Month: March 2016

Categories
News

How to spend $162 million: The city’s budget increases 3.5 percent

Over the next three fiscal years, City Manager Maurice Jones is proposing $10 million for improvements to West Main Street. Photo by Jack Looney

Charlottesville City Manager Maurice Jones presented his proposed budget for fiscal year 2017 to City Council on March 7.

The $161,871,784 budget is a 3.5 percent increase over 2016’s fiscal year budget, which was approved at $156,391,435. The latest budget is Jones’ sixth version.

“The biggest chunk is going to the schools,” he says, and overall, he is proposing an additional $1.9 million for city schools, along with a 1 percent increase in the lodging tax rate to help offset the cost of school funding. The increase will add $566,000 in revenue.

The tax rate will stay the same at 95 cents per $100 of assessed value; because property values increased by 2.56 percent in 2015, the city made an extra $3.1 million in property tax revenue.

In just two words, Jones says he can summarize next year’s budget as allocating money for “quality services” in the city. And, in his opinion, one of the most significant capital improvement projects in the works is the development of a $1.7 million skate park at McIntire Park.

Renovations to Charlottesville’s circuit and general district courts are also a priority, with $4.5 million projected for circuit court renovations over a five-year span and $500,000 in the current budget for design. An additional $500,000 is proposed for general district court renovations, which will require more than $7 million over the five years.

Over the next three fiscal years, Jones is proposing $10 million for improvements to West Main Street. In five years, $1 million will be used to install new sidewalks and almost $500,000 will go toward maintaining underground utilities.

By 2025, City Council’s vision for Charlottesville is for it to be “America’s healthiest city,” and Jones says the budget supports that by allocating money for keeping up with parks and recreation “to help ensure that people have opportunities to exercise.” Over the next two fiscal years, $1.5 million will go toward implementing the McIntire Park master plan.

Minor changes to some services will save almost $400,000, Jones says. Those include reducing pool hours at the Washington Park Pool and a change to the Charlottesville Area Transit route 7, which will reduce the number of operating buses to six per hour, instead of seven. Wait times between buses on that route will increase to 20 minutes, up from 15 minutes.

Council will meet March 10 for a budget work session.

BUDGET BREAKDOWN

$161,871,784: Total budget is a 3.5 increase over 2016 fiscal year budget

No change: Tax rate stays the same, 95 cents per $100 of assessed value

$63,569,933: City schools get the biggest piece of the general fund budget pie, with an increase of $1.9 million

$3.1 million: The additional revenue from property values, which increased 2.56 percent in 2015

$10 million: Amount slated for West Main improvements

$1.5 million: for the McIntire Park
master plan

Categories
News

Nightmare on Water Street

No word yet on how long a portion of a major downtown thoroughfare will closed. Staff photo

Utilities relocation for Market Plaza had already closed the eastbound lane on Water Street and detoured traffic to South Street and Second Street SE, and when Second Street was also closed last week, many who park in the Water Street Garage were trapped in an extraordinarily long exit line March 3.

“Staff met with [contractors] yesterday and told them they need a better plan,” said city spokesperson Miriam Dickler March 8. “They’re supposed to have a plan by the end of the day.”

At press time, she didn’t know how long the utilities work would take, but the Jersey barriers on Water Street could be an ominous sign.

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News

Just in time for March Madness

Virginia bets on fantasy sports websites with new law.

Virginia became the first state to legalize fantasy sports websites when Governor Terry McAuliffe signed the Fantasy Contests Act into law March 7, according to CNET.

While other states are outlawing websites such as DraftKings and FanDuel, saying they violate state gambling regulations, Virginia embraces what advocates call a game of skill. “Today, Virginia became the first state in the nation this year to put in place a thoughtful and appropriate regulatory framework to protect the rights of fantasy players,” DraftKings said in a statement.

State senators Bryce Reeves and Creigh Deeds, who represent Charlottesville and Albemarle, voted against the measure, as did Delegate Steve Landes. Delegates Rob Bell, Matt Fariss and David Toscano were yeas.

