Charlottesville Blogs

Silence 4

Matthew Rosenberg — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 04:01:40 +0000

An execution draws near in Virginia

The Rev. James Richardson — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 04:01:00 +0000

I've been asked to post information about Teresa Lewis, a prisoner in Virginia who is scheduled to be executed later this month for the murder of her husband and his adult son.

Although mentally retarded, she was given the death sentence as the "mastermind" of these killings. The two men who carried out the killings were given life sentences.

Few issues are fraught with more politics than capital punishment. Yet this should not be about politics, but about justice. Honest people can disagree honestly on this.

A few weeks ago, I wrote a lengthy essay about my opposition to the death penalty, and how it has taken me a long time to get there. I would invite you to read that entry if you have not already (please click HERE).

Below is information provided by her defense team, who are asking that people of faith write letters to Governor Robert McDonnell asking that her sentence be commuted to life in prison. The Episcopal Church also opposes the death penalty. I would invite your consideration, your prayers, and your letters if you feel able. You can also learn more about the case by clicking HERE.

Here is the information from her defense team:

Teresa Lewis

Incomplete and inaccurate evidence led a judge to impose a death sentence on Teresa Lewis, whose IQ is in the 70-72 range, as the “mastermind” behind a plan to kill Lewis’s husband, Julian, and his adult son, C.J., for life insurance funds. The two men who actually committed the murders both were sentenced to life in prison.

Unbeknownst to Teresa’s sentencing judge, one of the killers had an IQ of 113 and boasted after the crimes that he was the mastermind of the crimes.

Teresa has lived alone in a segregation cell for seven years, separated from physical contact with other prisoners. Reverend Lynn Litchfield, a former prison chaplain to Teresa, has been inspired by Teresa who, despite severe restrictions, holds steadfastly to her faith and shares her love and support with women in the cells around her, ministering from behind a solid steel door with her kind words and beautiful singing voice. Prison officials say that when she sings hymns in her cell, the entire segregation wing calms. Teresa prays throughout her day for anyone she knows is in need.

Without your help, Teresa’s ministry will be cut short and she will be executed on September 23rd, 2010.

Teresa’s life and ministry should be allowed to continue and grace the lives of those around her. You can help save Teresa’s life by writing to Governor Robert F. McDonnell to ask that her sentence be commuted to life in prison without parole.
It is important to let the Governor know:

* that you are not seeking to excuse Teresa from punishment for her role in the killing of Julian and C.J. Lewis.

* that Teresa has only borderline intellectual functioning, with an IQ of 70-72.

* that the two actual murderers received life sentences and one of them, Matthew Shallenberger, confessed to a friend that he was the mastermind behind the murders.

* that you believe a decision to commute Teresa’s death sentence to life without parole is appropriate in this case and would support the Governor’s decision to do so.

Letters should be sent to:

The Honorable Robert F. McDonnell
Governor of Virginia
PO Box 1475
Richmond, VA 23218

The Governor can also be reached by email via his website at: http://www.governor.virginia.gov/AboutTheGovernor/contactGovernor.cfm

To learn more about Teresa please visit www.saveteresalewis.org or search “Friends of Teresa Lewis” on Facebook.

Can private capital seed an entrepreneurial community?

taylor — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 02:52:08 +0000

Can private capital fund the gap between passion and profit necessary to create a sustainable entrepreneurial community? Or do governments need to invest non-returns-based capital to seed the ecosystem? A thought about seed funding, externalities, and the distribution of returns.

No, I didn’t win.

First, my response to Gary Whitehill, The Seed Funding Phenomenon Bubble of 2010:

Even if valuations don’t skyrocket, it’s hard to see the returns solely justifying the effort of these seed programs. But the need is there, and the returns to the community are there, even if the returns aren’t strictly ROI-based. Long-term, these seed programs will be funded as “entrepreneur community programs” by entrepreneurs (i.e. TechStars) or by smart local governments with economic development money and a hands-off approach. If the city / region’s entrepreneurial community isn’t vibrant enough, governments will need to fund these programs to seed the community until there’s a strong enough base of entrepreneurs with capital to provide viable alternatives.

