is fighting about (which lead to the “Revenue Sharing dispute news article on the other Cville News Thread) is something like -2.6 million.
The Bonuses given City workers were part of a 5.3 million dollar Carry over from last years budget.
So how can they plead poverty about losing educational funding when it’s clear they’ve got the money to spend.
@BusMan, “… a future outlook that doesn’t have any raises on the horizon.” Why do you say this?
@Cville Eye
From the article linked by Waldo:
Charlottesville City Councilor David Brown defended the bonuses saying, “They didn’t get a raise last year. I can tell you right now I don’t think they’re going to get a raise next year and the outlook after that doesn’t look so good either.”
Now, i wonder why did Councilor David Brown say that.
Maybe when Brown leaves Council, they will vote for raises for everybody.
I used to be a civil servant, but no more. The lack of raises (among other things) was very demoralizing. Its like a talent vacuum.
You obviously weren’t employed by the city. It’s employees’ pay packages are envied around the state.
Indeed I was not. Are the city’s salaries published online anywhere that you know of?
You’ll have to ask Jeanne Cox, Clerk of Council, where the information is. She’s a secretary with a salary over $70k. That’s not including her benefits.
Yeah but she’s retiring and has a ton of experience. That doesn’t seem AT ALL unreasonable, especially if you want folks to be able to afford to reside in the city they work in/for.
“…f you want folks to be able to afford to reside in the city they work in/for.” That is something I couldn’t care less about. They should live where they can afford. Obviously, it doesn’t concern the Coxes either. Last year, they sold their downtown condo for $900k , which is more than the cost of the City Manager’s house. Since he’s one of the highest paid employeess I doubt if that’s affordable for the rest of the employees on their salaries.
I think its something lots of folks care about. Didn’t the police officers request a subsidy because most of them couldn’t afford to live in the community they protect?
Yeah. Pay equity is a b***h.
“Didn’t the police officers request a subsidy because most of them couldn’t afford to live in the community they protect?” Why, no, they didn’t. They actually said that they were fearful of harm being done to their families by the relatives of the people that they arrest. At least that was said when former police chief Rittenhouse asked them. What you heard is talk from some advocacy group. The police was offered 608 Ridge Street last year and there were no takers then. Now that the city is not only bringing the house up to code but also making it fabulously energy efficietn they may be able to find one.
My misunderstanding. I must’ve been thinking of this:
http://www.cvillepolicefoundation.org/resources/HereToServe.pdf
What one sells property for bears little resemblance to what one paid for it. A downtown condo bought for $100k in 1980 could certainly sell for $900k now.
Thanks, I see the grounds, for the misunderstanding. The article is very vague. Since the median price of a home in the city is less than $290k, they must be allowing officers to use the money in the county, too. Do you know of any officer that has used these funds? I believe one officer may have bought a house in the Tenth ^ Page area several years ago from PHA but I haven’t heard of any others. Of course, that $75,000 isn’t going to go far with helping somebody earning $35k to buy a $290k hous, even if the entire amount goes to one person. I guess, since the money is from private sources, there is not a public accounting for this fund, i.e. how many officers have taken advantage of this fund and where they actually purchased. I’ll look around and see if I can find out anything.
http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:JUK8Jz5w5bkJ:www.readthehook.com/discoverCharlottesville/realestate.aspx median selling price of a home in the city of Charlottesville VA&cd=7&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=qsb-win
“How low can it go?”
True, Waldo. “They should live where they can afford. Obviously, it doesn’t concern the Coxes either.”
http://www.cvillepolicefoundation.org/resources/Newsplex 20091017.pdf From this article, I take it this gentleman has taken advantage of the program. He is not the typical police officer, though; he has somewhat dire circumstances.
http://www.cvillepolicefoundation.org/3.html indicates this initiative is the dream of Chief Longo. Nowhere did I get the feeling it’s actually desired by many police officers themselves. The idea, I think, was first a part of the program to house professionals such as teacher, nurses, and police officers that was overseen by Piedmont Housing Alliance but I don’t think they had a lot of takers for city housing.
