Tuesday, August 2
Virginia Lotto profit nears a half-billion bucks
For the fourth consecutive year, Virginia Lotto has hit the jackpot with another record profit. That’s what the lottery’s Interim Executive Director, Donna M. VanCleave, announced today. This year’s count? $423.5 million. That’s $15 million more profit than last year, and it’s all getting donated to Virginia’s K-12 public schools. Total lottery sales also set a record at $1.3 billion, besting last year’s record by $71.5 million. According to Jill Vaughan, the lottery’s flak, 64 retailers carry Virginia Lottery products in Charlottesville, and 22 in Albemarle County.
Wednesday, August 3
County denies hospital’s tax appeal
The Albemarle County Board of Supervisors today rejected Martha Jefferson Hospital’s bid for tax-exempt status for the nonprofit hospital’s Pantops properties that currently provide medical services to county residents. According to Steve Bowers, spokesperson for Martha Jefferson, the hospital was seeking relief from $190,000 in taxes. But MJH’s properties do not meet the County’s definition of a hospital, and for that reason the request was denied. The hospital, whose main facility is in Downtown Charlottesville, also owns undeveloped acreage on Pantops where it plans a new hospital. Bowers says MJH hopes to begin the design process on that facility within a year.
Thursday, August 4
Habitat gets a boost from Bassett
Today dozens of Habitat for Humanity supporters, representatives from the Charlottesville Chamber of Commerce and employees of Bassett Furniture helped launch the official grand opening of Bassett Furniture’s newest store, across from Lowe’s. Owners Cort and Lenora Kirkley are joining efforts with Habitat by donating a dining room set to every Habitat home built in Charlottesville this year and next. “We believe every family should have a comfortable home to live in,” says Lenora Kirkley, “and the dining room—or the place where families gather to eat—is often the heart of the home.” Taking it another step, Bassett Furniture is also raffling a John Elway leather recliner and a football signed by Elway himself, with proceeds to benefit Habitat.
Homeless chief offers 10-year plan
More than 200 people gathered today for the 18th annual conference of the Virginia Coalition of the Homeless. Hosted by the Thomas Jefferson Area Coalition for the Homeless at the First Baptist Church, the conference featured a keynote speech from Philip Mangano, who for three years has been the executive director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness. “The time is arriving for another social evil to expire,” he said. Echoing the now infamous sentiments of his boss, Bush No. 43, Mangano predicted that in 10 years the eradication of homelessness in America would be another, gulp, “Mission Accomplished.” Can’t wait to see how that turns out.
Friday, August 5
FCC Internet decision assailed
Jonathan Rintels, Charlottesville resident and the executive director of the Center for Creative Voices in Media, inveighed against today’s decision by the Federal Communications Commission that telephone companies need no longer share access to their broadband DSL lines with competing Internet service providers (ISP). “According to the FCC’s July 2005 report on High Speed Internet Access, in December 2004 approximately 94 percent of Americans subscribing to high speed Internet access received it from either a cable or a telephone company. Given that tremendous market share, today’s FCC action eliminating competing ISPs will give cable and telephone companies even greater opportunities to provide the poor quality service at an inflated price for which they are so well known,” Rintels said in a news release.
Saturday, August 6
Unhappy birthday, Hiroshima
About 100 Downtown Mall pedestrians stopped this afternoon to check out the Charlottesville Center for Peace and Justice’s exhibit on the 60th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima. The CCPJ has commemorated the “birth of the nuclear age,” as they call it, since 1983. The event included stories detailing the destruction of Hiroshima (more than 200,000 people killed) and the bombing of Nagasaki three days later (about 100,000 people dead) and “shadow projects,” human-shaped paper cutouts to represent people vaporized by the atomic bombs whose outlines were permanently etched on buildings. Sue Chase, coordinator for the event, says CCPJ does this “in the hope that one day we will be a nuclear-free world, where children and adults won’t have to worry about the overwhelming nightmare of an attack by nuclear bombs.”
Sunday, August 7
Electricity slowly restored for thousands after storm
Thousands of area residents were only just having their electricity restored this morning after last night’s whale of a thunderstorm. A weak cold front traveling north pounded Charlottesville with rain and took plenty of trees along with it before hitting Madison County at around 8pm Saturday night, according to published reports. This morning’s aftermath included more reasonable temperatures, lots of debris and plenty of spoiled milk.
