Month: June 2008

Categories
News

Council picks interchange for MCP

As growth extends throughout the city and county, the roads around and through Charlottesville have become ever more crowded. To alleviate some of the congestion, area officials have moved forward with two controversial projects, the Meadowcreek Parkway (MCP) and Eastern Connector. Both would pass through a city park—McIntire and Pen parks, respectively.

City Council held a June 4 work session on the intersection for the Meadowcreek Parkway (MCP). After failing to approve the roundabout design ratified by the Interchange steering committee, Council chose a smaller diamond intersection and directed the engineering team to refine that option. The work session came two days after a 3-2 Council vote to grant an easement for city-owned land in the county for parkway construction. Almost five acres will be permanently used for the road, while another 3.7 acres will be temporarily held during the project’s construction.


A steering committee has picked an alignment through Pen Park for the proposed four-lane Eastern Connector.

Previous C-VILLE coverage:

Council stops interchange dead in its tracks
School Board likely to give away fields for parkway

Eastern connector limps along
Better numbers to be gathered

Agency says MCP needs another look
DHR: Environmental assessment may not go far enough

Pick one: public gets a look at last two interchange designs
A vocal opposition shows up at the MCP public hearing

Council makes final step towards MCP
Norris forced to choose between principle and pragmatism

Meadowcreek Parkway to-do list in city
Council approves two designs for 250 interchange

MCP may have future legal problems
Parkway project’s segmentation could be illegal

Commission approves MCP interchange
Commissioner Lucy frustrated with final review

Parkway interchange design gets support
Committee likes roundabout design as new city gateway

State funding problems affect local roads
Meadowcreek Parkway could be stalled

County approves road priorities
Meadowcreek Parkway tops the list

The narrow vote has led Stratton Salidis, longstanding opponent of the Parkway, to question its validity under the state constitution. He believes that the vote required a “supermajority,” three-fourths of Council, for approval.

In 2004, the state attorney general ruled that a “supermajority” was not necessary to put a nine-acre stretch of McIntire Park in temporary easement. The most recent vote, however, concerned a permanent easement and involves a different parcel, so the requirement of a higher consensus could apply.

Meanwhile, the Eastern Connector Steering Committee recently decided to move forward with a plan for a four-lane connection between Rio Road and Route 20, but over the objections of Committee member and former city councilor Kevin Lynch.

“I don’t want to see four lanes used as a reason to not build the Eastern Connector,” he says. From his vantage, the decision ignores a political reality that will mean the road’s defeat. Instead, Lynch has proposed a two-lane alternative that would still cut through Pen Park but along an access road that already exists.

Various residents of the area, most notably Sarah Hendley, have already mounted opposition to the connector because it goes through Pen Park. Lynch believes that the access road route would minimize the impact.

“It’s the least bad alternative,” he says. “That’s what we’re down to.” The city and county will not be presented with the steering committee’s recommendations until this fall at the earliest.

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

Categories
News

Your tax dollars, at work


Diane Behrens


Worked for the county for: 33 years

Resides in: Greene County

Job title: Executive director of support Services for Albemarle County Public Schools. Oversees building services, which includes maintenance and upkeep of building and planning for redistricting and new additions and buildings. Also oversees child nutrition programs, school athletic directors and school nurses.

Best of times: Seeing a project come to completion. “For instance, when we have a brand new building or a new addition that’s finished, and you see people excited to be in that building. Cale Elementary is an example. Last August, we opened a new addition to Cale and students were excited to be in their new classrooms.”

Worst of times: Making safety decisions —such as whether to close schools for inclement weather. “You always wonder whether or not you’ve made the right decision.”

Strangest moment on the job: “I guess when you think you know all the answers, some new question pops up, and you think ‘I thought I’ve heard everything, but I really haven’t.’ There have been some strange questions I’ve had to answer.”

If she were a superhero, she’d be: Indiana Jones. “I’d like to be known for having grace under fire, being graceful under the heat and pressure.”
C-VILLE welcomes news tips from readers. Send them to news@c-ville.com.

Categories
The Editor's Desk

Pillow talk

I’d like to know what wine or beer paired best with that “feathery pillow” of a hamburger [We Ate Here, May 27, 2008], or is it perhaps best downed with lots and lots of water? And velvety as well, was it? Personally, I like my hamburgers meaty. Gr-r-r-r.
 
