I’m guessing some people just lost some bets: ground has been broken on the Meadowcreek Parkway, Rachana Dixit writes in the Progress. But it’s being done in an awfully strange way. The road is actually three roads, connecting in series, or so it is on paper. Albemarle County is building the 1.4 miles of the two mile road that runs through their municipality. That runs from Rio Road to a spot in the middle of McIntire Park. The next half mile is to be built by Charlottesville, though they don’t yet have the necessary permits to do that, and it’s not a sure thing that they’ll come through. And the last bit is the interchange—where it’ll connect to the bypass and to McIntire Road—which is VDOT’s project. It’s possible that we’ll end up with a 1.4 mile, $11.8M road to nowhere. The two-lane thruway is scheduled for completion in October 2011.
Author Archive for Waldo Jaquith
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Lisa Provence has a series of interviews with survivors of the Great Depression in this week’s Hook, and it actually makes for pretty good reading. Many have advice for how to get by, should this recession become something worse, and a lot of it seems to boil down to the ability to do for yourself. Things seem rough now, but reading the stories of what the 1930s were like, it’s clear that we’ve got it pretty good.
Erika Howsare at C-Ville Weekly points out that it’s that time of year to sign up for Community Supported Agriculture programs. So it’s time for that annual discussion topic: Will you be signing for a CSA this year? Which one, and why?
Last year my wife and I decided that we’d skip the CSA and buy directly from farmers, and became regulars at the Farmers Market. Though we were happy with that decision, we were also really happy with Horse and Buggy Produce, who we worked in in 2006 and 2007. I think we’ll go the same route this year. We’re establishing a few new beds this year, and we’ve already gotten seeds sprouted for broccoli, lettuce and basil, and we got the peppers and tomatoes started last weekend. But it’s hard to beat the convenience of a CSA.
School Board member Alvin Edwards is taking a two-month sabbatical during the budgeting process, and he won’t say where he’s going, why he’s leaving now, or what he’s up to. Rachana Dixit writes in the Progress that the Democrat and former mayor says he’s staying in touch via e-mail, and that his colleagues don’t see that his absence is problematic. Rev. Edwards will be missing six meetings, two budget sessions, and a town hall meeting. He was elected in 2007 to the position that he was appointed to in 2005.
Charlottesville Democrats have agreed to move to a firehouse primary, Rachana Dixit writes in the Daily Progress, which is hoped to result in significantly increased participation in their City Council nomination process. The idea is that there will be a single location on a single day where Democrats can show up, rank the candidates from their most to least favorite, and then go on with their day. Folks who can’t make it can vote absentee. And at the end of the day, the votes are tallied, and the most popular candidates will get the nod. Opponents worry that this process will be more expensive and time-consuming for candidates, while supporters hope that it will increase participation and result in stronger nominees with broader support.
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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