Tuesday, February 21
Similarities uncovered between George Allen, chewed spinach
Politicalderby.com continues its 2008 presidential handicapping with today’s news that Virginia’s junior Senator, George Allen, has the No. 1 ranking “on the strength of very positive inside-baseball chatter.” The former Republican governor has held on to his ranking for the past couple of weeks. But the pundits on the site caution that the field is wide open: “With roughly 1,000 days to go before the 2008 election, picking a winner today is like predicting what you’ll pick out of your teeth after dinner on May 3, 2021.”
Wednesday, February 22
Link between weather and stating the obvious remains unbroken
It snowed briefly this morning and WCAV was on the scene with the story. “I woke up this morning and I wasn’t expecting to see this amount of snow,” one local told the station. Said another, “I figured it was going to be clear all the way home.” Still a third remarked that after witnessing some accidents, “everybody seems to be slowing down, so that’s a good thing.”
Thursday, February 23
Fewer students selling their souls because they can’t afford it
Law school applications are down 10 percent from the same period in 2004, according to a posting today on the Collegiate Times website. Some speculate that college grads are finding it easier to get high-paying jobs right out of college (but not in Charlottesville!), so they’re skipping the familiar law school hedge. But others say price is a determining factor, and they cite UVA Law School as an example. According to Collegiate Times, “in 2001, an in-state law student at the University of Virginia paid $18,090 a year. For the 2005-2006 school year, that price jumped to $28,300 per year.”
Friday, February 24
Virgil Goode’s dirty donor confesses
Mitchell Wade, former head of MZM, a defense-contracting firm, pleaded guilty today to bribing a California congressman and illegally funneling money to Virginia Congressman Virgil Goode, who represents Charlottesville and most of the impoverished Southside in the gerrymandered Fifth District, according to Reuters. Wade bribed decorated Vietnam War pilot and longtime California Congressman Randy Cunningham to the tune of $2.4 million. In regards to Goode, Wade acknowledged that he violated campaign finance rules by reimbursing MZM employees who donated to Goode’s campaign, as well as the campaign of Florida Congresswoman Katherine Harris. All the elected officials involved are Republicans. Reportedly, Wade said that neither Goode nor Harris knew of the illegal activity.
Goode received at least $46,000 in cloaked MZM contributions. As the scandal first unfolded last year, Goode offered to repay any donations from MZM employees. In 2003, one of the years when Goode received MZM money, he shepherded $9 million in appropriations to an MZM facility in Martinsville.
Wade also got cozy with a Defense Department official who worked in Charlottesville in the name of pumping up MZM’s bottom line. MZM hired both the son of a National Ground Intelligence Center official and then the official himself, according to later reports in The Washington Post, which identified him as Robert Fromm. NGIC is located in Albemarle County.
Saturday, February 25
Road games more dangerous than previously known
Thank you, Jerry Ratcliffe, Daily Progress sports editor, for finally helping us to understand why the UVA men cannot win a basketball game on the road. Anticipat-ing the Cavs’ 90-64 loss to Clemson, Ratcliffe writes today, “Life on the road in the ACC is filled with land mines…” UVA hasn’t won two ACC games on the road since the 2001-2002 season, sug- gesting that with all those bombs lying in wait, the Cavs should consider sending a scout out first.
Sunday, February 26
Charlottesville feels the power
Hundreds of locals turned out at Carver Recreation Center this weekend, according to WINA, hoping that a Hollywood casting agent would give them a lucky break. The casting agent for Evan Almighty, a sequel to Jim Carrey’s Bruce Almighty, took names, snapped pictures and generally raised many hopes for a role in the Steve Carell production, which will get fully underway in March.
Monday, February 27
Charlottesville-D.C. road trip could be cut to only three hours
Prince William County officials are considering a private offer to improve the intersection of routes 29 and 66, The Washington Post reports today. Though transportation is at the top of Gov. Tim Kaine’s legislative agenda, “some Northern Virginia officials say they have so little faith in the State’s ability to deliver that they have accepted or are considering offers from developers to pay for major projects,” according to the Post. Developer Brookfield Homes proposes to pay any cost to improve the intersection, which is marred by a rail crossing. The Faustian terms? Brookfield wants approval to build another 6,800 homes in that region—which, it seems worth pointing out, will increase traffic.
