Author Archive for Waldo Jaquith

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Pizza-Delivery Debate Continues

Published by Waldo Jaquith on January 18, 2006 in Business and Politics. 21 Comments

Nearly a year after the kerfuffle over pizza delivery no-fly zones first emerged, it carries on, writes Brian McKenzie in a recent Daily Progress. Papa John’s and Domino’s still restrict delivery to any neighborhood in which their drivers have been robbed, presumably because drivers won’t go there. That means Westhaven, Friendship Court, Wilton Farms, Blue Ridge Commons, and the odd fraternity can’t get a hot pie shipped to their door, and that’s got some people mad. Or, rather, couldn’t — after some safety improvements at Friendship Court, Domino’s will deliver there again. That’s not good enough for some, with Councilor Blake Caravati “on the edge of saying it’s racist,” and Eugene Williams advocating “that the city government should get involved.”

I like both Mr. Caravati and Mr. Williams, but somehow I can’t envision either of them choosing to don the uniform and deliver pizzas to these neighborhoods every night. It’s not a great job in the first place; why make danger mandatory?

Local Channels on DirecTV?

Published by Waldo Jaquith on January 13, 2006 in Ask cvillenews.com. 30 Comments

Tired of not getting TV reception on the north slope of the Southwest Mountains, my wife and I recently got DirecTV. We were surprised to discover that the channels that we really wanted — NBC, PBS, and Fox — weren’t provided. Neither were ABC or CBS. Due to crappy federal legislation, we need to pay $1.50/channel to get these stations, though only after being granted permission to get them. Apparently, DirecTV has to ask NBC 29 and Fox 27 if they’ll let me get NBC and Fox out of New York or L.A. The stations have the right to say “no,” and I’m told that there’s nothing that I can do about it. The process takes about 45 days.

Surely others in the area have dealt with this. There’s no way for me to get local stations? Is there any way that I can accelerate the process of getting these stations from NYC or L.A., or at least be assured that I’ll get my permission slip?

North Grounds Connector Opens

Published by Waldo Jaquith on January 13, 2006 in Transportation and UVa. 12 Comments

The North Grounds Connector — UVa’s very own exit off the 29 Bypass — is scheduled to open today, Melanie Mayhew writes in today’s Progress. The little road cost $4.1M, and was primarily built to serve as the entrance for the new John Paul Jones Arena. I intend to take the exit just for fun next time I’m on that chunk of 250. Whee!

Dave Norris is a Council Candidate

Published by Waldo Jaquith on January 13, 2006 in Politics. 4 Comments

Local anti-poverty activist Dave Norris has announced that he’s running for the Democratic nomination for City Council, John Yellig reported in yesterday’s Progress. Norris announced his candidacy at R2, before dozens of supporters, promising to continue his work on behalf of the homeless, creating affordable housing, and promoting sustainable urban planning. Interestingly, only one former or current City Councilor was present at the event, Kevin Lynch, which is unusual for a candidacy announcement, at least to my recollection.

The only other candidate known to be planning to announce for the two seats up for election in May is former fire chief Julian Taliaferro. Earlier this week, Councilor Blake Caravati said he’d be stepping down, while lone Republican Rob Schilling hasn’t yet announced his intentions.

For more on Norris, see Jessica Kitchin’s piece from last week, when Norris was named as one of the Daily Progress‘ “Distinguished Dozen.” Or, of course, his campaign website.

Disclaimer: I intend to volunteer for and contribute modestly to Dave’s campaign, so anything that I write about the race should be regarded as pure propaganda, or possibly outright lies.

Tin Blizzardversary

Published by Waldo Jaquith on January 13, 2006 in Weather. 7 Comments

Happy ten-year anniversary of the ’96 blizzard!

It was a decade ago today that things got a little more awesome in Charlottesville, at least for me as a 17-year-old who weathered the storm downtown. Admittedly, it wasn’t so hot for the VDOT employees who died or all of the people without power. I went downtown with some friends in the middle of the night and we took turns climbing up on construction equipment in front of Mudhouse and stage-diving into the 3′ of powder. My friend Noah spent the night on the roof of the Old Michie Building to test out his new bivvy sack. We’d go hours without seeing a soul.

Do you have any memories of the storm?

(Via the unintentionally hilarious Outskirts)

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