Tuesday, November 23
Poetry site gets NEA nod
Senator George Allen’s office announces today that Poetry Daily, a locally produced poetry website (www.poems.com), has been granted $7,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts. The grant marks the second dollop of NEA money this year for the site, a 7-year-old project of Don Selby and Diane Boller. The poem-a-day site, with an annual budget of about $75,000, now averages more than 1 million page views per month, says Selby. “When the NEA recognizes you, it is a nice vote of confidence,” Selby tells C-VILLE. Coincidentally, the poem posted today on the site is a Minnie Bruce Pratt work titled “Opening the Mail.”
Wednesday, November 24
New $24M bank proposed
The classified section of The Daily Progress today contains notice that eight investors, including four local high rollers, have amended the application they submitted earlier this month with federal banking authorities to create Southern National Bank. Local organizers of the proposed new bank, to be initially capitalized at $24.1 million, include Thomas P. Baker, Michael A. Gaffney, Charles A. Kabbash and Donna W. Richards. Baker is president of Southern Commerce Bancorp Inc. Gaffney is a homebuilder and new chairman of the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority. Kabbash is a Downtown real estate developer. Richards is former COO of Guaranty Financial Bank, which was acquired by Union Bankshares in May.
Thursday, November 25
Gobblers get out early
Nearly 1,100 runners earned that extra piece of pie this morning by hitting the steep course laid out around the Boar’s Head Inn for the 23rd annual Turkey Trot 5K race to benefit the UVA Children’s Hospital. Winner Lewis Martin IV, a 19-year-old who finished the course in 16:50, led a pack of 1,092 runners and earned a turkey for his efforts. Last year he finished sixth overall with a time of 17:53. The top woman in the race, 38-year-old Beth Cottone, finished with a time of 20:12, 12 seconds ahead of her 2003 time, and also went home one turkey richer.
Friday, November 26
Florida cops arrest accused wife-killer
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, working on a tip from Charlottesville Police, today picked up Anthony Dale Crawford, the Manassas man who is wanted on four charges in connection with the death of his estranged wife, Sarah Louise Crawford. Charges include murder, abduction, auto theft and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. Sarah Crawford’s body was discovered Monday morning at Quality Inn on Emmet Street. She had been shot in the chest. According to The Washington Post, six days before her body was discovered, Sarah Crawford had unsuccessfully appealed to a Prince William County judge to extend the temporary protective order she had out against her husband of five years. Quoting from Sarah Crawford’s affidavit, the Post reports that last month when she tried to move out of their apartment, Anthony Crawford told her he “understands why husbands kill their wives.” These are not the first allegations of spousal abuse against Crawford. In 1992 he was acquitted of sexually assaulting his then-wife in South Carolina, despite videotaped evidence of him penetrating the hog-tied woman whose mouth was covered with duct tape.
Saturday, November 27
Hundreds mourn Marine
Trinity Presbyterian Church was filled to overflowing this afternoon as nearly 900 family members, friends, fraternity brothers, Covenant School classmates, fellow Marines and congregants gathered to mourn Bradley Thomas Arms, the 20-year-old Charlottesville reservist who was killed November 19 in Fallujah, Iraq. Remembered as an obedient and religious young man who nonetheless had a mischievous streak, Cpl. Arms was honored with a service lasting nearly two hours and a Marine honor guard. One fraternity brother from the University of Georgia commended Arms’ parents, Betty and Bob Arms, for “raising a man of integrity.”
Sunday, November 28
Hoos win and lose in football
Falling 24-10 to Virginia Tech after the Hokies’ breakaway fourth quarter yesterday in Blacksburg, the Cavaliers today wake up to no chance of playing in a major post-season bowl game and the stark realization that the ACC’s two newest teams—both imports from the Big East—will contend for the conference championship. The Cavs finish their ACC season at 5-3. Meanwhile, after a dramatic win over New Mexico that stretched through eight rounds of penalty kicks last night, UVA’s men’s soccer team, advancing to the NCAA quarterfinals, prepares to face Duke on Saturday.
Monday, November 29
Real estate taxes down to the wire
City homeowners have exactly one week until unpaid real estate taxes go into the penalty phase. The City Treasurer’s Office sent out the 13,111 bills on October 18, but most have yet to be sent in, according to City Communications Director Maurice Jones. Many residents—and mortgage companies—wait until the final week, he says.
– Written by Cathy Harding from news sources and staff reports.
Dem yankees
New arrivals wrench Albemarle from the GOP
During the recent election season, Albemarle Republican chairman Keith Drake spent a lot of time hanging out with fellow GOP chairs around Virginia.
