In March, an Albemarle County sheriff’s deputy claimed that he was shot by a “suspicious” black loiterer on Berkmar Drive; now he’s being investigated by the county police, and has been accused of lying about what happened. Deputy Stephen Shiflett claimed that he saw a suspicious-looking black man standing out front of Pet Food Discounters that, when the deputy approached him, show at him, hitting his bulletproof vest and his patrol car. The man was later found, but not arrested. Turns out Deputy Shiflett had attacked and arrested a couple who had reported an unlocked convenience store when Shiflett was a Louisa deputy in 2000, with a federal judge consequently awarding half a million dollars to the couple for having their constitutional rights violated. Sheriff Ed Robb, who declared the March attack to be a “hate crime” at the time, says that he’s “established very high standards for Albemarle County’s sheriff’s deputies,” citing Deputy Shiflett’s lack of a criminal record and punctuality. Reed Williams has the story.
Archive for June, 2003
Larry Tropea, the executive director of the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority and the Rivanna Solid Waste Authority for the past 18 months, has resigned. His attorney cited a lack of support for Tropea on the part of the RWSA/RSWA boards for his resignation. This comes shortly after a sharp hike in water rates, a few months after the effective closing of the Ivy Landfill, and after last fall’s summer and fall drought, a crisis which made Tropea well-known. The organizations are left attempting to provide ongoing solutions to inevitible future water shortages, facing unpopularity due to increased water rates, and funding the entire system without the income that the Ivy Landfill once generated. David Dadurka has the story in today’s Progress.
In a 4-1 vote, City Council decided last night to raise water rates by 30%, a result of the increase in the amount that the RSWA is charging for the water. This rate hike expires at the end of the year, by which time a city study should have been completed exploring, among other things, alternate pricing schemes. The new water rates go into effect on July 1st. WINA has the story.
Indie writes: The University of Virginia has an ambitious plan to build up its campus over the next few years. Included in its expansive plan is a goal to boost undergraduate enrollment by 400-500, possibly 1,100. See the full story in The Daily Progress.
They estimate that $1B will be spent during this expansion over the next few years, creating 1,400 jobs. They intend to physically expand UVa, heading to 9th and 10th Street and across JPA.
With the extensive advertising and promotion over the past couple of months, it would be difficult for anybody to have missed the recent opening of a Vespa dealership in Charlottesville, on Preston. Owner Colin Dougherty believes that the Italian scooters are a natural for Charlottesville, because, he asserts, “traffic is almost as bad as it is in Philadelphia.” The dealership has only sold 10 of the $3,000+ machines in their five weeks of operation. Does Charlottesville want Vespas? James Fernald has the story in today’s Progress.
Homes throughout Charlottesville and Albemarle County have recently received a four page newspaper-styled anti-growth mailing, entitled “The Albemarle County Clarion,” released by the Piedmont Environmental Council. The first of a few planned mailings on the topic, The Clarion describes itself as “sounding the alarm” on growth, warning of “the suburbanization of the rural area” in the county. The publication argues that sprawl can be stopped, and that preservation of rural areas is necessary, pointing out that county zoning plans for 50,000 new homes and 120,000 new people in Albemarle. Developer Wendell Wood says that the publication is factually inaccurate, and Chamber of Commerce president Timothy Hulbert dismisses it as a fund-raising piece. Given all of the developments planned in Albemarle, it’s clear that dramatic change is the plan for Albemarle; is this a bad thing? Are efforts to end growth a good idea? David Dadurka has the story in today’s Progress.
Henry Weinshenk’s Express Car Wash has, with the help of The Rutherford Institute, filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Charlottesville over last year’s water restrictions, WINA reports. As a refresher, on September 17, emergency water rationing was put into place by the city when the water supply was forecast to be exhausted in 80-100 days. As the first step, outdoor water usage restrictions were put into place, followed by raising the price of water and ordering car washes to shut down. On September 20, Weinshenk announced that he had no intention of ceasing operations, believing that it was reasonable to use the dwindling water supply to wash cars. After being met with heavy criticism, Weinshenk issued a press release three days later, announcing that they had switched to a water-free system of cleaning the cars, thus remaining open throughout the drought. According to a press release by The Rutherford Institute, they are seeking to have the drought restrictions declared unconstitutional, plus damages. “Local businessmen should be able to operate free of fear that they will be arbitrarily shut down by government officials in times of duress,” declares Rutherford president John Whitehead in the release. Was this a case of unfair targeting, or was it a reasonable restriction in a time of emergency?
An Albemarle County sheriff’s deputy suspected of making up a story of how he was shot in March (see the recent story and discussion for details) has now been accused by Albemarle police of falsifying information and impeding the investigation, WINA reports. Steve Shifflett resigned from his job as a deputy when the charges became known. The timing of all of this is not particularly good for Sheriff Edgar Robb, who hired and has since defended his hiring of Shifflett, since Robb is currently running for reelection. 07/01 Update: Reed Williams has a story in today’s Progress, in which it’s stated that whether there is an investigation into this bizarre case is in the hands of Commonwealth’s Attorney Jim Camblos. Sheriff Robb says that he knew full well of Shiflett’s history at the time that he hired Shiflett, concluding that he’s “read to put this behind us.”
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