City Council has voted unanimously to fund an $80,000 program to establish “Downtown Mall ambassadors,” Graham Moomaw writes for the Daily Progress. That’ll pay for four seasonal employees to provide directions to tourists, perform light maintenance, and other small tasks…but the real impetus is to try to deal with the ongoing problem of aggressive, apparently coordinated panhandlers. City police were trying to get the funding to increase police presence in response to panhandlers, but council balked at the price tag. Not being police, it’s not clear that these new folks will have the power to do anything at all. Council regards this as an experiment, one that they’ll evaluate the success of next summer.
News and meta-news about Charlottesville, VA, since 2001.
Monthly Archive for September, 2012
Page 2 of 2
Twenty months after he took the job as Charlottesville City Manager, Maurice Jones has bought a house in town, Graham Moomaw writes for the Daily Progress. A requirement for the position of city manager is that, after accepting the position, the manager must move into the city limits. Recognizing the realities of what goes into moving and selling a home, that doesn’t have to be done instantly, but instead within one year. Jones, like many folks in the area, is underwater on his Earlysville home—he paid $393,000 for it in 2006, and now it’s worth just $315,000, making it impossible to sell without ponying up $78,000 to the bank. Jones said he had a tough time finding a buyer, so Council gave him an extension to allow him twenty months, rather than the previous twelve.
Jones has taken early possession—a week before the formal closing—of a house in Greenbrier, just as his time elapsed. The house requires renovation, though, and won’t be habitable for a few months, so while Jones does now own a house in the city, he won’t be sleeping in the city until later this year. Council members tell Moomaw that they’re satisfied with Jones’s progress, and consider him in compliance with his contractual requirements.
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 »
Recent Comments