Author Archive for Waldo Jaquith

Page 58 of 744

Rotunda Magnolias to be Felled

Published by Waldo Jaquith on November 16, 2011 in History and UVa. 6 Comments Tags: , .

UVA is planning to take down the big magnolias on either side of the Rotunda, Ted Strong writes in the Daily Progress, and some people aren’t thrilled about it. The enormous trees are slated for removal in order to allow scaffolding to be put up around the building, so that the leaky roof can be replaced. (The scaffolding, interestingly, will support a tent to cover the roofless Rotunda.) The trees are thought to have been planted about a century ago, but it’s not clear if they’re really the same trees or replacements. Ironically, the trees could be contributing to the building’s troubles; as evergreens, they leave the building in shade year-round, preventing evaporation of rainwater. A student petition opposing the removal of the trees has garnered over 2,000 signatures.

County’s Contract with RedFlex

Published by Waldo Jaquith on November 15, 2011 in In Brief. 9 Comments Tags: , , .

This is Albemarle’s contract with red light camera vendor Redflex. See anything interesting in here?  #

Police Too Friendly for a Lee Park Showdown

Published by Waldo Jaquith on November 11, 2011 in In Brief. 3 Comments Tags: .

A few of the Occupy Charlottesville folks want to stage a show-down with police to get attention. The problem: The police are so nice that they don’t see how it’ll work.  #

Craig Sues for Higher Biscuit Run Payout

Published by Waldo Jaquith on November 9, 2011 in Business, Development, Government, Politics and Taxes. 16 Comments

Remember when Hunter Craig sold Biscuit Run to the state for $9.8M and the hope of tax credits, in order to get rid of that albatross in a terrible economy? And then The Hook figured out that it was turning into a boondoggle, with Craig trying to get state tax credits (which is as good as cash) on an $87.7M appraisal for land that he bought at the height of the bubble for $46.2M? Well, it gets boondogglier. Craig and his associates are suing the state for another $19.48M, Hawes Spencer reports, since they’re not happy with the $21.48M that they’ve already gotten for the land. Why? Because they’re still $25M in the hole, with a lot of that probably owed in the form of monthly loan payments. If that’s a thirty-year note at 5% interest, then Hunter Craig and partner (and father-in-law) Wick McNeely have to come up with $134k/month. (Just this year, McNeely has sold Burning Daylight Farm, his Nova Scotia mansion, put his Garth Road home on the market, and ended his Farmington membership.)

I’m something like $100k underwater on my mortgage. Here I was thinking that it was my duty to suck it up and live with, because it’s nobody’s fault but my own. Maybe that attitude is what’s keeping me from being a successful businessman.

This Year’s Write-In Votes

Published by Waldo Jaquith on November 9, 2011 in In Brief. 4 Comments

City electoral board member Rick Sincere provides his annual rundown of write-in votes. Cartoon characters did well this year.  #