Big box, big impact
Erika Howsare: I appreciated your “mea culpa” in the “Green Living” column of December 28, about the US29 North corridor.
The US29 North Corridor is in fact our region’s main commercial boulevard, all pluses and minuses aside. Shopping local is indeed a great idea as many of our local area businesses are home-grown and family-run and they offer a whole different menu and feel for consumers. The big national stores are also very important—as along with the known commodities they offer they provide thousands of jobs to our neighbors. Walmart, the biggest of them all, employs more than 1,500 of our neighbors in our region. They are, in fact, the largest business employer in Greater Charlottesville and besides sustaining employment and generating substantial local and state tax revenues, they contribute mightily to many area charities and initiatives.
But back to US29 north in particular. “Workplace 29,” a comprehensive report done in 2007 for the North Charlottesville Business Council of the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce by the Free Enterprise Forum, described an astounding economic and fiscal impact of the US29 North Corridor, in Albemarle County and the City of Charlottesville. Among the “Workplace 29” report findings are; the US29 corridor:
• supports 20,000 jobs that provide more than $800 million in salaries alone each year;
• generates 45 percent of Albemarle County’s total annual local tax revenue, at an annual $24,700 per acre rate, more than 70 times greater than the county-wide average rate of $355 per acre; and,
• receives less than $1 million annually from Albemarle County in non-school capital improvements.
Our Chamber tracks retail activity, in and near our region, on an ongoing basis. Here’s another number: Retail activity, not including auto sales, amounts to more than $2 billion a year in Albemarle and Charlottesville. That’s a strong foundation for a lot of jobs, thousands, and built by private investment.
I trust you have had a happy holiday season. We did in our city home. We bought a few things online (LL Bean, Amazon, etc.) but overwhelmingly bought our gifts from small, medium and large stores, family-owned, national chain businesses, all of whom employ our neighbors and add vitality to our community, in Downtown, Barracks Road, up US29, here in Greater Charlottesville—all Chamber members of course!
Tim Hulbert
CEO, Charlottesville Regional Chamber
of Commerce
Deer done right
My husband is an avid hunter and believes in only killing animals that he intends to eat. Our family, my husband, myself and our 8-year-old daughter love venison [“Oh deer, now what?” Green Living, December 7]. It is one of the leanest meats you will ever eat. I have found that adding a touch of vinegar (red wine, cider or balsamic) to any recipe using venison improves the taste and removes some of the “game-y” flavor that often disturbs people. This is one of our absolute favorite venison recipes!
Cider Venison Stew over White Cheddar Mashed Potatoes
2 tbs. extra virgin olive oil
3 tbs. butter
2 pounds venison (cut into cubes)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
2 cups frozen peas
6 tbs. flour
2 cups good quality apple cider
1/2 cup organic low sodium beef stock
2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
3 pounds red potatoes, chopped
1/2 cup milk
4 tbsp. butter
2 cups shredded white cheddar cheese
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F. Place a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add olive oil and butter. Season the venison with salt and pepper and add to pot. Brown on all sides, about 6-8 minutes. Add onions, carrots, and cook for 4-5 minutes. Add flour, stir to combine and coat. Add the apple cider, beef stock and vinegar, stir to combine. Add frozen peas. Bring to a boil. Remove from top of stove, cover and place in the oven for 1-1 1/2 hours.
About 45 minutes after placing the venison in the oven, place potatoes in a large saucepot, cover with water by at least 1-2 inches and place over high heat. Once the water comes to a boil, add some salt and cook potatoes until tender, about 15 minutes.
Once the potatoes are tender, drain and return to the pot. Add the milk, butter, and the cheese. Smash with a potato masher to desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and reserve until you are ready to serve.
When the beef is done, remove from the oven. To serve, place a spoonful of potatoes in a wide serving bowl. Make a well in the middle of the potatoes and spoon the beef into the center.
Nickie Schoolcraft
Charlottesville
What the frack?
In response to “Hydrofracking causes forest fracas” in the November 9 issue, first of all, Virginia’s George Washington National Forest is a treasure worth all the protection it can get. One million acres sounds like a lot, but it is a small but very important part of the state. If the U.S. Forest Service is to live up to its name, then it must serve what is best for the overall health and protection of our National Forest. If the natural resources of the GWNF are not cared for and nurtured properly, there will be lasting negative effects for not only the plants and animals that live there but for much of the state itself. Probably the largest continuous forest in the state, GWNF provides many benefits. Providing clean water is the obvious one, but there are others as well. Recreation, scientific studies on plants and animals and just sheer beauty of the land do not sound all that important but it would be hard to imagine visiting the National Forest only to see commercial development. I visited there a few years ago and witnessed some logging going on and it was very disappointing to see the destruction it causes. I realize the trees will regenerate, but something in the land will be lost permanently. As Sarah Francisco and David Hannah alluded to, extensive logging, which requires more roads, will damage the ecosystem of the Forest and will not be a pleasant sight for visitors who visit the Forest for recreation and nature. More logging, drilling and hydrofracking will put undue strain on probably the only quantity of forest left in the Southeast. As Hannah stated, hydrofracking uses a tremendous amount of water, and unknown chemicals are used in the water in the drilling process, which creates potential harm to the drinking water. The GWNF is a great watershed that supplied drinking water to about 250,000. If the Forest Service allows industries to have their way and purge the GWNF, it will be doing the GWNF, citizens, plants and animals a great disservice.
I see the great disruption and destruction of the ecosystem on our beautiful forest due to overuse mentioned in the article as the greatest threat facing our GWNF. It is definitely a treasure worth preserving as pristine as possible. If the U.S. Forest Service really cares about our forest, then they should be willing to support the health of the forest so it will flourish intact for generations to come.
Do Virginians want a place to enjoy nature, camping and viewing wildlife or for viewing commercial energy corporations throughout the forest? It is my hope and for our grndchildren that Virginians choose nature.
Donna Malvin
Williamsburg, Virginia