The Albemarle County Planning Commission has signed off on a new ordinance that requires the drilling of a well prior to receiving a building permit. The idea is to ensure the availability of a decent supply of water before building commences, with builders of full-blown developments being required to present a groundwater management plan for the same reason. The hope is that, as builders install monitoring wells, a network of sites will be available for the county to study the groundwater levels across the county. As wells started to dry up during the 2002 drought, requiring the RSWA to create “doomsday plans”, it became clear that the availability of water was not something to be taken for granted in the development process. The ordinance awaits approval by the Board of Supervisors, who will take it up in August. David Dadurka has the story in today’s Progress.
Archive for June, 2004
Judge Harry Michael, the senior judge of the federal court (on the corner of Water and McIntire), has denied the appeal by Henry Weinschenk in his suit against the city. Weinschenk’s Express Car Wash was prohibited from using water during the 2002 drought, causing him to bring a lawsuit against the city in June of 2003, citing equal protection claims and irrationality of the water rationing. After the case was dismissed in April, Weinschenk appealed. This affirmation of the lower court ruling is likely the end of the line for the case. The ruling in Express Carwash of Charlottesville, LLLP v. City of Charlottesville is available on-line (PDF). (Via SW Virginia Law blog.)
When Elizabeth Clopton and Mary Bouldin got engaged recently, their engagement announcement was rejected by the Daily Progress. They were told that they couldn’t even buy advertising space, because their impending marriage would only be recognized by their church, not the state. (See last week’s Hook for the story.) Now Progress publisher Lawrence McConnell has backpedaled a little. Same-sex couples can promote their engagement or wedding, but only by paying for advertising space in a section of the paper other than the “Family Album” section in Sunday’s Lifestyle section. The setup is perhaps best described as separate but not quite equal. Lisa Provence has the story in this week’s Hook.
Charlottesville native and football legend Roosevelt Brown died yesterday at his New Jersey home, apparently suffering a heart attack. Brown played for the Giants for 12 years, contributing to their spectacular success in the late 50s and early 60s. His offensive line play earned him a spot in the Hall of Fame. Brown was 71 years old.
Two weeks ago, City Council voted to turn over the downtown amphitheater to Coran Capshaw (DMB manager, local real estate guy, etc.), loaning him $3.4M to overhaul the current amphitheater layout and create a covered venue, as a part of the redesign of the east end of the Downtown Mall. Capshaw has agreed to hold 50 events there each year, which the city estimates will fatten city coffers by $150k-$200k each year. Notably, there is no requirement that the amphitheater continue to be available to the Charlottesville Downtown Foundation for Fridays After Five, but instead stipulates that some sort of a cheap or free weekly event take place each week. Finally, Capshaw has been given naming rights, so the downtown amphitheater could become “The MusicToday Pavilion,” if he saw fit. Lisa Provence has the story in the current Hook.
The Jefferson School Task Force, searching for some organizations to occupy the Jefferson School, recently settled on the central branch of the Jefferson Madison Regional Library as a potential occupant, despite the library’s lack of need to move or interest in doing so. However, an engineering report has shown that the school simply isn’t constructed in a manner that would permit it to hold the many tons of books that are housed in the library, making it a no-go without extensive structural modifications. What hasn’t been discussed publicly thus far is the possibility of moving JMRL’s administrative offices to the Jefferson School, given that they are in need of a centralized location for coordination of the branches, in order to free up space at the central branch. Elizabeth Nelson has the story in today’s Progress.
Portico Publications, the Charlottesville partnership that owns C-Ville Weekly, has used the proceeds of their recent sale of Blue Ridge Outdoors to purchase the Columbia, South Carolina weekly, Free Times. The 17-year-old weekly has a circulation of 35,000, and appears to be quite similar to C-Ville Weekly. Richard Karpel, executive director of the Association of Alternative Weeklies, believes that this physically-distant purchase indicates that Portico is looking to build up a chain of weeklies. South Carolina’s The State has the story.
Metro(politain), the restaurant that started it all for the restaurant biz downtown, is closing down in a week. Owners Tim Burgess and Vincent Derquenne, who also own Bizou and Bang!, are ending the restaurant’s 13-year-run due to a decline in business that their 2002 renovation and renaming couldn’t solve. The two report that they’re doing well with their other restaurants, but the large number of restaurants downtown means that something has to go. Metropolitain, after opening in 1991, was so popular and well-reviewed as to kick off the trend of opening fine dining establishments downtown that continues to this day. (C&O Restaurant, to give credit where credit is due, is the granddaddy of them all.) Courteney Stuart and Hawes Spencer have the story in this week’s Hook.
After control of the downtown amphitheater was turned over to Coran Capshaw a few weeks ago, it was unclear what the future of Fridays After 5 would be, or if it even had a future at all. But after a meeting last week between the Charlottesville Downtown Foundation and a representative of Capshaw’s, it appears that all is well, if uncertain. The two parties agree to work together to continue the free weekly concerts, but it’s not clear whether they’ll continue to happen every single Friday, who will book the acts, and other logistical issues. It is clear, though, that the mission of Fridays After 5 will continue to be to support area non-profits. Lisa Provence has the story in the current issue of The Hook.
BetterLife writes: I was just curious about what others may think about our local morning radio choices. Trust me, I despise Clear Channel radio stations, but I don’t know how much more of 3WV BGB (Big Greasy Breakfast) morning show I can stand. This act is so old. Yeah, I’m sure they are great guys, but hey– you guys are probably around 40 years old now. You aren’t fooling the younger crowd by saying things like “yo, aish” (whatever the hell “aish” means) yessir, etc. Now you’ve got that poor kid “Highway John” trying to sound just like you. One of the Beavis & Butthead twins was on his honeymoon last week and this Highway John kid was filling in for him and ended every sentence with “aish!” Come on Brad Eure, you have been able to maintain local radio without selling out to Clear Channel. Isn’t it time to flush the BGB and try something different. I’m not the only one complaining. Many of my co-workers have switched to other stations because the act, sound effects, and music is just so stale. Sorry Max, Rick & John, time’s up!
I’ll just stick with WVTF…
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