“They say ‘Hey, Keith, you’ve got it made up there in Albemarle,’” says Drake. “But it’s not true. Albemarle’s been in a slow slide to the Left.”
Albemarle went Democrat this year, picking John Kerry over George Bush, 22,069 votes to 21,180; county residents also voted for Democrat Al Weed over incumbent Republican Virgil Goode for the 5th District seat in the House of Representatives. The recent election refutes Albemarle’s reputation as a Republican stronghold.
“That’s just not an accurate characterization anymore,” says Drake.
To illustrate the county’s Left turn, Drake points to the 2000 Senate race. Albemarle voted for Democrat Chuck Robb over Republican George Allen, 52 percent to 48 percent. Back in 1993, however, Albemarle supported Allen for governor by a 60 to 40 margin. “That’s huge,” Drake says.
Drake says Albemarle’s population has been changed over the past decade by UVA’s expansion and the county’s growing popularity as a retirement destination.
“University growth attracts a liberal element,” says Drake. Social science and humanities professors, at least, tend to lean Democratic. As reported by the Cavailer Daily, a recent study by Daniel Klein, at Santa Clara University, and Charlotta Stern, at the Stokholm University, found that Democrats outnumber Republicans in the social sciences and humanities by a 7 to 1 margin. The study is at http://lsb.scu.edu/~dklein/.
“And Charlottesville is a great place to live, and specifically to retire to. They run out of gas on their way to Florida, they put down stakes in Albemarle and they bring their values from the northeast,” Drake adds.
Fred Hudson, chair of the Albemarle Democratic party, says the chance to vote against Bush drew many county Dems from the woodwork, especially from neighborhoods around the urban ring, like Georgetown, which supported Kerry 1,128 to 621. Republicans won by a similar proportion in Stone Robinson.
“The shift has been pretty even throughout,” says Hudson. “There’s no holes. That bodes well for the future of successful Democratic candidates in the county.”
Hudson isn’t dropping any names, but he promises the party will field candidates for next fall’s Board of Supervisors and school board elections. He also promises there will be a challenge to Republican incumbent Rob Bell for the 58th seat in the House of Delegates.
Bell, who went unchallenged in 2003, says he’s not sweating Albemarle’s shift from red to blue.
“I’ve always made an effort to listen to people in my district, whether they support me or not,” Bell says via e-mail.
The numbers give him reason to chill. Bell’s district, which includes parts of Albemarle, Fluvanna, Green and Orange, went 58 percent for Bush; even voters in Bell’s chunk of Albemarle went 53 percent for Bush.
Albemarle voters overall may not support Bush, but they still support Republicans. In 2003, county voters resoundingly elected two incumbent Republicans—Jim Camblos and Ed Robb—to the offices of Commonwealth’s Attorney and County Sheriff, respectively.
That year the county also elected two Republicans, David Wyant and Ken Boyd, to the Board of Supervisors, “for the first time in anyone’s memory,” says Drake. In his bid for supervisor, Wyant even met a challenger for the Republican nomination: Linda McRaven fought him for the party nod in White Hall. When she lost, she jumped into the school board race, narrowly losing an at-large seat to Democrat Brian Wheeler.
Next year brings more big elections, with many state and local seats up for grabs: governor, lieutenant governor, four House of Delegate seats, two Virginia Senate seats, three board of supervisor seats and three school board seats will all be decided on November 8, 2005.
The GOP’s dominance of local seats is probably evidence that county Republicans are still better organized than Democrats, whose base remains the city of Charlottesville. In the county, the lower voter turnout that typically characterizes local elections will still play to the Republicans’ advantage.
“The further down the ballot you go, fewer people vote for that position,” says Drake. “Those voters are better informed, more active and more partisan.”—John Borgmeyer
Buddy system
Virginia colleges unite behind UVA charter idea
More Virginia colleges are jumping on the charter bandwagon. When three of Virginia’s largest universities—UVA, The College of William and Mary, and Virginia Polytechnic Institute—started hyping their plans to loosen their ties to State government, smaller colleges around the Commonwealth started getting nervous. Now, they’re joining the bigger schools in calling for charters of their own.
“Not all schools are equal in size and issues and resources,” says Glenn DuBois, chancellor of Virginia’s community college system. “But there are provisions of charter that we all deem desirable, like getting our management control away from Richmond and into our board rooms, with our CEOs.
