Martha Jefferson’s downtown property has been sold, Rachana Dixit writes in the Progress. The building and parking lots have been sold for $6.5M to a group of investors, who are redeveloping it. The hospital is renting back the facility until August, when they’re scheduled to move entirely into their new location out on Pantops; redevelopment may well start shortly after then. Of course, what it’ll become is the big question, and if its new owners have any idea of that, they’re not talking.
News and meta-news about Charlottesville, VA, since 2001.
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City Council has voted 5-0 in favor dredging the Rivanna Reservoir rather than building a pipeline, Hawes Spencer writes for The Hook. The vote was held just before midnight, after dozens of speakers—two to one in favor of dredging—expressed their support for one plan or another. The plan also includes increasing the height of the existing Ragged Mountain dam by thirteen feet.
This unanimous vote represents a pretty enormous turn-around for Council, which had been all about the pipeline just a few years ago, and did a 180° on this after a great deal of study and community input. This looks like a big victory for Mayor Dave Norris, who at least appears publicly to have been the guy who turned around opinion on what to do about our long-term water supply.
10:30 PM Update: City spokesman Ric Barrack points out that the pipeline is still in the plan, which is a pretty important correction. It’s just no longer the plan.
All of the kids at Broadus Wood Elementary were shown a slideshow of the September 11th attacks last week, Brandon Shulleeta writes in the Progress, and some parents aren’t happy that they weren’t notified in advance. It included photos of airplanes hitting the Twin Towers—photos that most television networks stopped broadcasting within a couple of weeks of the attacks—and was shown to children as young as five years old. Principal Kendra King said in a statement (she declined to be interviewed) that she’d notify parents in the future, but if she apologized, that didn’t make it into the Progress.
This is what the kids were shown:
Oliver Kuttner’s X-Prize team has won the top award, the AP reports. The $10M prize is being split three ways, with Kuttner’s Edison2 team getting $5M, a North Carolina company getting $2.5M, and a Swiss team getting the remaining $2.5M. Kuttner has no intention of manufacturing and selling the car in its present form, but he does intend to plow the winnings into R&D to create a consumer-friendly version. Over one hundred teams entered the contest, which is funded by Progressive Insurance, spending two and a half years building and testing their cars.
Harley Miles has been appointed as the interim Albemarle County School Board member, the Daily Progress reports. After Brian Wheeler announced his resignation last month, fifteen candidates applied for the seat. After an awkward process of whittling down the candidates, Miles’ selection was announced last night. It’s not clear whether he’ll serve out the remainder of Wheeler’s term—which runs through next year—or whether the courts might require that a special election be held.
Sideblog
Police announced this afternoon that their investigation into what was initially believed to be a fatal fire on Rugby Avenue is now a homicide investigation. #
The Virginia Supreme Court has denied George Huguely’s appeal. His second-degree murder conviction will stand, WRIC reports. #
In a carefully worded story, and not citing specific sources, WTVR reports that forensic evidence belonging to Jesse Matthew Jr., the main suspect in the disappearance of Hannah Graham, matches forensic evidence collected during the investigation of Morgan Harrington’s 2009 murder. #
In the wake of Hannah Graham’s disappearance, and the evidence that came from private security footage, city officials are revisiting the question of installing security cameras on the downtown mall. #
Both Charlottesville Registrar Sheri Iachetta and former Electoral Board member Stephanie Commander have turned themselves in to the police on
foursix and four felony counts of embezzlement, respectively. #Ten years ago, the National Institutes of Health budget doubled and schools like the University of Virginia built massive new research facilities. A decade later, those buildings remain largely underutilized. NPR visits UVA in this story on the effect of federal binge and spurge spending in the sciences. #
In 2012, Council approved a new student housing complex on West Main—now some council members are questioning whether what they were shown matches what was built. #
The Architectural Review Board has approved a bike-themed mural on West Market, below the McGuffey Art Center, although at least one member expressed concerns that it might look like the bicyclists were riding away from Charlottesville’s downtown. #
City Police Chief Tim Longo is meeting with city leaders to work on protocols regarding the use of military surplus police weapons in Charlottesville. #
A 100-year-old Colonnades resident received military honors for her service in the WWII Women’s Army Corps #
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