We’re Paying for Albemarle Place’s Sewers

Published by Waldo Jaquith on April 25, 2007 in Development. 52 Comments

Jayson Whitehead reports in the current C-Ville Weekly that the developers behind Albemarle Place (on the old Sperry Marine site) have just now bothered to check whether the sewage system can handle their added capacity and, surprise, it can’t. The sewer line running down 29 is called the Meadow Creek interceptor, and it was put in by the city in the ’50s. The guys at Albemarle Place are complaining mightily, but if they’re planning on putting up a dime in proffers to help pay for the enormous upgrade project, I haven’t heard anything about it. I fail to understand why we’re obliged to pay for all of the infrastructure upgrades necessary to accommodate any fool who wanders into town and tries to plop down an enormous development where it doesn’t belong, Biscuit Run-style. Look at the title of most any page on their website: “Albermarle Place.” That says it all, doesn’t it?

I moved from merely disliking Albemarle Place to hating it when I saw that they’re calling the private road that will run through the development “New Main Street.” Screw you, Albemarle Place, for trying to declare that you’ve improved on downtown by privatizing it. Plus, we’ve got a sewer and you don’t, so ha-ha.

Two More Clerk Candidates

Published by Waldo Jaquith on April 25, 2007 in Politics. 8 Comments

A fourth and a fifth candidate have announced that they’re seeking the position of Albemarle Court Clerk, attorney Lisa Graziano and businessman Alan Van Clief. Graziano holds degrees from AHS, UVa and W&L, and will be running as an independent. Van Clief will likewise be running as an independent (although he’s given generously and exclusively to Republicans), saying both that the office should be “bipartisan” and that it “has no room for party politics.” He holds degrees from UVa and Catholic University.

School Board Incumbents Bow Out

Published by Waldo Jaquith on April 25, 2007 in Education and Politics. 2 Comments

Members of both the city and the county school boards, both elected, have announced that they won’t be seeking reelection.

In the city, three of the four incumbents up for reelection are bowing out, Matt Deegan writes in the Progress: Vice Chairwoman Peggy Van Yahres, Julie Gronlund and brand-new board member Louis Bograd. Alvin Edwards, also up for reelection, is running again. Notably, these folks were appointed to the school board by Council, the latter two most recently, so they’re not so much facing reelection as their first election.

In the county, school board chair Sue Friedman will be stepping down, as Deegan writes today. There are four seats up for reelection this November, though the other three members (Barbara Massie Mouly, Stephen Koleszar and Brian Wheeler) have all said that they’re seeking reelection.

The Virginia Tech Shooting

Published by Waldo Jaquith on April 18, 2007 in General News. 78 Comments

Leaving the Convocation

I had no electricity for the bulk of Monday, and I didn’t realize that the shooting at Virginia Tech had become the biggest news story in the world. It took spending yesterday at Virginia Tech, attending the convocation, to figure that out. The town is overrun with media outlets. I’ve never seen so many satellite dishes in one place. If discussion on Charlottesville blogs is any indicator, people want to talk about the 32 students and professors killed two days ago, including Dr. Kevin Granata, who taught at UVa. Have at it.

(Photo: Students filing out of the convocation held yesterday at Virginia Tech.)

Lynch Won’t Run for Reelection

Published by Waldo Jaquith on April 15, 2007 in Politics. 4 Comments

Kevin Lynch announced last night that he will not seek reelection, Seth Rosen writes in today’s Progress. At last night’s annual Charlottesville Democratic Pasta Supper, Lynch said that two consecutive terms had been enough, but that he may run for Council again in four or six years after he can “recharge [his] battery and reconnect with people.”

Given Mayor David Brown’s inevitable announcement that he’s running for a second term, and Kendra Hamilton’s retirement at the end of her first term, this means that two seats are opening up. Suddenly every candidate has a 100% better shot at getting nominated at the June 2nd Democratic convention.

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