Month: December 2010

During a UVA Neighborhood Advisory Meeting that touched on future plans to decrease construction, increase enrollment and hire more faculty, UVA Chief Operating Officer Leonard Sandridge offered a university perspective on the community water supply plan that suggests shared concerns between the area’s largest employer and Albemarle County officials.

Eight years removed from the 2002 drought that nearly resulted in UVA students being sent home, Sandridge expressed UVA concern for a main component of the long-debated community water supply plan: building upon the century-old Ragged Mountain Dam.

"I am not trying to get into the details of the plan. We are convinced that there are potential problems in building on top of the [existing] dam," said Sandridge. "We don’t think that looks like the long-range, best solution."

Sandridge said he met with Mayor Dave Norris and UVA President Teresa Sullivan following Sullivan’s arrival in Charlottesville. The meting was a "get-to-know-you" event, in which a number of issues, including the water supply, were discussed.

"I told [Norris, ‘I hope that we can reach closure on this water issue,’" said Sandridge. "He [Norris] assured me that he thought we could." Sandridge said the meeting was not for the purpose of discussing the water plan, and said he thinks Albemarle County "is anxious to reach closure as well."

Sandridge’s comments arrive on the same day as a report by a three-person independent technical review team (ITRT) hired to study the feasibility of a Ragged Mountain Dam proposal. Black & Veatch, hired by the City of Charlottesville, proposed building atop the existing dam and offered costs that coincide with an incremental build-up favored by city officials.

Black & Veatch’s study followed a May proposal by Schnabel Engineering that proposed an earthen dam at a cost of $28 million to $36 million. In October, the Albemarle County Service Authority authorized a payment of $869,000 to Schnabel for final designs of an earthen dam.

During a November 23 meeting, an ITRT member told the Rivanna Water & Sewer Authority board that cost estimates for building on the existing dam could be steeper than those projected by Black & Veatch.

"There is considerable evidence in the records indicating that the integrity of the 100-year-old existing cyclopean concrete dam is highly questionable and has been since first filling," according to the ITRT’s 13-page report (available here in PDF). The report concludes early on that "the cost required to remediate the existing dam will be high and funds would possibly be better spent in constructing a new dam using modern engineering and construction technology, provided that the respective costs are comparable."

After one scrapped search and a bit of silence surrounding the new crop of candidates, California Polytechnic State University recently announced the three individuals under consideration for the school’s presidency. Among them? Thomas Skalak, UVA’s Vice President for Research and a professor of biomedical engineering.

Skalak visited the California Polytechnic Institute on Wednesday December 1. The San Luis Obispo Tribune reported that Skalak addressed a public forum and said he hoped to encourage multidisciplinary collaboration at the school. According to the Tribune, "Skalak’s ideas about cross-discipline collaborations include potential solar energy applications, new media projects that could include working with companies in Hollywood and Los Angeles, and finding ways to develop educational partnerships with emerging high-performing economies in Central America and South America."

Skalak became the chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering in 2001, and is the youngest person to serve as president of the National Biomedical Engineering Society. He also helped start the UVA Venture Summit, which brings venture capitalists to Charlottesville to network with UVA researchers. The event reportedly attracted over $10 billion during each of the past two years; the third annual summit is slated for March 3-4.

"Mr. Skalak is an extraordinary researcher in his own right," Chief Operating Officer Leonard Sandridge told C-VILLE today. Sandridge said he had no further information about where Skalak stands with regards to the presidency, but said "I am sure he’ll be successful in whatever he undertakes." Requests for comment from Skalak were not immediately returned.

The Tribune does not mention an advertised salary for the Cal Poly presidency. Skalak, appointed the Vice President of Research in 2008, earned roughly $200,000 that year. His current salary is listed at $275,000.

"We would hate to lose him, but we certainly understand we have become a place where people who are looking for presidents turn," said Sandridge.

Virginia returns home to the friendly confines of the JPJ Tuesday evening to meet in-state foe Radford at 7 p.m. The Wahoos are fresh-off a brutal six-game road-trip.

The Hoos (5-3, 1-0) had not won back-to-back road contests since the 2006-2007 season till Monday when they upset the Hokies in their last outing in Blacksburg.

Guard Sammy Zeglinski is back and recuperating nicely from his October knee surgery. Sharp shooting forward Will Sherrill has a broken leg, and will be out at least another month or two. Sherrill can really stretch the defense, and his contributions will be missed.

