Seeking Summer Sitter

I am looking to hire a summer sitter for my 2 kids (11-year-old boy and 8-year-old girl) for approx. 15-20 hours/week for 6-7 weeks this summer, mostly on weekday mornings & afternoons. Need someone who is responsible, reliable, kid-friendly and fun. Must have own transportation and be willing to take the kids on regular outings to the pool, to the park, to the library, to the Discovery Museum, etc. Pay is $11/hour.

Know anyone who might be interested? Please contact me (Dave) at cvilledave@hotmail.com or 220-1095. Thanks!

Ten Miles Later

This morning was the Charlottesville 10-Miler. I came, I saw, I finished. My calves are a little sore, but otherwise I feel great. Terrific cheerleaders all along the way, including many familiar faces. And a wonderful greeting at the end. I don't know my final time for sure, but I ran right about a 9-minute mile, which is fast for me. Thanks to Kevin Cox for the excellent training tip (was just what I needed) and to everyone else for your words of encouragement.

If you had asked me a year ago if I would ever run the 10-Miler, I'd have laughed in your face. I urge anyone reading this to consider doing it yourself next year -- it's a fun and very well-organized race (three cheers for the organizers and the volunteers). And if I can do it, so can you!

UPDATE: Final results are in. My chip time was 1:30:21, which averages out to 9.04 minutes/mile. I came in 1,185th place out of 2,119 finishers. Not too bad for a first-timer.

From the "It's a Small World" Department

Got a voice mail message yesterday from a woman who said she's a Charlottesville resident who's doing long-distance phonebanking as a volunteer for the Barack Obama campaign. She's been making phone calls to people in Texas about the presidential caucuses happening there this weekend. She had a good chat with one man about the caucus process (she said he seemed very nice) and was about to hang up when he asked her where she was calling from.

"I'm in Virginia," she said.

"Where in Virginia?," he asked.

"Central Virginia," she replied.

"Where in Central Virginia?," he asked.

"Charlottesville," she said.

"Oh really!," he replied. "Well, my son is the Mayor of Charlottesville."

"No kidding!" said she.

"Yeah, and tell him to call me, I haven't heard from him in awhile."

So she did. And I did.

Just one more example of how Barack Obama brings people together. :-)

Echoes of Dinner Conversation

"Hallelujah is a monster bouncing off the church’s arches/But Hallelujah’s in a shoebox too/That holds the letters from a friend" -- Paul Curreri, Senseless as a Cuckoo

Shoebox, Inbox...same difference. :-)

p.s. May all your prayers be answered.

It's a Great Place to Live, But...

When you're in the line of business I'm in (elected office), you occasionally wonder (1) why the hell you're doing what you're doing, and (2) are you really focusing on what needs to be focused on.

Then you read an article like this and you say, "Ah, yes."

In a nutshell: We live in a wonderful community, but high housing costs, poverty and sprawl are threatening our quality of life. So say two economists with much bigger brains than mine.

A good reminder as to (1) why I'm doing what I'm doing, and (2) where it is I/we need to keep focusing my/our energies.

My thanks to Messrs. Shobe and Rephann for not letting us lose sight of that which is staring us in the face.

"Postcards from Charlottesville," Show #6

Dr. Lynn Rainville joins me on this month's show. Lynn runs some excellent websites/blogs focused on Charlottesville-Albemarle history, including LoCoHistory (http://www.locohistory.org/), the LoCoBlog (www.locohistory.org/blog), and African-American Cemeteries in Albemarle & Amherst Counties (www.virginia.edu/woodson/projects/aacaac). She is doing a wonderful job of helping to make history come alive (both for adults and for kids) and helping to connect area residents with their own past.

Click here to see the show, which will be broadcast throughout the coming month on Charlottesville Public Access TV (Channel 13):

http://charlottesville.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?publish_id=93

(Currently the show is running on Wednesdays at 2:30pm, Fridays at 7pm, and Saturdays at 11:30am.)

Why Not Hillary?