“It’s accurate to say all of the colleges would welcome that,” says DuBois. He also chairs the council of Virginia college presidents, which has been discussing how charter could work for all Virginia colleges, not just the three flagship schools.
Since UVA, Virginia Tech and William and Mary started banging the charter drum last year, some have worried how the move would affect Virginia’s other colleges. Chronic state underfunding is a problem for all university presidents, says DuBois. If the state’s big schools went further out on their own (they are already decentralized to some extent), smaller schools worried the General Assembly would cut higher education funds even further.
Another problem all the schools share, says DuBois, is irritation over the State’s red tape. Whenever a Virginia college wants to adjust tuition or even lease a building, it needs permission from Richmond. A broad charter for all Virginia schools could loosen those rules.
“We’re a half-billion dollar agency,” says Alan Merten, president of George Mason University. “When we want to lease a new building, it doesn’t make any sense that we have to get someone in Richmond to approve it. We have to give our chief financial officers a way to do their job without running back and forth to Richmond.”
So far, Virginia college presidents have agreed that more freedom from state oversight would be good, says DuBois, as long as that freedom doesn’t mean further funding cuts from the General Assembly.
“The charter discussion should not interfere with the discussion of base adequacy resources,” says Eugene Trani, president of Virginia Commonwealth University. “There seems to be general agreement for flexibility plus additional support.”
The idea of a wide-ranging charter has not progressed beyond the basic agreement that flexibility and money are good things. But the charter issue, which a few weeks ago looked as if it could drive a wedge between Virginia’s large and small colleges, now seems to be bringing the schools together in a call for a better relationship with
the State.
“You’re going to see higher education united as the legislative session begins,” says Trani. “If we’re united, it may be easier.”
—John Borgmeyer
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How To: Power shop Searching for an alternative to spending yet another weekend slogging through same-thing stores to find Christmas presents? Try power shopping instead. No, it’s not about flexing the most muscle with your credit card. That would be show-off shopping. It’s about being able to clean and press a decision: “That seems right for Susie Q. I’ll get that. Next!” Power shopping entails a commitment to being satisfied after one look through one store. It means you have to be willing to put yourself—and the preservation of your good will—first. For beginners, here are a few pointers: Set a time limit. Thirty minutes per gift-recipient is good. If you absolutely must linger in a store aimlessly, blend it with rigorous decision-making by buying presents for more than one person. If you spot the first present within 10 minutes, you can wander through the aisles and finger every sweater for an additional 40 minutes before hitting your cut-off for making the next gift choice. Keep perspective. You’re buying a gift, not another chance at life. It’s a gesture, not a material substitute for all the feelings you should be expressing year-round. Spot something nice, figure out if it’s within your price range, and then just buy the thing. No looking back. Finally, stay motivated. See those sweaty, weary people picking something up, putting it back, picking up something else, and then putting that back? See the look of quiet despair in their eyes that practically begs for January to get here already? With power shopping, that doesn’t have to be you. Just set your mind to it. Need to know how to do something? E-mail your questions to howto@c-ville.com. |
Between a Rock House and a hard place
Legal Aid to restore historic site on Preston
Sometime in 1926, perhaps after many wagonloads of rock had been transported to Preston Avenue from the Rivanna River, and nine years after he had purchased three adjacent lots from a prominent African-American landowner, Charles B. Holt, a furniture repairman, used a makeshift stylus to mark his property with his signature. Seventy-eight years later, Holt’s script can still be discerned at the cement base of the stairs leading up to what’s known as the Rock House at 1010 Preston Ave.
Long abandoned, the bungalow sits directly across from Washington Park, the city’s first blacks-only park which, it just so happens, also opened in 1926. Holt’s ID is one of the few aspects of the stone and mortar Arts and Crafts-style house that remain intact. Largely hidden behind bamboo stands that speak as loudly of neglect these days as the substantial structure
once boasted of black achievement during Charlottesville’s Jim Crow era, the house is a study in decay and disrepair.
But if lawyers and volunteers at the Legal Aid Justice Center have their way, C.B. Holt’s Rock House will be lifted from obscurity and restored to a shape worthy of its history. Legal Aid owns the property, which adjoins its new site at the corner of Preston, 10th Street and Grady Avenue, and next week will commence the soft kick-off of a $225,000 fundraising effort to rehab the Rock House.
Alex Gulotta, executive director of Legal Aid, says the rehabbed structure could house some of Legal Aid’s education programs or be leased to other nonprofit groups, much as sections of the former Bruton’s beauty supply building that Legal Aid occupies next door are rented to nonprofit groups such as the Public Housing Association of Residents.