Does anybody really think that the $750 given to the meployees made that big of a difference in the employyes’ ability to survie? The city may need that $625,000 down the road to keep some of them employeed full time. Waldo, I’m trying to get back to the thread.
Not that it matters… but…
In 1980 the Downtown Mall was on it’s way to dying, (city planner Huja had done a fine job driving businesses to the county). There weren’t any downtown mall apartments or condos (certainly not on the mall itself).
And in Virginia in 1980 the concept of condos were very new, and generally mistrusted. A Condo in 1980 would’ve most likely sold for around 25,000. A stand alone 3 bedroom house in a nice upper middle class (monied) neighborhood might have sold for around 100k but most houses sold for less.
And yeah it’s nitpicking but I had some free time, so I thought why not.
Perhaps a better way to put it would have been that a unit of space fit for use for a variety of purposes that was purchased in 1980, lived in as a residence, modified to be what we’d now call a condominium, and then resold, could have accrued a great deal of value. (Though I meant the downtown area, and not on the Downtown Mall itself.) That’s the great thing about traditional urbanism: A former factory (the Michie plant) can become offices, then apartments, and maybe one day go back to being a factory. Every step of the way, the structure is exercising its maximum financial potential. Try that in Forest Lakes. :)
That said—purely as a matter of trivia—I think there are a few residences within a block or so of the Downtown Mall that have been residences continuously since 1980 or before. For instance, Steve Tharpe’s old apartment, on the top floor of Miller’s—I think he moved in there back when he opened Miller’s in the eighties, although I don’t know what year that would have been, or whether it was an apartment before he moved in. And what about the Jefferson/Movie Palace apartments? Were they occupied before Hawes bought the building in ~1990? I’ll have to chew this over and see if I can think of any other examples of long-occupied residences between Market and Water. I bet there are a few.
http://www.mhlrt.com/history.htm
In the eighties, there were plenty of people downtown, just not at night. Huja spread the idea that downtown was “dying.” That would justify “competing” with the county by building parking garages and urbanizing the area. Remember he was a city planner. In the eighties, I was still doing most of my shopping downtown, rarely traveling to 29N.
Good questions…
If it’s an owner’s residence for a specific business- does that qualify in the spirit of the discussion about condo’s and apartments? I don’t know.
Jefferson/movie Palace apartments? I didn’t know there were any. So my guess is that happened sometime after the Spring of 1992.
What I do remember about the Movie Palace in the 1980’s were the midnight showings of Rated X movies. But I only remember that from the movie advertisements in the Daily Progress.
My how times change.
I do remember in the early 1990’s when Stacy’s Music (on the Downtown mall) renovated their upstairs space to make it an apartment space.
Yes, there were apartments above the Jefferson and a pool hall in the basement I believe. You might remember a heavy set guy with brown glasses and dark hair that used to sit on the bricks occassionally on the Mall. He used to live in there. He died fairly young (no grey hair).
Actually there have been many people living above the stores downtown for years. A lady that was living above one of the stores during the northern army’s march down Main Street has exerpts from her diary published in one of the local picture books, either that of Holsinger’s or the one co-authored by Mary Ann Elwood.
…and how, disappointingly, a series of doofy UVA grad students proceeded to live there in the following years. I worked at Chaps then, and hoped that somebody really cool would move in. That was a let-down.
Perhaps that’s why Stacy’s is now just one location at Rio Hills with no downtown location at all. ;)
Of course, there has always been people in the apartment house on 4th and Market beside the wine shop. Altamont Circle apartments.
Michael Williams lived above his book store when it was still there, still does I believe. The apartments on Market St. on the block where Unlimited Vitality was and the new grocery is have been there at least since the mid 80’s. Joe Bosserman(sp?) I believe his name was lived in a great apartment just to the right of Miller’s in the 80’s and may have ben there as far back as the 70’s. There are apartments above the old Keller and George and have been for a while if I’m not mistaken. Weren’t there even apartments a long time ago in the building where Monsoon used to be and the steak house is now?
“The apartments on Market St. on the block where Unlimited Vitality…” I believe you’re speaking of the Milgr[a]u]m building. Not sure of the spelling.