Steve Murphy
Charlottesville

Bare essential

So Hope Community Center closed [“Homeless shelter closes—new hope on the way?” Government News, May 27, 2008]. I had hope for a while when I heard that it may remain open. It’s about time our “greatest place to live” started taking care of our own instead of letting “someone else” (whatever that means) do it for us. Like most people, for nearly my entire adult life, I live one paycheck away from homelessness. If I lose my job, I’ll be sharing some sidewalk with the rest of them after I sell my car. Or couch-surfing. Who knows where I’ll shower so I can stay presentable at work, so I can save enough to put a roof over my head? Eventually. Rent here is expensive enough… A mortgage? Not anytime soon. Not here. Oh yeah, side note: Homelessness does not always equal joblessness.

So a Good Samaritan (Pastor Josh Bare) stepped up and sought to solve this dilemma, giving those without a roof over their heads somewhere to sleep. It’s hard to live day to day with the stress of where to work, finding food, raising kids, when you don’t have a place to sleep. But the voices were raised: “Zoning ordinances!” “What about our property values?” You have got to be kidding me… People are more concerned about the value of their homes over where a person sleeps for a night. This makes Charlottesville a “desirable community”??? Stop the ride, I want to get off.

It’s always someone else’s job. And now it’s not even Josh’s place to help solve the problem. We can’t work with the zoning ordinance. We can’t see with new eyes the value in lives around us because they don’t live like us…even if we may end up like them one day. But that could never happen, right?
 
Sara E. Lian
Charlottesville

Good blood

Thank you for your article “JABA plays bigger part in housing game” [Development News] in the June 3 issue of C-VILLE Weekly. I would like to correct an inaccurate point made in the article when referring to the opposition of the Fry’s Spring Neighborhood Association to the development of the Hill & Center property. Our opposition had nothing to do with JABA’s involvement in the project (although the amount of their actual involvement was unclear) or “bad blood” with the project’s lead developer. In fact, our opposition was based on substantial points including traffic, parking and environmental issues related to developing on such a steep-slope. City planning staff also recognized this project’s flaws and recommended against its approval (their report is linked-to from the website edition of your story).

The demographics of the Fry’s Spring Neighborhood are such that we are very sympathetic to the admirable goals of JABA and we look forward to opportunities for working with them to help realize their mission to “preserve sustainable communities for healthy aging that benefit individuals and families of all ages”.
 
Peter Hedlund
President, Fry’s Spring Neighborhood
Association

Categories
Arts

Movies playing in town

Movies playing in town

Baby Mama (PG-13, 96 minutes) Tina Fey (“Saturday Night Live”) goes for big screen fame, starring as a workaholic single businesswoman who decides it’s time to have it all and spawn a kid. Sadly, her uterus isn’t in on the plan, and she’s forced to hire a surrogate mother in the form of white trash breeder Amy Poehler (also of “SNL”). Cross-cultural hijinks ensue. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (PG, 140 minutes) The Pevensie kids return to the magical land of Narnia, only to find that 1,000 years have passed since their last visit, leaving Narnia a far different place than it was before. Wouldn’t you know it, an evil general has taken over the land and it’s up to our pubescent crew to restore the true heir, tousle-haired hunk Prince Caspian (Stardust’s Ben Barnes), to the throne. Playing at Regal Seminole Square 4

Forgetting Sarah Marshall (R, 111 minutes) Up-and-comer Jason Segel (Knocked Up, “How I Met Your Mother”) pens and stars in this latest anti-romantic comedy addition to the increasingly large Judd Apatow canon. Segel plays a sad sack musician whose TV star girlfriend (TV star Kristen Bell) breaks up with him. In an attempt to get over it, he jets off to a resort in Hawaii, only to run smack dab into the ex and her new, clueless rock star boyfriend. There’s a fair amount of raunch here, but a decent amount of sentiment as well, placing it well above Drillbit Taylor, but slightly below Superbad. Playing at Regal Seminole Square 4

The Happening (R, 91 minutes) For better or worse, M. Night Shyamalan (The Village, Lady in the Water and, so long ago, The Sixth Sense) is back with an R-rated environmental horror film. Mark Wahlberg is the head of a family who tries to survive a bizarre global crisis, which has all of humanity going nuts and committing mass suicide. At least the script is more of a straightforward thriller, far less twisty than Shyamalan’s gimmicky previous works. Opening Friday

The Incredible Hulk (PG-13, 114 minutes) Forget that last angst-filled Ang Lee outing. The green goliath gets a reboot with lots more action and Edward Norton in the lead role. This version combines the original comic book with the old TV series, casting Dr. Banner as a wandering outcast hunted by the government—that is, until they need him to help rid New York City of mad Russian mercenary-turned-monster The Abomination (Tim Roth, another fine casting choice). Opening Friday

