News and meta-news about Charlottesville, VA.
dano272 writes: Wild Wings Cafe is closed and the word on the street is that it’s money problems. A sign posted on the door said it would reopen on the 28th of December, but workers arrived to find the place still closed and no word why. I guess no one bothered to tell them. Merry Christmas, now go look for another job.
Does anybody know anything more about this? By all outward appearances, they seem to be quite successful.
Indie writes: The Daily Progess is reporting that a contingent of UVa employees is lobbying the state to raise taxes. With the University not able to compete on the salary scale with “peer institutions,” threats of professors and other employees leaving because they haven’t gotten a raise in TWO years, legislators are now contemplating a variety of tax increases. Sure the states budget is in a sad state of affairs, but are they actually spending our money wisely? I imagine there is still a lot of fat, pork, and waste in the budget that they can cut before they raise taxes. A potential increase would just shift the burden to keep UVa running to non-UVa employees, mainly middle-class workers who don’t make as much as university workers.
Tax me ’til I blee– oh. never mind.
It appears that Albemarle has increased tax assessments pretty sharply, if cvillenews.com submissions are any sort of a metric. Writes mmike87: “It seems that Albemarle’s money troubles are over. With little fanfare, Albemarle County raises real estate assesments 20-30% for everyone I talked to. For many , this amounts to a tax increase of over $200 a year. Not bad - a 20+% tax increase with no press, no fuss, and no arguments from the general public.” And Big_Al writes: “We received our “Notice of Reassessment” yesterday, which introduced us to a whopping 26-1/2% increase over the 2001 assessment, and an equally startling 17% increase over our mid-2001 purchase price. I find it hard to believe that our property has experienced that much of a value increase in such a short time, and we’re not looking forward to the tax increase. Apparently, we’re not alone, as co-workers (and other posters on cvillenews.com) have related similar experiences. Am I wrong in thinking that this is an obscene attempt to raise revenues on the taxpayers’ backs without actually raising taxes? Surely, if the Board of Supervisors had attempted to raise ANY tax by 27% they’d be shouted down and possibly face difficult reelection prospects. This way, they can mask the increase by proclaiming Albemarle County is a great place to live with alarmingly rising property values.” Has anybody else had similar experiences? Aren’t Albemarle’s property values, like Charlottesville’s, simply based on market value, and not subject to forces of government whim? Or is there room for a sneaky tax hike?
In what qualifies as Very Very Big News in the science world, Charlottesville astronomer Ed Fomalont (who works with the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, which headquartered in Charlottesville) has confirmed Einstein’s theory of relativity by demonstrating that the speed of gravity is roughly the same as the speed of light. In September, Fomalont monitored the light from a quasar as it was eclipsed by Jupter. If the speed of gravity were infinite, as some thought that it might be (notably Newton), the quasar would have appeared as a circle; if gravity were finite, the quasar would have appeared distorted. Fomalont worked with University of Missouri’s Sergei Kopeikin on the project. Kate Andrews has the story in today’s Progress, though a more detailed article can be read in New Scientist.
The U.S. Census Bureau has agreed to adjust their population data for Charlottesville and Albemarle County after providing contested 2001 results. The census indicated that Charlottesville had a population of 45,000 and Albemarle a population of 79,000, figures that both the city and the county knew were inaccurate. The calculations were inaccurate due to a miscalculation in the neighborhoods around UVa, where the borders were unclear. 5,000 people are now included in the county population that had previously been included in the city, giving a revised city population of 40,000 and a county population of 84,000. Amanda Greene has the story in the current Observer.
Tracey Linkous sent out an e-mail this morning regarding an unusual missing persons case, which I feel compelled to reproduce here. Owen Young — who is known locally for his involvement with the Rotary Club, the Unitarian Church, the Company of Friends, the United Way, the Chamber of Commerce, volleyball coaching and lots of other stuff — has been missing since January 1st. Friends, family and police are trying to find out what’s going on, of course. Keep reading for Tracey’s full e-mail to get more information, and you can also see a picture of Owen.
Date: Wed, 8 Jan 2003 17:25:11 -0500
From: Tracey Linkous
Subject: Have you seen Owen Young?
This is not a “Where’s Waldo”, but indeed an earnest request for information to the whereabouts of Owen Young based in Charlottesville, Virginia. Many of his friends and family are concerned as he has not been seen or heard from since January 1, which is highly unusual. No return phone calls from home/work or cell, no return emails, he has missed appointments, and his neighbors have not seen him recently.
The Albemarle County police are now involved, and together we are searching for information from anyone who can help us find Owen. Through this grassroots effort, we are hoping to learn he is okay.
Owen drives a burgundy/dark red VW Passat with the license plate VACoach. He Is involved in a local chapter of the Rotary, Unitarian Church, Charlottesville Company of Friends, United Way Board, International Coaching Federation, National Center for Non Profit Boards, Girls Volleyball Coaching through Albemarle County, the Charlottesville Fatherhood Initiative, the Chamber of Commerce, and many other groups.