Mike Scott is playing the best hoops of his college career, and Sunday night in Blacksburg Scott became the first Wahoo to be credited with 4 double-doubles in a row since Travis Watson last accomplished the feat in 2002. Sunday, Virginia had their biggest halftime lead on the road since a 15 point advantage in 2007 against Penn State.

Freshman Joe Harris is averaging 11.5 points for the Hoos so far in the 2010-11 campaign, and he looks to me to be the first-year that has adjusted to the college game the best.

Radford’s never beaten Virginia (0-5), and the Highlander’s are really struggling so far this season. Radford only has one player averaging double-figures ( Görkem Sönme 10.9 PPG).

Prediction? Hoos whip Radford 80-50. 

It wasn’t pretty, not even attractive, but Tony Bennett’s squad held on to beat the Highlanders of Radford 54-44 in front of a nearly empty JPJ Tuesday evening.

I’ve been to nearly every game played in the John Paul Jones Arena, and this was one of the most perplexing efforts I’ve ever seen. That being said, the Hoos found a way to win, and a win is a win.

Görkem Sönme , the only player from Radford that averaged more than ten points a contest going into the game, finished with 15 points on 6-16 shooting. Radford only shot 8 free-throws Tuesday night, as the Hoos were hacked a plenty finishing 20-24 at the line.

Mike Scott finished with 10 points, and Joe Harris and Mustapha Farrakhan added 14 points. Scott also had 6 turnovers, and 13 rebounds. Radford scored 18 points in the paint as opposed to Virginia’s six. 

Virginia welcomes Pac-10 member Oregon to town Friday Dec. 17 at 8 p.m.

A couple of brief notes for Monday morning:

Second Street Gallery announced changes to its leadership structure yesterday. Rebecca Schoenthal, a former adjunct professor of art history at UVA, took the reins at Charlottesville’s oldest nonprofit art space after Executive Director Leah Stoddard left in 2008. Now Schoenthal will "devote her time solely to the job of curator," making way for Steve Taylor, who will take the job as Gallery Director. "With the fast-approaching 40th annivesary of the gallery [in 2013], we are excited about the possibilities this change will offer," read the release fundraising letter. More to come on this story.

Are Dave Matthews and Coran Capshaw remaking concert philanthropy? The question has been abuzz on the internet since the duo announced a partnership with www.JustGive.org. Concertgoers who purchase a $135 ticket (!) to any of Dave’s upcoming shows with Tim Reynolds in Seattle are given a $150 credit that can be applied to the charity of their choice. Matthews reckons that giving people a choice of their charity will make them more willing to give. "If you come to this concert, your only responsibility, besides enjoying the show, is to give $150 away," Matthews told Billboard. The pair of shows is expected to raise $1 million. Giving it all away is just one of the perqs of being the top-grossing act of the 2000-2010 decade.

Live Aid no more?

UVA employees may be feeling the pinch of the financial crisis this holiday season.

UVA Today reports that with only one week left into the 2010 Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign, a giving campaign that supports local charities with UVA employees’ contributions, the funds raised total $452,000—less than half of the $946,000 that was raised last year, and shy of this year’s $725,000 goal. The campaign runs through December 10.

"We know that times are tight all around. But the message this year is the same as in the past: When we all give just a little, collectively, we significantly impact the lives of our neighbors in need," said Jim Fitzgerald, chair of the campaign and associate director of the Office of Community Relations, in the article.

This year, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell decided to spend about $82 million of the state’s budget surplus on a one-time bonus for all state employees. On December 1, employees received the bonus that equaled to 3 percent of their annual salary.
 

Folks, the new issue of ABODE is out today and it’s full of good stuff. There are at least two great ideas for making hip-looking furniture out of repurposed items, for starters. Ed Warwick, our D.I.Y. columnist, and Christy Baker, erstwhile Green Scene blogger and Kids page reporter, have the deets. (Lord, I wish I had some of their design talent!)

There’s also some good news about our longtime friend Better World Betty, who’s up to more of her creative eco-exploits, along with her suggestions for green books to fan attractively on your coffee table. In the Green Scene pages you’ll also find news on the LEAP program, namely a program that will score local houses on their energy use, the way cars get a miles-per-gallon rating. Why didn’t someone think of this sooner?

