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(12/04/09 5:00am)
The Charlottesville City Council will continue to plan its 2011 fiscal year budget throughout December and January, looking for ways to overcome obstacles raised by the current economic state.\nAt Council's Nov. 16 meeting, Council members discussed the 2011 fiscal year budget for the first time.
(11/17/09 6:35am)
The Charlottesville City Council discussed possible appropriations using the 2009 fiscal year budget surplus and began to consider 2011 fiscal year budget guidelines last night.
(11/04/09 8:25am)
The Republican Party had plenty to celebrate after the results for the Albemarle County elections came in last night, even though Democratic candidates won all City of Charlottesville races.
(11/03/09 7:13am)
Thanks mostly to Charlottesville resident John Shepherd, one possible road-related problem may have finally reached its crossing.
(09/22/09 5:03am)
According to a study presented yesterday to Charlottesville City Council members by the Advocates for a Sustainable Albemarle Population, the city can accommodate only a 50 percent population increase before it runs out of developable land.
(09/15/09 4:28am)
The Charlottesville Republican Committee released its party platform at a press conference last Thursday with the theme "Empowering People ... Constraining Government." The move surprised some Democratic officials, as there is no Republican candidate running in November's City Council elections.
(09/08/09 9:50am)
University President John T. Casteen, III announced this summer that he will retire Aug. 1 next year. By that time, Casteen will be 66 years old and will have served a term of 20 years. The only president to have served longer than Casteen was the University's first president, Edwin A. Alderman, who served a 27-year term at the beginning of the 20th century.\nFilling the president's shoes will not be an easy task, particularly when Casteen's successor may not even fill the same role after which the position is currently modeled.\n"There is no question that the role of university presidents has changed dramatically throughout the course of American higher education," said Jay Lemons, Susquehanna University president, former chancellor at the College at Wise and former assistant to University Presidents Robert O'Neil and Casteen.
(08/27/09 12:30am)
The Graduate Management Admission Council's 2009 survey of full-time master of business administration programs reported a 64 percent increase in applications from 2008, compared to the 80 percent increase seen from 2007 to 2008, said Sam Silverstein, manager of media and public affairs at GMAC.\nAlthough the raw number of applications increased, the percentage increase declined, he said. Silverstein noted that the flattening trend is most likely linked to the recession.\n"When you continue to go through a recession, it is probably logical for people to think to lay low and keep a job and work hard," he said.\nHe also said many MBA program applicants tend to be international students applying to schools in the United States, and that it has become more difficult for international applicants to study here now.\n"These restrictions are making it tougher to both come here and it is harder to get U.S. government permission to stay in the U.S. and work," he said, also citing the high cost of studying abroad.\n"People who may have been able to afford to go to business school a year ago see it is now not affordable," Silverstein said.\nThough application increases on average fell short of previous years', Darden School Admissions Director Sara Neher said Darden's full-time MBA program enrollment remained mostly static, decreasing slightly to adjust for the current student body's size. She also said the size of Darden's incoming class did not shrink because of the economy.\n"We were purposeful in attracting a smaller class" to prevent the overflow problem the MBA program experienced the previous year, she said, referring to 2008, when 333 students were enrolled, three more than the desired maximum. The larger-than-usual size of last year's class meant that admissions officials had to carefully plan how many offers to extend in 2009. This year, Neher said her office reduced the number of students to 309 to make sure the school had room for both first- and second-year MBA students.\nMeanwhile, both Virginia Tech and the College of William & Mary experienced increases in applications received. Melanie Johnston, associate director of marketing and recruiting MBA Program at Virginia Tech, said Virginia Tech's full time MBA program saw a 40 percent increase in applications from 2008. She explained that "in the past three years, Virginia Tech has become slightly more aggressive in recruiting."\nAt the same time, though, enrollment figures at the Blacksburg school dropped from 65 students enrolled last year to 54 this year.\nPriscilla Case, William & Mary's director of MBA admissions, said her school experienced a 10 percent enrollment increase from the previous year, admitting 121 students in 2009 compared to 102 in 2008. Case, however, attributed the increase to a newly constructed business school building, which may have helped the school dodge the flattening trend seen elsewhere across the country.\nDespite these differences, all three schools reported an increase in the quality of their incoming classes. Neher noted that this year's first-year class possessed higher grade point averages compared to previous years', as well as Graduate Management Admission Test scores that averaged about 701 - eight points higher than 2008's.