Categories
News

Reeves announces run for lieutenant governor

State Senator Bryce Reeves say Virginia deserves "strong conservative leadership," and that's why he's running for lieutenant guv. Publicity photo

State Senator Bryce Reeves, R-17th, becomes Albemarle’s second legislator to announce a run for statewide office in 2017. Delegate Rob Bell, R-58th, said in December he’d make a second run for attorney general.

At a March 7 kickoff, Reeves said, “Public service is in my blood.” The owner of an insurance company in Spotsylvania, Reeves is a former Army Ranger and Prince William County narcotics detective. He was narrowly elected to the seat that represents eastern Albemarle in 2011, and was reelected in November.

Reeves touts his leadership skills, notably on the gun compromise Governor Terry McAuliffe signed that recognizes concealed carry permits from other states.

He joins Senator Jill Vogel, R-27th, who two days earlier announced her candidacy for the Republican lieutenant governor nomination. Reeves has the endorsement of 37 members of the General Assembly, including Delegate Matt Fariss, R-59th. Not on his list: Bell and Steve Landes, R-25th, Albemarle’s other Republicans in the House of Delegates.

Categories
Arts

Radio kid: Kendall Stewart finds her niche on 106.1 The Corner

Boston girl Kendall Stewart has settled in behind the microphone at 106.1 The Corner since taking over the midday shift last fall. Photo: Amy Jackson

On a recent Friday morning, Lifehouse’s 2005 hit “You and Me” played on WCNR 106.1 The Corner. When the song wrapped up, new midday host Kendall Stewart took to the mic, a hint of wistfulness in her cheery voice: “I’m feeling nostalgic this morning, like I want to put on a prom dress and slow dance to that song.”

The song was just one of a handful of nostalgia bombs she’d drop throughout the show. She queued up Stone Temple Pilots’ “Interstate Love Song,” Tori Amos’ “Cornflake Girl” and some Spoon, and peppered in current radio staples from Kaleo and Foals, songs destined to inspire a new generation of listeners.

Stewart knows that music is a time-travel device. A song can transport you back to specific moments of your life, from tearing away rainbow-striped wrapping paper on your fifth birthday or turning the key in the ignition of your first car. It’s what makes radio one of the most personal forms of media, says Stewart.

When helping create The Corner playlist, she often chooses songs that hold meaning in her own life and she willingly shares those anecdotes with her listeners. During that same Friday show, she talked about a French friend who once played a note-for-note and emotionally on-point rendition of “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life),” and afterward confessed that he had no idea what the English lyrics meant.

“Radio is very genuine,” Stewart says. “When people are alone in their cars, they listen to the radio and you’re the jock who’s with that person in their car, talking to them.” When she’s on-air, she doesn’t perform. She opens up a conversation.

Stewart, 25, is one of two new DJs on The Corner. She came to town last November after longtime on-air personality Brad Savage left the station for 93.1 The Summit in Akron, Ohio. Morning host Pat Gallagher is the other newbie. Stewart grew up in the Boston suburb of Milton, Massachusetts, and from the backseat of her parents’ car, she listened to ’90s alternative rock and pop hits broadcast from some of Boston’s most popular radio stations. At some point, she says, she discovered Radio Disney and listened obsessively. So, when at 17 she landed her first radio gig reading PSAs for a kids’ station broadcast only on school buses, nobody was surprised. “You were always a radio kid,” her mom told her.

Stewart studied playwriting at Emerson College in Boston, and during her freshman year, she says she “checked out the radio station and never looked back.” Her first 88.9 WERS hosting gig was the Chagigah segment, playing Jewish and Israeli music. “I’m not Jewish; they needed a host and I needed to be on the radio,” Stewart says. She eventually became the station’s music director, creating the playlist and booking bands for in-studio performances.

Stewart went straight from WERS to Boston’s 92.9 The River, then to WUMB at UMass-Boston. She says she was ready to spend her entire career in Boston; no one—including herself—thought she’d leave her home city. “But if you want to work in radio you’re going to have to move,” she says. The Triple A (adult album alternative) radio community is a relatively small one, and full-time radio gigs can be hard to find. Stewart was determined to find one, so when the job at The Corner opened up, she jumped at the opportunity to apply.

