Cville Tomorrow News

Job fair draws a large crowd

9/30/2011 * Daily Progress [full story]

From MicroAire to Mary Kay, more than 90 companies and 10 local resource agencies held court in the John Paul Jones Arena on Thursday, providing face-to-face contact with nearly 2,000 job searchers.

Event organizers said about 60 percent of those who visited the fall job fair were from Central Virginia.

It was the second job fair this year, sponsored by the city of Charlottesville, Albemarle County and various agencies and companies.

Trump coming to town

9/30/2011 * Daily Progress [full story]

Billionaire real estate mogul Donald Trump will fete the opening of Trump Vineyard Estates in Albemarle County on Tuesday with a reception including his son Eric Trump, Gov. Bob McDonnell, first lady Maureen McDonnell and Patricia Kluge.

Trump’s organization purchased the Kluge Estate Winery and Vineyard in April for more than $6 million and next week will celebrate the new operation with an invitation-only affair.

The reality TV star who recently flirted with a run for the Republican presidential nomination bought most of the picturesque grounds and facilities through auction after the bank foreclosed on the former owners, William Moses and Kluge.

Seeing green: Rio/29 cameras nab 7,638 drivers

9/29/2011 * The Hook [full story]

County police say recent headlines about the PhotoSafe red light camera program at the intersection of Route 29 and Rio Road have given it a bad rap.

"Crashes Increase at Red Light Camera Intersection" read a Charlottesville Newsplex headline last week, which was then touted on cvillenews. However, the news sources may have committed the reporting equivalent of a rolling stop.

According to County police Sgt. Darrell Byers, the Newsplex reported that there were 23 crashes between December 11, 2010, the date the cameras went live, and July 31, 2011, compared to 22 crashes the year before. However, Byers suspects the Newsplex included accidents at entrances to the intersection not monitored by red-light cameras, or simply misinterpreted the data.

Neff and Boyd find common ground, but clash over bypass

9/29/2011 * Daily Progress [full story]

Cynthia Neff and Kenneth C. Boyd took each other to task Wednesday night over the Western Bypass, taxes and transparent government. Boyd is the Republican incumbent for the Rivanna District seat on the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors. Neff, a Democrat is challenging for his seat.

At a forum hosted by The Daily Progress and news partner Charlottesville Tomorrow at Hollymead Elementary, the candidates took questions from the audience and were given an opportunity to aim questions at one another.

Boyd and Neff found common ground on certain county issues, such as the community water supply plan and a related plan to raise the dam at Ragged Mountain Reservoir. The two also shared similar opinions on the county’s economic vitality plan.

[Note: This article appeared in print as "Candidates spar on Western Bypass"]

Western Bypass goes out for bid

9/28/2011 * Daily Progress [full story]

The Virginia Department of Transportation has issued a request for proposals to construct the Western Bypass of U.S. 29. The document calls for contractors to submit design-build estimates for the controversial project.

The design-build approach means contractors will include both aspects in a single bid. Usually, roads are designed before construction contracts are awarded. Both opponents and proponents of the bypass say design-build will speed up construction.

Albemarle County Supervisor Rodney Thomas said the unusual method will keep the 6.2-mile road from being “over-designed,” and could help it come in under cost estimates.

Neighborhood watch: Forest Lakes prepares for November elections

9/27/2011 * C-VILLE Weekly [full story]

Four months before Democrat Cynthia Neff launched her official bid to unseat Republican Supervisor Ken Boyd, the two squared off at Hollymead Elementary School over expanding the Albemarle County growth area. The room was filled with residents of Forest Lakes—the 1,400-unit development that houses roughly 5,000 people, many of them voters in the Hollymead precinct.

Months after he voted against a growth area expansion, Boyd told the crowd that Albemarle’s growth area lost roughly 900 acres, largely due to the sale of Biscuit Run. He emphasized that adding to the growth area was not the same as approving more development. Neff was one of the first members in the audience to speak against him.

Fair and square?: Council urged to review city's hiring policies

9/27/2011 * C-VILLE Weekly [full story]

Spurred by data obtained by Virginia Organizing (VO) through a Freedom of Information Act request, community members have urged City Council to review the city’s hiring practices, and have voiced concerns about the perceived under-representation of minority supervisors and managers in city jobs.

“There are a lot of minority groups leaving the city and working in other states or counties because there aren’t adequate jobs here,” said Jona Noelle Baily. “We want them to stay here, and City Council needs to create an incentive for them to stay here.”

Above Water: WorldStrides extends lease, awaits new home

9/27/2011 * C-VILLE Weekly [full story]

Waterhouse—the six-story, $20 million structure located between Water and South streets—is almost ready to welcome its anchor tenant, WorldStrides. Almost.

Of course, being neither horseshoe nor hand grenade, architect Bill Atwood’s long-debated mixed-use project won’t reap any reward for being “almost” finished. Rather, to earn a five-year, 50 percent property tax rebate from the City of Charlottesville, Waterhouse needs to be completed by March 2012. That deadline jumped forward to this November when WorldStrides, a student travel company based in Albemarle County, inked its lease.

Halfaday's half-truths raise more questions: City Dems will not change candidate requirements

9/27/2011 * C-VILLE Weekly [full story]

After the Democratic firehouse primary on August 20, news about former City Council candidate James Halfaday’s alleged untruthful statements began to surface. By then, Halfaday had been a certified candidate for five months.

Jim Nix, Charlottesville Democratic Party co-chair, doesn’t think Halfaday’s candidacy raises any concerns about the party’s methods for identifying candidates.

The requirements to become a candidate are “rather loose, but that’s by design,” says Nix. “We really want to have an open party.”

Study recommends 'job hub' for city

9/27/2011 * Daily Progress [full story]

To create jobs and help families out of poverty, Charlottesville leaders should craft an organization to act as general contractor between small businesses and regional “economic engines” such as the University of Virginia, a study conducted on behalf of the Greater Charlottesville Area Development Corporation recommends.

The corporation was established by the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce.

The report recommends job creation as the way to help move families near or below the poverty line into a more secure economic position.