(08/25/09 11:39pm)
The University Art Museum is scheduled to reopen for the public Sept. 12, after completing $2 million in renovations this summer.\n"The additions to the museum will help satisfy the need to improve access to University collections and will make it possible to conduct classes in the galleries," said Elizabeth Turner, vice provost for the arts.\nRenovations included improved lighting which, Turner said, is very important in classical spaces to highlight the art. The museum now flaunts ceiling lights up to 22 feet high.\nThe new print room also boasts newly-installed floating ceilings and sophisticated diffused lighting, museum director Bruce Boucher said.\nAlso in the works is a remodeling project to convert an unused area into a terrace overlooking Carr's Hill, as well as a new object study gallery, registration room and storage and meeting space, Boucher said.\nThe renovations modernize the old museum, while respecting its 1935 designing by Edmund S. Campbell, he noted.\nAn emphasis on accessibility to students is evidenced by the new object study room, which will hold a cross-section of about 12,000 objects and provide a learning space for research and classes.\nThe most significant change, however, is the new climate control system, Boucher said. Before this development, crowds at the museum could cause temperature spikes, which had the potential to negatively impact the art.\nThe positive effects of this upgrade already can be seen in the acquisition of "Painting of Thomas Jefferson" by artist Rembrandt Peale, which requires a climate-controlled room and is on loan from the New York Historical Society.\nThe painting will be "the star of the show", said Turner, referring to the Academical Village exhibit, one of three shows currently scheduled. Other pieces in the show include original drawings of the University, paintings of the first Board of Visitors and stories about the workers who built the school's most historical buildings.\nVisitors also will see a 15-minute short film about the Rotunda, featuring photographs taken of the Lawn in the past set to music composed by Judith Shatin of the music department.\nThe museum is not simply limited to showcasing the University's history, however, as officials are now in talks with the Italian government to acquire a work from that country, Turner said.\n"The renovation is not the end of the story, it is only the beginning in our quest to be a new model for a teaching museum," Turner said.
(08/22/09 10:15am)
The University and the University Medical Center have seen multiple cases of the H1N1 influenza virus - popularly known as swine flu - since May.\nThe virus originally broke out among campers at University's summer enrichment program at the Education School, as well as during University programs for entering students, University spokesperson Carol Wood said.\nWhile it is "impossible to know how many campers contracted the flu ... our feeling was that it was minimal," Wood said.\nWhen children became infected with what is believed to be the swine flu during the end of the first session of summer enrichment camp, the sick campers were sent home and letters were sent to parents about the small outbreak, Wood said.\nWhen the next session began, Wood said the head of the camp met with all of the parents dropping off their children and reviewed protocols about what to do if their campers were not feeling well.\nIn spite of the precautions, Woods said that she "did not think parents were surprised" by the swine flu occurrences, noting that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention recently downgraded the swine flu to a "seasonal flu."\n"I think they were glad to be communicated with in a timely basis," Wood said.\nThe counselors also helped by making sure campers washed their hands and reported any flu-like symptoms, she said.\nShe added that all the campers who experienced flu-like symptoms returned home and recovered.\nOther cases of swine flu affecting the University community during the summer included 12 University Health System employees who tested positive for H1N1, hospital spokesperson Sally Jones said.\n"With the exception of one case of transmission from one employee to another, all [hospital workers] contracted the virus out in the community," Jones said.\nThe hospital required employees with the confirmed virus to stay home for seven days from the onset of symptoms. Those suspected of carrying the virus are required to stay home until they have been tested and receive results, Jones said.\nAs an added measure, employee health officials also compiled a list of people who had direct contact with any employee with a confirmed case of the virus. Those in contact were administered Tamiflu, a flu prevention and treatment medicine, as a precautionary measure.\n"We've been very diligent in making sure our employees take the necessary steps of preventing the swine flu," Jones said. "With thousands and thousands of employees and only 12 infected shows that we've done a good job of that."\nJones emphasized that all employees also are required to follow proper hand hygiene procedures to prevent further spreading.\nJones added that all 12 hospital employees who contracted the flu are "all back at work and they're fine."\nAsst. Hospital Epidemiologist Kyle Enfield said the best way "to prevent the spread of flu is for everyone to wash their hands and cover their noses and mouths when they sneeze and cough." Enfield also recommended that anyone who has flu-like symptoms to seek medical attention and avoid public contact.\nEnfield listed symptoms as fever, runny nose, watery eyes, cough, sore throat, and body aches and pains, as well as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, although those symptoms are less common.\nWood similarly emphasized "cold and cough etiquette" in order to prevent the spread of the flu among students this upcoming fall and added that the normal flu vaccine will be offered in September and an H1N1 vaccine will be offered for students between 19 and 24 years of age, hospital workers, pregnant women, and people with severe health conditions in either October or November.\nThe University also is in the process of reminding students to stay healthy by placing 10,000 stickers in restrooms across Grounds, Wood said. These stickers urge students to wash their hands, cover their mouths and report any flu-like symptoms to Student Health.
