Month: February 2011

The days of slaking our TV on the Radio thirst on visits from Kyp Malone are over. Earlier this week the much-loved Brooklyn indie rock success story announced tour dates for the spring (their first after a long hiatus) including one at The Jefferson Theater on April 9. Tickets go on sale tomorrow at 10am, and even though they’re $30, it’s tough to imagine a Charlottesville that won’t suck ’em right up. Meantime, check out this new track, "Will Do."

TV on the Radio – Will Do by 1077 The End

Good new discs are piling up on my good old desk, including a new one from the r’n’r slayers Corsair, called the Ghosts of Proxima Centauri EP. The disc picks up where its last, Alpha Centauri, left off, with shred-happy guitarists Marie Landragin and Paul Sebring dueling their through a tongue-in-cheek fantasy world. (That’s why they’re allowed to use titles like "Wolfrider," "Warrior Woman" and—my favorite—"Orca.") But this time, Corsair’s expanded their sonic pallette; guitars shriek a little more hellishly, for one. And the bone dry production, gutteral low end, and double-tracked vocals keeps Corsair in the land where giants walk. Think ZZ Top, Thin Lizzy and, of course, Ozzy. Wait—did I just hear a quintuple-tracked guitar?

Also catching my ear is a new disc by the local guitarist extraordinaire Thomas Gunn. His full-length is called Conversations with the Wishing Will and combines the warm, supple playing of guys like Nick Drake with the been there, but I’m glad to be back home delivery of Jesse Winchester. Conversations comes out next month at C’ville Coffee, and would you believe it? He performed C-VILLE’s first-ever Feedback session in 2008:

 Thomas Gunn’s 2008 Feedback Session.

Any other new releases need some attention? Leave a comment below.

Virginia won their fifth ACC game of the season as they scored twelve straight points in the second-half to defeat Georgia Tech 62-56. Tech went on a 13-2 run in the first-half, but the Wahoos battled back to only be down two at the half.

Tony Bennett’s Cavaliers were led by senior Mustapha Farrakhan who scored 17 points. Farrakhan had an off-night shooting the basketball (3-9), but he was splendid at the free throw line as he hit nine of ten of his attempts. Joe Harris (11 points) hit some huge shots for the Hoos, including a sweet three-pointer late in the second-half.

The paid attendance for this game in Atlanta was only listed as 5,537. Wow, pitiful for an ACC game in such a large metropolitan area. Tech was led by Iman Shumpert who scored twelve, but he committed five turnovers. Tech only attempted thirteen free throws (6-13) on the night. The Rambling Wreck out-rebounded the Hoos 40-27.

Assane Sene had a pretty impressive stat-line as he scored nine, had zero turnovers, only committed three fouls, blocked two shots, and stole the ball twice. K.T. Harrell only played six minutes and finished with zero points. Jontel Evans scored nine and was he credited with nine assists.

Virginia improves to 14-13 overall, and 5-8 in league play. The Hoos return to Charlottesville for a noon contest with Boston College on Saturday. Plenty of seats are still available. Go Hoos! 

One month after three City Councilors voted to increase an initial Ragged Mountain Reservoir raise to 30′ from 13′, the same three—David Brown, Satyendra Huja and Kristin Szakos—voted to back a new earthen dam at the site. The Lower Ragged Mountain Dam was arguably the most contested component of the $143 million community water supply plan. (Background here. And here.)

The earthen dam, designed by Schnabel Engineering and favored by Albemarle County water officials, carries an estimated construction cost between $15.9 million and $19.5 million. The Albemarle County Service Authority authorized Schnabel’s final design for $869,000. County supervisors recently declined a meeting with Black & Veatch, the engineering firm behind the competing concrete dam and renovations to the existing structure.

Mayor Dave Norris spoke in favor of the concrete dam, and said an earthen dam "will result in substantially greater tree loss." A chart (see below) puts the number of permanently disturbed acres, including the reservoir itself, at 95 acres for a concrete dam and 108 acres for a new earthen dam.

Councilor David Brown, recently appointed to the Rivanna Water & Sewer Authority (RWSA) Board of Directors, previously told C-VILLE that Albemarle County is "paying a significant majority of the costs of a dam, so they should have more say" on the design. Last night, Brown said that endorsing a concrete dam could "[throw] a monkey wrench into the process and perhaps [derail] city and county working together on a dam."

