Author Archive for Waldo Jaquith

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Dogwood Carnival Victim of McIntire Plans

Published by Waldo Jaquith on April 25, 2009 in General News. 26 Comments

The Dogwood Festival will need a new home, Christina Mora reports for NBC-29, since McIntire Park is being converted into something considerably less park-like. The event has been held in McIntire Park for sixty years (before that it was the Apple Harvest Festival, held in the fall beginning in 1950). The organizers are looking for a new home for their rides and fireworks, somewhere in Charlottesville or Albemarle.

I wonder if this means that our annual Fourth of July celebration can’t continue to be held in McIntire? If that’s the case, City Council may find itself with a full-blown rebellion on hand. It’s one thing to eliminate softball fields. It’s another to eliminate the only viable location in the city to celebrate the founding of our nation.

4:02 PM Update: Mayor Dave Norris says it ain’t so:

The media accounts on 29 and in the Hook are incorrect. The City is NOT planning to evict the Dogwood Carnival from McIntire Park. If anything, the changes afoot for the western side of the park will make McIntire an even better home for the Dogwood Festival. The only issue is what to do with the Festival NEXT YEAR if there is a major construction project going on in the park at that time.

Join a City Board

Published by Waldo Jaquith on April 25, 2009 in In Brief. 2 Comments

There are a bunch of openings on city boards. There are so few applicants for some of these that you’re basically a lock if you apply, so go for it.  #

Old Trail Up for Sale (That Rhymes!)

Published by Waldo Jaquith on April 24, 2009 in In Brief. 1 Comment

Apparently Old Trail is for sale. The whole thing.  #

Foxfield and Dogwood Parade Tomorrow

Published by Waldo Jaquith on April 24, 2009 in General News and Transportation. 14 Comments

Foxfield and the Dogwood Parade are tomorrow. So don’t drive, y’know, anywhere. Alternately, head to town around 9:00 AM, find a spot downtown, and watch the parade. The weather should be perfect. But don’t go to Foxfield—spring is when we cede it to the students. Wait for the fall running.

Progress Alumna Wins a Pulitzer Prize

Published by Waldo Jaquith on April 21, 2009 in Meta News. 6 Comments

The St. Petersburg Times’ Lane DeGregory, who won a Pulitzer Prize for feature writing yesterday, is an alumna of the Daily Progress, Bob Gibson writes on Facebook. DeGregory won for “The Girl in the Window,” which the judges describe as a “moving, richly detailed story of a neglected little girl, found in a roach-infested room, unable to talk or feed herself, who was adopted by a new family committed to her nurturing.”

The paper won a second Pulitzer yesterday, for their popular Truth-O-Meter website, which evaluates the accuracy of claims made by political leaders. The nationally-respected paper has racked up eight Pulitzers since 1964, surely in part because they are owned and operated by a non-profit journalism school, The Poynter Institute. And though there’s no Pulitzer in it, I highly recommend wasting some time on their their Tampa Bay Mug Shots website. I like to use it to play a game I call “Guess the Crime,” based on the photos.