(04/24/09 12:23pm)
Throughout the past few months, the City of Charlottesville has concentrated on drafting a budget that balances the need for increased and improved services with the realities of the current economic situation.After creating new public outreach programs, new environmental initiatives and a so-called rainy-day fund, Mayor Dave Norris said he is confident in the city’s ability to sustain its economic stability.“The last three and a half months, we have focused overwhelmingly on the budget, just trying to figure out how to put together a budget that will maintain basic services in a very difficult economic time,” he said.Vice Mayor Julian Taliaferro said the city did not have to cut any services or city employees when forming the budget plan and was still able to set aside $2.8 million for the economic downturn fund.“I suspect, that if you look anywhere else in the commonwealth it would be hard to find another area in Virginia that didn’t have to lay people off or cut services,” he said.Norris also noted that the city’s unemployment rate is still lower than the national average though it has doubled during the past year.Taliaferro said he was pleased with City Council’s efforts in creating a new budget plan, attributing the budget’s success to “good financial management practices that have been utilized by both City Council and city staff.”Still, despite Taliaferro’s confidence in the city’s budget, he said he felt “like next year may be worse.” Nevertheless, he remains hopeful.“I have dealt with the Charlottesville budget for 40 years and we have always come out okay and we will come out okay again,” he said.Looking at the many projects and initiatives Council hopes to see through this year, Norris, however, said he is optimistic even with the effects of the economic downturn. He said he has seen signs of the local economy beginning to turn around.“I have heard a few realtors saying sales have been picking up in terms of home buying, which is a good sign of economic vitality,” he said, adding that several new businesses plan to open in the downtown area.The city’s budget will fund several community outreach programs that Council will implement in the coming months, including projects geared toward young people such as the summer youth employment program, Norris said. The program aims to provide the city’s disadvantaged youth with summer apprenticeships that will expose them to the work place and teach them steps to become successful.The program has doubled each summer during the past three years, allowing 80 high school students and 40 middle school students to participate in it this summer. The program will also provide 20 students with a chance to continue the apprenticeship throughout the school year, Norris said.The city also plans to start a new workforce development initiative geared toward high school students in the coming year. Council plans to hold programs that will expose students to different job sectors, including the health care industry, “which is one sector of our economy that is growing and there are jobs to be had,” Norris said.The city will not only reach out to its youth through education programs, but will try to engage them through other creative opportunities as well. The city hopes to create a program to work with high school students who live in public housing in a summer program about urban design. Norris said the students in the program will “be actively participating in a very informed way about the best way to redevelop these neighborhoods.”Educational outreach extends beyond the city’s young people. Council is working to provide scholarship assistance to low wage and low skilled workers to go toward classes at Piedmont Virginia Community College or other training opportunities in which they can build their skills and get a better paying job. Norris said this type of financial assistance will allow city residents from lower-income backgrounds “to climb the economic ladder.”In addition to community outreach, the city hopes to create a faster planning process for the revitalization of the city’s public housing neighborhoods, Norris said. “It is going to entail an extensive process of engaging residents of public housing and other key stake holders to talk about how they would like to see their neighborhoods improved,” he said.Sustainability also continues to be a goal for Council. Norris noted that the city will continue working to increase the overall tree canopy from 32 percent to at least 40 percent. Norris hopes to engage the community in this environmental effort by working with neighborhood associations, developers, school children and garden clubs. He added he hopes he can convince developers to remove less trees during construction and encourage them to plant two trees for each tree that is removed.Taliaferro said Council also has some energy saving initiatives that it will continue to implement in the near future. These programs “play off in the long term financial plan and also helps the environment and improves the community,” he said.
