Long lines at the doctor's office, people sniffling and coughing wherever you go and newspaper headlines publicizing the flu vaccination shortages --- these are only some of characteristics of last year's flu season.
As local property management companies initiate lease kick-offs for the 2006-07 academic year this week, students looking for off-Grounds housing can expect the usual high demand accompanied by plenty of choice, according to Off-Grounds Housing Manager Vicki Hawes. Hawes described the market this year as fairly soft and said there are still options available for the current year. While demand is historically high for properties on Venable Lane and Wertland Street, Hawes said there is plenty of choice for students. "Urban legend has it that you have to sign a lease in October, but you may be able to extend it to December or January for certain areas," he said. According to Hawes, virtually all students who want off-Grounds housing are able to find it, though they may not be able to live in the most popular areas. Changes in zoning regulations in the past few years have allowed developers to replace single-family dwellings with buildings consisting of multiple apartments, Hawes said.
A railed streetcar system down West Main Street to remedy traffic issues in Charlottesville and improve local transportation was proposed by Alia Anderson, executive director of Alliance for Community Choice in Transportation, at Albemarle County's Green Infrastructure Forum Sept.
In addition to the influx of thousands of fans, tonight's Rolling Stones concert at Scott Stadium promises to bring logistical challenges for University and City officials. The anticipated 52,000 concertgoers are predicted to clog local roads and parking lots. "We're expecting it to be very exciting," said Rebecca White, director of the University Department of Parking and Transportation. Although there will be about 10,000 fewer attendees than a normal sold-out football game, there will be fewer students and fans familiar with the area. "It will be a little more chaotic in terms of traffic and people trying to find their way," Dean of Students Penny Rue said. To make room for the many visitors, parking lots around the stadium will be cleared by 4 p.m. Parking in the Emmet/Ivy, Central Grounds and Health Systems South garages also will be cleared during the 4 to 5:30 p.m.
Campbell Hall, the building housing the Architecture School, will soon undergo a makeover. University President John T.
The Virginia Crime Commission's Campus Safety Task Force will meet this month to review the findings of a two-year study of safety on the campuses of colleges and universities around the Commonwealth, including the University. According to the Crime Commission Executive Director, Kim Hamilton, the study is an effort to create basic standards by which the schools should act to increase security. "We spent 20 months looking at every two- and four-year community, private and public institutions," Hamilton said.
Charlottesville City Council considered an ordinance to eliminate the use of parking decals for cars registered in the City Monday. Presently, the City requires that cars registered in Charlottesville display a decal issued from the City Treasurer's office to fulfill mandates from the state and to prove payment of personal property taxes, Deputy Attorney for Charlottesville Lisa Kelley said. "There has always been a local license requirement, and if a city or county wanted to enforce their local requirements effectively, they needed some sort of physical evidence," Kelley said.
University Police Chief Paul E. Norris, Jr. has resigned from his post at the University Police Department.
Student sponsors of the fall ballot referendum to add a discrimination standard to the University Judiciary Committee's Standards of Conduct decided last night to attempt to pull the referendum because of constitutional concerns in regard to freedom of speech.
William B. Harvey, who previously assisted college administrators with diversity initiatives at the American Council on Education in Washington, is now joining the University as chief diversity officer.
Members of the University faculty issued a petition to President John T. Casteen, III last week scrutinizing the creation of the 2005-2006 academic calendar and requesting a change in protocol. Associate History Prof.
Moore Ruble Yudell Architects & Planners, a Santa Monica, Calif.-based architecture firm, was selected to work on the South Lawn Project yesterday. According to University Relations, the firm has been contracted to work on phase one, or the first four buildings, that will comprise the South Lawn Project. University Architect David Neuman said phase one should take between four and a half and five years to complete. "Specifically the firm, we believed, had a lot of very valuable experience doing similar sorts of projects," Neuman said.
University Medical Center Research Prof. Barry Marshall was awarded the 2005 Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine over the weekend, making him the first current University faculty member to receive the honor. With the help of Australian physician Robert Warren, Marshall discovered that the Helicobacter pylori bacterium causes peptic ulcer disease.
Last night, state legislators and students met to discuss current issues facing Virginia's higher education system, mainly focusing on increasing tuition rates, in the Student Council-sponsored third annual ABC's of Higher Education"forum. Sen.
University Police arrested Martin Straume, an associate professor of research in the University Health System, yesterday afternoon on several criminal charges, including the attempted malicious wounding of a female University graduate student. According to University Police, the attempted malicious wounding of the graduate student occurred Sept.
Polls open next week for the University's fall elections supervised by the University Board of Elections.
The average employee healthcare costs at most colleges and universities increased by 10 percent this year, according to a survey released Monday by the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources. Although healthcare costs for current University employees have not gone up, University Staff Union President Jan Cornell said employees have expressed frustration with the eroding service. The University is self-insured and designs its own health plan, but all claims are processed through Southern Health Services, Inc. In addition to employees having to pay upfront for services, there are not enough doctors and dentists in the Charlottesville area, so many employees are forced to go as far as Fredericksburg or wait for Southern Health to find a provider in the area, according to Cornell. "Southern Health doesn't pay enough to get doctors and dentists," Cornell said.
Seventy scholars from around the world met for a conference yesterday at the University's Darden School of Business to consider the future of digital scholarship. The conference, titled "Summit on Digital Tools for the Humanities," is three-day event which began yesterday.
