Author: c-ville-writers-2

This morning, the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce released its comprehensive 2011 job report. According to the Chamber, the Charlottesville region began to steady itself in 2010 after a net loss of more than 4,000 jobs in the previous two years.

The region lost 23 government-related jobs in 2010, but added 34 in private enterprises for a net gain of only 11 jobs. Robert Hodous, chair of the Chamber’s Board of Directors, said the report “confirms that the jobs decline which started in late 2007…ended in 2010.”

Louisa and Albemarle counties posted 26 percent and 25 percent job growth, respectively, since 2000. However, the City of Charlottesville lost 3,248 jobs during the same period—an 8.6 percent decline, according to the report.

Locally, the private sector shows the same disparity. Private sector jobs in the Greater Charlottesville area—the city and Albemarle plus Greene, Louisa, Nelson and Orange counties—grew a cumulative 6 percent during the last decade, outpacing the statewide .08 percent growth. However, the City lost 2,386 private sector jobs during the same time.

The 2011 Chamber Jobs Report can be found here. To read C-VILLE’s jobs feature, "The Work of the Future," click here.
 

Albemarle Police Press Release – August 31, 2011

The Albemarle County Police arrested five people in connection with the strong armed robbery that occurred on August 30, 2011 on Newhouse Drive.

Joe Thompson, 33 years of age, with no fixed address; Steven Caldwell, 30 years of age, with no fixed address; Gregory Woodson, 26 years of age of Charlottesville, Virginia; William Johnson, II, 30 years of age, with no fixed address; John Jordan, 46 years of age, with no fixed address have all been charged with robbery.

All five are being held at the Albemarle/Charlottesville Regional Jail without bond.

The Albemarle County Police encourage anyone that may have witnessed this incident to contact the Police Department at 434-296-5807 or Crime Stoppers at 434-977-4000.

Steven Caldwell

Joe Thompson

William Johnson, II 

Gregory Woodson

John Jordan

Albemarle Police Press Release – August 30, 2011 

At approximately 12:15pm the Albemarle County Police responded to the Hardee’s located at 105 Newhouse Drive for a reported strong armed robbery. The victim reported that six assailants attempted to rob him. The victim sprayed one of the assailants with pepper spray causing all of them to flee.

The assailants ran towards Free Bridge and the Shell Station located at 1129 Richmond Road. With the assistance of the Charlottesville Police Department all six assailants were detained and are currently being interviewed at the Albemarle County Police Department.

The victim in this incident has been transported to the Martha Jefferson Hospital with minor injuries.
 

 The Seattle Mariners announced last night that the club has agreed to terms with former UVA standout, left-handed pitcher Danny Hultzen. He was the club’s first selection (second overall pick) in the 2011 First-Year Player Draft.

“Danny is a hard-throwing left-hand pitcher with tremendous athletic ability,” McNamara said. “We are excited to welcome him to the Mariners organization and watch him work his way towards being part of our Major League rotation in the near future.” 

Hultzen was a unanimous first-team All-American, earning the honor from the ABCA, Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball/Louisville Slugger and NCBWA. He was named the ACC Pitcher of the Year for the second year in a row, becoming the first pitcher in league history to earn that distinction twice. Hultzen also was picked First-Team All-ACC for the third year in a row. He succeeded in the classroom as well and was a Capital One First-Team Academic All-American. Hultzen was also one of three finalists for the Golden Spikes Award.

Hultzen was 32-5 with a 2.08 ERA (74 ER, 320.0 IP) in 51 games, 50 starts in his collegiate career. He holds the University of Virginia career wins record with 32 victories and also owns the Cavaliers career strikeout record with 395. He ranks in the top 10 in University of Virginia history in ERA (2.08), innings pitched (320.0), win percentage (.865) and games started (50).

In Baseball America’s annual Best Tools survey of the top 100 prospects entering the draft, Hultzen was named as the best command and closest to the Majors among college eligible players.  He was also rated with the third best secondary pitch. 

The U.S. Soccer Federation announced Monday that Virginia women’s soccer coach Steve Swanson will take over as head coach of the U-20 Women’s National Team. Swanson will continue his duties as head coach of the Cavaliers.

The Cavaliers play an exhibition against Notre Dame Friday, Aug. 12, in Maple City, Michigan. 

Press Release – August 3, 2011

This morning at approx 1:40 am, officers responded to a reported robbery in the 1500 block of Gordon Avenue. The male victim reports he was walking near the intersection of 15th St N. W. when he was approach by three B/M’s and surrounded.

One of the suspects told the victim to turn his pockets out. Taken was the victim wallet and cell phone. The victim was them ordered to lie face down on the ground. At that point the suspects left the area on foot in an unknown direction.

Two of the suspects are described as being approx. 6 ft in height and the third suspect was described as being approx 5’7”. No additioanal information was provided about the suspects. The victim was not injured during this incident.

