Author Archive for Waldo Jaquith

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What Should Our Next Time Capsule Contain?

Published by Waldo Jaquith on February 3, 2011 in General News. 18 Comments

Here’s what’s (ostensibly) in the time capsule from 49 years ago, buried on the 200th anniversary of Charlottesville:

  • The Daily Progress and Wall Street Journal
  • A letter from Mayor Lewis Scribner to the mayor of 2012
  • The Daily Progress’ ceremonial edition on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the city
  • Chamber of Commerce publications
  • Maps and pictures
  • A letter from the fire chief to the fire chief of 2012

Now, that ain’t bad, but it doesn’t show any particular imagination on the part of the people who buried the thing in 1962. Since it’s a foregone conclusion that there’s going to be another time capsule buried next year, to be opened on the occasion of some future anniversary, what should be in that one? What is our message to the people of the future—or, if it’s fifty years from now, ourselves in the future (for some of us)?

Human Feces Being Spread Across Albemarle Farmland

Published by Waldo Jaquith on February 1, 2011 in Agriculture. 18 Comments

Human feces is being sprayed on a field near the South Fork of the Rivanna Reservoir, Sean Tubbs reports for Charlottesville Tomorrow, and it’s perfectly legal. The neighbors, understandably, aren’t thrilled. Recyc Systems, of Culpeper, has a permit to spread the waste—aka “biosolids”—on a total of ten square miles of the county, which they haul down here from Washington D.C.’s wastewater sewage plant. It’s all done for free because—would you believe it?—apparently people won’t pay to have human feces spread all over their property, but they will have it done for nothing. A recent study by the Environmental Protection Agency found that biosolids are full of all the horrible things that your body has the good sense to excrete, including steroids, hormones, flame retardants, and heavy metals. There are some legal restrictions that help, like that livestock can’t graze on the land for thirty days after application, and a plan has to be submitted that explains how phosphorous and nitrogen will be kept out of the watershed.

Even if the county wanted to limit this, there’s no reason to think that they could—it’s regulated by the state, and the county isn’t given the power to regulate it.

City, County Assessments Released

Published by Waldo Jaquith on January 31, 2011 in Development, Government and Taxes. 13 Comments

A lot of us county residents headed to Albemarle’s GIS website on Sunday after Jim Duncan pointed that out assessments were available. (Mine didn’t change.) As Brandon Shulleeta points out in today’s Daily Progress, county property values are down only slightly this year, by 1.24%. The city released their assessments, too, and they saw a 0.63% increase. Both rates were buoyed slightly by commercial assessments, since residential assessments were somewhat lower. These changes are nothing like the enormous increases that we saw just a few years ago, during the real estate bubble, nor are they like the big drops we saw when it burst. Assuming that real estate tax rates don’t change much—not necessarily a fair assumption—then both localities are basically looking at flat funding, and we’re all looking at paying the same amount in real estate taxes that we paid last year.

City Hunting for Time Capsule

Published by Waldo Jaquith on January 25, 2011 in General News. 8 Comments

The city is getting closer to figuring out where they buried a time capsule 50 years ago, Ted Strong reports in today’s Daily Progress. On the occasion of the 200th anniversary of Charlottesville’s founding, a steel box was buried somewhere in the city, but the city neglected to keep a record of where. A group of children attended the burial in 1962, charged with reminding the city where it was buried come 2012; good idea, but it didn’t pan out. Luckily, some folks’ memories have been jogged, and it’s been narrowed down to an area next to the Charlottesville Circuit Court. But somebody seems to remember that it was moved for construction, and it’s not clear exactly where under the sidewalk it is, if it’s there at all. Anniversary celebrations don’t start until next year, so there’s still another year to track it down.

If we bury a new one, maybe this time GPS coordinates?

Council Chooses Dam Over Dredging

Published by Waldo Jaquith on January 19, 2011 in Development and Government. 23 Comments

Last night City Council voted 3-2 in favor of increasing the height of the reservoir by thirty feet, Hawes Spencer writes in The Hook, rather than dredge the reservoir. (Dave Norris and Holly Edwards were the dissenting voters.) Now that the question is apparently settled, they’ve got to figure out if it’s an earthen or a concrete dam and figuring out how much each municipality is going to pay for it.

If you’re confused in recalling Council voting 5-0 in favor of dredging in September, and wondering what’s going on now, join the club. What was that vote last September? How is this one different? Will there be any more? This is like the Meadowcreek Parkway—every time a final vote is held, there’s another final vote.

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