Author Archive for Waldo Jaquith

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UVA President Sullivan to Step Down

Published by Waldo Jaquith on June 10, 2012 in UVa. 55 Comments

University of Virginia President Teresa Sullivan is stepping down from her position, effective August 15, according to an e-mail from UVA Rector Helen Dragas. The key bit in the letter is the statement from Sullivan, in which she says that “the board and I have a philosophical difference of opinion”; opinion about what is left unsaid. Sullivan took over on August 1, 2010, replacing President John Casteen, who had been president for two decades. Sullivan was widely seen as an interim president (perhaps to give time for the seasoning of University of Richmond President Edward Ayers to return to UVA), but the time scale most often mentioned was five years, not scarcely two. The Board of Visitors will be naming an interim president while they begin the search for a replacement.

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Stopping Sign Spam with Phone Spam

Published by Waldo Jaquith on June 2, 2012 in Business and Law and Justice. 9 Comments

Some towns have had great success with a clever solution to dealing with sign spam, The New York Times writes. Signs illegally littering public land (scam mattress sales, “we buy junk cars,” “cash for homes,” etc.) universally include a phone number. Municipalities are using their robocalling software (often used to call parents to inform them of school closings) to call those phone numbers over, and over, and over again. Two dozen times a day, they call. It drives the sign spammers nuts. The only way to end the calls is for the spammers to take down their signs and pay a fine. Hollywood, Florida has seen an 80% reduction in sign spam since they started using this tactic.

Albemarle County announced a renewed crackdown on the junk signs two months ago, but I certainly haven’t observed any changes. Mountain Kim Karate has continued to be the worst offender (though they’ve removed their name from the signs, so as to protect their reputation from their own illegal advertising tactics), and I only observed an increase in their signs after the announced crackdown, presumably to coincide with the end of the school year. Perhaps a multi-week volley of phone calls would bring about some real change.

VA Supreme Court to Hear YMCA Case in June

Published by Waldo Jaquith on May 28, 2012 in Business, Development, Government and Law and Justice. 2 Comments

The Supreme Court is finally taking up the lawsuit seeking to halt construction of the YMCA in McIntire Park, Sean Tubbs reports for Charlottesville Tomorrow. Two years ago, ACAC, Gold’s Gym, and Total Performance Sports & Fitness filed a pair of lawsuits against the city and the county, alleging that the municipalities failed to follow standard bidding practices when they awarded the Young Men’s Christian Association a $1/year ground lease to build an aquatic facility in the park, along with $3.3M for construction costs. The project has been on hold as a result. It was August of last year when the Supreme Court of Virginia agreed to hear the case, and is finally going to do so June 7, with a decision due in the summer.

Time Capsule Disappointment

Published by Waldo Jaquith on May 27, 2012 in History. 13 Comments

The 50-year-old city time capsule was opened today, Hawes Spencer writes for The Hook, in front of an audience of hundreds. It was…soggy. The ostensibly waterproof capsule turned out to be anything but, with its contents reduced to mush after its tar seal broke down over time. No word on whether its more interesting contents (especially the letters people wrote and placed in there) are salvageable. You might recall that the city had a heck of a time finding the time capsule, but managed thanks to one man’s film of its burial.

A new time capsule will be buried late this year. Any more ideas about what could go in there?

Wintergreen Sold to Coal Baron

Published by Waldo Jaquith on May 25, 2012 in Business. 3 Comments

James C. Justice II has bought the financially distressed Wintergreen Resort, Nate Delesline III reports for the Daily Progress. The colorful coal baron was profiled by the Post when he bought The Greenbriar three years ago, after owner CSX put the money-losing West Virginia resort into bankruptcy. A remarkably warm winter put Wintergreen in a tough spot, presumably lowering its value enough to make it a tempting takeover target for Justice. The sale should close next month.

Justice also owns seven square miles of land in southern Albemarle, which he bought from MeadWestvaco last year. No word on why he bought it, or what he intends to do with it.