“We felt we’re part of a neighborhood that is in danger of losing its African-American historical connections,” says Kimberly Emery, a Legal Aid board member and the assistant dean for pro bono and public interest at UVA’s law school. Gulotta and others credit Emery with getting the Rock House restoration project rolling. “There’s encroachment in that area from UVA and commercial pressures. It’s been a community for a long time and now Legal Aid is part of the community. We want to be good neighbors and preserve the pieces that are there, including our house.
“There’s probably some financially smarter options in the short term,” Emery adds, “but in the long term, this is the way we want to go because of the wonderful history of this house. It fits in with our mission—putting us all together in a house built and lived in by people who worked their way up.”
Impressive as C.B. Holt’s legacy is, the historical significance of the Rock House doesn’t end there. One of his descendants, Asalie Minor Preston, who lived in the house from 1950 until 1973, endowed the Minor Preston Educational Fund, a scholarship fund that has awarded college money to financially needy students from local public high schools for the past 22 years. As if the philosophical links among the Rock House, a pioneering black landowner (C.B. Holt), a pioneering black educator (Asalie Minor Preston), and a pioneering social justice organization (Legal Aid) weren’t tight enough, coincidence comes into play, too. Longtime Minor Preston board member Mary Ann Elwood also sits on Legal Aid’s advisory board. Yet Elwood only learned about the Minor Preston-Rock House connection in the past year.
“I was delighted,” she says. “I didn’t have any idea that Asalie lived there.”
Margaret Dunn is the sleuth who assembled the parts in the Rock House story. Dunn has been volunteering with Legal Aid for about seven years, and had a big role in the $2.5 million fundraising drive that got the law organization into the Bruton building a couple of years ago. Leroy Bruton, eponymous beauty supplier, had purchased the Rock House in 1978 to use mostly as a storage space and off-street parking option. The house conveyed with the much-larger building when Legal Aid made its purchase in 2002.
“I knew eventually we would need the space,” says Emery. “Margaret needed a new project, and I asked her to investigate. As we learned more about the house, Margaret and I just fell in love with it for its own sake.”
Indeed, as she takes a reporter and photographer on a Sunday morning tour of the house, Dunn points out with affection the details that are apparent despite the sagging floorboards and virtual carpets of paint chips. The three-paned transoms above each of the many doorways on the house’s main level, which allow natural light to pass throughout the rooms. The claw-footed bathtub on the upper floor. The raised mortar between rocks on the building’s façade. The tiny crawl spaces in the upstairs bedrooms. The basement kitchen with its cabinet-ensconced sink and adjoining coal room.
The archival search has clearly engaged her as much as the building itself does, too. “It’s one of the best experiences I’ve ever had,” Dunn says, and it has taken her through deed books and other historical records, to the office of architectural historian Daniel Bluestone, and into little-known graveyards, as well as introducing her to the Rock House’s only living survivor, Tracie Fortune Tyler. Tyler lived there with Asalie Preston and her husband Leroy Preston in the 1950s when she was a child, and she held the deed jointly with Asalie until the house was sold. The historical quest, Dunn says “is like the house itself—you go layer by layer. Previously, I
knew very little to nothing about Charlottesville’s African-American history in the Jim Crow years.
“I had no idea how enthused I’d get,” she adds.
At this stage, Dunn is trying to get the Rock House listed on the City’s register of historic places. If she succeeds, the effect will be two-fold, she says. It will qualify the Rock House for the small pool of City grants available only to historically listed properties. Second, “when it’s listed, it’s very helpful to fundraising,” she says. “Otherwise people say, ‘Where’s the authentication?’”
Dunn and her Legal Aid cohort will present the case for the house at a luncheon on December 7 when the $225,000 fundraising drive kicks off.
For Tracie Fortune Tyler, whether the fundraiser succeeds, the process that has restored the Rock House to public attention has been overwhelming. “When Margaret called me and wanted to talk about it, I was flabbergasted,” she says. “It’s interesting to know that someone out there wants to preserve it. It touches me.”
And for Daniel Bluestone, the UVA architectural historian who is documenting Preston Avenue’s African-American roots and who steered some of Dunn’s research, the latest turn of events for the Rock House is somehow fitting.
“The house in some ways helps you keep your eye on the ball. There is something about being able to work against the grain of the entrenched inequity of the society that Legal Aid is trying to help,” he says. “It’s clear that C.B. Holt being able to build that house on that site at the time he did involved a fair amount of struggle and striving and all the rest.
“That’s what I find compelling.”
—Cathy Harding