Questioning Red Light Cameras

Published by Waldo Jaquith on March 2, 2007 in Law and Justice. 11 Comments

In this week’s Hook Dave McNair writes about the General Assembly allowing localities to install traffic cameras, presenting convincing evidence that they’re just trouble. VDOT’s own study concluded that red light cameras increase injury rates at intersections, and they found that simply lengthening yellow light times resulted in staggering drops in accident rates. McNair quotes county spokeswoman Lee Catlin supporting red light cameras, meaning that they may be coming to an intersection near you.

Nobody answering The Hook‘s question of the week supports red light cameras. I feel better — I was starting to wonder if I was the only Democrat in the state who thinks red light cameras are a terrible idea.

PEC to Promote Local Farms

Published by Waldo Jaquith on March 1, 2007 in General News. 4 Comments

UVa’s Department of Urban and Environmental Planning released a fantastic study last year about where Charlottesville’s food comes from — it was one of the most interesting things that I read about the area all year. Blackberries So I was pleased to read Brian McNeill’s piece in Tuesday’s Progress about Piedmont Environmental Council’s new “Buy Fresh, Buy Local” campaign, which will promote the importance of buying local food. They’ll be sending a guide to buying local fruit, veggies, cheese, meat and wine to every home in C’ville and Albemarle. No doubt they’ll explain that it’s better for the economy, for your health, and for national security (believe it or not). For more about local agriculture, see my June blog entry about how when you’re interested in “organic” foods, you probably mean “local.”

Speaking of which, if you’re looking to sign up with a community supported agriculture (CSA) program, now’s the time. At least a few Charlottesville bloggers (myself included) signed up with Horse and Buggy Produce last year, and I intend to do so again this year. Anybody want to plug their CSA?

MACAA Announces Dental Program

Published by Waldo Jaquith on February 28, 2007 in General News. 2 Comments

I wrote a really long blog entry about indigent dental care in Virginia back in August after many hours of research into the topic, and came away convinced that we have a terrible, terrible system for dealing with what is a far bigger problem than I ever would have guessed. (For example, one in five Virginians don’t have a single tooth in their head. Wow.) For most low-income Virginians there is no relief for dental problems, and resulting health problems can easily leave them crippled or even dead.

Now comes news that the Monticello Area Community Action Agency is coordinating a dental program to serve these individuals, Brian McNeill reports in today’s Daily Progress. Private dentists and the Charlottesville Free Clinic will provide the actual care. It seems unlikely that they’ll be able to meet the significant demand (especially demand for adult dental care), but this is an enormous step forward for a very big problem.

Potential Council Candidates Named

Published by Waldo Jaquith on February 27, 2007 in Politics. 17 Comments

City Councilor Kendra Hamilton’s announcement that she won’t be seeking reelection means that at least one of the three seats up for reelection will be open, and that’s brought potential candidates out of the woodwork. Over at Democratic Democrat, Lloyd Snook runs down the list of candidates, and figures that Mayor David Brown will run for reelection, Kevin Lynch won’t run if somebody he likes runs, and names five possible candidates: Satyendra Huja, Linda Seaman, Jennifer McKeever, Carolyn Shears, and Karen Waters. I’ve also heard that Holly Edwards is thinking about running.

Of course, they won’t all run if only one seat opens up. It’s just a hunch, but I’ll bet that Kevin Lynch won’t run if Holly Edwards runs — they’re both thoughtful and gregarious community activists.

Planning Commission Reconsiders their Meeting Policy

Published by Waldo Jaquith on February 27, 2007 in Blogs and Politics. 3 Comments

There’s been some informative discussion on local blogs about the Charlottesville Planning Commission and how they interact with the public. Over at Charlottesville Tomorrow, Brian Wheeler chronicles the planning commission’s February 15 meeting (complete with podcast audio) where:

the Charlottesville Planning Commission directed staff to prepare written guidelines strongly discouraging any communications between the Commissioners and developers or citizens with a position on a matter before the Commission. A motion to eliminate those communications entirely was considered then withdrawn. If approved, the City Planning Commission would adopt a style in sharp contrast to their neighbors in Albemarle County where these informal meetings with concerned citizens and developers are common practice.

Over at the new blog “Democratic Central,” responding to Charlottesville Tomorrow’s blog entry, Lloyd Snook weighs in strongly in favor of an open process:

When I was on the Planning Commission 20 years ago, I would meet with developers and citizens and neighbors and anyone else who wanted to talk about things. I wanted the most information possible. I didn’t want to have to get only the information that the staff gave me — not because I thought they were out to mislead me, but because they might not ask the same questions that I would ask.

[…]

This is not a jury system, where the decision makers can only base their decisions on what they learn in the courtroom. Planning Commissioners are generally thought of as legislators, and there are no restrictions on how legislators can gather their information.

I was asked to serve on the Charlottesville Planning Commission some years ago (I decided against it), but gave a lot of thought to it. I’ve got to agree with Lloyd Snook’s take on this, assuming that common sense is adhered to as Peter Kleeman suggests in a comment. Balancing open government and convenient government often isn’t easy; I’m glad there’s a public discussion about it.

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