(04/21/09 5:33am)
Director of Public Works Judith Mueller presented Charlottesville’s Water Conservation Study Report to City Council last night. The Council decided to continue with the study to pursue some of the report’s suggestions and to find better data about the city’s long-term water usage.Mueller said the study, requested by the City Council and jointly prepared by staff and the Albemarle County Service Authority, “reviews current programs, such as rainwater harvesting, leak detection and sub-metering of multi-family residences.” It also examines the best practices of other cities across the United States concerning water conservation. The report suggests options available for incentives, new restrictions and alternatives that “may increase water use efficiency.”Currently, Charlottesville provides 100 gallons of water per capita per day, which is the average use of water in United States cities, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The city, however, only uses about 64 gallons of water per capita per day — 40 percent below the national average.Charlottesville resident Dede Smith expressed anxiety about the large discrepancy between the amount of water the city provides and the average residential use. He said he hopes Council will demand an analysis of these numbers from the City’s Department of Public Works and Department of Public Utilities.It is possible, though, that the 40 percent gap between water usage and water supply exists because the 64 gallons of water per capita refers to “residential use only,” Mueller noted.The different communities’ average water use will vary greatly because of occupancy, ages of citizens, conservation awareness, water fixtures and concern level for water conservation, she added.To help conserve water, the city lately has worked to harvest rainwater by attaching rain barrels to the city warehouse, Mueller said. Water collected in these barrels is then used to supply water for street sweepers and asphalt rollers, therefore reducing the city’s water bill.In addition to harvesting rainwater, Council member David Brown suggested that Charlottesville officials should consider gray water harvesting, the reuse of polluted water from waste water treatment plants. Although Director of Utilities Lauren Hildebrand said the Department of Health has come a long way in figuring out the safest way to employ gray water harvesting, the method is “still in its infancy.”The city also is working on the expansion of a Rain Barrel educational program, in which the public works department will hold eight educational workshops this year in conjunction with the Thomas Jefferson Soil and Water Conservation District, Mueller said.Other suggestions that Mueller made for water conservation stemmed from examples set by other cities. For example, irrigation run-off restriction would prohibit water run-off from property into the street or city storm sewers. Restrictions also could be placed on the time of day that outdoor watering can be done, like not allowing irrigation from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. to prevent water loss from evaporation. It is not yet certain how these restrictions would be enforced, however. A final option Mueller said the conservation study deemed helpful — but also “one of the most restrictive ideas” — are mandated retrofits, which increase water efficiency. The rule would require that all toilets and showers be retrofitted when a home is sold.It also was suggested that water conservation could be linked with the city’s energy conservation effort. Norris agreed with this sentiment, adding, “If we’re already going to do energy conservation audits, why not spend an extra 30 minutes per residence to look at water usage too?”The study has not yet uncovered “good hard data,” though, about how the suggested changes might specifically affect the amount of water saved, Mueller said. Council members therefore agreed to continue the water conservation study so that ongoing projects can be finished and so that planned projects can be set in motion.
