The county has ended their membership in a software subscription program because of fears that it could allow the United Nations to take over Albemarle County. I am not making this up. #
News and meta-news about Charlottesville, VA, since 2001.
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 #
-
Archive for Sideblog »
Let’s all pause to appreciate the irony of the Albemarle Tea Party having the national Tea Party send out an e-mail to their members throughout the country, asking them to write letters to the Albemarle Board of Supervisors decrying outside influence on Albemarle’s political process.
Just let that sink in.
Have you seen this?:
http://rswa.avenue.org/Documents/flyer_fees.pdf
RSWA, a joint venture between the City and the County, (and maybe UVa as they have some seats on the board?) has decided to charge an additional $10 fee per transaction for City residents. Is this a punishment for the City sending its waste to VanderLinde?
“We [don’t] need to have an outside group dictating and feeding us information based on the things they feel are important,” Snow said. “Everyone has an agenda. You might say that ICLEI does not have an agenda … but in my heart I feel like from the things that I’ve read that they do have an agenda.”
Agendas.
This is too weird TOO make up- it is in the life is stranger than fiction category :).
Agendas! They’re the worst!
If it is just software change then really who cares and what is the big deal? But it’s not just software it’s also this :http://www.iclei.org/fileadmin/user_upload/documents/Global/About_ICLEI/ICLEI_Strategy_2010-2015.pdf
I’m not aghast or frighten by ICLEI nor are they a threat to our local government. I honestly don’t see why we need to be involved with them at all
Why isn’t the question, do we need to pay this group to tell us how to be responsible stewards of our land? I would say that I’ve read nothing on the ICLEI website that shows info we should be paying for. We have an EPA and DEQ to help us with many of the same things and a Congress to pass laws that do the same. Albemarle has tougher standards to protect our environment then many other localities in Virginia. We get detail advice on new regulations from environmental groups all the time and I hope that doesn’t change. Does anyone really believe that this will lead to any significant degradation in our localities environmental stance or protections?
Do I fear the UN or ICLEI involvement in global issues- nope. Do I feel the need to pay ICLEI for their software to help them with their vision for the future- nope. This may have been the most overblown issue we have faced here it awhile.
People who thought we were being over influenced by the UN overstate the case by a mile so do those that think this change threatens the environment protections in this area. This is just another tempest in a Albemarle’s fine china teapot
I picture them eating pepperoni just before bedtime and then believing that their resulting indigestion-fueled dreams were real events requiring action.
:) sue.
As Waldo put it, this is basically over a software license fee. I know for a fact they spend more on their other software licenses and support than they do this one. People at the meeting even offered to pass the hat and gather the money right there!
Indeed it’s also a certainty that we spent more taxpayer money on this one meeting than they county did on the software in the first place. If we care about smaller government then we need to stop wasting taxpayer dollars with shenanigans like this.
The city and county have each developed its own Comprehensive Plans quite successfully for decades and there is no need for an unprecedented federal government grant of almost $1M to do so now. Why is HUD interested in our Plans all of a sudden? There must be an agenda somewhere. Also, I wonder if there is better software out there other than what is provided by ICLEImore suitable to our needs. Has anybody looked?