And check out our cover story too, not only for the fab design and construction that makes the Albemarle home look amazing, but for the passive and active solar characteristics that make it work really well, to boot. One of my favorite details from this story: The owners, Chris and Kara Burke, had to wear sunglasses in their living room when they first moved in, because the passive solar was working so well. (They’ve since installed curtains and are going sans shades, at least indoors.)

Read, enjoy, and be in touch!

Michael Comer, former treasurer of the Glenmore Community Association, pled guilty this morning in U.S. District Court to one count of tax evasion and one count of mail fraud.

Comer, 46, confessed to embezzling funds from Glenmore Associates, PBK Real Estate, and Kessler Enterprises to make car and mortgage payments, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. He also admitted to receiving $2.5 million in unreported income between 2003 and 2009, and owing $933,000 in unpaid taxes. The defendant agreed to make full restitution for all taxes due and owed.

Comer is to be sentenced on March 28, and faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the charge of mail fraud, and up to 5 years and $100,000 for tax evasion.

In April, Comer pled guilty in Albermarle County Circuit Court to four counts of embezzlement and one count of money laundering. He is currently serving an 18-month sentence, with four months served.

In July of last year, Comer caused a brief manhunt when he disappeared from his Wintergreen home while the Glenmore Community Association was undergoing an audit and over $465,000 was found missing.

Tony Bennett’s Wahoos end a brutal six-game road trip tonight with their annual stop in Blacksburg. Uncle Fester’s motley crew has been picked by many of the prognosticators to finish near the top in the conference, while Bennett’s young guns have been picked to finish near last in the ACC again.

Virginia is coming off their biggest win of the young season as they traveled to Minneapolis and beat the 15th-ranked Tubby Smith-led Golden Gophers 87-79. In that win, Virginia lost one of their finest defensive players and three-point specialists Will Sherrill with a broken fibula. Sherrill will be out 4-6 weeks, and the 6-9 forward from Manhattan had started four straight games for the Hoos while shooting a fantastic 50% from the field.

Assane Sene is the most likely candidate to replace Will in the starting line-up, but he’s a terrible match-up for Tech’s rough and tumble goon forward Jeff Allen. The Hoos have five freshmen in the rotation, and have only one inside scoring threat, Senior Mike Scott. Scott is the Hoos’ leading scorer with 16.6 PPG.

The game will be televised by Fox Sports Net at six p.m, and also is the first ACC contest for each team. Both teams are 4-3 on the season.

As Malcolm Delaney goes, the Hokies go. The talented, streaky Delaney is just off a horrid performance in Cassell Coliseum against Purdue in the ACC/Big-10 Challenge where he shot 2-18 from the field. Still, Delaney is averaging 19.6 PPG, and Virginia must play better perimeter defense if they are to have a chance in this contest.

Virginia Tech is 7-6 against the Hoos since joining the ACC (still makes me violently ill to think of Tech in the ACC), and the Hokies won both games last season.

The Hokies are a veteran-laden squad, and the Hoos are the polar opposite of that! Cassell Coliseum is one of the most hostile arenas in the ACC if not the Country, and Virginia’s young squad could get blown out early if things don’t go well shooting the three-ball.

Virginia’s freshman Joe Harris is shooting 50% from the field so far, and his outside shot will need to fall Sunday night if UVA is to keep this game close.

Prediction? Hoos 60 Tech 73. Sure would be nice to beat our country cousins to the southwest in something… Go Hoos!

Tony Bennett’s Wahoos snuck out with a win Sunday night in Blacksburg behind the strong inside play of Mike Scott. Scott finished the evening with 21 points in 38 minutes. He even scored the rare (for him) three-ball, and also accounted for 13 of Virginia’s 30 rebounds.

The Hoos were up 12 at the break, but the Hokies (4-4, 01) roared back behind the senior leadership of Malcolm Delaney (26 points).

Victor Davila’s bucket with 1:18 to play made it 53-49, but Jeff Allen’s intentional foul at the other end partially sealed the Hokie loss as Farrakhan made both free-throws, and by rule Virginia retained possession of the ball. Tech had a chance to tie the ball game after a Joe Harris free-throw miss at 57-54, but a Dorenzo Hudson three-pointer was off the mark.

Virginia (5-3, 1-0) is in sole possession of first-place in the ACC. Let’s enjoy it while it lasts. Go Hoos!

The Wahoos return home (after their six game road test) to play Radford in the friendly confines of the JPJ Tuesday at 7 p.m.