Tag Archives: Politics
Your Vote Matters More
Neil at the Free Enterprise Forum writes in Apathy Increases Voter Value that in this year’s “Off-Off election” your vote will matter more – with small percentages of voters turning out, your vote’s value is increased.
If you’re not registered to vote, why not? Continue reading
Lots at Stake in the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors Election
There’s a lot at stake – growth, infrastructure, taxes … power.
So far, nearly $150k more than $250k has been raised in the race.
Redfields Expansion Denied. Real Estate Agents need Education
Charlottesville Tomorrow reports: Proposal to expand Redfields recommended for denial
Three thoughts:
Western Bypass – Same Plan, Twice as Expensive
From Charlottesville Tomorrow:
An unofficial estimate for construction of the Western Bypass is more than double the amount members of the Commonwealth Transportation Board were told by Virginia Department of Transportation officials in July before they voted to resume funding of the 6.2 mile highway.
Internal documents released under the Freedom of Information act reveal that VDOT engineers calculated a cost estimate of $436 million in late June, several weeks before CTB members voted to allocate $197 million to the project.
1 – Great analysis at cvillenews.
2 – Without the fine folks at Charlottesville Tomorrow, we likely wouldn’t know about this boondoggle.
3 – Wouldn’t it be cool if we’d devote federal funds to building American infrastructure rather than prisons in other countries?
Here’s the problem in a nutshell with infrastructure planning and implementation in Charlottesville and Albemarle:
Our localities are brilliant at planning. And studying. And planning. By the time they finish studying and planning, the plan is outdated, not viable and more expensive. And it’s time for another plan.
Getting around Charlottesville without a Car
Erika Howsare at C-Ville has an interesting look at getting around Charlottesville without a car.
Very related article I wrote in 2006 – Are there Two Charlottesvilles?
Also: Patience Crabstick wrote earlier this year a detailed account of the Charlottesville Bus system. (and I wrote about her writing about the bus system)
What Questions do you Have for the Charlottesville and Albemarle Candidates?
Once again, Charlottesville Tomorrow proves how to:
1) Provide tremendous value to the community.
2) Try to get the public engaged in the political process.
Using Google Moderator they’re asking voters for their questions.
Here’s one way to find out: this month, we’ll be co-hosting with The Daily Progress a series of candidate forums. This time, we don’t just want you to come – we want you to create the audience questions we’ll ask. Follow this link to our elections page, where you’ll have the opportunity to submit questions and vote on questions submitted by our community. The questions
A Plug for VPAP – Tracking Money in Charlottesville and Albemarle Elections
The Charlottesville City Council and Albemarle County Board of Supervisors races are going to be interesting this year. Take note: local politics matter.
City of Charlottesville on VPAP
If you don’t think local politics matter, read this story in yesterday’s Daily Progress about the proposed ramp at Best Buy … you have City of Charlottesville, Albemarle County and VDOT folks discussing a transportation project that will affect how many of us get around.
Heck, John Grisham is mighty involved in local politics, having given $20k to local candidates over the past two years. So are Realtors.