Caution: Ped Xing
COUNCIL HEARS MALL-CROSSING ARGUMENTS
Customer service rejected as a means to improve East End businesses
How difficult is it really to get to the Downtown Mall? Difficult enough that City Council met last week to hear comments on the Downtown Business Asso-ciation’s petition to open Fourth or Fifth streets as a vehicular crossing. The motivation: Business isn’t looking so hot on the east end of the Mall since the closing of Seventh Street in 2004.
Proponents of the crossing stormed Council chambers in force on Tuesday, February 21, arguing that the very vitality of the Mall could be at stake. Several Downtown business owners laid on the anecdotes, claiming that customer complaints about inaccessibility have grown common. Owners believe that the crossing would greatly facilitate patrons’ ability to access all parts of the Mall, including the parking garages. “What has made [the Mall] a success is that it is a destination for people,” said Steve Blaine, Vice Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce, “and the economic vitality of the Downtown Mall has been critical for that.”
Despite pro-business contentions, many Mall denizens are impervious to change, citing 30 years of Downtown success without this crossing. Residents tried to convince Council to sample alternatives before resorting to another crossing. Suggestions included way-finding plans, greater signage and improved parking. Invoking the Planning Commission’s January 10 vote against this proposal, Mall-goers like Peter Kleeman demanded more compelling data, ensuring “reasonable protections of benefits to overcome the significant impact, risks and safety intrusions that a crossing might cause.”
Council will consider a one-year trial and will work towards establishing criteria for assessing success prior to endorsement. Council is scheduled to vote on the matter at its next meeting, Monday, March 6.—David Goodman
Thanks, I’ll pass
SCHILLING LEADS WITH NON-VOTES
The King of Abstentions opts to run for Council again
On Tuesday, February 21, City Councilor Rob Schilling announced his intention to run for a second term in May’s citywide election, casting himself as the guy who’s been standing up against “business as usual.” Though he was referring to Council’s budgeting process, an assertion that was forcefully derided by fellow Councilor Blake Caravati in the next day’s Daily Progress, there’s one area where Schilling, Council’s lone Republican, definitely runs against the pack. By a margin as high as 4-1, Schilling stands out as the Councilor with the greatest number of abstentions.
According to C-VILLE’s search into City records, during Schilling’s first two years, under Mayor Maurice Cox, he abstained on eight of 127 votes. The closest non-vote contender was Caravati, with two abstentions from July 2002 to June 2004. Cox abstained once; Councilors Kevin Lynch and Meredith Richards did not abstain at all.
Since 2004 Council has had 52 major votes (C-VILLE did not tally votes on consent agendas). Schilling abstained seven times, followed by Kendra Hamilton with four abstentions. Caravati and Lynch have one each in this period; Mayor David Brown has not abstained on any vote. All told, Schilling has abstained on more than 8 percent of Council votes in nearly four years.
Explaining his record, Schilling credits his abstentions to poor information. “I’ll never guess at something. That’s what I would consider poor public service,” he says.
But his colleagues see something different at work. “I don’t think that other than Rob there’s been much precedent for people using abstentions,” Richards says.