I’m stoked that TechStars is launching in NYC in 2011. I’m interested to see how NYC Seed performs. Even if the returns are questionable so far, these pre-seed / seed funding programs create enormous value for entrepreneurial communities. However, much of the value is in the form of externalities to the locality and broader community that cannot be captured by a purely returns-based private investor. What kind of externalities? Experience and knowledge for budding entrepreneurs. Press and PR for burgeoning entrepreneurial communities. Attention that can help attract national talent and broaden the minds and views of local entrepreneurs. Education and exposure for local mentors and capital on how companies are built and funded outside of their region.

Pre-seed programs are a cheap way for communities to fund the early failures and haltering steps of individual entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial communities. At the early stages of an entrepreneurial community’s development, passion does not economically translate to profit. Too many externalities escape to the community; too much of the value created by the early leaders seeps into the community without financial returns. The gap between passion and profit isn’t closed until talent, capital and opportunities combine to create the scale necessary for entrepreneurial communities to grow.

Can private capital fund the gap between passion and profit necessary to build a sustainable entrepreneurial community? Maybe. It depends on the city, obviously, and the particular spikes of money, talent and interest in investing into entrepreneurialism and economic development resting in each city. In NYC, Silicon Valley, Boston, Austin and many other cities, the returns to supporting entrepreneurial ventures are apparent and profitable (directly and indirectly). In other cities such as New Orleans, it’s less apparent, and less profitable, and more difficult for private capital to fund that gap. Thus, who can fund that gap? Can governments create entrepreneurial hubs? Can governments be smart enough to invest (i.e. give) non-returns-based capital into pre-seed programs and step out of the way?

Should they? In some cities, yes. Can they? I hope.

Related: a blast from the past, my core conversation at SXSW in 2009, Venture Capital for Long Tail Entrepreneurs.

kitty tv

Trish — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 02:29:00 +0000

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Welcome to Off Topic’d

Ralph G — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 01:21:00 +0000

It's been quite a while since our last post, and many things have changed.

When Ken and I started "CE Conversations" back in 2006, the idea was to do a blog about consumer electronics (the "C.E." of the title), and for Ken and I to alternate posts in an open conversation (the "Conversations" of the title).

It very soon turned into a blog about other things we were interested in, such as movies, books, personal observations on life and culture (both high and popular). And as Ken got more involved with other projects, his participation lessened, making CE Conversnations more like RG Monologues.

So we've worked on a redesign and a new title, and here we are.

CE Conversations becomes Off Topic'd
"Off Topic'd" is a play on the words "Off Topic." The cardinal rule of blogging is to stick to a single topic -- be it fly fishing or geneology -- and write exclusively about that. Audience builds because readers know what to expect -- another fascinating post about knitting (or whatever).

The problem is that I'm deeply interested in a bumch of different things -- some related, some not. Plus, I write and edit blogs professionally, so I already write tightly focussed posts as part of my job.

CE Conversations/Off Topic'd I write for fun, so I'm writing about whatever I feel like. Sure, the numbers may not get very high, but that's OK. Some people get it.

So the title refers to my preference to go off topic as often as I care to. It's more fun that way.

Where's Ken?
Ken's still around, and we still work closely together -- our conversnations are offline now, I'm afraid. Ken remains a writer of this blog, and he'll contribute whenever he feels like it (he, too, writes professionally on deadline, so writing without deadline is fun).

An Invitation for Writers
And that's where you come in. I'd love to share this blog with a few other like-minded (read: eclectic) writers. Drop me a line if you're interested. No money -- just glory.

So is there a theme to Off Topic'd?
Yes, there is. My motto is "finding beauty in ephemera." I like to hold up for examination things that usually don't get much attention even the first time around -- like comic strip art. I also like to look for patterns of behavior and try to move from the specific to the general -- like trying to find general characteristics in collecting. And sometimes there's things I jsut think people should know about if they don't already -- like knowing what "cutting the Gordian knot" means.

Bottom line: this blog has a new look and new title, but basically it's just a readjustment to what the blog has actually become rather than a change of direction.

Hope you enjoy!

And of course, if you have any ideas, suggestions, or questions. contact me. There's still a converstion or two to be had here.