When she talks about Boston—her four brothers, former roommate and her cat in particular—wistfulness returns to her voice. But she says she’s adjusting nicely to life in Charlottesville. She’s reconnecting with old radio friends, acting in a local theater company production and driving to concerts all over the state.

Longtime Corner DJ Jeff Sweatman says that “whether she’s playing a brand-new act [on Brighten the Corners] or longtime favorites, Kendall is able to present entertaining information on her show with a fresh perspective that The Corner hasn’t really had before.” In addition to keeping radio hits of yore in rotation, Stewart reads music blogs and reaches out to record labels and artists to gather 15 fresh tracks to play on her show each week. Some days she plays three tracks from three artists; other days, she plays three tunes from one newly released album.

While Stewart is hip to what’s hot and what’s good, she’s not a music snob by any means. Her musical taste is broad, and she’s quick to declare her love for Nelly, Butch Walker, early 2000s pop-punk and emo and boy bands (she grew up in the heyday of *NSYNC, Backstreet Boys and O-Town, after all). Her authenticity is refreshing. “I tried for years to be the cool girl who is super hip or whatever,” says Stewart. “But no, that’s not me—I’m goofy. I go on air, I open the mic, and I say what I would say anyway.”

At the end of the day, Stewart says, the coolest part of her job isn’t meeting bands or getting sneak previews of albums. It’s talking to her listeners, wherever they may be, and helping them find their new favorite song.

Show tunes

Kendall Stewart’s dream is to host a show of music from the 2000s. Here are her favorite albums from that decade—a taste of what her show would sound like:

1. Jack’s Mannequin, “Everything In Transit” (2005)

2. Butch Walker, “Letters” (2004)

3. Brand New, “Your Favorite Weapon” (2001)

4. Taking Back Sunday, “Tell All Your Friends” (2002)

5. New Found Glory, “Coming Home” (2006)

–Erin O’Hare

Categories
Living

Labneh: the better schmear

Labneh can be eaten in both sweet and savory dishes. For breakfast you can top labneh with strawberries, walnuts and honey.

If you’re like me, you love the taste of a freshly toasted bagel with a dollop of cream cheese spread thinly across, melting into the porous openings. It’s my children’s favorite too, especially on a chilly morning with a cup of cocoa. My daughter, who loves cream cheese, was a toddler when we moved from the U.S. to Cyprus, an island in the eastern Mediterranean pocket, southwest of Greece and due south of Turkey. I would complain to fellow expats about the lack of certain Western foods on the island such as cream cheese and sour cream. Finally, a Cypriot friend who had lived in the U.S. for many years suggested I try their variation: labneh. My husband (who is Cypriot) was kind of surprised I hadn’t heard about labneh before. My daughter got her fresh, toasty bread with a “cream cheese” schmear, and I got hugs from a happy toddler.

Labneh is a Middle Eastern yogurt spread packed with protein and probiotics. Made by straining yogurt to remove excess water and whey, labneh has a slightly tangier taste than traditional cream cheese but is just as creamy and spreadable. On a Lebanese table, labneh is molded into little ping-pong-sized balls and soaked in olive oil, served with pita bread and as an appetizer for guests. On a Turkish table, labneh is drizzled with olive oil and mint and served as a dip as a tangy dip. My favorite use of labneh is eating it at breakfast drizzled with local, organic honey, cinnamon and some chopped walnuts.

Labneh has a smooth consistency, spreads easily and is a bit more tangy and tart than cream cheese. It’s not as rich or heavy, and is more easily digestible, most likely because of its probiotic benefits. I was elated to find labneh in the refrigerated shelves in U.S. markets, and this is my go-to “cream cheese” in my home.

Regular cream cheese (per 2 tablespoons) has 80 calories, 7 grams of fat, 2 grams of carbohydrates. Compare it with regular labneh, which has 60 calories, 6 grams of fat and 1 gram of carbohydrates.

Doesn’t sound like much of a nutritional difference? It adds up if you use it in cooking! Consider the amount of cream cheese you would use in a homemade cheesecake. Use the same amount of labneh as you would cream cheese in your favorite cheesecake recipe, and you add in the probiotic benefit. No one will know the difference, but you will know you made a healthier dessert.

