Bridging the Belmont gap
Replacing the 1962-built Belmont Bridge was first recommended in 2003. Many plans have come and gone, as has at least one design company. In 2012, some, like former city councilor Bob Fenwick, said the bridge’s deterioration was the result of city neglect and could be repaired. At the time, the bridge replacement project cost was about $14 million.
That cost is now $24.7 million, and on August 20 the Board of Architectural Review approved a certificate of appropriateness for the new span. The design, with its 10-foot sidewalks and 7-foot bike lanes, favors pedestrians and
bicyclists, with two lanes devoted to motorists.
City officials hope that construction will begin by 2020.
Putting the “i” in infidelity
Millennials and Gen Xers are more likely to engage in “internet infidelity” than earlier generations, according to “iFidelity: The State of Our Unions 2019,” a report from the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia and the School of Family Life at Brigham Young University.
UVA sociology prof Brad Wilcox has studied marriage and fidelity for the past 10 years. For this study, he partnered with BYU’s Jeffrey Dew, a family studies professor. They found:
- Online sex talk: 18 percent of millennial participants did it with someone besides their partner, compared to 16 percent of
Gen Xers, 6 percent of baby boomers, and 3 percent of the greatest generation. - That’s cheating: 70 percent or more of Americans rate secret emotional affairs or sexting with a non-partner as “unfaithful.”
- Crossing the generations: The number of people who cheat in real life is consistent across age groups at 15 percent, although Wilcox points out that millennials and Gen Xers haven’t had as much time to have affairs and may exceed that number by the time they’re older.
- Married and cohabitating adults who don’t fool around online are more likely to be happy and committed in their relationships.
Quote of the week
“We needed to make it go away.”—Delegate Chris Head, R-Botetourt, on the GOP strategy to adjourn the special session called by Governor Ralph Northam to address gun safety after the Virginia Beach massacre, according to the Roanoke Times
In brief
Cop’s case not closed yet
Andrew Holmes, the Albemarle County Police officer who was accused in 2016 of racial profiling, is no longer off the hook after a federal appeals court ruled a previous decision to throw the case out must be revisited. No date has been set for the next hearing.
Chasing gold
Former UVA men’s basketball star Joe Harris was named to the U.S. men’s national team for the FIBA World Cup, which will be held in China beginning September 1. The roster is chock-full of NBA stars like Kemba Walker and Donovan Mitchell, but several spots opened up after many of the bigger-name players backed out to focus on preparing for the 2019-20 season.
Murky waters
Construction workers at the demolition site for U-Hall poured stormwater into a drain that ran into Meadow Creek, polluting the water and killing hundreds of fish. Although the city’s drinking water was unaffected, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality said the rainwater had mixed with concrete dust prior to being dumped down the drain.
Last pet standingIzzy the cat, who’s been missing since the August 18 Pet Paradise fire, was found Tuesday morning, and, according to WINA, appears to be okay. Izzy was among three pets who escaped during the fire. Shadow, another cat, was safely located, but a dog named Bailey was discovered dead about a mile and a half away from the building.
