Tuesday, August 17
Rock against terror
Terrorists will have to deal with several large rocks if they attempt to attack the Albemarle County Office Building. In a press release, Albemarle officials today explained that the newly placed boulders ringing the entrance to the building are a “temporary security measure” with the added benefit of being landscape amenities. The rocks were plunked down on the advice of police and out of concerns rising from periodic Code Orange terror alerts. They replace police cruisers, which have been parked on the sidewalk in front of the building during heightened terror warnings. The eventual plan is to have brick planters—the favored barrier in Washington, D.C.—and stone benches around the building’s entrance.
Wednesday, August 18
Kilgore’s music collection
Jerry Kilgore, Virginia’s attorney general and aspiring governor, swung through town today toting hundreds of CDs, which he gave to local schools, public radio station WTJU and other groups. The free CD bonanza was the result of an antitrust suit in which Virginia and 38 other states spanked the music industry for illegally conspiring to boost album prices. Though he was “expecting the worst” about the quality of the CDs, Chuck Taylor, WTJU’s general manager, says the mix of music was a pleasant surprise. The radio station, which got about 100 albums, will add many to their library, including selections of world music, jazz and classical. Among the not-so-hot freebies was a five-CD collection of ’80s hits, which Taylor says will be retained for “kitsch effect.”
Thursday, August 19
Bytes for kids
The Boys & Girls Club of Charlottesville/ Albemarle County today scored 25 free computers, courtesy of SunCom, the wireless company. The “slightly used” computers came ready-to-run with operating systems, and will be used by students to do homework. A few computers were set aside for a group of high school students working on getting into college. Tim Sinatra, the club’s executive director, said the donation “will teach our students about the importance of reusing and recycling resources.”
Friday, August 20
Blaze at South Street Brewery
Local firefighters may have prevented a beer lover’s nightmare today by quickly dousing a fire at the South Street Brewery. Taylor Smack, South Street’s brewmaster, spotted flames around the steam boiler at the back of the building this morning. “It was like a big-ass bonfire under the broiler,” Smack says. He quickly dialed 911, and says a fire crew began arriving within 30 seconds—hitting the flames with water about a minute after he picked up the phone. The quick response prevented the blaze from perhaps spreading deeper into the brewpub. Smack says he was brewing South Street’s popular Oktoberfest beer before the fire. If he can manage to finish the job—electricity appeared to be a problem in the brewing area—he says South Street may rename the beer “Firehouse fest,” adding, “I think I’m going to bring a keg to the fire department.”
Saturday, August 21
City police shoot man
Two Charlottesville police officers responded to a domestic disturbance call at a Friendship Court apartment on Saturday night. The man who was the source of the disturbance was wanted on several outstanding warrants. When police attempted to arrest him, a “violent struggle ensued” during which the man was shot once in the abdomen, according to police. The man was taken to UVA Medical Center, where he was in critical condition on Sunday. Police are investigating the shooting, and Chief Longo promised to release the names of the injured man and two officers once family members have been “appropriately notified and briefed.”
Sunday, August 22
Where was Simon?
Five local singers hit the stage at Starr Hill tonight to compete for the title of “C’ville Superstar.” The contest was sponsored by the Music Resource Center, a local nonprofit that provides kids with after-school music education. Each aspiring star sang two songs, getting feedback from a panel of local music pros. The judges will announce the winner and runner-up after a Monday airing of the show on Access Public Television. The spoils include cash, a recording opportunity and a chance to perform at Fridays After 5.
Monday, August 23
After the bell rings
Local students are back in the classroom today. But the Charlottesville/ Albemarle Commission on Children and Families is working on what students do when classes end each day. The quasi-governmental board has found that kids who land in court are far less likely to have a productive after-school schedule than other students. The Commission this week began distributing a brochure listing many of the free and low-cost after-school activities available locally.
—Written by Paul Fain from local news sources and staff reports
One fell swoop
In Virginia, bi-partisan opposition to roadless rollback
With the economy in doubt and Iraq in shambles, the environment isn’t getting much attention on the presidential campaign trail. Virginians might want to take note, however, that the Bush Administration is planning to roll back a popular policy on “roadless areas,” and it’s not just tree huggers raising a hue and cry.
In 1999 and 2000, as the U.S. Forest Service prepared its national policy governing public land, officials conducted hundreds of hearings across the country on the fate of America’s national forests. The Forest Service heard from 1.6 million people—by far the most responses ever delivered to Federal requests for public comment. From Virginia alone, hearings on the Jefferson and Washington national forests drew 45,000 comments supporting conservation.