Some of the benefits of labneh:

• Better consistency. Rather than coming in a rectangular block, labneh is creamier, softer and spreads easily.

• Filled with probiotics because it is made from Greek yogurt.

• Good source of protein (10 grams per 3-ounce serving versus 6 grams for cream cheese).

• Longer shelf-life: Cream cheese gets moldy after a couple of weeks. Because of the live bacteria and probiotics, a tub of labneh can last weeks.

• Increased versatility: I use labneh as a cream cheese substitute on bagels and to make cheesecake. However, it is lovely as a spread with mint and olive oil sprinkled on top. It is generally served with warm pita or lavash bread. Add it to your cheese plate for dinner guests and watch them marvel.

Like natural Greek yogurt (sans all the sugary flavors) became a huge phenomenon in the West and replaced mayonnaise as a superior alternative in the last eight years, I predict labneh will do the same to cream cheese and become more mainstream the coming years. Once unheard of, I now find labneh at specialty grocers, Middle Eastern grocers and high-end grocers, such as Food of All Nations.

Claudia Hanna earned a bachelor of arts in economics and foreign affairs from the University of Virginia and an MBA in corporate finance from Emory University. She was a management consultant for years before trading power suits for flip-flops and beach sarongs for a simpler, healthier life in Cyprus. She now writes her own blog, Live Like a Goddess.com, and is working on her book, Live Like a Goddess: Discover Your Inner Aphrodite.

Categories
Living

Not so safe haven: The dangers of common household poisons

The sweet taste of rat poison and antifreeze can lure dogs into ingesting them. Photo: file photo

From toilet cleaner to paint thinner, most homes are stocked with at least a few poisons that need to be kept safely away from pets and children. And while it’s certainly worth minding where you store the Windex—ammonia is nasty—I’ve never seen a pet consume any. So rather than panic about every single bottle with a warning label on it, I think it’s worth focusing instead on the household poisons that veterinarians find themselves treating on a regular basis. For some reason or another, these just keep popping up.

Let’s just get the big one out of the way: rat poison. It seems a terribly obvious inclusion—it’s literally called poison—but every year I see at least a few cases. If it were up to me, nobody would have this stuff around. It interferes with the normal clotting mechanism of blood, causing animals to slowly bleed to death after ingestion. Even judged by its intended purpose, it’s cruel. And worse, it’s deliberately designed to taste good, making it an irresistible treat for any dog that finds some tucked into a corner somewhere.

“It’s meant for rats, so I didn’t think the dog would eat it,” I’ve heard, as if a creature that routinely snacks on deer poop would suddenly evolve a discerning palate. If there’s any good news with rat poison, it’s that exposure to the most commonly used varieties are usually easy to treat. A stiff dose of vitamin K for a few weeks will negate the effect. Still, there’s no need to take chances. Rat poison has no place in any home with pets.

More insidious, and usually more dangerous, is antifreeze. Sadly, this one is a necessary evil for anybody with a car. The most common varieties of antifreeze are made of ethylene glycol, a brutally toxic compound, which unfortunately tastes sweet, luring dogs beyond their initial curiosity. Cats can’t taste sweet things (set that aside for pub trivia night), but are even more sensitive to the toxicity and can still be poisoned if they lick it off their fur after walking through a puddle.

Veterinarians live in fear of these cases. If caught immediately upon ingestion, we can induce vomiting and at least get most of it onto the floor. Aggressive hospitalized support can sometimes prevent whatever was absorbed from doing too much damage. But many antifreeze poisonings are spotted too late and the results are frequently tragic, with animals suffering irreversible kidney failure a day or so after ingestion.

Because the prognosis is so poor, it’s vital to prevent exposure. Antifreeze is usually given a bright green color so that leaks can be identified more quickly. And less toxic alternatives are available, often made of propylene glycol—a compound that sounds similar to its cousin but is exponentially safer.