“You’re put there to be a legislator, a voice for the people,” Caravati says. “When you don’t take positions, especially when you take the excuse that you have no information, you’re not doing your job as a legislator.”—Cathy Harding, with additional reporting by Esther Brown and Nell Boeschenstein
On the bedfellow beat
TJPED REPORTS DONATIONS
County’s controversial new ally gets big bucks from big biz
After years of demurring on the offer, the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors voted on February 8 to join the Thomas Jefferson Partnership for Economic Development (TJPED). Chummy with the Charlottesville Chamber of Commerce, the TJPED provides info to businesses that will potentially locate here. Critics worry the TJPED’s—and now, by association, the County’s—business alliances could give a boost to the number of “yeas” when it comes to who gets development go-aheads. Indeed, this edited list shows that commercial interest is alive and well at TJPED. These are some 2005 donations to the association, which were reported in February.—Meg McEvoy
University of Virginia: $35,000
Wachovia Bank: $25,000
The Daily Progress: $10,000
Piedmont Virginia Community College: $10,000
Dominion Virginia Power: $8,000
Omni Charlottesville Hotel: $7,605
Ferguson Enterprises: $7,500
Bank of America: $5,000
BB&T: $5,000
Colonial Auto Center: $5,000
Hunter Craig Company: $5,000
LexisNexis Publishing: $5,000
State Farm Insurance Company; $5,000
Great Eastern Management Company: $3,000
Albemarle First Bank: $2,500
Worrell Investment Company, Inc.: $2,500
Faulconer Construction Co.: $2,000
Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors: $1,000
Wal-Mart Distribution Center: $1,000
Assembly Watch
ON DECK FOR CITY: CHARTER CHANGE
Clearing both chambers, Toscano’s bill would make it easier for City to give low-income people a housing break
With the luck he’s having, maybe David Toscano, Charlottesville’s freshman delegate, should have bought a Powerball ticket. Last week two of his bills cleared House and Senate hurdles, now awaiting the signature of Governor Tim Kaine. One of those, an affordable housing measure, could open the door to significant changes in Charlottes-ville’s overheated housing market.
Toscano’s bill changes the City charter to allow the government to make grants and loans to low- and moderate-income people to help with home-buying. It also will let the City offer tax deferrals to folks in the same categories who are already homeowners. It’s modeled after similar legislation affecting Alexandria.
Toscano says good old-fashioned compromise helped get the measure through. “Some folks had a concern about powers of eminent domain,” he says. “We took out some of the language in the bill because we didn’t feel the City needed more powers of eminent domain.”
Councilor Kevin Lynch foresees that with more precise tax-relief in its toolbox, the City will be able to target “low- and moderate-income homeowners who have seen the most rapid appreciation in their properties,” rather than enacting blanket tax-rate relief as Council did in 2005 when the property tax rate was cut by 4 cents to $1.05.
Neil Williamson, who heads the business-friendly Free Enterprise Forum, frets that Toscano’s bill is more red tape by another name. “The Free Enterprise Forum is very much in favor of affordable housing,” he says. “However, we’re concerned the City might be building additional bureaucracy, whereas the private sector could adequately serve this function.”
Harumph, says Lynch: “The Free Enterprise Forum and the realtor group are always in favor of affordable housing and preventing any legislation that would block it until someone asks them to provide it. Then they’re nowhere to be seen.”—Cathy Harding
To Cav and Cav not
SUPREME COURT PASSES ON COLLEGE NEWSPAPER CENSORSHIP CASE
Cav Daily can continue hot-button coverage of cafeteria trays unabated
Many college newspapers may soon have to run their articles by the dean’s office—but, thanks to its independent status, The Cavalier Daily will not be one of them. The Supreme Court recently declined to rule on Hosty v. Carter, allowing to stand the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals’ opinion that, like high school newspapers, subsidized college newspapers are subject to editorial control by the administration.
But President John Casteen will not get a chance to vet his morning copy of The Cav Daily, because the paper is not subsidized by the University. This autonomy grew out of a 1979 conflict between the administration and the paper, according to current editor Make Slaven. “Our independence is critical to our credibility,” he says. “Even if you don’t have administrators breathing down your neck, it’s extremely difficult anyway to print honest news if you have somebody exerting control over you.”
Former UVA president Robert O’Neil says, “It never occurred to me to intercede at all [with The Cavalier Daily].” Now, as director of the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression, his organization joined a brief urging the Supreme Court to take the Illinois case.
Yet the Supreme Court’s decision not to hear the case might be a blessing, O’Neil says. “Given the current make-up of the court, my fear is that they would have taken it to affirm the Court of Appeals, thus making nationwide the Hazelwood standard that now only effects three states—Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin.”—Will Goldsmith
Cruisin’ ‘n’ boozin’
THE UPSIDE OF SEMESTER AT SEA
Beckett and bikinis: An odd couple, perhaps, but the sex is great!
