“It takes courageous leadership, as we find in our president and in our Congressman,” said Delegate David Toscano, shown here with his Congressman.
PHOTO BY HAWES SPENCER

The so-called Cap and Trade Bill, officially known as the American Clean Energy and Security Act, which passed the House of Representatives Friday, June 26 (after an explosion of favors for recalcitrant legislators), has earned freshman Congressman Tom Perriello (D-Ivy) the distinction of being among just 14 lawmakers, according to pundit E.J. Dionne, targeted by the national Republican Party. And Perriello appears to be the only one garnering his own television ad.

“Tell him to stop voting with Nancy Pelosi and start voting for Virginians instead,” says the anti-Perriello television commercial and a radio ad, both of which call the bill a “massive new tax.”

At a Wednesday morning press conference on the Downtown Mall, the Democratic Perriello appeared undaunted– and unwilling to grant the argument that (more)

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Congressman Tom Perriello (D-Ivy, left) declined a request for federal funds for Larry Sabato’s Youth Leadership Initiative. Now Senator Mark Warner (D-VA, right) is lobbying his colleagues to save it.
HOOK FILE PHOTOS

Few political scientists are as tapped into the ways of Washington as the University of Virginia’s Larry Sabato. For his encyclopedic knowledge and predictive acumen, he has be come the go-to-guy for the national media seeking political analysis. Now, after decades spent watching Capitol Hill, Sabato needs an act of Congress to keep his brainchild alive.

“If we do not receive federal funds,” says Ken Stroupe, chief of staff of Sabato’s UVA Center for Politics, “we do not have a sufficient endowment to continue to operate this program.”

The program is the Youth Leadership Initiative, a national civics education program founded by Sabato in 1998, providing free teaching tools to 50,000 social studies teachers of all grade levels nationwide. Every two years, the program runs mock elections with students voting on the same candidates their parents will on Election Day, making for what the Center for Politics says is the nation’s largest mock election.

Since its inception, the Youth Initiative received most of its funding from a federal earmark introduced annually into the House of Representatives by Congressman Virgil Goode (R-Rocky Mount). After (more)

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The splashing has begun at Onesty Family Aquatic Center, and neighbors say parking’s not a problem.
PHOTO BY COURTENEY STUART

After weeks of worrying about parking problems at Onesty Family Aquatic Center, pool neighbors say a smooth opening weekend has slowed the ripples of anxiety.

“I was shocked that cars weren’t in my yard,” says Eleanor Wilson, who lives three houses away from the $3.8 million complex on Chesapeake Street and had feared her street would be lined with the cars of poolgoers.

According to Wilson, who doesn’t have a driveway and thus relies on street parking, her fears weren’t realized. In fact, she says cars never parked farther than her next door neighbor’s house.

Bob Manners, the City’s supervisor of aquatics, says the opening weekend was “a huge success.”

(more)

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Parking may be an issue for residents around Onesty Pool, which opens June 20 at 10am.
FILE PHOTO BY COURTENEY STUART

Kids may be thrilled that the new Onesty Family Aquatic Center is opening, but some neighbors of Meade Park, where the pool is located, have a different kind of feeling.

With capacity for 225 swimmers and only 36 parking spaces, pool neighbors fear that after opening day, June 20, the streets around the park will be filled leaving them nowhere to park in front of their own homes. Their concern mounted on Monday, June 15, when City Council delayed plans to issue street parking permits to residents.

“They used no forethought at all about any of the residents,” says Eleanor Wilson, who lives on Chesapeake Street, three houses away from the park.

“I feel betrayed,” says Kevin Cox, who lives on Fairway Avenue and notes that it’s not just the pool but also the City Market held Wednesdays at Meade that puts a strain on parking in the area. According to the city website, the pool will close on Wednesday’s at 2pm to prepare for the market, which begins at 3pm, offering a half price daily admission.

