With Mr. Jefferson peering over his shoulder, former attorney general Bob McDonnell (R) made his case for why he should be Virginia’s next governor at a campaign stop at UVA’s Jefferson Hall.
PHOTO BY LINDSAY BARNES

Standing in a room designed by the Commonwealth’s second governor, former attorney general Bob McDonnell (R) made his first stop in Charlottesville on his campaign to become Virginia’s 71st governor on Tuesday, March 31— part of McDonnell’s statewide kickoff tour.

“My top priority as governor,” McDonnell told a group of about 50 supporters, “is to expand opportunity and create jobs all over the Commonwealth of Virginia.”

At a rally at Jefferson Hall in Hotel C near the University of Virginia’s Lawn, McDonnell touted his economic policy centered on lower taxes, deregulation, and job creation, a point he hit home by handing out “Bob 4 Jobs” bumper stickers.

“Virginia is already a great place to do business,” said McDonnell, “but when you’re running for governor, you ought to have what James Collins called ‘big, hairy, audacious goals,’ and I want (more)

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Are four terms enough for Sally Thomas?
FILE PHOTO BY JEN FARIELLO

While word on the street this year has been that four-term Supervisor Sally Thomas will not run for re-election this year, she’s not quite ready to say for sure.

“I’m going to wait until the budget is over,” says Thomas. (Albemarle’s supposedly pared-to-the-bone budget will be finalized April 8.)

Thomas was first elected to the Albemarle Board of Supervisors as a write-in— yes, a write-in!— candidate in 1993 for the Samuel Miller District, and she has subsequently run unopposed.

Thomas has a long history of growth-control measures that have made her popular among environmentalists and suburban farmers. However, she ignited a furor last year with (more)

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The Eureka 26″ x 26″— coupled with a vacuum release— appears to meet new federal standards and prevent youthful waders from stubbing toes.
COMPANY PHOTO

If several top city officials had gotten their way, one of Charlottesville’s popular summertime attractions would have closed. Acting Parks director Brian Daly and City Councilor David Brown agreed there’s just no safe way to operate the McIntire Park kiddie pool without incurring costs that could rise, according to a story in the Daily Progress, as high as $20,000. But would the pricetag really soar so high?

“That seems like a bit much,” says pool compliance expert Dave Boylen, who conducted a safety seminar for the Blue Ridge Apartment Council March 25, the day the Progress article appeared.

According to the Progress, parks boss Daly found himself unable to obtain a drain cover that meets new federal safety standards without creating a tripping hazard. However, in a couple of minutes of Googling, a reporter found multiple dealers offering several compliant retrofits, including a 26″ x 26″ cover from Eureka Manufacturing.

Not only does the sleek, stainless-steel device offer sufficient span to cover the McIntire wading pool’s existing 16″ x 17″ main drain, it appears tapered at all four sides to limit tripping and to prevent (more)

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Tony Bennett has been the head coach for the Washington State Cougars for the last three seasons, two of which resulted in NCAA Tournament bids in 2007 and 2008.
PHOTO BY ROBERT GALBRAITH/REUTERS

He left his heart– or at least his job– in Pullman, Washington.

That’s what Washington State head men’s basketball coach Tony Bennett has done, as he has accepted the job to coach at the University of Virginia.

In a press release issued on Tuesday, March 31, UVA confirmed the hire and stated the new coach would be paid $1.7 million annually for five years, plus a $500,000 signing bonus, plus another $500,000 bonus if he makes it to the fifth year of his deal. This is nearly double what Bennett was earning at Washington State, and much more than the $1.1 million salary previous head coach Dave Leitao earned this past season.

Says UVA athletic director Craig Littlepage of his new coach in a release, “He is an outstanding basketball coach and is a perfect fit for UVA. He has all of the needed coaching and leadership skills along with an understanding of how to succeed in a highly competitive academic and basketball environment.”

On Monday, March 30, Washington State athletic director Jim Sterk confirmed that Bennett was taking the Cavaliers’ job in a statement. Sterk (more)

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Kohl’s seems to be moving ahead with plans to build at Hollymead Town Center.
FILE PHOTO

Lovers of trendy discount department stores may soon have reason to celebrate (even as big box-haters may soon be gnashing their teeth): signs point to the opening of a Kohl’s in Hollymead Town Center.

