The Hook reports that Beth Duffy will be going on-air at one of Gray Communications’ stations in April. She left NBC 29 in March of last year and promptly started working in sales for Gray. Of course, they didn’t hire her for her sales skills — it’s just smart business for the new guys in town to woo anchors from the competition. With the non-compete clause of her contract expiring come March, and sweeps coming up in May, it’s a cinch she’ll be on the air within weeks.
cvillenews.com
News and meta-news about Charlottesville, VA, since 2001.
I keep meaning to write about Albemarle County’s new web-based mapping system, but every time I get sucked into playing with it for an hour or so and then I don’t have time to write anything. It’s a map of the entire county with zoning classifications, school districts, soil classifications, watersheds, voting precincts, historic districts, hydrant locations, structures, driveways, elevation contours, bodies of water, 1ft aerial photography and a whole lot more. My wife and I are preparing to acquire land and build a house, and suddenly this data is all enormously useful. This system is really impressive, and the county deserves a lot of credit for making it available.
Bob Gibson writes in today’s Daily Progress that the contest for Judge Paul Peatross’ now-vacated seat comes down to Republicans Cheryl Higgins and Jim Camblos. The other applicants might be perfectly fine, but they’re not a) Republicans or b) playing the political game. Legislative aides are awash in complaints about the possibility of a Judge Camblos — constituent calls are about opposing him, not supporting others, because he’s just that unpopular of a guy. Del. Bill Janis, an old friend of Camblos, fully intends to put partisanship ahead of good public policy, but Gibson figures that Dels. Rob Bell and David Toscano are probably undecided at this point.
If you want to express your feelings on the candidates, you can contact Del. Bell’s office (804-698-1058, DelRBell@house.state.va.us), Del. Janis’ office (804-698-1056, DelBJanis@house.state.va.us), or Del. Toscano’s office (804-698-1057, DelDToscano@house.state.va.us), depending on who your delegate is. Sen. Ken Stolle is the guy who ultimately calls the shots on this, since he’s the chair of the Senate Courts of Justice Committee, so those with particularly strong feelings would want to contact his office (804-698-7508, district08@sov.state.va.us). No matter who you call, you’ll be greeted by somebody whose sole job is to take calls like this — it just takes a minute, and can make all the difference. Unless your representative is Del. Janis. I can’t see how that’ll do anything.
The city’s annual property assessments are up 14.3% this year, Charlottesville reports in a press release, with residential properties increasing by 15% and commercial property increasing by 11%. Last year they increased by 18.8%, so at least things have cooled down a bit, but not much. Hopefully somebody smarter than me will provide the internals on this — what the largest increase was, how different neighborhoods faired, etc.
Aren’t residential and commercial properties taxed at the same rate? If so, couldn’t we split those off and tax the two at different rates? That might allow the city to shift some of the burden off of homeowners and onto business owners, since the latter at least enjoys some income as a result of their structure, and since the assessment increases always seem to be less for businesses than for residences. I wonder if this has been done elsewhere and how well it’s worked.
Charlottesville City Schools are conducting a web-based survey of community members about their perception of the school system. It’s open to residents of Charlottesville and Albemarle County. There are fifty questions, and it takes about ten minutes.
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 #
-
Archive for Sideblog »
Recent Comments