The AG says that The Fluco Blog can use the Fluvanna county seal to illustrate stories about the county. #
The AG says that The Fluco Blog can use the Fluvanna county seal to illustrate stories about the county. #
Charlottesville Tomorrow has video and audio of this week’s Democratic City Council forum, which they held in conjunction with the Daily Progress. (Let’s all pause to appreciate the irony of the Progress holding a forum for candidates that they will almost certainly work very hard to avoid endorsing, what with their being Democrats.) Here’s the video:
7/23 Update: Brandon Collins has blogged his answers to the questions posted to candidates in the debate. He’s a council candidate, though not for the Democratic nomination, but he’s answering them anyway.
The Army Corps of Engineers has pulled the permit for a crucial bit of the Meadowcreek Parkway, Aaron Richardson writes in the Progress. Part of the city’s portion of the road—dubbed McIntire Road Extended—goes over a tributary of Schenk’s Branch, and putting a culvert for the road to pass over requires permission from the Corps. The Coalition to Preserve McIntire Park recently filed for a preliminary injunction against VDOT to prevent the culvert from being put in, arguing that doing so would violate federal law, because of the impact that it would have on the stream. The group is claiming victory here, saying that VDOT folded, knowing that they were in the wrong, and will now have to come up with a method of crossing the stream that doesn’t impact it (such as a bridge), which also has the effect of taking the Corps out of the equation.
The Commonwealth Transportation Board has allocated $230M to build the Western Bypass, according to a press release from the governor’s office. That’s $197M in funding for the new road, and another $33M to add another lane to 29 in both directions between Polo Grounds Road (near Walmart) and Hollymead, to accomodate the proposed interchange there.
This is basically up to the Metropolitan Planning Organization now, who has held one of two planned public hearings on the topic. There was overwhelming opposition at last week’s hearing, though it’ll all come down to guy who wields the tie-breaking vote on the MPO: James Utterback, the administrator of VDOT’s Culpeper District (which we’re in.) The city has two representatives on the MPO who are likely to vote against the bypass bypass, the county has two votes likely to vote for it, and that makes Utterback a pretty important guy all of a sudden.
Campaign finance reports have been filed by city candidates, Graham Moomaw writes in the Progress, and those numbers give an early indication of the sort of support that candidates are enjoying.
In the council race, UVA employee Brevy Cannon takes the lead with $4,100 in contributions, but that includes a $2,000 loan he made to his campaign. So really it’s former school board member Dede Smith up front, with $3,900 in contributions. Incumbent Satyendra Huja has taken in $3,500, school board member Kathy Galvin raised $3,200, and developer Paul Beyer raised $2,600 (though spent basically all of it). The other candidates are pretty far behind: Scott Bandy took in $120, Brandon Collins raised $750, James Halfaday $850, Andrew Williams $300, and Bob Fenwick didn’t report any donations. Colette Blount joined the race recently enough that she didn’t have to file.
There’s a clear leader in fundraising for the clerk’s race: school board member Llezelle Dugger, with a striking $8,600. Second place is held by incumbent Paul Garrett, with $2,200. Pam Melampy is a distant third, with $900.
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