Perhaps the most surprising inclusion on this list is medication. Toxicity is not an absolute property. It is dependent on dose and purpose, and most medicines have the potential to do harm when taken in excess. It’s rare that a week goes by without seeing a dog that got into a bottle of something, whether it be painkillers, antidepressants or blood pressure medication. One of the supreme ironies of owning pets is that you need Jedi training to get one pill down their throat, but they’ll happily devour 100 tablets of whatever you’re taking if given the chance.

It’s impossible to summarize this one, because the potential dangers of any given overdose vary with the medication in question. Naturally, it’s wise to call your veterinarian the moment you suspect something has happened. They might advise you to contact poison control to get a toxicologist involved before you even get to the hospital. Some cases wind up being no big deal, but it’s best to have the wheels turning before you find out it’s too late.

It is not unusual to have these kinds of things around your home, and there is no way to prevent every accidental ingestion. Things happen. But as any veterinarian knows, some things seem to happen a lot more often than others.

Dr. Mike Fietz is a small-animal veterinarian at Georgetown Veterinary Hospital. He received his veterinary degree from Cornell University in 2003 and has lived in Charlottesville since.

Categories
Arts

Listening with heart: JMRL turns to Southern roots for The Big Read

In honor of The Big Read’s The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, JMRL offers copies of the book and events that touch on themes of the heart, health, music and social justice throughout the region. Photo: Courtesy JMRL

For a decade, the National Endowment for the Arts has awarded Jefferson-Madison Regional Library a grant to participate in The Big Read, an effort to engage communities in reading and discussing literature. The application process is competitive as the NEA seeks nonprofit groups reaching audiences of all ages and demographics, aiming to return reading for pleasure to American life.

For those awarded the grant, the NEA provides a curated list of books to choose from. Sarah Hamfeldt, chair of the JMRL committee presenting The Big Read, says this year they “went back to our Southern roots” in choosing The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers. The NEA provides study guides, which help narrow down the selection, and some of the committee members had already read the book and recommended it.

The novel takes place in Georgia in the 1930s. The chapters alternate between the perspectives of five different characters: John Singer, a deaf mute who lives in a boarding house and works as an engraver for a jeweler; Biff Brannon, owner of the New York Café, sympathetic toward even the meanest drunks who stumble in for a drink; Mick Kelly, an adventurous teenage girl and aspiring musician; Jake Blount, an alcoholic concerned with economic equality; and Dr. Benedict Copeland, a black doctor concerned with racial equality and justice.

As the novel progresses, Singer becomes the confidante of the other characters, his muteness making him almost godlike, allowing them to feel heard, their one-sided conversations like a prayer. He learns of their fears and ambitions, but they know so little about him that when tragedy strikes in his own life, they are undone.

The book’s progressive views on race, gender and disability seem ahead of their time. American author Richard Wright wrote in his review of the book in 1940 that he was most impressed with McCullers’ “astonishing humanity” that enabled her to “rise above the pressures of her environment and embrace white and black humanity in one sweep of apprehension and tenderness.”

McCullers later said of her own writing, “I become the characters I write about, and I bless the Latin poet Terence who said, ‘Nothing human is alien to me.’”

Since August, the JMRL Big Read committee has been planning the community events that take place throughout the month of March in Charlottesville, Albemarle, Greene, Louisa and Nelson counties. Beginning as early as October, the library has been fielding questions from local book clubs eager to know the title of the selected book. This speaks to the effectiveness of resources as JMRL provides book club kits, which consist of 10 copies of a single title that book clubs can check out—and as a result participation has increased. Last year, more than 8,800 people participated in The Big Read programs, an increase of 147 percent since 2014. And circulation of The Big Read titles has improved by 100 percent each year.

Hamfeldt says the program draws in “people who haven’t been to the library since they were children. It exposes them to the resources of the library,” including digital resources they wouldn’t have access to otherwise. She points out that the simple act of hosting an event does the important work of bringing people in to the building.

JMRL also offers public schools a set of books for their library that correspond with the theme of The Big Read title. In the case of Lonely Hunter, JMRL selected eight different titles that focus on similar themes, such as the Great Depression, deaf culture and mental health. School librarians are supportive about promoting The Big Read title as well, Hamfeldt says.

