Tuesday, August 15
Taking care of business
Forbes.com declares Virginia the “runaway winner” in a study of the top states for business. The Commonwealth finished in the Top 10 states in all six categories of competition, and received high praise for its meticulous balance of low business costs and high incentives. Governor Tim Kaine comments that Virginia has a uniquely “bipartisan” drive to maintain the strong business climate. Virginia ranked first in the nation in the category of “Regulatory Environment,” a competition decided according to factors from transportation and bond values to business-attracting goodies such as tax breaks and low-interest loans. Texas placed second on the Forbes list, with similarly strong results in “Growth Prospects” and “Regulatory Environment.” Virginia, it appears, is the only state capable of messing with Texas.
Wednesday, August 16
Winds of change
Charlottesville’s Greenlight Energy Inc., which specializes in large-scale wind farms and other alternative energy projects, is one company that looks to benefit from Virginia’s prime business climate (see Tuesday, August 15). Today, BP Alternative Energy purchased the local firm, and plans to pump as much as $8 billion into Greenlight’s projects during the next 10 years, according to The Daily Progress. Good news travels fast when it avoids corroded pipelines, no?
Thursday, August 17
A slowing Express
Virginia Railway Express, a commuter rail service which runs from Northern Virginia to Washington, D.C., experienced a substantial drop in riders (and an accompanying decline in performance) during the past year, The Washington Post reports today. Typical travel hurdles “were compounded by additional problems,” ranging from a January derailment to the fierce downpours of June. VRE’s on-time performance percentage dropped to 69 percent—miles away from their 2001 performance of 90 percent. The decline in performance is a strong blow to Charlottesville’s Citizens for Better Rail Alternatives, a group engaged in a vigorous campaign to extend the rail service to Charlottesville (it currently terminates in Manassas). Though VRE spokesman Mark Roeber referred to the loss as “a hiccup,” Charlottesville travelers in search of a more effective northern commute are advised not to hold their collective breath.
Friday, August 18
Enough rights to go around
Is Virginia no longer for lovers? So asks Julian Bond, the legendary civil rights leader, president of the NAACP and UVA history professor, as he takes on the proposed Virginia amendment to ban gay marriage in a column for The Roanoke Times today. Bond calls the amendment an effort “to write bigotry into Virginia’s Constitution,” and opines that African Americans should be flattered to have their struggle imitated by others, arguing that sexual orientation parallels race. “Gay and lesbian rights are not special rights in any way,” writes Bond. “It isn’t special to be free from discrimination. It is an ordinary, universal entitlement of citizenship.”
Saturday, August 19
You’ve come a long way, Baby
Local actress, poet and performance artist extraordinaire Richelle Claiborne is featured today on CD Baby, the online independent record store. The site gives write-ups to indie artists on their home page for a few days at a time. Claiborne’s album, The Richelle Show Live!, blends spoken word and funk, with such intriguing tracks as “If I Had a Penis” and “Bad Bitch.” The front-woman for local metal band Soul Sledge has also made waves in various roles with Live Arts. CD Baby even includes a clip from, ehem, C-VILLE Weekly’s “C-VILLE 20,” which spotlighted Claiborne as Charlottesville’s most versatile entertainer. Keep your eye on this force of nature—everyone else is.
Sunday, August 20
The dummkopf debate
Former Republican congressman Joe Scarborough opened a can of worms on MSNBC last week when he spent 10 minutes debating the question “Is Bush an ‘idiot’?” The Washington Post expands on the debate today, asking a number of conservatives, including UVA grad and National Review editor Rich Lowry, about W’s intellectual acumen. Although Lowry—who wrote in April 2005, “It is time to say it unequivocally: We are winning in Iraq”—wouldn’t call Bush dumb, neither did he offer unalloyed praise. “There’s more of a sense now that things are on a downward trajectory,” the former Virginia Advocate editor admitted.
Monday, August 21
Afton eyesore blamed on local businessman
In an article in today’s Daily Press, Afton Mountain residents take turns excoriating landowner (and Charlottesville Oil chief) Phil Dulaney, who has been promising for over a year to tear down his dilapidated buildings (which include a shuttered HoJos and the burnt-out Skyline Parkway Motel) that sit at the junction of Skyline Drive and Blue Ridge Parkway. “All around, everything you see is falling down from disrepair,” says Rockfish Gap tourism volunteer Dick Eller. “We’re embarrassed about it because, you know, this is our community here.” Dulaney, who says the delay has been caused by issues with lead paint and asbestos, is clearly exasperated by the ongoing animus directed his way. “I don’t ask anyone when they’re getting a new car,” he told the paper.