In January, UVA became the academic home base for the controversial Semester at Sea program, and on February 22 Spanish Professor David Gies was named as the program’s first UVA-affiliated academic dean. A cruise-ship-cum-college-campus, the ship sails around the world docking at different ports and offering an alternative to the traditional junior year abroad.
Professorial whoopin’ and hollerin’ has since abounded over partying, safety and whether the academics on the Semester at Sea program measure up to UVA standards; the administration claims these concerns are overblown. C-VILLE, however, is looking on the bright side. Here are a few perqs students and profs can enjoy on board that they’ll never find when landlocked.—Nell Boeschenstein
– Less is more: Whoever said itsy bitsy, teeny weeny yellow polka dot bikinis are not conducive to learning was just plain stupid.
– What happens on Semester at Sea stays on Semester at Sea. It’s like having embassy license plates in Vegas!
– Fresh, uh…fish?
In the John
JOHN PAUL JONES ARENA SKED ANNOUNCED
Sweaty men, pretty ponies among big-name acts
A new $128 million stadium cannot live on basketball alone. That’s why UVA announced a few months ago that it was partnering with SMG—not Sarah Michelle Geller, but the stadium management group—to get butts in those 16,000 seats come the off-season. Last week SMG unveiled the first events scheduled for JPJ this year. From the circus to skating cartoon characters to beefy men rolling around in a totally not-gay way, everybody wins! For more information and upcoming events, check www.johnpaul jonesarena.com.—Eric Rezsnyak
August 14: World Wrestling Entertainment (formerly the WWF) presents “Monday Night Raw.” The show will be taped and broadcast live on USA Network.
October 18-22: Disney on Ice celebrates “100 Years of Magic.” It’s like the Ice Capades, but with more smiling, singing rodents.
November 24: Lipizzaner Stallions. Oh, yes. There will be prancing.
December 6-10: Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey—The Greatest Show on Earth. Also, the most modest.
The big flap
UVA PROF FINDS ORDER IN CHAOS
Could “butterfly effect” explain TomKat union?
You know that “butterfly effect”—the theory that says tiny variations can lead to big changes? Now, anthropologists at UVA are taking the butterfly effect, which is actually a part of something called chaos theory, and applying it to the humanities and social sciences.
On the Order of Chaos, a book of essays published late last year and edited by UVA professor Frederick Damon, takes the formula to the forefront of culture—a first, he says.
Prior to his work, “nobody in anthropology had systematically used chaos theory.” He says, “I knew I was getting into something bigger than me.”
Bigger than most journalists, too, so first let’s get to the basics.
Chaos theory deals with nonlinear relationships, or problems that don’t have a direct cause and effect. But chaos, Damon cautions, “does not mean disorder. It means a certain kind of order.”
In the book, anthropologist Christopher Taylor explains the Rwandan genocide by decoding the society’s dependence on the flow of liquids. He shows how blocking the flow of blood, semen and water caused a systematic crumbling in Rwanda.
In other words, with chaos theory, political and governmental factors alone don’t sum up a society’s status. Broad cultural metaphors are common in chaos studies. In Damon’s own work on New Guinea, he explores “the island as a boat.”
So, if the island is a boat, America is a…Chrismakwanzukkah sneaker display with matching iPods and red-white-and-blue streamers at Macy’s? Actually, Damon says, a cultural metaphor for the U.S. is a debated concept, since we’re all such rugged individuals.—Meg McEvoy
Now hiring
MORE THAN 500 JOBS OPEN AT UVA
Time to get off your mom’s futon
Flipping burgers isn’t fun anymore, and it’s getting harder and harder to explain to your date why you’re still sleeping in Mom’s basement. It’s time for you to get a new job.
You’re in luck, because there are currently more than 500 jobs available at UVA, which with more than 11,000 employees is the region’s largest employer.