Ralph

In No Mood to Cooperate (Sunset, Friday, 3 September 2010)

BVD — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 00:55:47 +0000

William Van Doren, In No Mood to Cooperate (Sunset from Stony Point, Albemarle County, Va.) Oil on watercolor block, 13 x 19.

The sky was in no mood to be pretty, wear something nice, or even talk. The air stayed strangely hot throughout sunset, in front of a wall of gray that the National Weather Service assures us we will experience as ‘Partly Cloudy’. The only evidence that they might not have their National completely up their Service was, I could still just see the mountains.

Ahhhhh, freak out!

Mama Marathon — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 23:38:00 +0000

Well, no race would be complete without a freaky freakout the day before. Why hello, Women's Four Miler, it's been too long.

I maintained a sane and sensible easy training/activity program, incorporating my new Nikes (still loving them), plenty of cross training, disciplined midweek runs, and lots of core work. I've run some pretty fast miles recently, though my overall times for any distances longer than 3 miles are still hovering around the 11min/mile mark, which is fine. I'm sure the excitement of race day will give me that extra push that I need to keep it under 44 minutes.

So now I'm freaking out because a)PMS caused me to b)eat too many sweets and not enough real food the past two days and c)now I feel guilty about not running today, even though I *know* I should just take it easy the night before a race. I am seriously in a small panic about not having run today, and the sun is already setting, and it's 12 hours to race time and really too late for a run, especially one that I shouldn't even be going on.

So I've got a low-level freak out going, which is awesome, and very comforting in a sick way.

The rest of me is staying positive. Packet pickup was its usual circus, though as well-ordered as it could possibly be, and I've gone through my obligatory round of bitching about how I should quit running this race because it's a circus and a huge pain in the ass. But, I actually managed to raise some money for the cause this year, which is nice, and motivation for me to run again next year. And the shirts are rad.

Wish me luck tomorrow! Hopefully there will be a non-disastrous race report here soon! And to the rest of you running tomorrow: Run like you stole something!!

Pee Wee’s Pit BBQ’s last squeal

Lori K — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 23:21:00 +0000

Hatton Ferry, c. 1910. The last poled ferry
in the United States, it's still in operation.

The recession has been tough on restaurants, especially the small ones. Scottsville, which doesn't have much of a draw outside of the historic Hatton Ferry and canoeing on the James River, had a pretty good barbecue joint, Pee Wee's Pit BBQ, but if you haven't been there in the last five years, you better get down there before the end of the month, because it's closing. They have tasty pulled pork sandwiches, fried chicken and fried pulled-pork-and-cabbage-balls they call pork puppies and serve with a sweet-savory sauce. The one thing they don't have is a pit; the pork's done in a slow cooker. It's open daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Halsey Minor Threatens to Sue The Hook

Waldo Jaquith — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 22:14:34 +0000

Over at The Hook, editor Hawes Spencer has been writing about the latest in the slow-motion collapse of the whole Landmark Hotel / Halsey Minor / Lee Danielson thing, with the news of the moment being the Chapter 11 filing by Minor Family Hotels LLC. Within that piece, Spencer mentions that Minor started threatening The Hook with a lawsuit, and links to two e-mails [1, 2] that Minor sent to the newspaper in early July. The first one, sent July 2, reads:

Hawes you are the $7.5 mm man — so far. If it was not for you printing the outrageous comments from Lee and SFG I would not have done so well in court. You have clearly destroyed the value of the hotel with your series of inaccurate and in inflammatory stories based on completely false facts. SFG was horrible, and Lee was just as bad but with the hook accepting falsehood after falsehood as gospel you have made obvious the damages the bad actors can have in undermining a project and an important economic driver to a city like Charlottelsville.

As I said. Christies down $12.5.mm for fraud. Lee bankrupt. SFG bankrupt. You write one more story that is libelous and I have no choice but to go after the third leg of the stool, the Hook. Tell your people to quite inventing facts. Say you are sorry. Haas, I am suing you plain and simple to clear my name with one more nasty false story. Christies can afford to underestimate me. You cannot.