Monday, August 8
Allen’s ears closed to locals
Republican U.S. Sen. George Allen advances his unofficial re-election campaign by kicking off a 10-day “listening tour” that starts in Front Royal at noon today and culminates on Thursday, August 18, with a speech in Mollusk at the Northern Neck Soil and Water Conservation District’s annual awards banquet. Allen’s tour (a direct lift from the Hillary Rodham Clinton playbook) does not include any stops in Charlottesville or Albemarle, suggesting that Allen hasn’t time for whatever it is folks around here have to say about the federal government—at least not this time around.
Written by Cathy Harding from staff reports and news sources.
Taking one for the team
Koleszar answers Dems’ call to challenge Bell
After 10 years on the Albemarle County School Board, Steve Koleszar has done what no other local Democrat was willing to do—challenge Rob Bell for the House of Delegates.
To make up for Bell’s incumbent advantage, Koleszar will do his best to cast Bell as a no-tax zealot who would have the government abandon the less fortunate. Bell has increasingly cast his lot with Virginia’s Republican right-wing. In 2004, Bell was one of 45 Republicans to vote against a tax increase supported by Democrats and GOP moderates.
In the interview that follows, Koleszar explains how he hopes to bust up Bell’s glowing image and grip on power.—John Borgmeyer
C-VILLE: Your father was a Republican and a Navy man. How did you end up a Democrat?
Steve Koleszar: I was a Republican growing up; I was a Rockefeller Republican. When he lost the primary in 1964, the Goldwaterites booed Rockefeller off the stage. He was making a gracious concession speech, and he got booed off the stage. Why? Because they were true believers. Those people run the Republican Party now. That was when I started to become a Democrat. I decided I was a Democrat because I believe in civil rights and economic justice. Democrats traditionally cared more about working people and building communities, whereas Republicans tend to be more about leaving every man for [himself]. As far as social issues, I don’t think they belong in politics. Government shouldn’t be in our personal life.
How did you end up in Charlottesville?
After my father retired from the Navy, we settled in New Jersey. I was very interested in Civil War history, so I went to school at Washington and Lee, and I earned a degree in history. After school I went back to New Jersey. I was a social worker for a year, drove a taxicab. My son was getting along, though, and I had to earn more money. My brother was in the Boston area, so I went there and got a job working in a typesetting shop. I became treasurer of that company, took courses in business and accounting. My family got tired of big city life. My best friend from high school lived in Charlottesville. We came here in 1982. I house-husbanded for a year while my wife went to work, then I went to work for Crutchfield. I was head of their accounting department. I’ve always adapted well to computer technology, but I just got my first cellphone for the campaign. I never really enjoyed the telephone.
Why did you decide to challenge Rob Bell, and what’s going to be your strategy against him?
The primary reason is that he doesn’t support education. He’s a no-taxer. He was one of the few in the House of Delegates that fought Governor Warner’s budget a couple years ago. He didn’t want people to work together for compromise. He voted no. That was a fundamental vote on what we’re going to do in this state. Are we going to have a government that will work together to build stronger communities, or are we going to put our heads in the sand and ignore problems? I was talking to Democrats, and they were saying we’ve got to get somebody to run. Nobody would step forward and do it, so I felt like I was called to do it.
My campaign manager hates it when I say this, but I could never in my wildest dreams be as good a politician as Rob Bell is. He writes all the thank-you letters, and he gets his name in the paper and does all these things you’re supposed to do. He’s got $180,000 in the bank. And this is in a district that was gerrymandered to be Republican. The conventional wisdom is he is unbeatable.
My strategy is that this race has to be about issues. Which way do we want our government to go? I care about what you would call “lunchbucket issues”—education, transportation. There are things that government should do. Is it every man for himself, or are we going to band together and use government as a tool to help improve lives?
A project of some note
Rocker plans a new recording studio in Albemarle
When the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors meets to consider a development proposal, especially something in the vicinity of Blenheim Road, it usually concerns Kluge-generated McMansions or unexpected road-paving—contentious topics, for sure. So it was perhaps a treat for them last Wednesday, August 3, to hear a request of a more harmonious sort from a Blenheim Road resident. Matt Singleton, the brains behind rock band Big Fast Car, petitioned for a special-use permit to build a recording studio on his 50-acre property.