Maybe you like bossing people around. One of the 60 administrative positions might be for you. For example, the school is looking for an “Assistant Vice-President for Equity and Diversity.” Oh, wait. This position calls for “the use of initiative and independent judgment…as well as the exercise of diplomacy and tact,” according to UVA. Maybe that’s not for you, after all.
You could interpret for the deaf or advise students on study abroad, you can earn up to $77,720 as an engineer or start at $28,970 as a “biosafety officer.” Might we suggest a career as a “compliance officer”? It sounds as though all you have to do is make sure other people do their job. What could be more fun than that?—John Borgmeyer
Give me just a little more time
KROBOTH’S PUNISHMENT DELAYED
“Vampire” sentencing reset for early May
Attempted murderer Kurt Kro-both was supposed to receive his sentence Tuesday, February 21. But when the time came his defense attorney, David Heil-berg, successfully argued in Albemarle County Circuit Court to delay his client’s sentencing another two and a half months, to Tuesday, May 9.
Heilberg pointed out that, as the third attorney to defend Kroboth in the case, he’s been playing catch-up and hasn’t had time to bring in out-of-town character witnesses. The Commonwealth argued against the motion, citing a need for closure on the part of Kroboth’s ex-wife and victim, Jane Kroboth, as well as a simple desire to wrap up this case that has dragged on for two years.
Kroboth, a former financial consultant, entered an Alford Plea (which does not admit guilt, but admits that there is sufficient evidence to successfully prosecute the charges), for breaking into the house of his ex-wife and attempting to kill her in November 2004. He was wearing a vampire mask and tried to chloroform her as she slept. When Jane woke, a struggle ensued. It ended when he left abruptly after Jane mentioned the couple’s children. Minutes later, police picked up Kroboth jogging down a road near Jane’s house.
Jane Kroboth has also filed a civil suit, which is currently pending in Albemarle Circuit Court.—Nell Boeschenstein
Trying times
ALLEGED TEENAGE BOMBERS AWAIT EARLY MARCH TRIAL
Court-ordered evaluations required for three of four suspects
With parents on the verge of tears by their sides, three of the four teens accused of plotting to bomb two area high schools appeared in Juvenile and Domestic Re-lations Court on Wednesday, February 22. Speaking in a barely audible voice, Judge Susan Whitlock ordered all three to undergo 10-day psychological evaluations before their individual adjudications on March 8. The defendants include two 13-year-olds, a 15-year-old and a 16-year-old. In the juvenile justice system adjudication is the equivalent of a trial. While formal evaluations have now been requested, according to Albemarle Com-monwealth’s Attorney Jim Camblos, none of the teens’ attorneys have requested an insanity evaluation.
The fourth teen, a 13-year-old, arrested on February 16, has not yet been ordered to undergo evaluation because at press time his attorneys had not yet requested it. That teen, too, says Camblos, will be adjudicated March 8.
The teens’ alleged plan was to bomb Albemarle and Western Albemarle high schools by the end of the year. They were allegedly conspiring via an Internet chatroom. Two shotguns and three computers were seized by police in connection with the investigation. All face charges of conspir- ing to commit murder and other felonies.
All four will be tried as juveniles since they have no prior involvement with the juvenile justice system. If kids have not already been through the system, Camblos said, and have not had the chance to get help from the agencies and services in place, there’s no reason to try them as adults.
The four teens are currently being held at the Blue Ridge Juvenile Detention Center.—Nell Boeschenstein
Trouble brewing
CHILDREN’S MENTAL HEALTH CENTER INVESTIGATED FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT
Ten to 12 people implicated in Whisper Ridge probe
Police Chief Tim Longo called a press conference outside the Charlottesville police station on Friday, February 24, to announce that his department has been investigating the Whisper Ridge children’s mental health facility—home to about 50 residents on Arlington Boulevard—since January on charges of sexual assault. Not specifying how many potential victims, nor how many potential perpetrators, Longo did allow that 10 to 12 people—both residents and employees—are part of the investigation.
Leading up to Friday’s announcement, the police executed a search of the facility that lasted more than seven hours and resulted in the seizure of documents relating to the allegations. As of press time, no charges have been filed and thus the Chief couldn’t say too much in terms of specific allegations or possible next steps. He did call the issue “a serious matter,” saying that in the past, the department has received “a fair share of calls to this facility.”