And the second one, sent July 3:

Hawes, trust me. When your down people start to pile on. You are just such an individual which is why you are generally disliked around town.

You need to publicly apologize to me. Divorce and a libel suit are not going to be a good plan for you.You apologize publicly or I am coming after you for lying about me when I was fighting my battles, which were for the sake of the city, not to sell sleazy papers.

The difference between you and I is you bug the fuck out of me, but I on the other hand can and will crush you if you don’t make amends for being such a lying asshole for the last 18 months — you, Lee and the FDIC. Your world is getting small fast and if you choose to take me on too you are not going to believe how far down the bottom really is. I crushed the jerks in my way. Good luck to you.

Wow. Those are scorchers. Minor never specifies what he believes to be falsehoods in The Hook’s coverage, so it’s tough to know what the merits are of his claims.

The other bookofjoe

bookofjoe — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 21:01:00 +0000

Here is a strange tale.

Last Thursday I noticed tweets about book reviews (top) for bookofjoe in my Twitter feed, from one @Cat_Rector.

Who dat?

I had my crack research team investigate (they read the biography on the Twitter page) and they brought back the news that Cat_Rector is one Catherine Rector of Halifax, Nova Scotia, "a newly graduated public relations student with a passion for non-profits [she came to the right place]. My modest goal is to save the world."

The team then went deeper and discovered her blog, Twenty-Something in PR.

Don't stop there, I said, so on they went and found the other me, styling themselves @book_of_joe on Twitter and Book of Joe on Facebook.

Further exploration uncovered this website,

the home of a bookstore named Book of Joe located at the Harbourview Weekend Market.

"The Harbourview Weekend Market is a unique local marketplace nestled in the heart of downtown Dartmouth. Take the ferry from Halifax [Nova Scotia] and we are just a 10-minute walk along the Subenacadie Canal."

Well, there it is.

If you stop by, say "Hi" for me.

City Considering Closing Buford or Walker

Waldo Jaquith — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 20:29:15 +0000

The city school system is thinking about shutting down Walker Elementary or Buford Middle, Rachana Dixit wrote in yesterday’s Progress. Walker serves solely fifth- and sixth-grade students, while Buford serves seventh- and eighth-grade students. By consolidating them—probably at Buford—the city could save up to $700k/year in salaries…but it would require $21M in capital costs.

From the late sixties until the late eighties, Buford and Walker were both middle schools. In 1988, they split the duty, with Walker taking the lower two grades, and Buford taking the upper two.

The school board will vote on this in mid-October.

World population by latitude and longitude

bookofjoe — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 20:01:00 +0000

Bill Rankin

created these maps.

[via Nuclear Toast and paul.kedroskey.com]

Where did the day go?

Jeannine @ Small and Chic — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 19:44:00 +0000

I planned to post rugs yesterday or this morning, but when I don't pre-write blog posts, they tend not to happen. I'm sorry. Forgive me?

For now, here's a picture that would have been better if I had used the right setting on my camera. I still think it's cool and I love my dog, so here it is anyway.

Happy weekend!

To Advertise or Not to Advertise, That is the Latest Obesity-related Question

Serena Weaver — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 19:22:41 +0000

I’m finding it increasingly difficult to come across food-related articles that present new information these days. Though I love the added support for the local food movement through notice of the latest farmer’s market success or restaurant that grows ingredients upon its very own property, I’ve become slightly nonplussed by it all. Local-food-movement information saturation, perhaps? Yes, but not always.
An article by The New York Times in August presented the populace—if I may say so myself—with some entirely newfound facts. For instance, did you know that there is a group named the Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative that has been working for the past three years to lead big corporations away from targeting their not-so-healthy products to kids under the age of 12? The Initiative argues that the likes of cocoa puffs and fruit loops, not to even begin mentioning Happy Meals, lead children into the world of smiley cartoon characters on packages before they know better than to say no to edible objects so diminished in nutrition that you could hardly even call them food anymore. And, guess what? So far, some of the big hitters have signed onto this idea. Mars, Hershey’s, Coca-Cola, and Cadbury are among those that are now advertising to teenagers but no longer to those in their pre-adolescence. To me, that makes sense. And I’d love to hear more about it.
-Serena

The New York Times reports on how these fruity loopies are not as fun as they’re made out to be.