“I have taken the necessary steps to be sure that the neighbors are not intruded upon,” said the 40-year-old rocker who sports slicked-back long hair and a thick silver hoop in his right earlobe. That apparently sounded good to the Supes, who then approved his permit with little fanfare and no public comment.
Singleton, who also plays bass with No Gods No Monsters, hopes the conversion of his 900-square-foot barn, one of several out-buildings on his property, will be complete by late fall. And though Singleton Studios will join what’s becoming a pretty crowded lineup of local studios, including Crystalphonic, Kevin McNoldy’s major-league facility on Preston Avenue in the city, Singleton doesn’t seem hassled by the competition.
“It will be for my own use,” says the Michigan native, who as a young rocker spent some time hanging out with proto-punks MC5. “I’ll bring in bands that I like—I’m not just going to take anyone who calls.”
What Singleton likes is rock, pure and simple. He names All of Fifteen and Richmond’s Octane Saints as bands that just might get the welcome at his studio.
“What I love doing is working with young and upcoming local and regional talent,” he says. “I couldn’t care less about people who are established and making money.”
Though Singleton and his family moved to Albemarle five years ago from San Francisco, it’s taken him this long to decide that more home-based music-making was in order.
“I spent a couple of years focusing on Big Fast Car and we did pretty well with it. We were traveling quite a bit with the band. And I was missing being around my kids,” he says.
Touring the facility, it was easy for a couple of visitors to appreciate last week why Singleton might want to become more of a homebody. The views there, in the south-central part of the county, are lush and verdant. Inside the converted barn, Singleton plans to line the walls with brick, which he says is ideal for the warm sound he seeks because it’s both absorbent and reflective. And he has poured plenty of moolah into an analog, that is, non-digital, Trident console. He calls it “classic,” and with its wood paneling, it’s pretty darn attractive, even if you know little else about studio equipment.
While the studio renovation proceeds, Singleton is working on solo projects in the outbuilding that now serves as his office. Big Fast Car is on hiatus, he says, while he composes and supervises the studio work.
“I don’t see any point beating my head in little clubs unless I have a [new] product,” he says. “I’m too old to jump in the van and play in front of 35 people anymore.”—Cathy Harding
The problems of problem children
A newly completed study profiles local juvenile offenders
In June, the Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee of the Commission on Children and Families completed their four-year study, “Characteristics of Juvenile Offenders.” In mid-July the eye-popping numbers, taken from 547 Charlottesville-Albemarle case files of juvenile offenders ages 10 to 19, were officially released.
While the report may not paint a complete portrait of these kids who can’t seem to stay out of trouble, it sketches an outline. Since the report was based on case files put together primarily by probation officers, CCF’s job was to analyze the data (organized by behavioral, family, social, educational and emotional need/risk factors), not to collect more.
“The numbers were a little bit surprising,” says Cynthia Casey, a child protective services supervisor in Charlottesville, “but the characteristics were well within what we see on a day-to-day basis.”
In response to the report’s findings, says Gretchen Ellis, co-author of the report, the CCF has organized work groups on family violence and extracurricular activities, with the goals of identifying, studying and recommending solutions to problems.
According to Ellis, the family violence work group has recommended the creation of a Children’s Advocacy Center that would put a variety of children’s advocates—from lawyers to counselors—under one roof. When she spoke to C-VILLE, Ellis said she had just put the finishing touches on a $75,000 grant proposal to get the center up and running. She will know in “about a month” whether the funding has come through.—Nell Boeschenstein
The road ahead
Conference coaches break down the changes in the ACC
The Atlantic Coast Conference is a month away from a historic football season. Instant replay will be inaugurated this year, and Boston College will come online in the league. In addition, there’s a new format—the Atlantic and Coastal divisions—culminating with the first-ever ACC Championship on December 3 in Jacksonville, Florida.
Locally, Al Groh begins his fifth year as UVA head coach, and quarterback Marques Hagans starts his second season under center. But the Cavaliers, looked upon as heavy favorites last year, appear to be underdogs this season after earning a third-place position in the Coastal Division of the ACC Pre-Season Media Poll.