According to Longo, police have been in contact with the Virginia Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services, which is in charge of licensing for Whisper Ridge.
The chief did not know whether potentially implicated employees are currently working at the home and when approached by a reporter on the subject, the woman at Whisper Ridge’s front desk appeared familiar with the investigation but said, “I am not allowed to talk about that. [The administration] doesn’t want any visitors today.”—Nell Boeschenstein
Grumpy old men
NEW ELDER CARE INVESTIGATIONS IGNITE OLD ISSUE
Mountainside and Evergreene allegations point to larger problem
As The Daily Progress previously reported, Mountainside Senior Living Facility in Crozet is being investigated and the Virginia Department of Social Services is considering sanctions after a State inspector reported some residents had not received insulin shots. The inspector also reported that CPR had not been administered after a resident had been found dead. CPR is mandatory anytime a person is not responsive. In addition, a pending trial in Greene County against Evergreene Nursing Care Center also alleges neglect. And this isn’t the first time local elder care has come under scrutiny. Last August, The Laurels lost its ability to accept Medicaid and Medicare after failing to meet State standards.
According to the American Health Care Association, between 1992 and 2003, $5.2 billion in claims against elder care facilities were incurred. That’s because, as attorney Claire Curry says, elder care is “backbreaking.” Curry works at the Legal Aid Justice Center and is an elder care advocate. It’s not uncommon for nursing homes and assisted living facilities to suffer from inadequate staffing and high turnover. For example, a 2002 study by the AHCA estimated the turnover rate for directors of nursing at Virginia’s elder care facilities at 143 percent.
“You need to keep people clean and dry and turn them every two hours,” says Curry. “[This] requires lots of hands-on work.”
Curry relates a recent story, unrelated to the current situations with Mountainside or Evergreene, in which a daughter visited her mother at a nursing home, only to find her mother in tears, diaper soaked and saying she’d been in bed unattended until noon. The daughter confronted a nurse who conceded the situation, saying the home was short staffed.
Some potentially good news in the General Assembly for elder care advocates, however, is that proposed legislation would improve the ratio of elder care ombudsmen to 1:2,000 from 1:3,946 . This would nearly double the number of people whose sole job is to field concerns from elder care patients and family.—Nell Boeschenstein
Noah’s arc
MEET THE NEW CHA DIRECTOR
Noah Schwartz on rehabbing public housing
Noah Schwartz is the newest director of the Charlottesville Housing Authority, the agency that oversees the City’s public housing stock and which has been under scrutiny from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for three years running. Schwartz and his staff have been given just one year to improve CHA’s standing. Schwartz talked recently about what he was doing to get CHA back on its feet—both in the eyes of HUD and city residents.—Esther Brown
C-VILLE: What is it going to take for the Charlottesville Housing Authority to be successful?
Noah Schwartz: Housing is a big part of the anti-poverty issue. I mean, is our goal just providing housing, or should our goal be broader than that in addressing poverty issues? So that more of the folks that we provide subsidized housing to are able to participate in a wider range of housing options, so that they’ve got the training they need to get the jobs they need so that they have a broader set of choices? Are we working in partnership with the schools so that the 48 percent of our public housing residents who are under the age of 18 are getting the support they need? I think we’ve got to look at all of that if we’re going to be successful.
How do you see yourself accomplishing what past directors haven’t been able to accomplish?
I think we’ve got to have the intent to do things differently than we have in the past. You can’t just be there to punch the clock.
What would you tell public housing residents, for instance residents of Westhaven, who hear rumors of redevelopment in their neighborhood all the time?
I would tell them what I told them [three] weeks ago: Redevelopment is going to happen at some point, and when we’re ready to have serious discussions, you’ll hear it from me. There’s not a whole lot we’re doing with it right now.
Mixed messages
SCOTTSVILLE NIXES ZONING REINTERPRETATION
PUDs a dud, town council says
On Tuesday, February 21, the Scottsville Town Council voted down an ordinance that would have given the small town of 600 residents more control over future development.