Scissors with integrated nutcracker

bookofjoe — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 19:01:00 +0000

Can your scissors crack nuts?

From the website:

••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Precision-Cut Multi-Use Scissors

Just about the only scissors you'll ever need

Ergonomically designed comfort handle allows five-finger gripping for greater dexterity and cutting pressure.

These multi-use scissors can be used left- or right-handed.

Corrosion-resistant stainless steel.

Precision curved blades.

Adjustable tension.

9" long.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••

$14.99.

Bonus: If you order now they'll throw in — absolutely free!! — a beautiful custom hardwood holder.

Still not convinced?

Well, guess what: that's not all!

You also get an integrated bottle/can opener — at no extra charge!

Saturday Schedule

Kyle — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 18:58:32 +0000

Reminder: Contact us to sign up for the On Ramp Class on Monday at 6:15PM.

8AM – Makeup

10AM – Free Intro Class (last chance before on ramp)

11AM – Makeup

12 Noon – Oly Lifting

Andy McDonel, the Gadsden Flag, and the Authority (or not) of Homeowners Associations

Walker Richmond — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 18:08:00 +0000

In a January post (here), we wrote about the significant influence that homeowners' associations sometimes play in deciding what a person can and cannot do on his property. We said that clients are as likely to object one way as the other to the rules established and enforced by their homeowner's association:

It is not uncommon to hear clients complain about their association being either too intrusive or not intrusive enough in terms of regulating their -- and their neighbors' -- rights. It can certainly be a difficult line to draw, as neighbors try to be good neighbors but also express their own preferences for what is or is not reasonable.

Now, word arises from the West of a fascinating homeowners' association struggle with a property owner who objects to the association's rule against flying certain kinds of flags.

Marc Lacey has the story in Monday's New York Times, here.

According to Lacey, homeowner Andy McDonel received a notice from his association - the Avalon Village Community Association - demanding that he stop flying the Gadsden Flag on his property.

FLAG HISTORY INTERLUDE: In case you haven't recently studied the historical flags of the United States, the Gadsden Flag (which includes an image of a coiled snake and the phrase "Don't Tread On Me") was used by certain Continental naval forces during the American Revolution. It was named for Colonel Christopher Gadsden from South Carolina. More recently, it has taken on a renewed political importance as a symbol, for some people, of the Tea Party Movement. It association with the Tea Party is, no doubt, the reason that McDonel's story has received national attention. For property law junkies, it's just a good debate-starter!

According to Lacey, the Avalon Village Community Association has taken the position that it is within its rights to prohibit its members from flying the Gadsden Flag because that flag was not included by the Arizona legislature in a law that listed several flags that all property owners have the explicit right to display.

Avalon's argument is based on the idea that the Arizona statute, by including a particular list of flags, necessarily excludes all flags which are not listed; in other words, a homeowners association logically has the right to prohibit its members from flying the flags that are not listed in the Arizona statute, including the Gadsden Flag. This interpretation is rooted in the legal theory of "expressio unius est exclusio alterius" (now there's some Latin to spice up your Friday!), which means that items excluded from a statute were intentionally excluded by the legislators who voted for the law.

Interestingly, the Code of Virginia includes a provision similar to Arizona's, stating that property owners have the right to display the American flag, which cannot be infringed by a homeowners association. The difference is that Virginia's statutory provision is even more limited than Arizona's, as it references only "the flag of the United States."

"No association shall prohibit any lot owner from displaying ... the flag of the United States whenever such display is in compliance with ... the United States Code." (Code of Virginia Section 55-513.1)

The Avalon Village Community Association's lawyer has made the point that Andy McDonel should have been aware of the prohibition against flying the Gadsden Flag, particularly since he was formerly an officer of the association. On this point we can certainly agree: potential owners would be wise to spend a couple extra hours reviewing their association's bylaws and other governing documents, to be sure that they agree and are comfortable with the neighborhood's rules. And if you are an adamant flag-displayer -- be it the Gadsden, the Parrothead, the Soviet, or the Cavalier Football Flag! -- be sure you have the right to fly your flag before signing your purchase contract.

you’ll need this in the desert

Lincoln — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 18:04:00 +0000

Above is the rad cover for the new issue of Canteen magazine. The issue's feature is a series of essays that tangentially deal with the decline (?) of The Great American Novel. I have an essay in there on disappearing swimming pool deep-ends and there are essays by many other rad writers such as Justin Taylor and Tao Lin (read an excerpt of his essay online). Check it out!