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (PG-13, 120 minutes) It’s been a few years since the last adventure—for us as well as for Indy. It’s now the ’50s and our aging adventurer is called upon to engage in one last globe-hopping trek. Teaming up with a James Dean wannabe (Shia LaBeouf) and his ex-girlfriend Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen), Indy travels to South America to foil an evil Soviet plot. Seems the Russkies are trying to get their hands on a mysterious collection of ancient crystal skulls that might (possibly, maybe, who knows?) hold proof of extraterrestrial life. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6

Iron Man (PG-13, 126 minutes) Marvel Comics brings another superhero to life. Robert Downey Jr. headlines as billionaire playboy Tony Stark, a military industrialist who is kidnapped by Middle Eastern terrorists and forced to build an armored suit after a life-threatening incident. Escaping his captors, he decides to use this new technology to fight evil as the invincible Iron Man. Terrence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow and Jeff Bridges help round out the cast. Playing at Regal Seminole Square 4

Kung Fu Panda (PG) Jack Black provides the voice for a CGI panda whose lazy ways must be reformed when his peaceful valley is invaded by the forces of evil. To help fulfill his destiny, our chubby, reluctant hero is trained by a group of animalistic martial arts masters (among them: Jackie Chan, Angelina Jolie, Lucy Liu and Dustin Hoffman). Playing at Regal  Seminole Square 4

Made of Honor (PG-13, 101 minutes) Patrick Dempsey (Dr. McDreamy himself) headlines this unapologetically chick-flicky rom-com. He plays Tom, a serial dater who decides one day that he’s in love with his best friend, marriage-minded Hannah (Michelle Monaghan). Unfortunately, she chooses that moment to announce that she’s engaged to some Scottish chap and wants Tom to act as her maid of honor. He accepts, with the hope that he can break up the wedding before it happens. Original? No. Fun? Maybe, if you’ve never seen When Harry Met Sally… Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6

My Blueberry Nights (PG-13, 90 minutes) Renowned Chinese director Wong Kar-wai’s latest is an unlikely romance starring otherworldly beauties—among them, Jude Law, Rachel Weisz, Norah Jones and Natalie Portman. Playing at Vinegar Hill Theatre

Sex and the City (R, 135 minutes) Four years after the popular TV series went off the air, “Sex and the City” returns as a feature film. Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon are all back dressing in outrageous outfits and discussing their sex lives over cocktails. How did we ever get along without this? Seriously, this one’s for fans only. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6

Son of Rambow (PG-13, 96 minutes) Reviewed here. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6

Speed Racer (PG, 129 minutes) The Wachowski brothers throw every visual trick in the book into this live-action adaptation of the classic Japanese cartoon. The result is a 10,000 RPM action movie that’s somehow more cartoony than an actual cartoon. Emile Hirsch (Into the Wild) is our boy Speed, a futuristic race car driver who dreams of winning the legendary cross-country rally that claimed the life of his older brother. John Goodman and Susan Sarandon are along for the ride as Mom and Pops Racer, and Christina Ricci offers support as Speed’s loyal g.f. Trixie. It’s probably too over-the-top for many audiences, but—if you can get into the proper 8-year-old mindset—this is pure techno-bliss.. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6

The Strangers (R, 107 minutes) Milking the phoney “based on a true story” line for the umpteenth time in horror movie history, newby writer/director Bryan Bertino presents an atmosphere-soaked thriller about a couple (Scott Speedman, Liv Tyler) staying at an isolated vacation home who are terrorized by three random, mask-wearing assailants. This one’s all slow-building tension, so don’t go expecting a whole lot of plot. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6

Then She Found Me (R, 100 minutes) Actress Helen Hunt directs this dramedy about a New York schoolteacher (Hunt) who hits a midlife crisis when her husband leaves her, her adoptive mother dies and her biological mom pops up out of the blue. This old-fashioned indie “women’s pic” ocassionally teeters between realistic and drab, but Bette Midler enlivens things quite a bit as Hunt’s real mother, an outspoken TV talk show host. Playing at Vinegar Hill Theatre