The Planned Unit Development (PUD) Ordinance provided for a creative interpretation of zoning density requirements. Rather than maintaining the same, uniform density of development within a given area, PUDs allow the flexibility to vary density within a development. The result is usually a combination of housing, recreation and shopping within one development.
According to Councilor James Svetich (one of two councilors who voted for the ordinance), the PUD would have been a “tool” for the city to use in its future growth and development.
However, Councilor James Hogan, one of three who voted against the PUD, argues that the ordinance went beyond just a set of tools. “This would have been a green light for the developer to go ahead and submit his plans for a 170-unit development,” he said.
According to Hogan, growth of that size would essentially create a second city, destroying the unique qualities of Scottsville.—Dan Pabst
Time savers of the future
HOLLYMEAD CUTOFF COMING BY JULY
Go between airport and Target like a speeding bullet
Don’t pout when big-box development delivers yet another concrete wasteland where once was verdant green. Look on the bright side: Other than affordable tea cosies, shopping centers can provide another benefit—shortcuts around major intersections. (Exhibit A: Hydraulic Road, 29N and K-mart. Hey sport, why the guilty look?) Two short connector roads running through Hollymead Town Center may soon become preferred cutoffs between 29N and Airport Road.
The connectors are two of a number of roads that have been part of County plans since Hollymead Town Center was approved in 2003. “[Building the roads] was a condition of building the town center,” says Hollymead developer Wendell Wood, who wouldn’t estimate what portion of the $11 million he’s spending on Hollymead roads is earmarked for these particular connectors. One road extends Timberwood Boulevard to Airport Road; the other, as yet unnamed, connects to the Deerwood subdivision. Some of the land in question is owned by Wood; other chunks belong to his fellow superdeveloper Charles Hurt.
According to Wood, both roads should be finished by July. Asked whether drivers will use Timberwood as a shortcut to Airport Road, County planner Sean Dougherty says simply, “They will.”
“They’re all State roads built to public standards and they’re built to accommodate that dispersion.” But, he adds, “Going through Deerwood, you can’t make too much of an argument for that.” Remember that next time you’re running late for a flight.—Erika Howsare
Phone home
LOVE ME, BUILD ME, CHAPTER 6
Another empty building finds fulfillment
Address: 1180 Seminole Trail
Area: 454,900 square feet
Owner: Seminole Trail Properties, LLC c/o Richard Hewitt
2001 Sale Price: $11.4 million
The old Comdial building is once again being put to use after a few empty years, this time by tenants including Mailing Services of Virginia, which relocated to the property in November.
The super-sized building may have some unique issues. On March 1, 2005, when the County Planning Commission approved a special permit for a possible indoor gym facility to be located there, Planning Commissioner Calvin Morris recalled that the last time the Commission had looked at the building, they found an area that had “some real problems with contamination.”
Seminole Trail Properties representative Tim Slagle responded by saying that the contamination in question was located behind the building where Comdial had had storage tanks that had leaked contaminants into the ground water. As of March 2005, Seminole Trail Properties was “in the fourth year of a six-year remediation plan with the State Department of Environ-mental Quality.”—Esther Brown
Mark your calendars
WHAT’S COMING NEXT
A week’s worth of opportunities to spout off
League of Women Voters. Jim Burton, Lou-doun County Supervisor speaks on “A Case Study in Unbridled Growth: What Hap-pens When a Community Grows Too Much, Too Fast?” Tuesday, February 28, noon. Monticello Event and Conference Center.
Earlysville Area Residents League. Discuss updates to the Places29 Master Plan from Thomas Jefferson Planning District Committee and County staff. Tuesday, February 28, 7:30pm. Broadus Wood Elementary School.
Albemarle County Board of Supervisors. Work session on the North Pointe development. Wednesday, March 1, 2:20pm. Room 235, County Office Building.
250 Bypass Interchange Steering Com-mittee, a.k.a. Meadowcreek Parkway ISC. Thursday, March 2, 4pm. Basement conference room, City Hall.