The Big Read is co-sponsoring some events with the Virginia Festival of the Book (March 16-20), and shares a long history of partnership with the event—the Virginia Center for the Book used to be the nonprofit that applied for the grant, until JMRL took on the task.

The planned events include an art exhibition opening during First Fridays at Central Library on March 4 that was created by On Our Own, a Peer Support Recovery Center for people with mental health challenges; a panel on deaf culture at the Central Library on March 7; a silent dinner at the Louisa County Library on March 22; a discussion of mental health care in Virginia by Creigh Deeds on March 25; an American Sign Language scavenger hunt throughout the month; a baby sign language story-time reading at Gordon Avenue Library on March 18 and a discussion with Cece Bell, the author of El Deafo at Northside Library on March 30. The Haven will host the finale on April 3, which will include music by Blue O’Connell and the announcement of the winners of the art contest (adult and teen), which focuses on themes of isolation and loneliness and is in partnership with the Charlottesville Pride Community Network.

Categories
Arts

Album reviews: The Jezabels, Lissie, Lake Street Dive

Get the scoop on the latest releases from The Jezabels, Lissie and Lake Street Dive. Photo: File photo

The Jezabels

Synthia/Self-released

As much an ode to self-acceptance as it is to bearing the standard of feminism, Synthia is equal parts euphoric and cathartic in its exploration. The epic synth-rock opener “Stand and Deliver” finds singer Hayley Mary revisiting her childhood and begging her daddy to prioritize her over his work. “My Love is My Disease” aims a defiant middle finger at anyone who tries to get inside Mary’s head: “Don’t tell me to smile / If you don’t know me / Don’t ask why I frown / I’ll take you down.” Much of the album is filled with unstoppable rock, though an intro of shakers in “Come Alive” adds a primal undercurrent. By the time you get to the oft-repeated refrain “Rev it up” in the closer, “Stamina,” it’s become a full-blooded roar of proud self-expression.

Lissie

My Wild West/Thirty Tigers

A chronicling of the decade-plus that the singer-songwriter spent living in California, Lissie’s My Wild West is her most personal work yet. Bathed in swelling pop-rock and Americana, swaying from gritty rock to folk, the album is a raw, unflinching look at beauty and pain. Whether mourning the loss of a loved one (“Sun Keeps Risin’”), fighting for love (“Don’t You Give up on Me”) or lamenting distance (“Together or Apart”), Lissie bares her soul in an uncompromising way. And while “Hollywood” touches on familiar content—as a ruthless beast on artists—when she follows up lines like, “No matter how they try and warn ya / You fall apart at the seams” with “Still, a dream’s all you need,” there is something powerful about her ability to maintain hope in the face of constant setbacks.

Lake Street Dive

Side Pony/Nonesuch Records

After busting out with the buzzworthy Bad Self Portraits in 2014, Lake Street Dive is ready to do it again. If there’s a band that can light you on fire with a hip-shaking number or set your heart aflame with some deep soul music, it’s Lake Street Dive. Singer Rachael Price seduces you through “Saving All My Sinning” and then goes deeper with the groovy “Call Off Your Dogs.” Noted for the ability to go from jazz to rockabilly, from Motown-style soul to out-and-out rock, with Side Pony the band adds in blues (“I Don’t Care About You”) and ’60s- era rock (“Godawful Things”) without missing a beat.

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Abode Magazines

March ABODE: On stands now!

Photo: Philip Beaurline

This month’s issue of Abode is on stands now. Here’s what you’ll find inside. And, below, find a digital copy of the magazine.

This month’s featured house:

 

Sliding glass doors in the upper kitchen cabinets feature glass panels by 3form that include real pressed ginkgo leaves. Photo: Philip Beaurline
Photo: Philip Beaurline

When Tom Davidson and Marilyn Mars moved to Nelson County from Florida, they asked Marilyn’s brother, McLean-based architect Randall Mars, to design them something modern, but not minimal.

This month’s landscape story:

File photo.

Cathy Clary, a local gardening teacher and consultant, helps you understand how to prep your garden for warmer weather. No matter your setting, she says, she spring has a common wake-up call.