In February, the Wisconsin-headquartered chain applied for a building permit for a $5 million, 87,367-square-foot store to be built on a Hollymead parcel south of Harris Teeter and Starbucks— and at a distance from the shopping center’s northernmost anchor, Target.

According to County building records, the zoning and building plans have already been approved for Kohl’s. Still awaiting approval are engineering plans for the site.

Despite this evidence, Kohl’s spokesperson Elizabeth DeLuca declines to confirm the company’s plans to open a store here.

“Kohl’s has an ongoing real estate assessment process,” she writes in an email. “At any given time, Kohl’s is reviewing sites in communities nationwide. We do not comment on real estate speculation. When we have firm details, we are happy to share it at that time.”

According to its website, Kohl’s currently has 1,011 locations in 48 states. The closest (more)

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A Steel Interstate would let truckers to pull their rigs onto rails.
PHOTO COURTESY RAIL SOLUTION

Seizing a moment in history under a president who favors funding railroads to stimulate the economy and move both freight and passengers, Virginia Congressman Rick Boucher (D-VA, 9th) appears poised to secure cash for once-just-a-dream “Steel Interstate,” something supporters believe would pull trucks off Interstate 81 and create vast transportation efficiencies.

“Folks, if it hasn’t sunk in yet, I am here to tell you that the Steel Interstate System is how we’re going to handle essential shipments and personal intercity travel in a post oil world,” Michael Testerman tells members of the Virginia Association of Rail Passengers in an email. Testerman is president of that group and just returned from a three-day Capitol Hill visit to lobby for a Steel Interstate.

The Steel Interstate that Testerman has in mind is an upgrade of the existing (more)

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Before and after under-21 driver’s licenses.

Soon to be gone are the days of walking out of one of the Department of Motor Vehicles 74 offices holding the latest horrible photo on a driver’s license that you’ll be staring at the next eight or more years.

In the name of security, the DMV will mail licenses and ID cards from one central location in Danville. Even more retro, the new high-tech licenses are in black and white.

“It’s way more secure,” says DMV spokeswoman Melanie Stokes. “Instead of 74 license machines and hundreds of employees touching the licenses, one printing facility in Danville with 15 employees will produce all the cards.”

In the past five years, 29 DMV employees have been arrested for fraud, including one office manager who was bribed with doughnuts and pastries, confirms Stokes.

The department calls the new method (more)

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Charlottesville police now say the pedestrian struck and killed on Avon Street was not in a crosswalk and had alcohol in his possession.
FILE PHOTO

Nearly 24 hours after a pedestrian was killed trying to cross Avon Street Thursday night, there are no charges against the driver, and police say they believe the pedestrian— 63-year-old Horace Clay Atkins— was outside a crosswalk when he was struck.

Atkins, who lived on Avon Street, was struck in the 400 block of Avon Street at around 9:20pm March 26, according to a release. He died before EMTs arrived.

The 22-year-old male driver of the car that struck Atkins remained at the scene and called for help, according to the release, and police do not believe that alcohol was involved on the driver’s part.

Atkins, however, was in possession of alcohol at the time of his death and an autopsy and toxicology screen are currently being conducted at the University of Virginia Medical Examiner’s Office to help determine if alcohol played a role in the accident.

The accident occurred just two weeks after the city began implementing $700,000 worth of pedestrian safety improvements.

–originally posted 12:35am, March 27 and headlined, “Ped killed on Avon Street”

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The rest area on I-64 west is where the teen jumped out the window and escaped.
PHOTO COURTESY VDOT

The teen inmate who escaped from custody at the Ivy rest area March 26 was apprehended on his 17th birthday– March 28– at Fashion Square Mall. The youth, who had been on his way to a behavioral treatment center in Missouri when he bolted from the bathroom on I-64, was picked up in the men’s department at Belk.

“He was located while we were investigating a shoplifting report,” says Lieutenant Todd Hopwood with Albemarle police.