GOP kills accountability bills

In the 2006 General Assembly, the Republican majority made a substantive rule change that allowed for House bills to be killed in subcommittee where votes are not recorded. Before that, a bill could only be voted down before a full session where the vote is recorded. That year, 459 bills were quashed in subcommittee, and […]

Fixing Virginia, one strange bill at a time [with audio]

Quick, name Virginia’s state song. If you think you know it, you’re wrong. Since 1997, when “Carry Me Back to Old Virginny” was officially “retired,” Virginny…er…Virginia has been a state sans song. But there are bills raring to go in Richmond that will fix this—and a myriad other pressing problems on which senators and delegates […]

Your tax dollars, at work

Worked for the city for: 3.5 years Resides in: Albemarle County Job title: Permit Technician. You encounter Barmore when you call or walk in to Neighborhood Development Services, in the city hall annex. She answers the phones, directs walk-ins and organizes all kinds of permits for building, home occupancy, temporary parking and all that good […]

Follow-up

Last week, C-VILLE reported on City Council interviews for two spots on the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority (CRHA) board, which will face the daunting task of guiding redevelopment of Westhaven and other public housing projects. Rather than opting for familiar faces Kendra Hamilton and Wade Tremblay, Council appointed Bob Stevens and Karen Waters. Stevens […]

Proposed house straddles past, future

If one were inclined to compare the proposed house at 509 Second St. to a Roman god (and let’s face it, who isn’t?), a more appropriate mythological partner than Janus would be hard to find. This particular god had two faces, one of which looked into the future, the other into the past. With its […]

Will Board pass rural ordinances?

At their January 23 meeting, the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors opted to defer a decision on a package of rural ordinances billed as efforts to protect the environment. One would extend stream buffers, one would require more gently sloping private driveways and one would extend the amount of time people own land in order […]

Projects before the planners

The skinny: Dominion Development Resources got preliminary approval from the county Planning Commission to subdivide several parcels on 544 acres into 32 development lots of two to 10 acres (the rest of the last is being set into “preservation lots”). Property is in the designated rural area, surrounding the intersection of Dick Woods Road and […]

When the Latter-day Saints come marching in

"Outside, if you look at the LDS church, it looks pretty wacky,” says Bryan Kasik, sitting in Java Java on the Downtown Mall. “This farm boy from New York has a vision of golden plates and then he writes this entire book.” A Mormon, Kasik is talking about the founder of his church, Joseph Smith, […]

A lot on his plates

The prophet claims that he was only 14 when he was first visited by the Heavenly Father and his son, Jesus Christ, in the form of two pillars of fire. A few years later, the angel Moroni began to visit him and did so for four years straight until directing Smith to the hill Cumorah […]