Based on overwhelming public support for stricter conservation, the Clinton Administration in 2001 passed the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, prohibiting construction of new roads in so-called “roadless areas,” which are relatively undisturbed, rugged spots in national forests. Most roadless areas are in western states like Idaho and Oregon; Virginia has 400,000 acres of roadless area, more than any eastern state.
Now the Bush Administration wants to eliminate Clinton’s rule, and make state governments responsible for managing national forests. The Bush proposal is drawing fire from high ranking Virginians. Democratic Governor Mark Warner and Republican Senator John Warner—no doubt keenly aware of the roadless rule’s popularity in the Commonwealth—have both called on Bush to make Clinton’s Roadless Rule a permanent policy.
“It’s truly crazy, because it puts the burden on the states,” says David Carr, a public lands specialist for the Southern Environmental Law Center.
In July, Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman announced plans to replace the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule with an “interim rule” that would permit road building, mining, logging and real estate development in roadless areas.
If a state wants to conserve roadless areas, it must write its own policy—even then, the state’s desires are subject to approval by the secretary of agriculture.
“It sets up a very onerous situation for the states,” says Steve Kirchbaum, conservation director for the Charlottesville-based group Wild Virginia. “A lot of states aren’t going to do that.”
Despite Virginia’s bi-partisan opposition to Bush’s proposed reversal, environmentalists are skeptical that Virginia—which currently ranks 50th among states in per-capita environmental spending—will jump through all the hoops necessary to protect existing roadless areas.
“What the Bush Administration is proposing just creates a huge administrative burden for the governor of any state seeking any kind of protection,” says Tammy Belinsky of WildLaw, an environmental law firm with a branch in Roanoke.
The SELC’s Carr says Bush’s proposed rollback is likely a bone thrown to timber, oil and gas interests who want more access to potentially lucrative lands in the western United States. Even if Virginia moves to protect its roadless areas—such as Big Flatop and Big Schloss in the Jefferson National Forest, or Elliott Knob in the George Washington National Forest—there’s no guarantee the Department of Agriculture would approve.
The Forest Service is accepting public comment on the proposed rollback until September 14, and will make a decision “after it evaluates public comments,” according to a statement by Veneman. (If you feel like speaking up, go to www.regulations.gov to find out how.)
Environmentalists, however, seem to be throwing in the towel. “I don’t have a lot of optimism that [the Bush Administration] is going to protect areas unless they’re forced to protect them,” says Kirchbaum. “You can see what’s happened over the years. The evidence is here in front of your face.”—John Borgmeyer
Sheer force
Schilling sees through the “central party power structure” that blocks debate on ward system
City Council digs its task forces. When a tricky decision looms, task forces can help take pressure off councilors and, in the best of cases, provide guidance and public input.
But the task force studying Republican-championed ideas for revamping City government, which includes the creation of a ward system, a directly elected mayor and an increased number of councilors, hasn’t been quite as groovy for Council.
At the August 16 Council meeting, during which Mayor David Brown’s edict for relative brevity was clearly in force, the task force delivered its interim report and unveiled a plan for eight public hearings (for specific dates and locations, visit www.charlottesville.org). But the four Democrats on Council questioned the task force’s charter, budget and even its existence.
Councilor Kevin Lynch, who has called the task force a “colossal” waste of time, stressed during the meeting that the task force must establish whether a change to City government is necessary.
“Are there groups in this city that are underrepresented? And if so, how?” Lynch asked.
At the meeting, Sean O’Brien, deputy director of UVA’s political-education Sorensen Institute and director of the task force, was questioned about the task force’s proposed expenses, which include $2,000 for newspaper ads, and a few thousand more for an intern and a professional facilitator for public hearings.
“I’ve just got a little sticker shock, that’s all,” said Councilor Blake Caravati.
Councilor Rob Schilling, the Council’s sole Republican and a proponent of the ward system, fired back, citing the costs of the Jefferson School task force, which ran up $120,000 for facilitators alone.
“The Council is scared to death by what could happen here,” Schilling said later in an interview. He claimed that wrangling over the task force’s charter and relatively small budget are efforts by Democrats to “bury” the ward system and elected mayor proposals.
“They’ve tried forwards and backwards to manipulate this,” Schilling says, arguing that Democrats want to preserve a system in which the “central party power structure” controls which candidates have a shot at getting elected to Council.
Lynch denies that party interests underlie his opposition to a ward system, reasserting that without a clear definition of the problem, he thinks the need for a task force “is a little tenuous.”
“There are some disgruntled people who aren’t in office,” Lynch says of the impetus for a ward system, adding that city Republicans “need to look within if they’re not winning elections.”