National Speed Trap Exchange

bookofjoe — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 18:01:00 +0000

.....................................................

It's located at Speedtrap.org, where more than 60,000 posts from drivers just like you and me warn where and how speeders are monitored in towns and cities in every state and Canadian provinces.

Bonus: "While on the road, travelers can also use a free mobile phone app called Trapster, which beeps when a trap is approached."

"Red-light cameras, police checkpoints and traffic also are monitored," wrote Kitty Bean Yancey in today's USA Today.

What We’re Reading: Aug. 30-Sept. 3, 2010

Marijean Jaggers — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 17:58:55 +0000

Standing Partnership's picks of must-read links for the week

We just love this post on Metro's NextStop blog, An STLLegend on Transit, Losing Weight, Finding Love and Believing in St. Louis. (Disclosure: Metro is a client).
Kids away at school? NPR tells us what the Five Big Health Issues are on college campuses.
About passion, and learning -- Six Keys to Being Excellent at Anything.
Study shows, 90% of the time, doctors can correctly diagnose minor injuries from cell phone photos.
A critical element in a crisis: Oil Spill Investigators Focus on Communication.

Standing Partnership's offices will be closed on Monday, Sept. 6. Enjoy the holiday weekend!

Brynne & Kevin’s E-Session with Sarah Cramer

Claire Goodman — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 17:54:30 +0000

In looking through my notes of my meeting with Brynne & Kevin last fall I discovered that they’d hired the talented Sarah Cramer of Cramer Photo to capture their big day. I sent Sarah an e-mail right away to see if she’d done an engagement session with these two lovely people and if she’d be willing to share.. and the good news is she was so generous with her beautiful pics that it took me quite awhile to narrow it down to this small selection I get to share with you today. I hope you love them as much as I do and I am so excited about their wedding day coming up so quickly!

Contact Information for Cramer Photo:
~ website: www.cramerphoto.com
~ e-mail: sarah@cramerphoto.com
~ phone: 434-242-6074
~ blog: http://blog.cramerphoto.com

One from None 2010-09-03 13:51:00

Charles — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 17:51:00 +0000

More COPD work this morning, along with setting up my report template for the nanotech meeting. It has been nice to have some relatively open days in which to move the COPD guideline forward, because it will go on hold absolutely for two weeks once I arrive in DC. While next week's meetings are familiar territory for me, given that they are the latest installments in a project that I have written

Welcome baby Lucie!

megrunionstudios — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 17:44:41 +0000

I stopped by for a quick hi to visit my dear friend Jennie and meet sweet baby Lucie. Congrats Jen and Pat, I am so excited for yall and cant wait for our shoot coming up.

Posted by: Meg Runion

White Socks Duvet Cover

bookofjoe — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 17:01:00 +0000

That's different.

Cotton.

$89.

First Friday of the Last Quarter of 2010

Sarah — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 16:35:00 +0000

Like most First Fridays, there is no shortage of things to do tonight. And everything starts rolling around 5PM as usual. Atypical, however, is a 5:00 show at the UVA amphitheater (which is right in front of Bryan Hall and next to the Cabell Hall end of the lawn). The show is a WTJU-sponsored back to school special featuring some of the finest acts in Charlottesville: Andrew Cedermark, The Invisible Hand, and Caninos. This is free, open to the public and–well, duh–not-to-be missed. Make sure to pop your collar and holler! It’s also a nice alternative to the insanity that is Fridays After Five at the Pavilion which tonight features the Beatles cover band Abbey Road.