Ironically, rival squad Virginia Tech was looked upon as novice last season and they walked away with the ACC title.
Could that scenario repeat itself this season, only this time with UVA in the victor’s role?
A couple of weeks ago, coaches, players and sports reporters gathered for the ACC Football Kickoff weekend where these were among many issues addressed. C-VILLE talked with five ACC head coaches, including Groh, for a season preview.—Wes McElroy
Al Groh, UVA
C-VILLE: This off-season has the Associated Press pull their poll from the Bowl Championship Series, as well as ESPN pull their name from the Coaches Poll. Do you feel that coaches have enough time, given their football schedules, to evaluate what is going on around the NCAA and actually vote?
Groh: Believe me when I say this, I pay very little attention to who’s in and who’s out, which poll counts, which poll doesn’t count, or how many computers we have going on.
Basically, in the long run, it’s all going to shake out. I’m just trying to concentrate on what I can control, which is coaching my own team.
In the limited brainpower I have to apply, I’m going to apply very specifically to things dealing with my team.
What I need to know about those other things, other people will tell me. Personally, I don’t vote.
I sent in a form, “Do you want to vote,” and I checked off “Don’t include me.” So I’m just going to deal with my team.
Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech
C-VILLE: This season the conference welcomes its newest member, Boston College. Looking back on your first year in the ACC, what do you recall were your beliefs on how Virginia Tech was perceived in that position and what about now, now that you are defending champions?
Beamer: Last year this team was excited to be here. I was excited to be here. To be in the ACC. And then things just went great for us.
I think [this season] there’s a sense of relief, because we didn’t always think we would be a member of this conference. Then to come in and have people pick us, kind of in the middle of the pack, and to come back this year and feel like you proved that you do belong in the conference, that you can help this conference, and that you can add to this conference.
Boston College is going to be a great addition to the ACC and I hope the other teams feel that way right now.
There is a sense of satisfaction that we became a member of the ACC. There’s a sense of satisfaction that we’re a valuable member of the ACC.
John Bunting,
University of North Carolina
C-VILLE: After a year in the Big Ten, instant replay proved to be a success, and it will move into your conference this season. Why is this the year that college football expands to an extra-checks-and-balances system to help referees?
Bunting: The game’s getting faster and faster. The league’s getting better and better. College football, in general, is probably getting more talented. Players are bigger, faster and stronger. There’s more sophistication in offense and defense. Just more things for (referees) to look at.
For the last couple of years, referees come in my office saying they’d love to see it. They want it. We want it. They got it! I think it won’t be perfect but it will be something we will grow with and make as perfect as it can be. It’s helped the NFL.
Bobby Bowden,
Florida State
C-VILLE: Your slated starting quarterback Wyatt Sexton will begin the season with Lyme Disease. How did it change your game plan, so late in the summer, to work around inexperienced Xavier Lee or Drew Weatherford?
Bowden: Normally you are a red-shirt junior before you play quarterback at Florida State and before you start. Take all our quarterbacks and they’ve been red-shirt juniors before they started except when injuries have occurred.
Chris Rix had to start as a red-shirt freshman because one of our quarterbacks got kicked off the football team.
Now we lose our quarterback, and these two red-shirt freshmen—one of them is going to have to start a ball game.
So it’ll be a challenge. It’ll be fun to see what they can do. Good news is that they have talent. The worst thing that could’ve happened was to be inexperienced with no talent. But we are inexperienced with talent. We will let them compete against each other and see if one can separate.
Larry Coker,
University of Miami
C-VILLE: This off-season, it was announced that next year the NCAA will add a 12th game to the schedule. The Atlantic Coast was the only conference that publicly opposed the addition. Why were you opposed?
Coker: You like to have that break in the middle of things.
The thing that I was against was now you have an ACC championship, which is potentially another game, and that’s a good problem to have, hopefully. That’s one, as a coach, you want to have.
But I think again—I don’t know if I would really say that I would be one to believe it would academically set you back.
I think it’s been proven during the season that academics tend to hold up pretty well anyway. In football, you don’t miss much. The thing with academics, I think, is sometimes Thursday night games, Friday games, or Monday night games, hurt academics more than a 12th game.
I think we do play enough. Personally, I think it’s harder to get that 12th game in our schedule.
