Cville Tomorrow News

Long files as independent for City Council

7/29/11 * The Daily Progress [full story]

Charlottesville activist Paul Long filed paperwork Thursday to run again for City Council, becoming the fifth independent candidate in an increasingly crowded field.

Long, a frequent advocate for the homeless and better public transit, said he chose to run as an independent because the Democratic Party in Charlottesville is “too conservative.”

“I’ve called them Bush-lite Democrats,” Long said. “And I believe that.”

Long, who works in the transportation department at the University of Virginia, said his campaign will focus on drug decriminalization, expansion of Charlottesville Area Transit bus service and more funding for homeless shelters.

City Council candidate: Stop work on Meadow Creek Parkway

7/29/11 * The Daily Progress [full story]

Charlottesville City Council candidate Brandon Collins called Thursday for the immediate disclosure of the state’s new plans for the Meadow Creek Parkway and insisted that construction be delayed until after this year’s election.

Collins, who describes himself as a socialist candidate, said no construction should begin in McIntire Park until any new plans are available for review by the public and the council.

“VDOT’s sudden change of location for the McIntire Road Extended is an effort to avoid a court issued injunction and suggests that the plans for the Meadow Creek Parkway in its entirety, including McIntire Road Extended and the Interchange at the 250 Bypass, is in violation of U.S. environmental law,” Collins said in a statement.

FLAWS- Tripled rates, spun numbers, and Conservancy conflicts: Why the war on dredging slogs on

7/28/11 * The Hook [full story]

Just when you thought it was safe to save the reservoir, the war against dredging it has reached flood stage. Waterworks director Tom Frederick-- perhaps rattled by a yank of his permit to build a new reservoir, and a growing desire, amid upcoming City Council elections, to muster political support-- has been spinning the latest data.

What can't be spun is that rates have essentially tripled since 1999. And yet a small cadre of environmentalists-- most enmeshed in government, each with links to the other, and one actually leading a Frederick-friendly news agency-- persists in pushing reservoir replacement even though it would benefit a bottled-water company at the expense of local households, destroy 180 acres of mature hardwood forest, and require an electricity-dependent pipeline moving more water than all but two local rivers.

Hacked Neff: Scammer steals Supe candidate's accounts

7/28/11 * The Hook [full story]

Former IBM exec Cynthia Neff has used computers since the 1980s and understands the importance of secure passwords. That's why it was particularly galling to discover a hacker had taken over her Gmail account and was trying to fleece her contacts with the old "London mugging" scam.

Worse, the scammer locked her out of her email, Facebook, and even a secondary Yahoo account.

"It's horrible," said Neff July 20, still able to communicate with old-fashioned telephone. She's running for the Rivanna District seat on the Albemarle Board of Supervisors and had based her campaign distribution list on her email contacts.

JAUNT asks city, 3 counties for more money to offset gas prices

7/28/11 * The Daily Progress [full story]

Increased gas prices are behind JAUNT’s requests for additional funds from four localities.

Donna Shaunesey, JAUNT’s executive director, said gas prices have increased significantly from the $2.80 a gallon that consumers paid in September when the budget for this fiscal year was completed.

The regional transit service has been working with the city of Charlottesville and the counties of Albemarle, Fluvanna and Louisa to make up the projected deficits.

Supervisor candidate: Fix rural roads around Scottsville

7/28/11 * The Daily Progress [full story]

James C. Norwood would like to see road improvements in the Scottsville area.

According to Norwood, a Republican candidate for the Scottsville District seat on the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors, Route 20 and Route 53 both need serious safety improvements.

With talk of the Western Bypass of U.S. 29 dominating Albemarle politics, Norwood, who is running against Democrat Christopher J. Dumler for Lindsay G. Dorrier Jr.’s seat, said now feels like the right time to suggest the improvements. Dorrier is not running for reelection.

A Bridge Too Near, By James Bacon

7/26/11 * Bacon's Rebellion [full story]

The Charlottesville Bypass could cost a lot more than the $197 million approved by the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) last week, contends the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) in a statement released earlier today. The preliminary design work for the controversial road project, undertaken years ago, did not take into account the fact that the Bypass would cross the Rivanna River at the same spot as a proposed extension of Berkmar Drive.

SELC based its claim of potential cost overruns on an analysis by Michael J. Wallwork, a professional engineer with Florida-based Alternate Street Design, P.A. Design considerations will be more compelex than originally envisioned because the Bypass and the Berkmar extension have to pass through the same chokepoint, threading between U.S. 29, a water treatment plan and a major subdivision. “The three main options … face significant cost, engineering, and other challenges due to the number and length of bridges and under or overpasses needed,” Wallwork wrote. “These challenges underscore the need for careful consideration of the costs and impacts of the proposed Bypass on the planned Berkmar Drive Extended.”

Council candidates square off on water plan

7/26/11 * Cville Weekly [full story]

Despite an unexpected power outage that threatened to postpone the debate, seven Democratic City Council candidates defended their visions for the future of Charlottesville before a sizable crowd at Jackson P. Burley Middle School on July 20.

Questions about the Meadow Creek Parkway and Western Bypass split the candidates, but the community water supply plan emerged as the evening’s most contentious topic. The debate was hosted by Charlottesville Tomorrow and the Daily Progress.

During a quick “Yes or No” answer session, the candidates—dredging supporter Dede Smith, City School Board members Colette Blount and Kathy Galvin, incumbent Satyendra Huja, UVA writer Brevy Cannon, local developer Paul Beyer and James Halfaday—were asked whether they favored dredging as the primary approach to meet future water demands, as opposed to the construction of a new dam at Ragged Mountain Reservoir. Smith, Cannon, Halfaday, and Blount answered “yes."

Could Western Bypass turn a new VA district red?

7/26/11 * Cville Weekly [full story]

When the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) voted to earmark $230 million for a 6.2-mile Western Bypass in Albemarle County and Charlottesville that’s been stuck in the planning queue for decades, the obvious question was: Why now?

“We were getting very close to the dates when the right of way would be required to be returned or sold back to the former owners,” said state Senator Stephen Newman, whose district includes Bedford and Lynchburg, in a June statement. “This would have killed the Bypass forever.”

However, the Western Bypass also presents Republican Governor Bob McDonnell with an opportunity to curry favor with GOP voters in Virginia’s new 22nd District prior to a November 8 General Election. Formed during the recent redistricting process, the 22nd District includes a number of Newman’s former supporters. According to the Lynchburg News & Advance, 63 percent of voters in No. 22 voted for McDonnell in 2009.

MCP permit terminated, but road still on track

7/26/11 * Cville Weekly [full story]

In what Meadow Creek Parkway opponents are calling a victory, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers withdrew a permit last Wednesday for key components of McIntire Road Extended (MRE), one of the two city portions of the Meadow Creek Parkway (MCP). The permit, which allowed for the creation of a sewer crossing and culvert, was necessary for construction of the long-debated roadway.

The withdrawal came a day before U.S. District Court Judge Norman Moon was scheduled to hear arguments in a preliminary injunction suit filed to prevent construction through McIntire Park. A hearing for the injunction, filed by the Coalition to Preserve McIntire Park, was ultimately cancelled.

“We think that they knew they were going to lose and they just decided, rather than losing in court, to ask to terminate the permit,” says John Cruickshank, former chair of the local Sierra Club chapter and a vocal member of the coalition.