While all the usual places are hosting art openings tonight, we’d like to spotlight this month’s show at The Bridge. “Site Singularity” by Suzanna Fields, J.T. Kirkland, and Sean Lundgren showcases installations specifically tailored to The Bridge’s gallery space. I’ll share with you that 400lbs of clay have been installed in the main gallery space alone. So check that out for sure, it’s guaranteed to sweep you off your feet. The opening is from 6-8PM.

In addition to the Glitch Mob show at The Jefferson tonight at 8PM mentioned below, there’s free late night music at 12th Street Taphouse. Corsair, Heavy Burner, and Gunchux together on one bill? Pretty sweet, count us in. Heavy Burner were well-received at The Box on Monday (which was also their first show.) If you missed them then, you should try to catch them tonight. The guitar solos are filthy nasty! If you’re already big on Corsair, chances are you’ll dig HB’s stuff pretty hard, too. We haven’t written much about Gunchux recently, so we’ll remind you it’s the project of The Nice Jenkin’s Rob Cheatham. That show should run from 10-2.

Home Sellers in Charlottesville Area Had 6% Success Rate in August – Inventory Soars to 18 Months

Real C'ville - The Bubble Blog — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 15:55:00 +0000

It's Labor Day weekend, and The Fall is just around the corner.

162 of 2906 properties of all types sold in C'ville, Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, Nelson in August 2010.
127 of the 162 were single family homes. 2047 of the 2906 properties currently available are detached, single family homes.
This means homesellers had a 6% rate of success. Or, to put it the other way, a 94% chance of failure.
Sales were down 30% for all types of inventory in the City + 5 Counties from August 2009.
Sales for individual counties have not yet been posted, to compare with July 2010's news, which included a nationwide drop of 27% in sales to a 15 year low, plus a drop of 48% in Albemarle County for single family homes. Read.
Inventory for August 2010 is up 50% from August 2009.
Inventory in August 2010 is up 20% from July 2010.
"18 Months of Inventory" means that it would take that long, at this pace, to clear the housing stock. A "balanced" market has 6 months of inventory.
National inventory (existing) is at 12 months supply.
Mortgage Rates ave declined for 10 of the past 11 weeks, now at 4.3%.

The data comes from Nest Realty Group. Broker Jonathan Kauffman comments that the market will continue to "correct" itself, but that the two major factors are unemployment rising locally and rising nationally, plus huge inventory.

Actually, the most important element holding back sales in this market: price. Inventory will clear out when prices reflect the idea that bubble prices of earlier years do not indicate actual value now. In this area, Foreclosure resale prices are closest to "fair market value," and Short Sale pricing is getting more realistic as well. Check out daily "Price Reductions" on Trulia.com.

Read the Nest Realty Group post.

Below: Graph of 2009 and 2010 Single Family Home Sales in Charlottesville, Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, Nelson
Click for larger image in new window.

Below: Table of 2009 and 2010 Single Family Home Sales in Charlottesville, Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, Nelson.
Click for larger image in new window.

Below: Changes in Inventory Levels for All Property Types, C'ville + 5 Counties
Click for larger image in new window.

Below: Table of Inventory and Sales 2009 - 2010, All Property Types, C'ville + 5 Counties
Click for larger image in new window.

Colored graph via C'ville Bubble Blog; all others via Nest Realty Group

Augusta’s Waning Moon

Waldo Jaquith — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 15:33:38 +0000

It’s safe to travel to Weyers Cave again: the serial mooner has been caught (in the act).

First Fridays, Derby Dames, Manorlady, Meet Yer Eats and, of course, Al Green

Feedback — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 15:15:34 +0000

Five ways to enjoy the extended weekend.

Slow Down Dog Bowl

bookofjoe — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 15:01:00 +0000

The pleasure police now extend their purview into the canine space, seeking to put paid to one of a dog's few pure pleasures: eating.

Give Fido a break, I say.

Here's what the website says:

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Slow Down Your Pet's Eating — For His Health's Sake

Specially designed bowl has four raised prongs that pets have to eat around, forcing them to slow down.

This reduces choking or vomiting, and is much better for their digestive system.

No-tip shape with nonslip bottom.

Durable dishwasher-safe plastic.

For wet or dry food.

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Grrrrrrrrr....

$12.99.

fun portraits

Jack Looney — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:42:49 +0000