“It’s shocking to me,” Cox says of Council’s permit delay. “I think they care more about (more)

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John Martin embraces conservation-minded rates, but he still wants to build a giant new reservoir.
PHOTO BY HAWES SPENCER

Albemarle County, which has been sending a message of seeking ever more water via a controversial dam proposal, abruptly altered course Thursday morning by approving a new rate structure that subsidizes thrifty households and punishes water hogs with rates that quadruple as use increases.

“I think it’s great,” says water watcher Betty Mooney. “They’re encouraging conservation by charging the people who use the most water the most money.”

The new rates, approved June 18 by the Albemarle County Service Authority, price a single-family home’s first 3,000 gallons at just $3.32/1,000 gallons, which is (more)

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Despite rainy weather, “Save McIntire” supporters gathered in a shelter for the Picnic in the Park series.
PHOTO BY STEPHANIE GARCIA

“What’s the most important phrase in real estate?” asked Albemarle County resident and Save McIntire member Clara Belle Wheeler. “Location, location, location!” Wheeler, alongside Mala Cunningham and Bob Fenwick, hosted the first “Picnic in the Park,” a Wednesday night series this coalition hopes will boost awareness of the impending changes, including a private YMCA recreational facility, coming through McIntire Park in the months to come. According to Wheeler, McIntire’s location is great for one thing only: public parkland.

“”We’re not against the Y,” says Wheeler. “We just don’t think (more)

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Artist Gerry Mitchell, one year after the crosswalk incident.
FILE PHOTO BY WILL WALKER

First came the accident. Then the bad publicity. Now, 18 months after Gerry Mitchell was struck in his wheelchair by an Albemarle County police cruiser and then ticketed by Charlottesville police in the ER, comes the lawsuit.

Filed Tuesday morning, June 16, in Charlottesville Circuit Court, Mitchell’s $850,000 suit alleges negligence, malicious prosecution, and intentional infliction of emotional distress and names the City of Charlottesville, Charlottesville Police Officer Steve Grissom, who wrote the ticket, and Albemarle County Police Officer Gregory C. Davis, who was driving the cruiser that struck him in a West Main Street crosswalk on November 5, 2007.

“When you think about the cover up, what they did was so unnecessary and horrible,” says Mitchell, reached hours after the suit was filed. “They basically are not being (more)

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The new pool at Meade Park opens June 20.
FILE PHOTO BY COURTENEY STUART

The Onesty Family Aquatic Center will be open for business June 20.

The new swimming pool, located at Meade Park, includes a lap pool, a large water slide, and a “lazy river” among other features. The facility can hold 225 people.

The city expects a busy opening weekend, with a press release informing patrons they “might experience a wait to enter the facility.” The pool has 36 parking spots on site, along with street parking on Meade Ave. and Chesapeake St. The park is also on the bus line.  City staff will be out to ensure a smooth opening.

““We’ll be watching the traffic situation,” says Will Bassett, business manager for the City’s Parks and Recreation Department.

The original Onesty Pool opened in 1975 and was demolished in late 2008 after a 2005 needs assessment determined operating the pool was not cost-effective.

The city in a press release said that the new pool project is well under budget. Bassett estimates that the total cost will be six or seven percent below the $3.8 million budget, but says final numbers still needed to be tabulated. Crews will work through the week putting the finishing touches on the pool,including spraying lines in the parking lot, putting out deck furniture, and setting up posts for lifeguards.

“We’re just trying to be ready for Saturday,” Bassett says. A ribbon cutting ceremony for the pool will take place at 9:30am, leading into the opening at 10am. Special activities for the day at Meade Park are being planned.

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Swimmers at Crow Pool enjoy a water aerobics class.
PHOTO BY GORDON BLOCK

Splashing in the deep end of bad publicity, the city of Charlottesville has formally ended a pricing plan on summer pool passes that charged more to students going to private schools.

Following the pricing change, the City’s acting parks director, Brian Daly, defended the original policy and denies that public scrutiny led to the change.

“The whole point of having this rate was to be as inclusive as possible,” Daly says. Daly explains the city’s primary concern was ensuring that the poorest students in Charlottesville would be able to afford summer swim passes. Though he admits being aware of some controversy around (more)

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