Lynch did, however, vote for the task force back in April, prompting Schilling to criticize his consistency on the issue. Lynch responds that the inclusion of a charge to look at the general issue of representation spurred him to join Caravati and former councilors Meredith Richards and Maurice Cox in voting for the task force in April. For now, he says he’ll abide by the task force, “as long as it’s even-handed.”—Paul Fain
HOW TO: Register to vote
The presidential election takes place on November 2. Maybe you want Dubya out of the White House or maybe you want four more years. Either way, this is America, so the decision is yours.
There are several ways to register tovote. Locally you can pick up forms atthe Voter Registration Officein City Hall Annex or the Department of Motor Vehicles on Pantops Mountain. Or visit www.charlottesville.org, go to the section for residents, click on community resources and follow the “voting information” link. A Virginia voter registration form is available for you to print and fill out by hand. (You can leave party affiliation and racial or ethnic identity blank.)
Along with the registration form, enclose a copy of a photo ID or a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, paycheck, or other government document that shows your name and address in the jurisdiction where you plan to vote.
In Virginia, in order to be eligible to vote, you must get registration forms to your local voter registration office 29 days before the election. This time around, that’s October 4, by 5pm.
So, once you’ve got the form filled out and signed, and have included a copy of your identification, put it all in an envelope, address it to State Board of Elections (200 N. Ninth St., Suite 101, Richmond, VA 23219), slap on a 37-cent stamp, and drop it in a mailbox. It’s more effective than any bumper sticker.
Demilitarized zone?
City backs down after hassling vet at Fridays After 5
Vietnam vet John Miska and blues musician Corey Harris might not see eye to eye on all things Iraq, but when it comes to supporting wounded soldiers, they’re in total agreement. That’s why Harris brought Miska on stage during his August 13 show at Fridays After 5 to plug Adopt a Soldier, Miska’s volunteer organization that brings care packages to hospitalized troops.
But before he spoke at the concert, Miska ran afoul of the Charlottesville Downtown Foundation (CDF), which runs the free series at the Downtown Amphitheater. City police eventually tossed Miska from the event, touching off a free speech squabble that drew the attention of The Rutherford Institute, a locally based civil liberties group with a conservative bent.
The showdown began while Miska was chatting with Al Weed, a fellow Vietnam vet and Democratic candidate for congress. Weed had been handing out his campaign flyers, and Miska says a CDF rep approached and told them to stop distributing literature. When Miska took umbrage at the request, the unidentified volunteer enlisted the help of a City police officer, who asked him and Weed to leave. Though Miska suspected that his rights were being violated, he agreed to leave the amphitheater.
“I didn’t want to make trouble,” says Miska, a Greene County resident who goes by the name Big John. “You don’t go pissing on the potted plants at a friend’s house.”
That wasn’t the end of Miska’s scrape with the powers that be, however. After returning to tout Adopt a Soldier at the mic, Miska says, he handed his business card to a group of concertgoers. This interaction again attracted the attention of police, who told Miska to hit the road.
“They proceeded to tell me that if I didn’t leave, I’d be arrested,” Miska says, adding that he left the show shortly afterwards.
Miska later pleaded his case to the City Attorney’s office, which backed up his complaint. Lisa R. Kelley, the deputy City attorney, sent a memo to police stating that as long as Miska doesn’t bring a table or other structure to Fridays After 5, he’s free to tout his cause.
Problem solved? Hardly.
On Tuesday, August 17, CDF Director Gail Weakley called Miska and told him that he would be removed if he showed up at Fridays After 5.
“She was positively rabid,” Miska says of Weakley.
Miska then called in reinforcements, enlisting the help of The Rutherford Institute. The Institute’s lawyers fired off a letter to the City Attorney’s office, threatening a lawsuit if Miska was again barred from Fridays After 5. The letter prompted a speedy response from the City, which reasserted Miska’s free speech rights.
Sheri Iachetta, the City registrar and a member of CDF’s board, explains that the back and forth occurred because Weakley called Miska before the first City memo had made the rounds.
“At that point, we were under the impression that he was breaking the rules,” Iachetta says. “It was just a big misunderstanding.”
Weakley says she was following what she thought were proper policies, adding, “I regret very much that it has gone this far.”
Iachetta, who was present at the business-card incident, says Miska was carrying an easel, which is indeed against the rules. However, she says the CDF will “welcome” Miska at Fridays After 5 in the future.
Miska says he plans to call Iachetta on her promise, saying, on Friday, August 19, that he was “planning on going down there tonight.”—Paul Fain