Month: January 2007

music “Anything but country” is a common sentiment among music snobs, as in “I love Radiohead and the Wu-Tang Clan…really, anything but country.” In Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs, Chuck Klosterman hogties this statement—fans of most music genres can find something to appreciate in songs about trucks and dogs. But Klosterman never addresses the other type of music fan, for whom “anything but country” is an affront to the ears.

George Strait took the John Paul Jones Arena down a long, dusty trail of hits on Friday night—and wore his best hat for the occasion.

And maybe there is no such fan. The three musicians that performed for a record crowd (14,000+) at the John Paul Jones Arena were no more “pure country” than the faux-hayseeds in the seats next to me, who ran to nab an autograph from opener Taylor Swift immediately following her set of “American Idol”-friendly twang.

Swift’s short set included radio hit “Tim McGraw” and the sassy “Picture to Burn,” the latter a Dolly Parton update made all the more appropriate due to Swift’s bouncing blonde curls (roughly half her body mass).

Sixty-three-year-old legend Ronnie Milsap bobbed and rocked through cuts from his 40+ year career, from “No Gettin’ Over Me” to “Smoky Mountain Rain,” and threw in songs from 2006’s My Life. Milsap, born blind, was led by his backup singer around the diamond-shaped stage to gales of applause following his final number, a cover of “Honky Tonk Women” by the Rolling Stones.

George Strait took the stage in a belt buckle the size of a dinner plate and a hat as comically out of proportion as Yosemite Sam’s, and worked through more than 25 songs from a catalogue that includes 50 number one singles. Flatscreens in the center of the arena filled with amber light for the gorgeous “Amarillo by Morning,” and with humorours shots of cows for “Milk Cow Blues,” the most obvious extended sexual metaphor since The Who’s “Squeezebox.”

Along with Alan Jackson, Strait is one of the few “traditional country stars” left, say fans from Don Imus to my mother. Considering the range of acts and song ages, however, fans got anything but traditional country. Rather, any individual from an enormous crowd could pick out different highs and lows from a long and enjoyable evening.

At long last, Republicans in Richmond (www.vagop.com) unveiled a transportation spending plan on January 18, finally reaching compromise after a long stalemate. A special session solely devoted to the issue couldn’t get the job done last year, largely because of conflicts between Republicans in the Senate, who were interested in raising taxes, and Republicans in the House, who wanted to borrow money. But the necessities of a State legislative election year mean that Republicans couldn’t get away with doing nothing through 2007.

Governor Tim Kaine says that the Republican transportation plan, which would take $250 million from the general fund, is worth a look.

The terms of the plan leave few ecstatic, even if they can live with them. The proposal would allocate $500 million annually for transportation improvements, largely in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads. Those localities would be able to raise local fees and taxes in order to help finance road improvements. Principally this would come through raising commercial real estate taxes in NoVA and Hampton Roads, which has many businesses disgruntled. Democratic Governor Tim Kaine (www.governor.virginia.gov) has voiced concern over the part of the proposal that calls for taking $250 million from the general fund and would mean serious cutbacks in other government spending. Kaine has pointed out that $250 million represents the combined budgets of State police, the State’s emergency management operations and all veterans services.

Still, he is open to considering the plan. “I urge everyone involved in this discussion to contribute in a civil and constructive way as we all work together to choose the best elements of the different transportation proposals now being considered by the General Assembly,” said Kaine in a press release following the announcement.

How other Democrats react to the plan, and whether the Republican compromise will last, will be tested in the final month of the session. Whatever happens, expect Virginia citizens to weigh in on the issue in November—at the ballot box.

For more information on the 2007 Virginia General Assembly Session:
http://leg1.state.va.us/

Anita Clayton may not be the lost member of Salt-N-Pepa, but she sure likes to talk about sex. Clayton, a professor of psychiatry and obstetrics and gynecology at UVA, has a new book out that explores the crossroads of her three areas of expertise. In Satisfaction: Women, Sex, and the Quest for Intimacy, Clayton examines women’s relationship to their sexuality and how that relationship is informed and complicated by the media. C-VILLE chatted with Clayton recently about the book. Here’s some of what she had to say.

Anita Clayton doesn’t want women to settle for so-so sex, and she’s written a recently published book, Satisfaction: Women, Sex, and the Quest for Intimacy, to help the cause.