(04/16/09 5:59am)
Two years after the Virginia Tech shooting the events of April 16, 2007 continue to have an impact on those who remember the tragedy’s 32 victims, as gun regulation efforts remain a topic of much discussion.Omar Samaha, the brother of Reema Samaha, one of the 32 persons killed in the shooting, said he now is working to eliminate loopholes in the selling of firearms in Virginia.Alex Howe, spokesperson for Americans United for Safe Streets, said Samaha is working to require a background check for guns sold in Virginia.State laws currently require licensed gun dealers to run background checks on those purchasing firearms. Howe, however, said if a firearms dealer is classified only as an “occasional seller,” they are not required to run background checks on their customers.Howe said “occasional seller” is a vague term and needs to be better defined by the commonwealth. “There is no definition that constitutes an occasional seller,” he said, adding that someone could sell 100 guns at a gun show once a year and still be considered an “occasional seller”.The issue surrounding occasional sellers of firearms is known as the gun show loophole, Howe said.After his sister’s death, Samaha said he discovered that the shooter obtained his gun because of a mental health loophole, which did not require courts to disclose someone’s status as being mentally ill. This loophole has since been closed in Virginia.But because of the gun show loophole, Samaha said a mentally ill person could still buy a gun at a gun show, “So we never really solved anything.”Samaha said his efforts are supported by Gov. Tim Kaine, who put together the Virginia Tech review panel. One of the panel’s top recommendations was to close the gun show loophole.To show how the loophole works, Samaha said he purchased 10 guns in less than an hour without a background check. “I could have purchased more guns, but I was going for a variety,” Samaha said, explaining that he purchased both assault rifles and hand guns.“It is a definite loop hole and something that needs to be dealt with to prevent future tragedy and violence in general,” Samaha said.Howe said a bill designed to close the gun show loophole failed by two votes in the Virginia Senate in February. Although the bill did not pass, Howe said the bill has public support, citing a survey done in the past year showing that “67 percent of Virginians consider closing the gun show loophole as one of their highest priorities.”Though none of the bill’s opponents spoke against the measure before the vote on the Senate floor, in the past opponents of the bill have voiced concerns that increased gun show regulations would go against the spirit of the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment.Second-year College student Coleman Wortham, moreover, said he does not think a change in gun regulations can prevent people from obtaining guns.“Those who we don’t want to have them will be able to get them anyway,” Worthan said.Some students, though, feel that changing current regulations can make a difference.“I totally agree it is a definite loophole,” first-year College student Chris Schultz said.Meanwhile, those not involved in ongoing gun regulation efforts are still planning to remember the 32 victims in other ways.Debbie Day, the director of the office of recovery and support at Virginia Tech, said the school is holding many efforts to remember the victims, including a 3.2 mile run to remember the 32 lives lost. Four thousand runners are expected to attend the race through the Virginia Tech campus, which will end at the April 16 memorial, Day said.Day added that classes at Virginia Tech are canceled today to allow students to attend the memorial efforts.
(04/15/09 5:34am)
Charlottesville Mayor Dave Norris announced a proposal for a greener Charlottesville yesterday at Northeast Park. The plan includes several suggestions for making the city more environmental friendly, like growing the city’s tree canopy, encouraging the construction of green roofs, converting areas of asphalt into green streets and green parking lots, and purchasing and preserving green space and new park land.To achieve a greener city, Norris suggested increasing the city’s tree canopy, or the area of trees that covers the ground when viewed from above. He said in 2008, the city’s tree canopy covered 32 percent of the city’s land. He hopes to raise the figure to 40 percent by engaging school children, garden clubs and other community groups to plant trees throughout the city. He also suggested requiring developers to plant more trees than they cut down.The increase in Charlottesville’s tree canopy “doesn’t make an immediate impact, but it is important for the future of the community and blends in with the priorities of city council in terms of neighborhood preservation,” Vice Mayor Julian Taliaferro said in support of Norris’ plan.Norris also said he hoped to “take barren parking lots and add green amenities” like trees and gardens.He said changing asphalt into green streets and green parking lots not only improves the city’s aesthetics, but could reduce the city’s carbon footprint and decrease the heat produced by black tops, which is known as the “heat island effect.”Norris also suggested that the city convert parking lots and some existing streets into “pedestrian throughways and community gardens.”“This is the first year in many, many years that the city had included money in the budget to buy land for green space,” Norris said.Taliaferro said City Council debated the green initiative plans for the past three years. Norris said the city, however, has not “done a very good job of balancing talk and action.”At least one Council member also saw room for additional suggestions. Council Member David Brown also recommended creating a storm water utility.Brown explained that the less permeable a surface is, the greater the amount of storm water run off.“Our priority for the city is to convert impervious surfaces to pervious surfaces” by decreasing the amount of asphalt and increasing the amount of green space and green roofs, he said. One way Brown suggested to effectively manage storm water run off “is to have people pay a fee based on how much impervious surface their property has,” which would in turn be an incentive for businesses and community members to have more green space on their land.Brown said other Council members have not heavily supported or endorsed his suggestion because they would like to keep the costs of fees and taxes on residents down in light of the recession.Norris explained that to encourage green construction, the City decided to give tax credits to citizens with green roofs to encourage environmentally friendly construction. Although he and several other Council members support the idea of a greener Charlottesville, Norris said his plans for a greener city are not in opposition with urban development.“We can grow our city’s green space while helping our city’s economy,” Norris said.
