Author Archive for Waldo Jaquith

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Census Readjusted Upward

Published by Waldo Jaquith on October 21, 2005 in Development and Politics. 2 Comments

In April, the Census Bureau announced that the population of Charlottesville had dropped sharply, decreasing by 8.7% in just four years. A few months later, City Council challenged the Census Bureau on those figures and, yesterday, the feds admitted fault. In fact, there was a 1.6% increase of the population in that period, Sarah Barry reports in the Daily Progress. It appears that the calculation problem lay, as cvillenews.com commenters speculated, in the proper inclusion of UVa students, which is a perennial problem for census-takers.

So for those of us who said that the census may well be right and we, for one, welcome our new census overlords…we suck. And for those of you who got it right, don’t rub it in too much.

Pavilion Not Subject to Noise Ordinance

Published by Waldo Jaquith on October 19, 2005 in Music. 13 Comments

In this week’s Hook, Courteney Stuart writes about the Charlottesville Pavilion, in which she mentions that the amphitheater isn’t subject to the noise ordinance:

Belmont residents complained at a September city council meeting about “windows rattling” during many– if not all– Pavilion shows, and called for the City to enforce the noise ordinance. That law limits noise in the downtown business district to less than 75 decibels between the hours of 10pm and 6am. In residential neighborhoods, nighttime noise must not exceed 55 decibels.

Because the Pavilion falls outside both the Downtown Business district and residential areas, the ordinance does not apply.

If the Pavilion isn’t able to reign in their noise pollution, I suspect we’re going to see demand for a noise ordinance with teeth. Though I can’t claim to know much about the entertainment business, I do know that most venues around the nation that Dave Matthews Band plays at have a rigidly-enforced 11pm curfew; in some places, if they go over, they have to pay a per-minute fine. That might start looking pretty good here.

Council Eliminates Window Stickers

Published by Waldo Jaquith on October 18, 2005 in Politics and Taxes. 1 Comment

Last night, City Council made it official — no more personal property tax decals in windshields, as proposed. That was quick.

BoS Races Roundup

Published by Waldo Jaquith on October 18, 2005 in Development, Politics and Transportation. 1 Comment

As November 8 draws closer, there’s more and more action in Albemarle’s Board of Supervisors races, as well as those in the surrounding counties.

In an overview of the races, Kate Andrews and Megan Rowe write in today’s Progress that every race in Central Virginia is about how to handle growth. In Greene, Orange, Fluvanna, Louisa, Nelson and, of course, Albemarle, candidates are debating how to best handle the influx of new residents and all of the issues that are brought about by or exacerbated by this. While it’s been an issue in past races, this is the first time it’s been a major issue. It’ll likely be the defining issue of area elections for years to come.

And the Daily Progress’ Jessica Kitchin looks at the three Rio candidates in Albemarle. Rio is the only district that’s really competitive, since the seat has been vacated by David Bowerman, leaving Republican Gary Grant, Democrat David Slutzky, and independent Thomas Jakubowski all vying for election. (Jakubowski is, to my surprise, the only blogging BoS candidate. The blog hasn’t been updated in months, but it’s a nice effort.) Kitchin explains each candidate’s position on growth and transportation needs, which they presented at last night’s forum at Woodbrook Elementary. Impressively, the Progress provides a link to the podcast of the event provided by the Charlottesville Podcasting Network.

Finally, the newly-created Charlottesville Tomorrow is providing a summary of candidate information, including, helpfully, transcripts of some of the debates. Don’t miss the biography provided by BoS candidate Christian Schoenwald, a candidate who says he’s too busy to provide information about himself to mere websites. He must be planning on winning by a landslide to shun such coverage.

Rooker/Schoenwald BoS Debate

Published by Waldo Jaquith on October 13, 2005 in Politics. 8 Comments

Both candidates for the Board of Supervisors in the Jack Jouett district, incumbent independent Dennis Rooker and Republican challenger Christian Schoenwald, debated at a forum held at Jack Jouett Middle School on Monday night. Topics addressed included rural protection, the business community, the neighborhood development model, growth areas, property tax assessments, transportation, and development. Happily, the Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors sponsored the recording of the event for the Charlottesville Podcasting Network. It’s available on the CPN website, and is 1:23 long. If you live in the Jack Jouett district, you’ve got no excuse for not listening. Do friends in the district a favor and e-mail them a link to the debate, so they can cast an informed vote.

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