Cville Tomorrow News

Dems will nominate Dave Norris...and who else?

3/31/09 * C-Ville Weekly [full story]

New primary sets up Council battle between Szakos and Taliaferro

Given the stranglehold that Democrats have on city politics—a complete lock on all elected positions except for the nonpartisan School Board—the real election for City Council is taking place May 9, when the Democrats will caucus “unassembled” to nominate their candidate slate.

In an effort to build off the Democratic success of 2008, when 15,705 ballots were cast in Charlottesville for the Democratic presidential ticket (more than were cast for any presidential candidate in 2004), the city Dems have changed their nominating process with a goal of being more inclusive.

This year, the Democrats will set up shop at Burley Middle School from 9am to 7pm on Saturday, May 9, and let any registered city voter willing to sign a Democratic Party loyalty pledge show up and cast a ballot. Moreover, anyone who can’t make the May 9 meeting because of travel, religious observation or work can vote absentee on April 28 or May 7.

How rehabilitation saved one old house from the bulldozer

3/31/09 * C-Ville Weekly [full story]

From demo to darling

A “Carpenter Gothic” style home sits at 208 Hartman’s Mill Road, restored to all its late 19th century glory. The Nimmo House, named after its builder and master carpenter James D. Nimmo, was constructed in the 1870s, remodeled in the 1880s—and eventually left vacant. Howard and Linda Carey purchased the home in 1994 with the intention of razing it. But after consulting with historian Aaron Wunsch, the Careys decided to renovate.

“Nimmo is the poster child for this successful melding of the uniquely old, affordability, and sustainability,” says Justin Sarafin, vice president of Preservation Piedmont and project coordinator at Monticello. “It’s from that house that the notion of the first exhibition of Preservation Week came from.”

On Friday, April 3, the first ever Preservation Week will kick off at the Charlottesville Community Design Center with an opening exhibition called “Preserving Place = Sustaining Community.” Sarafin and Eryn Brennan, president of Preservation Piedmont and senior planner for the county, created a week-long dialogue on sustainability, green buildings and historic preservation.

City reconsiders closure of pool at McIntire Park

3/31/09 * Daily Progress [full story]

After many residents decried a city decision to close the McIntire Park wading pool, Mayor Dave Norris has put the fate of the facility up for a City Council discussion and vote.

Norris said in an interview Monday that he has heard concerns that there was inadequate public knowledge of the decision and too little opportunity for input on the plan to close the pool, a fixture in the park for decades.

“Given the consequences, I think we need a full public airing of the issue and a formal council decision,” said Norris, who requested the item be put on the April 6 agenda.

IMPACT made on affordable housing

3/31/09 * Daily Progress [full story]

A local interfaith group that tackles community social issues has locked in even more commitments from several elected officials to solve the region’s affordable housing problems.

The Interfaith Movement Promoting Action by Congregations Together, or IMPACT, held its third Nehemiah Action meeting Monday, and the elected officials attending unanimously supported creating a centralized office to serve area residents seeking affordable rental housing. The recommendation was one of several listed in a joint task force report released in January about the area’s affordable housing issues.

“Your enthusiasm is contagious,” Councilor Julian Taliaferro said in front of a group of at least 1,300 people at the University of Virginia’s University Hall.

Albemarle’s fiscal future remains uncertain

3/30/09 * Daily Progress [full story]

Officials agree: Albemarle County’s financial picture is uglier than anything the county has seen in decades.

But what does it mean for Albemarle’s future? Will the county find itself drowning in expenses it cannot cover and lowering its standards for services, or is there a way for the county to become stronger?

Albemarle County spokeswoman Lee Catlin said that though county finances have been wounded, a new approach to governmental operations could strengthen county operations long-term.

Albemarle says expect fewer services, longer waits

3/29/09 * Daily Progress [full story]

Albemarle residents might notice some unwelcome changes in county operations in coming months.

Reduced hours for swimming beaches, longer grass at parks, lengthier lines at county office buildings and slower responses to 911 calls are among the possible effects of the county’s efforts to survive the economic recession.

And there’s more: Funding for the county’s Acquisition of Conservation Easements program could be halved, and virtually no county employees will receive pay increases in fiscal 2010.

Interest in residential wind turbines prompts Albemarle to review its rules

3/29/09 * Daily Progress [full story]

Not long ago, Gordon Latter and his family applied for a building permit that would have let them install a residential wind turbine at his home atop a windy hill in White Hall.

“The wind is so strong up there, we could probably power all of western Albemarle County,” said Latter, owner of Kane Furniture in Charlotte-sville.

Latter was willing to plunk down more than $15,000 to install a wind turbine that would have slashed his family’s gas and heating bills, as well as minimize their carbon footprint and consumption of fossil fuels.

PVCC student seeking spot on City Council

3/27/09 * Daily Progress [full story]

Democratic candidates have been trickling into the race for Charlottesville’s City Council, but now a person unassociated with the city’s most powerful party is readying himself to appear on the Nov. 3 ballot.

Andrew Williams, a student at Piedmont Virginia Community College, has decided to run as an independent for the council, which has two seats up for grabs this year.

“I believe that students and their families are somewhat underrepresented in the city,” said Williams, 22, in an interview Thursday.

Va. to Fund Intercity Train Service

3/26/09 * Washington Post [full story]

Mass transit options should increase by year's end, as Virginia officials finalize an agreement for the first state-funded intercity train service in the state.

The Commonwealth Transportation Board has allocated $17.2 million in its six-year transportation plan for a three-year pilot program to run two trains along the corridors of interstates 95 and 81. The trains would travel from Richmond and Lynchburg, respectively, to Washington and on to New York, stopping at some Virginia Railway Express stations and Union Station, said Jennifer Pickett, a spokeswoman for the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation.

"Transportation needs to be about choices for moving freight and for moving people," Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) said this week in announcing the plan. "In the past, Virginia has not been as big an investor in mass transit, but we've been able to shift that balance and put a greater percentage of resources into our rail and public transportation."

No spikes: NYC rail service clears last hurdle

3/26/09 * The Hook [full story]

By securing deals with Amtrak and the freight railroads that carry Amtrak’s trains, the Commonwealth Transportation Board has removed the last major barrier the highly-anticipated three-year pilot program that would give Charlottesville a new, twice-daily link to Washington and New York.

“There is much work to be done to start the new service, but I’m confident that we’ll be able to be riding the train on October first,” said Meredith Richards, the person who spearheaded the service.