Charlottesville Podcasting Network

Author Kath Weston, an Anthropology PhD from Stanford University, grew up in a working-class family and attended college with the help of financial aid, took her first bus trip alone when she was 16, and that unforgettable trip showed her that traveling on the bus was much more than just a way to get somewhere.

Before joining the University of Virginia faculty this fall, she spent more than five years crisscrossing the nation on buses, chronicling the lives of Americans who travel via the least expensive mass transportation option. She refers to her new book, Traveling Light: On the Road with America’s Poor, as a journey full of unexpected richness. Her new book describes her fellow passengers’ colorful humanity and tackles issues of class, race and dubious access to America’s opportunities.

 

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For more information about the show or to see the full text, visit the Oscar Show’s blog

The Albemarle County Board of Supervisors has put the study of the Eastern Connector on hold for a few years until more data can be collected about how County residents move around. They made their decision after viewing a presentation on the final recommendations of the Eastern Connector Corridor Location Study. The matter has been referred to the Metropolitan Planning Organization for further negotiations between the City and the County.

Visit Charlottesville Tomorrow for a full write-up on this story, including a detailed timeline. If you have an opinion on the Eastern Connector, let us know in the comments.

 

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On the June 12th edition of WINA’s “Charlottesville–Right Now!” Coy Barefoot talks with Virginia Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling (R) about the upcoming special session on transportation. Bolling summed up the prospects for the special session.

“There’s just no consensus… my fear is we’re going to go there on the 23rd, it’s going to be very short, its going to be very non-productive,” Bolling said., “I just don’t see a consensus building right now, and again it’s always possible that it could happen here in the next few days, but right now it seems highly unlikely.”

Governor Tim Kaine (D) has presented a plan that would increase fees for vehicle registration and increase taxes on car purchases, as well as levy a one cent sales tax increase on residents in Northern Virginia.

Bolling made it clear that he is opposed to such tax increases, stating his view that “there’s never really a good time to raise taxes, but frankly this is a horrible time to raise taxes because of the state of the economy.”

He also painted the Democrats in the General Assembly as out of touch with Virginia voters, arguing that there’s agreement between Republican lawmakers and voters.

“The problem in Richmond is not a lack of money, the problem in Richmond is a lack of fiscal discipline. We’ve got enough money through existing revenue sources to solve our transportation problems if we just use that money for transportation, as opposed to spending it on all of these new and expanded government programs, and the people of Virginia are a step ahead of the members of the General Assembly.”

Bolling outlined his proposals for solving the transportation problem without raising taxes. He said that reserving just 1% of the existing state sales tax for the transportation trust fund would result in approximately $950 million a year for transportation. As an alternative, he mentioned the possibility of requiring 10% of future revenue growth to go towards transportation expenses; he said that if the state had adopted this policy 10 years ago, it would have generated $800 million over the past decade. Bolling also laid out his plan for budget surpluses, arguing that “those budget surpluses are by definition one-time money, I think they should be used to fund one-time things like capital projects, building roads and bridges.”

 

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On the May 27 edition of WINA’s “Charlottesville–Right Now!” Coy Barefoot speaks with Brian Wheeler, the Executive Director of Charlottesville Tomorrow. The topics include:

• Higher gas prices affect those whose children are on traveling athletic teams, and how older gas pumps can’t charge more than $3.999 a gallon.
• Local planning body holds transportation summit - how can where you live affect how much you’ll pay in gasoline costs? How will our roads and rails be planned accordingly?
• Water supply conversation continues - City Council to vote June 2 on water plan
• Fredericksburg area seeing enabling authority for regional transportation authority - Charlottesville MPO hears details
• Hillsdale Drive funding delayed
• Camelot wastewater facility running out of capacity
• New development across from Lowe’s on 29 North?

 

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With fuel costs soaring and crude oil hovering at or near $100 per barrel, the need for new fuel sources is more paramount than ever. University of Virginia Physicists, Bellave S. Shivaram and Adam B. Phillips, have discovered a new class of hydrogen storage materials that could make the storage and transportation of this form of energy much more efficient — and affordable — through higher-performing hydrogen fuel cells.

 

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For more information about the show or to see the full text, visit the Oscar Show’s blog.

On February 27, 2007, the Albemarle County Planning Commission held a work session to receive an update on the Places29 master planning project. When complete, the Places29 master plan will provide a twenty-year vision for the Route 29 North corridor detailing the development, transportation, and public facilities desired by the community. The commissioners received the recently completed draft plan which has been under development since the first public workshops were held in May 2005. The Places29 Master Plan is scheduled to be adopted by the Board of Supervisors in late 2007. [Read more on Charlottesville Tomorrow's blog]

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City wants Biscuit Run to pay for roads; Supervisors suggest City’s revenue sharing income and economic development dollars could be re-allocated to transportation

On February 21, 2007, the Policy Board of the Metropolitan Planning Organization held their monthly meeting. In responses to matters from the public and under other business, the Board held two significant discussions on the proposed Biscuit Run rezoning in Albemarle County. [Read more on Charlottesville Tomorrow's blog]

 

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On February 15, 2007, there was a quarterly meeting of the Planning and Coordination Council (PACC) which has representation from the University of Virginia, the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors, and Charlottesville City Council. The Council received an update on development and transportation issues in what is known as Area B. The September 2004 Southern Urban Area B Study identified road interconnections that could be built to enlarge the grid of streets serving the area around the Fontaine Research Park, the University’s Stadium Road area, the Fry’s Spring neighborhood in the City, and County developments along Old Lynchburg Road and Sunset Avenue. [Read more on Charlottesville Tomorrow's blog]

 

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Jim Bacon is a political blogger, and the man behind Bacon’s Rebellion. On this segment of Charlottesville–Right Now, Bacon talks about possible changes to the gas tax, and the differences between Republican and Democratic ideas of taxing. Also on the table are “HOT Lanes” - the idea of paying extra to drive in “fast lanes” during rush hour.

Later in the program, Bacon discusses Dominion Virginia Power. With generating capacity being reached, what are the possibilities of your power bill going up? And how will implementing more environmentally friendly energy sources affect prices? Bacon answers all this and more - listen in!

 

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