We would sincerely appreciate any information any one can offer to help us locate Owen. Attached is a picture of Owen. I can be reached at the following numbers: 434-817-2394 / 434-242-5886 / 434-974-1557. And via email at mailto:Tracey@caar.com.
Warm regards,
Tracey
BetterLife writes: I have noticed recently that several regular faces are absent on our local station - NBC 29 WVIR. By visiting their website at www.nbc29.com, you see the absence of the following names: Melinda Semadeni, Allison Zeiger, Lori Lichorobiac and Lisa Washington. Does anyone know what is going on over there or is it just a coincidence?
According to the Augusta Free Press, the Observer’s valley edition has folded. (Please excuse the pun.) The Observer launched the valley edition almost two years ago, but, after the leadership change, decided that it no longer made sense financially. The August Free Press, it is worth mentioning, is apparently brand-new, and exists only on-line. It’s run by former Observer staff members Chris Graham and Crystal Graham, and calls itself the independent news source for Waynesboro, Staunton, and Augusta.
Two weeks after the discussion on cvillenews.com, Peter Savodnok has a story in the Progress about Albemarle County’s sharp increase in the assessed values of homes. In 1997, assessments increased by 2.3%. 3.5% in 1999. 12.8% in 2001. This year? 18.7%. The Board of Supervisors blames the rising cost of real estate in the area. Some citizens are calling for a tax cut to keep the dollar value even. As the Charlottesville area becomes a more well-known and desirable place to live, is it possible that we could be priced out of our own homes? What’s the solution to this problem, both short-term and long-term?
NickL writes: I was at the peace demonstration on the Downtown Mall Saturday and the turn out was huge! I’m used to seeing the protestors on the corner of Main and Ridge St. Thursday nights, but this time the crowd streched from the corner all the way down to the intersection with Preston. Did anyone else from here go to it? Charlottesville police estimate ~500 people, but I’d say it was more than that. The Daily Progress has the story.
ColinC writes: After recent snowfall, I and many others have noticed a black, sootlike substance settling on the snow, cars, and dogs around town. It’s thick and hard to get off. There is a possibility that this may stem from the UVA power plant recently found to have an effect on air quality. Anyone have an insight into this mystery?
JizzMasterZero writes: According to a story on the web site of the trade magazine Editor & Publisher, more and more newspapers are moving to require registration for their web sites. Apparently, papers that have started requiring registration haven’t seen a decline in visitors, and now they can even make money by selling users’ demographic information! Aren’t newspaper publishers great?! Here’s the operative paragraph for Charlottesville readers: “In a report to Wall Street analysts in December, executives from Media General Inc. of Richmond, Va., said: ‘The standard metric for successful Web operations is becoming registered users. We have increased the number of opportunities for our users to identify themselves,’ including registration for e-mail services. A spokesman says the chain plans to step up both registration and paid content this year.” Those are the only specifics for the company, and there’s no word on which papers — the Progress? — it’ll apply to.
Requiring registration to read a website is horrible in so many ways, not the least of which is that it presents a major obstacle to easy use, and therefore drastically devalues links to that site. Worse yet, it’s one more login and password to remember, something that we could all do without. Let’s hope that the Progress doesn’t make this blunder.
There’s a debate in Albemarle County over vending machines, and whether or not schools ought to be selling candy and soda to children. On the one side, people point to the revenue raised by the sales. On the other, people point out that soda has absolutely no health benefits, and contribute to a variety of long- and short-term health problems. Braxton Williams has the story in today’s Progress. The school board intends to make a decision in February.
Indie writes: The civil eviction case against former public housing resident Joy Johnson has been dismissed, according to The Daily Progress. Johnson was evicted by the Charlottesville Public Housing Authority after drug raids at her public housing apartment resulted in the arrests of her two sons, who were not allowed to be on the property. Has Johson been given a raw deal, and should the public housing authority give her a second chance? Or was the housing authority’s decision fair and even-handed and she should be responsible for what goes on within her apartment?
City Council has proposed a $0.02 real estate tax rate cut, simultaneous with the announcement that property values in Charlottesville have increased, on average, 12.8%. Said Mayor Cox, “The council has grown increasingly concerned about those who struggle with the unfortunate side effect of high assessments - high taxes. We understand that most people in Charlottesville have not seen a comparable increase in their earnings.” This approach will presumably prevent a reaction like the anger in Albemarle over their assessment increases earlier this month. To afford the rate reduction, Council intends to cut operating costs by 5%. The last time that real estate taxes were cut was in 1990, when they went from $1.13 to $1.11. Elizabeth Nelson has the story in today’s Progress.
silkyzephyr writes: The police blocked off I-64 westbound (Friday 2:30pm). The resulting detoured traffic backed up Route 250 for six miles. I know this because I drove that far east looking for an alternative route back into C’ville, after shopping at Giant on Pantops. Ended up almost at Zion Xroads, turning south and then coming back past Monticello. What happened today on I-64?
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