(04/08/09 11:17am)
Charlottesville City Council reviewed the City’s 2010 fiscal year budget Monday night, approving a series of amendments discussed at last Council’s meeting added to the budget proposal. The amendments include a tax cut for energy efficient buildings. City Manager Gary O’Connell said the tax on energy efficient buildings will be $0.475 on every $100 of assessed property — half the tax for non-energy efficient buildings. Council moved to carry the ordinance to its April 14 meeting, though Charlottesville “is one of the few budgets in the country that does not have a tax rate increase” depending on the type of building, O’Connell said.In addition to the proposed tax cut for energy efficient buildings, Council members approved other budgetary proposed changes to the $142,556,639 budget including $50,000 for urban tree planning, $100,000 for park acquisition and maintenance and $25,000 for bike infrastructure repair around the city. Council also proposed to include funds for the maintenance of the wading pool in McIntire Park, which is in need of drain repairs according to federal regulations.Council discussed and approved budget changes for some of the city’s private agencies, including $39,250 to be reserved for Charlottesville’s Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which also acts as the City’s pound. That budgeted amount is nearly twice the amount the City currently provides.O’Connell said Council also decided to allot $22,000 to the Real Dads Program, which is aimed to help educate fathers on being positively involved in their children’s lives.Aside from budget changes, Council members discussed the status of the performance analyst position, which was in charge of the efficiency study presented to Council earlier in the year. The study was meant to evaluate the city’s operations and make recommendations about how the city could use its budget more efficiently. Members had conflicting opinions about whether to continue the study.Vice Mayor Julian Taliaferro said he did not support keeping the performance analyst position, nor did Council member David Brown. Brown however, asked whether “It [would] be okay to hire someone for a year or two years” instead of contracting the position as a permanent full-time employee.Council member Holly Edwards, meanwhile, said she believed the efficiency study along with the analyst position “may be an opportunity for how we can be better stewards with our money,” noting that analysis of the City’s budget during the current economic downtown may provide a learning experience.Council will meet again April 14 to further discuss the City’s budget.
(04/02/09 6:34am)
The University Law School saw a significant increase in admission applications this year, as the school received 20 percent more applications this year compared to last year, said Jason Wu Trujillo, senior assistant dean for admissions and financial aid.Trujillo said the school received 7,870 applications this year, compared to 6,548 applications last year.The increase in applications came almost entirely from out-of-state students, Trujillo said. “I think that the Law School is becoming much more national,” he added. “We’re much more competitive.”Although the current economic recession could have something to do with the increase of students pursuing legal careers, Law School Dean Paul Mahoney said the Law School’s increase in applications “has been larger than most law schools’.”Trujillo noted that he believes the school’s attempt to increase electronic outreach also could have contributed to the rise in applications.“I think Virginia is just rising to the top of the food chain of various national law schools,” Trujillo said. “We’re becoming very competitive and everyone is starting to realize it.”Mahoney said he largely attributes the application increase to “the incredible success that our graduates have in the job market.”Future graduates also may be able to claim they attended a more selective school than previous graduates. Although the number of applications increased, Trujillo said the Law School accepted 150 less students this year compared to last year. Because the school overenrolled 21 students last year, it wanted to be more careful this year.In spite of the school’s increased selectivity, Trujillo expressed some anxiety about the number of students who attended the Law School’s first Admitted Student Day this year. He noted that 270 people showed up — at least 100 more students than in previous years.Although the Law School gave fewer offers than last year, it has seen an increase in admissions deposits, Trujillo said. Compared to last year, there is a 20 percent increase in the number of students who have accepted their offers. Thus, although the admission deposit deadline is not until April 30, there already are enough students putting down deposits early to cease offering admissions.“The class is full,” Trujillo said. “Deposits are coming in at such a great speed that we’re done for now.”Though the University’s undergraduate schools no longer offer early admissions, the Law School still admits a small fraction of students early.“Once again, applying early is always an advantage,” he said, “and it seems to be true this year more than any other year.”Update: corrected the numbers of applications.