C-VILLE: Do you think that there is a way to change the philosophy of sex education—both at home and in school—to help women meet high, yet realistic, expectations for their sex lives?

Anita Clayton: I think that one of the things that’s really important about that is self-esteem. Rather than telling them just to say, “No,” we have to help instill confidence in them to make decisions and then express them. I think early sex is usually not very productive. It very often affects self-esteem negatively because the relationships you have when you are young are not relationships that go on for very long, and thus may instill the feeling that [the girls] are not attractive, damaged goods, rejected, that kind of thing.

C-VILLE: “Satisfaction”—the title seems like a reference to the Rolling Stones. What do the Stones represent sexually in our cultural dialogue?

Anita Clayton: The first concert I ever went to was a Rolling Stones concert when I was 16, and they did have then fairly blatant sexual behaviors on stage. Kissing each other—open-mouthed kissing—on stage, and at the time, that was a little risqué. It may be that things like that help us look at what other people do without us having to be particularly voyeuristic. 

C-VILLE: How can a woman “work” to make her sex life better? Can a woman herself change deep-seated issues with sex?

Anita Clayton: I think that that is certainly possible. Many of the things women are overcoming sexually are family, cultural and religious—things that we have accepted, sometimes without question. We need to look at where our own passions interact with those limitations, and then I think we can change those things because it’s not biological.

C-VILLE: You talk a lot about unrealistic portrayals of women’s sexuality in the media. However, could you name any portrayals of relationships in the media that you deem “realistic”?

Anita Clayton: Hmmm…Well, maybe Something’s Got to Give, where [the Jack Nicholson character] doesn’t have any concerns about how attractive he is and he is with this young woman, but [the Diane Keaton character] is concerned that she’s not very attractive because she’s getting older, etc. But when they get together she feels more attractive and is able to take a stand against him dating young women. Then she dates that younger guy and I’m not sure how realistic that is—but the part where she discovers her sexuality, that’s realistic.

Despite a recent trend in a violent crime upswing nationwide, it appears that at least for now Albemarle County has dodged the bullet—perhaps even a few of them. Newly released crime statistics show that the county saw a decrease in reported aggravated assaults and rapes (and no homicides) in 2006, while in Charlottesville violent crimes were kept in check with previous years, with no major fluctuation either way.

But it’s the nonviolent crime that has police troubled, since those numbers are on the way up. Statistically speaking, 2002 and 2003 and were lull years for nonviolent crime in the county and city, meaning burglaries, larcenies, robberies and even motor vehicle theft. Not anymore. Countywide, about 90 more burglaries occurred last year than in 2005 (a 30 percent increase) and nearly 50 more in the city (an 18 percent increase). Larcenies also jumped in Charlottesville to 1,743 in 2006 from 1,518 in 2005. Albemarle County went to 1,763 from 1,697, and robberies, which are violent crimes, increased to 42 from 26 in 2006.

Sources: Albemarle Police, Charlottesville Police

Now for worse news: It’s the less violent crime that’s often harder to bust, and as population spikes, so will crime. Albemarle County Police Lt. John Teixeira says in many burglary cases, such as the recent burglaries in the Hessian Hills subdivision off Barracks Road, it’s typically the work of one or two “career criminals”—you catch those culprits, the numbers decline. Charlottesville Police Chief Tim Longo echoes those sentiments, saying most burglaries peak in residential areas near UVA during Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks. “We’re not so much surprised with higher numbers than we are disappointed,” says Longo.

Police officials credit a proactive police presence in the community, coupled with aggressive crime prevention units and neighborhood watches, for the violent- crime decline. As for burglaries, larcenies and vehicle thefts, police are already acting: Longo says in the coming months, City police will be re-evaluating their strategic plan to focus on what the new statistics show. Teixeira says he’s adding more evening patrols and increasing the police presence and resources such as surveillance cameras to high crime areas, most notably the urban ring around the city.

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At the end of the month, Albemarle Circuit Court Judge Paul M. Peatross will retire. The Charlottesville Area Bar Association (www.cabaonline.org) has already grilled seven candidates, coming out with two they found “highly qualified” to succeed Peatross. But, ultimately, the decision rests not with the lawyers, but with the General Assembly.

That gets us to…Rob Bell, Albemarle delegate and visible House Courts of Justice committee member who insists on going his own way. January 16, he held his own meeting for the judicial candidates.