In a Letter to the Editor in today's Daily Progress, Margaret Keating effectively articulates why it is that so many Democrats cannot bring themselves to support Hillary Clinton for President.

Hillary has been warning us that Barack Obama cannot be trusted to make the right judgment in response to a 3:00am crisis phone call. But on the most important test of judgment that a member of Congress can ever make -- whether or not to go to war -- Hillary failed. And she had plenty of time to make her decision.

"The Speech"

Such a powerful address, an oration that will be (and should be) long remembered. One of my favorite passages:

"In the white community, the path to a more perfect union means acknowledging that what ails the African-American community does not just exist in the minds of black people; that the legacy of discrimination — and current incidents of discrimination, while less overt than in the past — are real and must be addressed, not just with words, but with deeds, by investing in our schools and our communities; by enforcing our civil rights laws and ensuring fairness in our criminal justice system; by providing this generation with ladders of opportunity that were unavailable for previous generations. It requires all Americans to realize that your dreams do not have to come at the expense of my dreams; that investing in the health, welfare and education of black and brown and white children will ultimately help all of America prosper.

In the end, then, what is called for is nothing more and nothing less than what all the world's great religions demand — that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us. Let us be our brother's keeper, scripture tells us. Let us be our sister's keeper. Let us find that common stake we all have in one another, and let our politics reflect that spirit as well."

-- U.S. Senator Barack Obama, 3/18/08

For the full transcript (thanks for the link, C. H.-N.), click here.

Wonder What Look Tomorrow Will Bring?

Yesterday, at the end of a very moving ceremony marking Tibetan National Uprising Day, a Buddhist monk presented each of the speakers with a small Tibetan flag and a Tibetan prayer shawl. I was very honored to receive his blessing.













"Tibetans Rise Up With City Hall," The Hook, 3/10/08

This morning, at the conclusion of a groundbreaking ceremony for a new 100-room boutique hotel on the Downtown Mall, I donned a hardhat and participated in a ceremonial dirt-toss with the hotel's developers.











"A Groundbreaking for a Luxury Hotel on the Downtown Mall," WINA, 3/11/08

It's official. I've become one of those politicians who wears things.

I Vant You in Charlottesville, VA

This is cute (circa 1913)...

"Postcards from Charlottesville," Show #5

My guest on this month's show is Michael Allers, Vice Principal at Jackson-Via Elementary School (where my daughter is in 2nd grade). Mr. Allers and his colleagues at Jackson-Via have received a good amount of acclaim and attention recently for their efforts to promote parental outreach and involvement (see, for example, here and here). I have been very impressed with the administration and staff at Jackson-Via and was pleased to have Mr. Allers on my show; his dedication to the well-being of the kids under his care is palpable. To see for yourself, click here:

http://charlottesville.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?publish_id=89

Do Cat People Live Longer?

I'm a cat person, much more so than a dog person. Always have been, always will be. I realize that puts me in the minority -- this is a nation of dog lovers, after all. But I'm OK with that.
Cats don't care much about what other people think of their preferences, and neither do I. :-) And now, a fascinating study has come out that suggests that cat people are at much lower risk of heart attacks and strokes than dog owners or non-pet-owners. Why? I have my own uneducated guesses, but no one seems to know for sure.

And now, stay tuned for the rabid rebuttals by all the dog people. Surely there are studies being commissioned, as we speak, to demonstrate that owning dogs helps to...oh, I don't know, clear your skin or prevent ingrown toenails or something. Bring it on, dog people. We've got time -- some of us, apparently, more than others.

p.s. Even though I'm not a big dog person, I'm still proud of the fact that one of my first accomplishments upon getting elected to City Council in 2006 was to help outlaw the round-the-clock chaining of dogs in City limits. We even decriminalized the practice of allowing dogs to sit with their owners at outdoor cafes on the Downtown Mall (it's still technically a state health code violation but it's no longer forbidden by local ordinance). So, you can't say I bring my bias with me to work. :-)

p.p.s. Whether you're a dog person or a cat person, there's plenty of both that are looking for good homes at the SPCA.