The Charlottesville School Board has appointed Guian McKee to fill the remainder of Alvin Edwards’ term, Rachana Dixit writes in today’s Daily Progress. McKee is an associate professor of public policy and the father of a child at Clark Elementary. He says that he doesn’t know if he’ll run for reelection when his term is up at the end of next year. Edwards announced his resignation two months ago; it takes effect at the end of this month. With Edwards abstaining, the vote for McKee was unanimous.
News and meta-news about Charlottesville, VA, since 2001.
Monthly Archive for October, 2010
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The city is looking at modifying its voting precincts, Henry Graff reports for NBC-29. Right now there are eight precincts of wildly differing populations, which means that different precincts have to handle different turnouts and political parties that weight their nominations by precinct are making some people’s votes worth more than others’. Voter registrar Sheri Iachetta will be educating City Council on the topic, so that when census data comes out in February, they’ll be prepared to consider whether and how to modify those precinct boundaries based on that new data.
Out of curiosity, I took the results of the 2008 presidential elections by precinct, compared the percentage of the city’s vote that was cast in each precinct, and graphed how far off from the ideal percentage each precinct is. With eight precincts, each one should, ideally, be receiving 1/8 of voters, or 12.5%. Yet (for example) the Venable precinct received 18% of all votes, a 47% overrepresentation. The results look like this:
Obviously, turnout varies from election to election by a certain percentage, but even allowing for that, most of these precincts are wildly mis-sized. I’ve been told that the precincts haven’t really changed for many years. They were established back when the city was smaller, in terms of square miles, and as the city grew, precincts were simply expanded to reach the new borders. I don’t know if that’s true, but looking at the map, it makes sense.
Whatever changes Council winds up making, they’ll have to be signed off on by the Department of Justice, as is required under section 5 of the Voting Rights Act for most of the south, a result of historical discrimination against minorities.
Bill McChesney strolled down the completed county portion of the Meadowcreek Parkway, and provides this photo set of what it looks like. A street sign reads “Meadow Creek Parkway,” so apparently the county just decided to go with the informal name that’s been bandied about for years. That means that somebody driving in a straight line south from Rio will, without ever turning, drive on Meadow Creek Parkway, McIntire Road, Ridge Street, Fifth Street, Fifth Street Extended, and Old Lynchburg Road. Fourteen miles, six names, one road.
WTJU station manager Burr Beard has resigned, Tyler McGill writes on the WTJU In Crisis blog. Citing “family concerns,” his resignation is apparently effective immediately. Beard’s planned overhaul of the station’s format led to a public rebellion by long-time volunteers, leading to some backpedaling on the university’s part, but without a clear path forward for the station. Presumably now the path is even less clear.
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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