What Happens in Vegas (PG-13, 99 minutes) Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher play a couple of Sin City revelers who wake up after a night of debauchery to find out they took part in a drunken marriage ceremony. A quickie divorce is in the offing–that is until the newlyweds discover that they also won a fortune playing a slot machine. Naturally, they do their utmost to make each other’s life hell in order to get their hands on that money. Naturally, they find time to fall in love over the course of the film. Screenwriter Dana Fox adds a touch of War of the Roses to her previous rom-com The Wedding Date and calls it a day. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6

You Don’t Mess With the Zohan (PG-13) Adam Sandler is a deadly Israeli Mossad agent who fakes his own death so he can re-emerge in New York City and live out his dream of becoming the world’s greatest hair stylist. Ooooh-kay. Bottom line: You’d better love Adam Sandler movies (goofy voices, sappy love stories, stupid Rob Schneider cameos and all) to put this one on your list. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6

Young@Heart (PG, 107 minutes) With a repertoire of cover tunes borrowed from the likes of The Ramones, Talking Heads, Jimi Hendrix, James Brown, David Bowie, OutKast and others, it’s strange that a chorus comprising senior citizens could ever be mustered to sing them. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6

Categories
News

Be glad Virginia doesn’t…

More:

Virginia: the scorecard
From cost of living to number of strip clubs—how our state ranks with the other 49

In case you’re starting to think that 28th in tornado fatalities is just too high for you, consider the following other things that you don’t have to worry about in Virginia. We promise you’ll fly your state flag higher and sing “Carry Me Back to Old Virginny” a little louder knowing Virginia doesn’t…

1. Border Canada

Think of all those Canucks pouring into New York and Pennsylvania and Michigan and Montana, taking all of the high-paying, white-collar jobs from the English-speaking citizens, confusing everyone with their “eh” this and “eh” that and trying to get the locals to watch hockey. It’s a real problem, people. Thank your lucky stars we’re well below the Mason-Dixon line.

2. Put its trash in other people’s landfills

We deal with our own garbage and some other states’ too, thank you very much.

3. Prohibit the sale of beer and wine in grocery stores   

Good grief, it’s bad enough you have to go to Whole Foods for part of your list, the City Market for another, CVS for some toiletries and Kroger for your processed foods, can you imagine also having to schlep to the state liquor store for your wine and then to a “licensed beer distributor” for beer? That’s what Pennsylvanians have to do.

4. Allow kids to get thrown around in their cars

When we were kids, we rode footloose and fancy-free in the back of the hatchback, with nary a seatbelt to tie us down. But our parents were stupid. By now, we all know that children as old as 8 need to be in a booster seat to protect their little bodies from serious impact in a crash. Well, most of us know. Apparently, Arizona, Alaska, Mississippi, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas and don’t. None of those states has a booster seat law.

5. Harbor the brown recluse spider

Be very afraid if you visit Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma or Texas. That’s where this poisonous spider hides out in dark corners just waiting for you to put on a pair of shoes you haven’t worn in three years or roll over in bed on it and (eek!) surprise the hell out of it. That’s when this eight-legged menace takes a bite and releases its toxic venom. Symptoms range from nasty lesions to organ damage in severe cases!


Smile, you’re in California: Could Virginians deal with a governor who was a former action- movie actor, like Arnold Schwarzenegger?

6. Have a closet homosexual, adulterer, prostitute-ring client or former action-movie actor for a governor

Virginia isn’t the butt of any lame jokes regarding the governor’s office, at least not at the moment.

7. Allow the taking home and eating of road kill

Come on, West Virginia. Were there not enough jokes about your lack of teeth and abundance of incest for your marketing department to deal with?

8. Prohibit cell phone use while driving

Perhaps we owe the “best state for business” ranking to this insightful lack of prohibition. If we didn’t conduct “business” in our cars, how the hell would we get anything done? We predict the productivity of California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Washington plummets now that their legislature has passed this prohibition. While their citizens have both hands on the wheel, we’re going to be chattin’ it up and making deals en route to kicking some serious business butt.

Categories
Arts

The C-VILLE Minute! [video]

Brendan Fitzgerald also writes Curtain Calls, C-VILLE’s weekly arts column. Read this week’s column here.

War on Drugs Won

Don’t expect to find any pot around here for a long, long time. According to The Daily Progress, a Scottsville woman pleaded guilty to growing more than 50 marijuana plants.

In what has to be the most over-reaching quote ever from a U.S. District Attorney, Julia C. Dudley said in a statement, “By stopping those individuals who grow illegal drugs, we are cutting off the distribution of drugs at the source.”

Now we know. The source of pot is a woman in her 40s growing about 50 plants in Scottsville. One Scottsville woman down, about one million cartels to go.