Ultimately caught in a 2-2 tie, Szakos asked Councilor Holly Edwards to elaborate on the brief words of support she voiced for Black & Veatch’s concrete dam design. Edwards responded that she doubted her opinion could change Szakos’ mind in favor of one design or the other.

"The only reason I would support a 30′ concrete dam is if it would help unify council going forward," said Szakos, who referred to herself as the swing vote on the issue. "I think it won’t." The motion to support a new earthen dam carried 3-2, with Norris and Edwards against. Next up? A cost-sharing agreement for the water supply plan.

Lower Ragged Mountain Dam design comparison: 

Business tycoon Donald Trump’s interest in former winery owner Patricia Kluge’s three foreclosed properties—Vineyard Estates, the Kluge Winery & Vineyard, and Albemarle House, representing $65 million in liens—emerged suddenly last week. However, locals anticipating the rapid arrival Trump-branded resort or golf course shouldn’t hold their breath.

Asked about his plans for Kluge’s properties, Trump told the Washington Post that he had "absolutely no idea." He described the deal as "minor," and said his interest in the properties stemmed from his "respect for John [Kluge] and Pat." Steve Blaine, a local attorney representing Trump’s interests in the properties, described Kluge, her husband Bill Moses and Trump as "social acquaintances."

Les Goldman, a D.C.-based business advisor to Trump, told C-VILLE that the acquaintances represent a "potentially cooperative effort" but no official collaborations have been announced at this time. Cooperation among the three, said Goldman, "could provide [Kluge and Moses] with the opportunity to continue to be involved with a big part of their life’s work." Read more details here.

By next fall, hitting the books may no longer be necessary for Charlottesville students. A proposal drafted by Charlottesville City School officials aims to replace textbooks with computer learning in order to better engage students and prepare them for the workplace.

The “One to One Computer Initiative” (in PDF) is a plan to equip every student in grades five through 12 with their own laptop. Part of the superintendent’s 2011-2012 budget, the initiative goes before the School Board for approval this Thursday, in a meeting at Charlottesville High School. If passed, the “One to One” initiative could cost the city $500,000 and is part of a larger budget that will cut 15 instructional aids from the School Board’s payroll, reports the Newsplex.

Initiative supporters think that in a world of instant access, textbooks are an occasionally outdated source of information and are no longer cost-efficient. Internet access, they argue, can provide students with free educational materials that are both interactive and often more current than textbooks.

Stanford professor Larry Cuban, author of Oversold and Underused: Computers in the Classroom, claims that computers can enhance classroom learning if teachers understand how to fully use the technology themselves. Cuban argues that students use computers far less at school than they do at home, and that teachers who use computers typically do so “unimaginatively and infrequently.”

Recent studies, however, suggest that students who are actively engaged by computer learning see positive results. A 2010 study in Central Georgia elementary schools revealed that, after playing multiplication computer games for two weeks, student math scores rose by nearly 20 percent. The West Virginia Basic Skills/Computer Education program also found significant student gains in reading, writing and mathematics once computers were introduced into the state’s curriculum.

The “One to One” initiative is considering the use of Apple laptops, iPad and Droid tablets, and Windows Thin Clients in an effort to properly meet each grade level’s needs. If passed on Thursday, the plan will be reviewed by City Council on April 11.

At the risk of sounding like someone who’d use the word "whippersnapper," I relate the following fact: When my mother was a child, she and her sisters each received two dresses to wear to school for the year. They kept their style fresh by wearing the dresses on alternate days.

Fast-forward to 2011, when my mother’s granddaughter, at age seven months, is the owner of dozens of clothing items. Without counting, I’d estimate that Elsie’s wardrobe includes about 15 shirts and eight pairs of pants, plus numerous socks, hats, sweaters, bibs, booties, snowsuits…and that’s only the current size. Entire other wardrobes await in the attic for when she gets bigger.

Still, I felt we needed a few more warm things to get us through the winter (she’d outgrown a batch of stuff and most of the bigger things we have are summery), so off we went yesterday to Sugar Snap. I love secondhand clothes shopping; at $3 and $2 per item, you can really kind of go nuts. (By the way, parents, I hear the Goodwill on Pantops is a goldmine for baby stuff.)

