Bridge Abutment?

BetterLife writes: I haven’t been around here very long, but as I walk across the Belmont bridge occassionally, I notice what appears to be the remnants of a bridge. Does anyone know the history of this? Whether is was a bridge or not, or how long ago it was torn down? I know, dumb question, but it has always interested me.

Council Elections: Move to November?

There has been talk for months now (see George Loper’s archives from September, October and November) of moving City Council elections to November. There are good arguments for keeping them in May and moving them to November, but the pressure to increase voter turnout has become stronger, and more people believe that it’s time to look seriously at making a change to November to faciliate that. Jake Mooney has the story in today’s Progress.

Council Asks UVa to Halt Garage Project

Charlottesville City Council has asked the University of Virginia to cease the development of the Ivy Road parking garage until a meeting of the Planning and Coordination Council on Thursday. The garage is slated for construction beginning in July, and the plans were just announced in March, leaving opponents scrambling to mount protests. Council’s demand puts both them and UVa in an awkward position: if UVa backs down, they look weak, but if they don’t, they disrespect the city. (For more details on that dynamic, see John Borgmeyer’s story from last week’s C-Ville.) Eric Swensen has the story about these latest developments in today’s Progress.

Searls Reflects on Council Loss

In a letter to the Democrats for Change mailing list yesterday, former City Council candidate Alexandria Searls described extensively the circumstances behind her loss to Republican Rob Schilling. In the extensive essay, she compliments Schilling for running “an excellent, aggressive and focused campaign,” calls for a reorganization of the party, and criticizes herself, the party and the press for her loss. You can read her letter, of course, or read Jake Mooney’s article about it in today’s Progress.

Basketball Arena Design Approved

fiveh writes: The Buildings & Grounds [Committee] of the BOV approved the design schematics for the new basketball arena in their meeting today. Looks like it will be a 15,000-seat horseshoe design, and it will be located across the street from U-Hall. Of course, all this was really decided months ago. Target completion date for the arena, parking garages (the embattled Ivy Road garage, plus an additional two on the site), and 29/250 Bypass connector road is May 2006.

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