By the way, the 46-year-old woman faces a maximum of 20 years in federal prison and a $1 million fine.

Corner brawl between Hoffmans and UVA wrestlers nets two misdemeanor pleas

This time yesterday Jason Hoffman was sitting behind a table in Charlottesville’s circuit court listening to two attorneys discuss what happened to him one night last summer. First was prosecutor Claude Worrell, who had charged him with a felony for punching UVA wrestler Matthew Federici on June 30. In Worrell’s description of the night, too much drinking had led to a drunken brawl that started in the Biltmore but spilled out onto the streets. There was apparently more than one altercation that only ended when the 22-year-old blindsided the senior wrestler. “How do you be fair in criminalizing unlawful conduct?” he asked Judge Edward Hogshire. As a result, Worrell proposed a reduced charge of disorderly conduct, which is only a misdemeanor. “This seems like an appropriate resolution to a large mess.”

Then came Hoffman’s attorney to rebut much of what Worrell said. As he told it, Hoffman was jumped by a mob of wrestlers gone berserk who beat him and his younger brother Sam. When Hoffman hit one of the wrestlers in the head he was only acting in self defense. “We think this compromise is good,” Steve Rosenfield told Hogshire anyway. The morning had originally been planned for a jury trial but a last-minute plea offer negated what might have been a parade of witnesses, all with different versions of the night’s events.

"There is something in each of the witnesses for everybody," Worrell said, wrapping up after Rosenfield finished. Then the plea was accepted by Hogshire who admonished Hoffman in a fatherly fashion. "I hope there’s some maturation going on," he said, giving a 30-day suspended sentence.

With that, Worrell, Rosenfield, and Hoffman (with dad, mom, and brother in tow) walked the couple blocks to General District Court to resolve more charges relating to the same night and same fight. Eight months after the debacle, the police finally launched an investigation into exactly what happened between the Hoffmans and the wrestlers. Despite all the tales of abuse, only three misdemeanors were handed out, two to wrestlers and another for Hoffman. In General District Court, the latter’s was dropped on account of his circuit court plea. One of the wrestler’s was also dropped while freshman Daniel Gonsor received the same exact plea as Hoffman, even down to the suspended sentence.

The tit-for-tat pleas don’t necessarily mean the end of the so-called "mess." Worrell said an investigation is still ongoing to determine if more charges should be filed. "I don’t know how to account for the many witnesses that saw Jason and Sam attacked by a mob," said Rosenfield afterwards. Jason’s father Gary says he and his family will cooperate with the investigation and continue to press for mob charges to be filed against the UVA wrestlers.

UVA wrestler Daniel Gonsor plead guilty yesterday to giving Jason Hoffman a shiner on June 30, 2007, the same night Hoffman hit another wrestler.

CAAR releases market report

What do we do when the housing market horse kicks us off?

Well, we’re not sure yet, but that bronco is bucking. The Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors released its market report for the first quarter of 2008, and while residential properties are moving, they’re not selling for what owners might anticipate. Local real estate guru Jim Duncan gives his own analysis of the market, drawing heavily from the CAAR data, and notes a few interesting tidbits—among them, that about half of the 600-plus residential properties currently under contract spent less than two months on the market, appended by the comment "What you need to make is irrelevant to the fair market value."

So far this year, the average number of monthly sales is lower than it has been in the previous three years; the average number of days on the market per residence hangs anywhere from 10 to 50 days higher than previous years with the gap growing as summer looms large; and, according to Duncan’s analysis, about 900 realtors haven’t made a sale this year. Presumably, they haven’t seen Alec Baldwin’s speech in Glengarry Glen Ross.

Does this mean that buyers have an increasing spectrum of prices to consider among this wealth of properties? Talk among yourselves.

Jack Blackburn, UVA admissions dean, will retire next year

UVA announced this morning that its Dean of Admission, John Blackburn—known as Jack—will retire one year from now in June 2009. He’s been the university’s longest-serving admissions dean, having held the position since 1985. Blackburn was also an associate dean of admissions for six years before taking the reins of the admissions office. He is 66 years old.

According to UVA, one of the major accomplishments of Blackburn’s career is his advocacy for increased diversity at UVA. Blackburn has also spoken at many national conferences and has been quoted widely in both the national media (as in this Washington Post story about the end of early-decision applications) and locally, as in this C-VILLE story where he explains the university’s "need-conscious" approach to admitting some low-income students.

Jack Blackburn will end a three-decade UVA career next June.