Author: Coy Barefoot

Brian Wheeler of Charlottesville Tomorrow joins Coy Barefoot each Tuesday on WINA’s Charlottesville–Right Now for an update on development and growth issues in the region. This week, a look at local elections for the City Council and Board of Supervisors. There’s also news on where the county’s Places29 initiative stands, new developments on the Meadowcreek Parkway Interchange, and the proffer policy discussion held by the County’s Board of Supervisors last week. As always, stay tuned for the “Speed round” review of the status ofG,V major downtown building projects.

What caused the sudden exit of shock jock Don Imus?Best-selling author Jonathan Coleman recently wrote an article in New York Magazine called The Last Don: The I-manGuv,!v,,us self-destruction came from the same internal drama that made him so compelling. Coleman joins Coy Barefoot on WINA’s Charlottesville–Right Now to describe his own relationship with Imus, which dates back to 1980, when Imus was struggling to write a book. That manuscript eventually became GodGuv,!v,,us Other Son: The Life and Times of the Rev. Billy Sol Hargus.

Local Realtor and prolific blogger Jim Duncan joins Coy Barefoot on WINA’s Charlottesville–Right Now to talk about his career to date, the power of blogging, Charlotteville’s drop to 17 in the “best city” rankings, and his perspective on the local real estate market. For instance, he says we’re currently in a buyer’s market. The conversation then jumps to green building techniques, including the Belvedere development.

Peter Warren is an entomologist with the Virginia Extension Office, and an expert on the Eastern Tent Caterpillar, which are currently all over the place in Central Virginia. Warren joins WINA’s Charlottesville–Right Now to discuss the life cycle of this creature, which will develop from egg to moth.

Scott Sayre is running for the Republican nomination for Virginia’s 24th District Senate seat, against incumbent Emmett Hanger. Sayre is a graduate of VMI and a business owner in Augusta County. He joins Coy Barefoot on WINA’s Charlottesville–Right Now to discuss why he’s running for office. There 24th District Republican primary will be held on June 12.

Wendy Fournier is the president of the National Autism Association. She joins Coy Barefoot on WINA’s Charlottesville–Right Now to talk about her own family’s experience with autism as well as the latest research. She also updates listeners on legislation in the Senate to give the Food and Drug Administration oversight of the nation’s compounding pharmacies. Currently they’re regulated by state governments. Fournier says this will limit the options of parents of autistic children, who need individually prepared medications.

Fournier also reports on a recent workshop on autism and the environment held by the Institute of Medicine. She reports that a representative of the CDC appeared at the meeting and listed Thimerosal, an ethyl mercury-based vaccine preservative, as one of possible key triggers of autism. This is a welcome line of research for many parents, scientists, and doctors who have advocated for many years now that there is a connection between mercuryG,V poisoning and autism.