This is the second reported robbery in this area with simularties over the past two weeks.

Anyone with information in this case is asked to call Crime Stoppers @ (434) 977-4000.
 

The morning after the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) voted 3-2 to move forward with the Western Bypass, Albemarle County Chairman Ken Boyd—a longtime supporter of the project—expressed his satisfaction.

“This is a huge amount of transportation money that we haven’t seen in many, many years, and in addition to the Bypass we will get funding for some projects in the Places29 Master Plan that needed to be done,” Boyd said, during an interview in his office.

Boyd said he trusted a letter from Secretary of Transportation Sean Connaughton that included a recommendation to the Commonwealth Transportation Board to fund the widening of 29N as well as other important local road-building priorities.

Boyd said he was disappointed that the vote was split, but he said he didn’t feel the vote of the MPO members reflected their party ideologies.

“I don’t think it’s locally political. Certainly on the state level, it’s political because we didn’t ask for this,” Boyd said. “They came to us and said ‘We want to build that Bypass because it’s been a hole in our system for a long time.’”

With his own re-election campaign in its final stages, Boyd said he decided not to consider the impact of the Bypass issue on his political career.

“People are trying to make it a campaign issue, but I honestly believe this is the right thing to do, so I’m disregarding the effect it has on the election,” Boyd said.

Boyd said Gov. Bob McDonnell made it clear during his time as attorney general that he felt the $47 million in federal funding used to purchase right-of-way for the project would be rescinded if the Bypass wasn’t moved forward. The total right of way expenditures on the project are expected to be around $71 million.

Boyd said the region needs the state money and moving the Bypass forward was a smart, practical decision that didn’t contradict his ideological position as a fiscal conservative.

“This is going to sound like pork, but it’s not. If we don’t take this money, it’s not going to be returned to the state’s coffers. It’s going to go somewhere else,” Boyd said.

Boyd said fears that the design of the Bypass would be out-dated or fail to include local input were unfounded.

“No one trusts government anymore. But there is a process you have to go through and the only thing determined at this point is the route between the northern and southern terminus,” Boyd said.

Boyd said VDOT’s new planning processes insure that they “are not going to build things in a vacuum anymore.”

Furthermore, he said his relationship with VDOT’s Culpeper District Administrator Jim Utterback gave him the confidence the department would deliver on its promises.

“Personally because I’ve known Jim Utterback for so many years I feel confident that he’s going to build us a road that improves the quality of life all along the route,” Boyd said.

Boyd said he believed the road could be built without disrupting the Forest Lakes community, whose residents have been vocal in their concerns about the project.

“The engineers say they can design this so it won’t affect Forest Lakes at all and it will all stay west of 29. We can work with them and design this so it won’t disrupt their neighborhood,” Boyd said.

Ultimately, Boyd said yesterday’s vote cleared the way for a long, collaborative effort to make a better transportation corridor.

“It’s going to be a design/build process and that gives us time for plenty of public input and plenty of input from the city and the Board of Supervisors. And we’ll all be part of the process of making the road the best it can be. That’s what VDOT has promised and I believe them.”

Yesterday, the Piedmont Group of the Sierra Club released a vision statement that includes "values that [Sierra Club members] cherish," according to Club president Tom Olivier. While local officials found much of the statement agreeable in principle, one provision prompted criticism from two Albemarle County Supervisors.

Both Ken Boyd and Rodney Thomas reacted negatively to the statement’s wish for the maintenance of "stable or near-stable population size." Boyd told the Daily Progress that he was confused about how to implement such a vision, and asked whether the Sierra Club’s aim meant "limiting the number of babies people can have."

Cynthia Neff, who recently announced her candidacy for Boyd’s supervisor seat, told C-VILLE that she “wasn’t surprised” by the comments from Boyd and Thomas, "given their recent reaction to the concept of sustainability." Neff, a member of the Advocates for a Sustainable Albemarle Population Board of Directors, said she supports the Sierra Club’s conclusions about sustainable population growth, and added that "we’re fooling ourselves if we don’t think ‘size matters.’" What do you think? Leave your comments below.

Yesterday, Democratic congressional candidate Tim Kaine stopped for lunch and a few comments in Charlottesville. CBS19 caught the candidate’s buzzworthy take on the controversy surrounding New York Democratic Congressman Anthony Weiner, who admitted to posting an underwear-clad photo of himself on Twitter. (Today, reports emerged that another, slightly more revealing photo may exist.) In no uncertain terms, Kaine called for Weiner’s resignation.

Kaine also mentioned matching or leading GOP challenger George Allen in a few recent polls.

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.

Temps have been cooler than usual, but one thing that has stayed hot for four summers running is our annual photo contest. The art director heads to the beach and we turn to you, dear readers, to fill in the picture. The judges have voted and these are your winners. See for yourself here, and don’t forget to add your comments!