(03/27/09 6:01am)
The Downtown Mall infrastructure makeover is on schedule to be completed by the first week of May and is operating below its planned budget, Charlottesville officials announced earlier this week.The project consists of several renovations to the Downtown Mall, perhaps the most noticeable of which is the rebricking of the mall’s walkways. City Council Member Satyendra Huja said the City chose to use slightly larger bricks after determining the Mall’s old bricks were in poor condition and could not be reused. He added, though, that the City is recycling the old bricks.In addition to the brick replacement, Mayor Dave Norris said the remodeling also includes new electrical wiring, storm water improvements, the renovation or installation of light posts, benches, tree grates, trees, street crossings and the installation of a free wireless internet system that will be available throughout the entire Downtown Mall area.“The reason we did all this is primarily because the downtown business community felt that the infrastructure downtown had gotten pretty shoddy and had been allowed to crumble over the years,” Norris said. “[It] needed an overhaul.”Construction crews have encountered a few minor problems, however, including the discovery of “an old decrepit manhole” — hidden underneath the bricks — which will soon be replaced.Despite these slight setbacks, Norris said the project will meet its May deadline while still remaining below its allotted budget of $7.5 million. Operating below budget has not affected the renovation’s quality, he said.“There were a lot of nay sayers when we started this that said it was going to go way over budget,” Norris said. “But the reality of it is that ... the project is coming in way under budget and we’re very pleased with the results so far.” City residents, though, have reacted both positively and negatively to the reconstruction efforts. Some University students, like fourth-year College student Pam Jessell, said the reconstruction will help the Downtown Mall’s appearance, but second-year College student Saleh Karaman said he “did not think there was a problem [in the Downtown Mall] in the first place.”Downtown Mall business owners and employees, meanwhile, have expressed even stronger mixed feelings about the construction.The Needle Lady owner Mimi Hyde said she was skeptical about whether the construction would be completed by May but said she thought the project was going well.“They’re moving fast,” Hyde said. “I think it will be wonderful this summer.”Miller’s bartender Angie Telofski, though, said she believes the construction is a waste of money and time.“It is taking away all of the business’s revenue down here,” Telofski said, adding that the construction has resulted in a decrease in business and worsened the economic recession’s effects on local businesses.In response to some citizens’ concerns, Norris explained that business activity downtown is usually slow in the winter anyway. He noted that local businesses are usually the ones who suffer during economic struggles, regardless of construction issues, and said the renovations should not be blamed for financial losses.“Certainly there have been some inconveniences but most people have responded very well,” Norris said.Norris also added that when the decision to renovate the Downtown Mall was discussed at a public hearing, “every single speaker spoke in favor of doing the project.”
(03/25/09 6:50am)
University students and Charlottesville residents could soon benefit from a recently approved initiative meant to provide increased rail transportation to Washington, D.C. from central Virginia.The Commonwealth Transportation Board authorized the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation to enter into an agreement with Amtrak, Norfolk Southern and the Virginia Railway Express last Thursday for a new state funded service in Virginia. The new agreement would allow for one new train running from Lynchburg to Washington and one running from Richmond to Washington, said Jennifer Pickett, chief of policy and communication at DRPT. Overall funding for the new trains, in addition to the cost of refurbishing two additional trains, will cost $25.2 million over a period of three years, Pickett said.Corrin Hoffmann, the program manager for legislative affairs and advocacy at the Lynchburg Regional Chamber of Commerce, said Amtrak has had a service that comes through Lynchburg and goes to Washington. With the current service, however, the train is generally full, which can make it difficult for passengers to find availability on the train in Lynchburg. Hoffmann suggested that the approved funding could help alleviate some of these concerns.Charlottesville Mayor Dave Norris also said it is difficult to find a seat on trains leaving Charlottesville.“By having a train especially for the 29 corridor, it will give people in Charlottesville a much higher chance of getting on the train and getting on, on time,” he said.Hoffmann said not only will the availability and timeliness of the Virginia railway improve but that the changes in the railway will improve the affordability of transportation in Virginia.“What is interesting about the trains, is both of them offer service as far north as Boston, and Virginia will get the revenue credit for all along the line,” Pickett said, adding that the lines originally only traveled to Washington.Hoffman echoed Pickett’s sentiments, noting that the new trains will benefit Charlottesville in several ways.“Anything that can help travel and bring commerce and tourism and help the transportation of those who are working in businesses here is good for the community, it is good for the education here, it is good for business, and overall good for the economy,” Hoffmann said.Norris also added that the easier access to the city provided by the improvements in the Virginia railway system “helps to make the University a more attractive destination.”From a less positive perspective, however, Norris said he has heard some concern about Charlottesville becoming a “bedroom community” for people working in Washington, which could result in unwanted development. Such concerns do not strike him as being realistic, though, he said.“I just don’t see people commuting two hours to work everyday,” Norris said.Pickett said Amtrak’s board is expected to put the new agreement into action at the company’s April 23 meeting. Virginia, meanwhile, has already approved the new trains, and the department has established a tentative time schedule that is awaiting further input from Amtrak, Pickett said.