“I’ve done that whenever there’s been a circuit court opening,” Bell says.

Albemarle Delegate Rob Bell does his own thing. Like not showing up to a Bar Association forum and having his own throw-down for judicial candidates.

Bell established a panel of five citizens to hear public comments on candidates Cheryl V. Higgins, R. Lee Livingston, Claude V. Worrell, Robert H. Downer, Jr., Patricia M. Brady, John R. Zug and James L. Camblos, III. Of those, former County prosecutor Higgins and City General District Court Judge Downer snagged Bar endorsements.

Bell’s five trusted panel members were former prosecutor Richard DeLoria, former Albemarle police officer Dan Blake, former probation officer Alan Rasmussen, victim’s advocate Kristine Hall and local auto saleswoman Simona Holloway-Warren.

The car saleswoman excepted, Bell admits his choices lean well toward the prosecutor’s table (Bell himself is a former Orange County prosecutor). “I made no secret that among the issues I care about very much is the impact the appointment will have on public safety. The single biggest category of cases [seen by the circuit court] is criminal.”

Bell wasn’t present at the meeting—he was caught up in Richmond until late, nor did he attend the Bar’s forum in December.

Don Morin, chair of the judicial endorsements committee with the Bar, doesn’t seem to mind. “Delegate Bell needs to get as much information as he feels he needs to make his decision. The Bar Association is pleased that he has received our information and we’re sure he’s going to consider it.”

At the meeting, Albemarle prosecutor Jim Camblos’ candidacy was seemingly resurrected when several members of the public made comments for and against the idea of “Judge Camblos.” Already discounted by the Bar, the oft-criticized, bow-tied Camblos has been elected to four terms as Albemarle Commonwealth’s attorney and is a prominent area Republican.

Bell expects the judicial appointment, commonly a charged political topic, will come before the Courts of Justice committee near the end of the session.

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C-VILLE welcomes news tips from readers. Send them to news@c-ville.com.

While it’s one thing to complain about Charlottesville traffic, it’s quite another to figure out how to manage it—and that was at the heart of a City transportation work session on January 18 with City Council (www.charlottesville.org). and the Planning Commission (www.albemarle.org).

City Councilor Kevin Lynch called out Albemarle County for making the city a cut-through: "Since 1980, [Albemarle County] has essentially built a city the size of Charlottesville around Charlottesville and they’ve built exactly two roads.

Giving officials philosophical discussion opportunities without requiring a vote can be a dangerous prospect. To help provide substance, staff hung maps showing the grade of roads throughout the city and showing major developments and employment centers around Charlottesville. The chief goal was to set goals, and during the hours allotted traffic engineer Jeanie Alexander wrote items like “improve the grid” or “not widen minor streets” on a giant Post-it pad.

The central topic was cut-through traffic, and though it started with specific streets like Calhoun and Old Lynchburg Road, several participants wondered whether as a whole the city, which has had a stagnant population according to the U.S. Census Bureau, is really just dealing with a major cut-through problem from the county.

“We’re not in a vacuum and there’s no wall, yet, or moat, around the city,” said Alexander.

“We’re working on that,” said City Mayor David Brown. At the time, it was a joke. But as the discussion continued, it was apparent that not everyone thought it such a bad idea. If the city is suffering from a county cut-through problem, reasoned Planning Commissioner Jason Pearson, “what are the professional versions of the moat around the city that are actually legal and appropriate?”

Councilor Kevin Lynch argued that the City shouldn’t build new lanes to make cutting through any easier. “Since 1980, [Albemarle County] has essentially built a city the size of Charlottesville around Charlottesville and they’ve built exactly two roads. …Guess who’s handling the rest of the traffic.”

Lynch shared startling figures that showed that current traffic counts in many cases approximate earlier projections made for 2020. In the late ’90s, “we were projecting 4,200 cars a day on Old Lynchburg Road by 2020. Now we’ve got 5,300.”

One version of moat-building suggested earlier in the week by Fry’s Spring residents didn’t get such a strong response, however. Their neighborhood association asked City Council on January 16 to close Old Lynchburg Road at the county line. But said Lynch, “It’s not in the Top 20 of our problem roads. …In absolute terms, it’s not that bad.” He and others acknowledged that road evaluating systems are driver-focused, but they also worried that squeaky wheels more often get the grease—and still keep squeaking.