I’m glad there’s a way to outfit our daughter without buying new clothes–it’s great to reuse stuff and it’s certainly much cheaper–but it makes me ponder our society’s norms regarding variety in fashion. Must we really present ourselves as brand-new people each day of the week, complete with accessories? I think of the 100-Thing Challenge and realize that, even before her first year of life is complete, Elsie’s over the limit. Let’s not even think about how her dad and I would stack up.

Something tells me that in a greener world, we’ll have to get more modest about our public personas, maybe even letting others in on the fact that we have finite resources for clothing ourselves and our kids. Maybe we can all agree not to pressure each other to look new all the time, spending our clothes budgets on just a few really well-made things that will last, rather than dozens of sweatshop-made, none-too-durable items. What do you think, whippersnappers?

Martha Jefferson Hospital (MJH) announced today that 26 properties owned by the hospital around its Locus Avenue campus are on the market.

In September, local developers Octagon Partners purchased MJH’s Downtown hospital building. One month later, MJH announced a merger with Sentara Healthcare, a not-for-profit health system based in Norfolk that generated $1.7 billion in revenue in 2009. MJH will move to its new facility on Pantops this August.

According to a news release, MJH worked with local real estate broker CB Richard Ellis to prepare the 26 properties as 11 listings. Five listings include multiple properties, and six feature individual properties. Individual properties include a two-story house on Lexington Avenue priced at $225,000 and a condo on East Market Street priced at $870,000. The grouped properties include seven Tarlton Oaks lots zoned for mixed-use development and priced at $2.45 million.

“Our goal has always been to find ways to ensure the neighborhood surrounding Martha Jefferson is left in good hands when we leave the downtown campus,” said Ron Cottrell, MJH Vice President of Planning, in the release.

“We recognize what an important asset these properties are to the neighborhood and the city of Charlottesville and we believe the different offerings will support the best potential future uses of this prime real estate.”

Rumors of a Downtown grocery store have circulated for years. Might these properties provide an opportunity? Or have you heard other plans for the Martha Jefferson properties? Leave your thoughts below.

The interest in Jim Webb’s Senate seat is growing. Democrats haven’t named an official candidate yet (although names mentioned so far include former Governor Tim Kaine and former Congressman Tom Perriello). However, Republican David McCormick, a Hampton Roads lawyer, announced today that he intends to throw his hat into the race. McCormick, reports the Washington Post, chose to announce his candidacy on George Washington’s birthday.

According to his website, McCormick received a business degree from Baylor University, a Master’s degree in Business and Human Resources from Amber University and a law degree from Regent University Law School. (Notable alum: Republican Governor Bob McDonnell.) His website reports that he volunteered for several Republican campaigns and served on the Finance Committee and City Committee for the Republican Party of Virginia Beach.

Just like Republican contender George Allen, McCormick announced his candidacy with a video. "I plan to make a difference in Washington by four time-honored values," says McCormick. "Honesty, efficiency, accountability and thriftiness." (That’s "HEAT.") If elected, says McCormick, "I will bring the heat and turn up the heat in Washington." In addition to Allen, McCormick will campaign against Jamie Radtke, chairwoman for the Virginia Federation of Tea Party Patriots.
 

Post your thoughts below on the current candidates and who you think should join the race.

For the third consecutive year, the Princeton Review named UVA the nation’s best value public university. Earlier this year, UVA President Teresa Sullivan shared initial plans to increase the UVA student body by 1,500 during the next five years—all while preserving tuition costs and improving the university’s current student-to-faculty ratio. According to USA Today, many of the schools that remained atop the Princeton Review list preserved and expanded financial aid offerings this year.

Kirsten Nelson, director of communications for the State Council of Hgher Education Virginia (SCHEV), told C-VILLE in November that tuition fees were increasing "faster than financial aid." For the 2010-2011 school year, UVA tuition cost in-state students $10,836 and out-of-state students $33,782. Chief Operating Officer Leonard Sandridge told the UVA Board of Visitors last year that AccessUVA—the school’s full-funding financial aid program—would use $21 million in federal stimulus funds to accommodate an increasing number of students in need of financial support.

Last year, SCHEV requested $40.9 million in appropriations from the state’s general fund to restore state financial aid to previous funding levels. Senate Bill 819 would create the Two-Year College Scholarship Match program, which would set aside $5 million annually to match scholarships awarded to students pursuing degrees in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) areas. The bill passed the Senate but was left in a House subcommittee.

On a related note: If you are a college-bound student and are reading this, remember that the priority deadline for your FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is March 1.