(03/19/09 5:43am)
Research conducted by a University Law professor in conjunction with a non-profit organization highlights “the need for better oversight and better standards in forensic science,” said Innocence Project spokesperson Eric Ferrero.Assoc. Law Prof. Brandon Garrett recently conducted a study investigating 234 cases exonerated by post-conviction DNA testing with Peter Neufeld, the co-founder of the Innocence Project, Ferrero said. According to the organization’s Web site, the Innocence Project is a “national litigation and public policy organization dedicated to exonerating wrongfully convicted people through DNA testing and reforming the criminal justice system.”Garrett and Neufeld’s study, published yesterday in the Virginia Law Review, sought to determine what led to the 234 wrongful convictions in the first place, Ferrero explained. Garrett said most defendants “had little success challenging forensic science in trials,” which suggests two possibilities. One explanation, he said, is that they were convicted when DNA testing was unavailable and the “rudimentary” techniques of the time supported their guilt. Another possibility is that the techniques available at the time were not used or explained properly, he said.One research method Garrett said he used to examine the trials was to see if the testimony overstated the evidence. Researchers examined how forensic evidence was used in each case before reaching their conclusions.Garrett also said, though, that he and Neufeld were not trying to make conclusions about the effect any forensic errors might have had on specific trials. “We don’t know why the jury decided to convict,” he said.The research, therefore, illustrates the need to more closely monitor how forensic techniques are used to convict alleged criminals, Ferrero said. Peter Marone, the director of Virginia’s Department of Forensic Science, said his department is still reviewing Garrett and Newfeld’s study.Ferrero said the National Academy of Science spent two years looking at forensic evidence before bringing Garrett and Neufeld in to help “get a sense on how problematic a role forensic science played in these cases.”
(03/17/09 5:26am)
City Manager Gary O’Connell presented the proposed City of Charlottesville budget for the 2009-2010 fiscal year to community members and City Council last night. The total operating budget amounted to $127,085,950, a .23 percent decrease from this past year’s budget, O’Connell said, noting that the budget did not call for tax rate increases and cuts in programs or services.The City Manager’s office thought it was important to look at the budget during a three-year period, O’Connell said. “We’ve got concerns about what’s happening in the economy and by looking over three years we can try to address a good number of the issues,” he noted.Though the City Manager’s Office wanted to look ahead with the budget, O’Connell said the new budget is only sustainable for about five years and after that, the City could run into issues.“We’re clearly heading into the worst of times,” O’Connell said, adding that he was not expecting any improvements in the economy during the next few years.O’Connell said the City will reduce costs by cutting 14 full-time City worker positions to save $700,000. It also will not allow for pay increases for City workers, which will save $1.3 million.Several community members found the City’s Web site’s information about City worker pay increases confusing, a difficulty Council member David Brown acknowledged. He clarified that “there is no money set aside for salary increases” during the upcoming year.Instead, the council will focus its spending on three initiatives: affordable housing, a storm-water program and a home energy conservation program. Furthermore, O’Connell said the proposed budget includes a $509,681 increase for City schools.Although the tax rate did not increase, James Moore, a representative from the Charlottesville Tax Payers Association, challenged the City to cut spending by 5 percent to reduce taxes.Several community members echoed this sentiment, asking that a $2.8 million economic downturn fund instead be used for a tax reduction.Mayor Dave Norris said the Council and Charlottesville community members will continue to discuss the City’s budget during the next month until its final adoption April 14.