"A Nest for Every Egg"

PACEM's vision statement is "A Pillow for Every Head."

Local photographer McCrea Snyder Kudravetz of the McGuffey Art Center has created a beautiful photo collage as her contribution to the Silent Auction at our end-of-season recognition event tomorrow. It's called "A Nest for Every Egg." Just a taste of one of the many wonderful items we'll have up for auction. All proceeds benefit PACEM and our year-round efforts to help the homeless. Many thanks to Ms. Kudravetz and the other contributors for their generosity!

Photograph grid collage printed on Kodak ENDURA paper by Richmond Camera, archivally framed with 8-ply museum board matte and acid-free materials, 12"x12" framed, valued at $240. The opening bid is $80.

PACEM Does JPJ

Not to brag, but I would imagine that there are few organizations in Charlottesville that can claim as many volunteers as PACEM can. Between our 50+ host and partner congregations and all of the other civic groups, businesses, community agencies, financial supporters, etc. whose selfless donations of time, energy and money contribute to the success of our winter shelter program for the homeless, we involve thousands of Cville-area residents each year in the life of our ministry.

This Friday, April 11, is our chance to thank each and every one.

That evening, we are having our annual end-of-season Recognition Event, from 6-8pm at the John Paul Jones Arena at UVa. Good food, live music, stirring speakers, and a special tribute to our volunteers -- plus a silent auction with many wonderful items up for bid. Also this year, we're debuting our first annual PACEM "Golden Pillow" and "Hope and Hospitality" Awards to honor folks in our community who've gone 'above and beyond' to help the homeless.

This will be a very special night, but...this is no ritzy/black-tie affair. We got a discounted rate on the facility and the musical entertainment (courtesy the singing group "Fire") is being provided free-of-charge. Volunteers have done most of the work in pulling the event together, and business sponsorships have covered what costs we did incur. We believe in celebrating the people who make PACEM possible, but we don't believe in spending a grandiose amount of money doing it. Our dollars are better spent ensuring that no one has to sleep outside on the streets of Charlottesville during the dead of winter.

If you yourself were involved with PACEM this past winter in any way, hopefully you've already received an invitation to join us on Friday -- if not, please consider this an open invitation to attend. The event is free and there will be plenty of free parking available. Hope to see you then!

Running in the Name of Love

I am pleased to be serving as the Honorary Chair for this year's 4th Annual "Run in the Name of Love" 5K Race, which benefits an outstanding community organization, The Arc of the Piedmont. Not only will I be welcoming the runners to the event this coming Sunday, April 13 (start time is 9:00am from the Newcomb Hall Plaza at UVa), I will also be running in the race myself. Should be fun -- come join us! (To register, click here.)

This race is held each year in memory of a young man named Brian Love, who was taken from us far too soon. From the press release:

Brian Love was a fourth year student at UVa and captain of the Virginia Alpine Ski and Snowboard Team (VASST) when, four years ago, he tragically died in a snowboarding accident. In an effort to capture Love’s generous spirit and contagious energy, his family and friends created this event to support The Arc, an area charity with which Brian had been associated in life. The Arc is a 501-c-3 organization providing advocacy, hope and support for people of all ages with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The vision of The Arc is for people with disabilities to be fully participating members of the community.

Susan Love, Brian’s mother, is flying in from California to once again be present to thank and support the many participants who will be Running in the Name of Love. In her words, “It is bittersweet for me but I am so proud that my son was of such character that he lives in the hearts and minds of so many, that he is memorialized by this special race, and that his desire to assist those less fortunate is being manifested in such a meaningful and special way.”

Courtesy of Fellini’s #9 Restaurant, The Arc and VASST will also be hosting a pasta dinner at the Wesley Foundation Saturday evening, April 12, at 6:00, including dessert by Ben & Jerry’s of Barracks Road. Ms. Love, who is a marathon runner and a motivational speaker, will be the guest speaker.

For more information on The Arc, the dinner or on the Run in the Name of Love 5K, contact David White at 434-977-4002, ext. 36, dwhite@thearcofthepiedmont.org. Registration forms may be picked up at The Arc at 515 Park Street, Charlottesville or at the Ragged Mountain Running Shop on the University Corner, or register online at http://people.virginia.edu/~crd5f/blove, or http://skiuva.org/blove5k.

Big News About Youth Mentoring

We in Charlottesville like to brag that we have it all.

Until yesterday, there was one thing we couldn't brag about though. Until yesterday, Charlottesville was the largest municipality in Virginia without a chapter of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America -- the nation's largest and most well-known youth mentoring initiative.

Until yesterday.

Yesterday I had the enormous pleasure of participating in the kick-off event for the new Charlottesville chapter of Big Brothers Big Sisters. Local resident Jeff Mitchell deserves a whole heap of praise for his role in getting this new chapter off the ground; many Charlottesville kids will benefit as a result of his vision and leadership. As I've said on many occasions, youth mentoring programs have demonstrated time and again their ability to change lives for the better. Statistics show that young people who are in long-term mentoring relationships with reliable, caring adults are more likely to make good life decisions.

Several years ago, I helped to create an on-line guide for Charlottesville-area residents who wanted to either become a mentor or find a mentor for a child. The site, called "Mentorville," has been dormant for some time now, but yesterday, in conjunction with the Big Brothers Big Sisters event, we re-launched it at www.charlottesville.org/mentorville. Many thanks to Catherine Tobin, our wonderful UVa student intern, and to Joe Rice in the City Communications Department for their efforts to dust off the old site and bring it back to life. Once Big Brothers Big Sisters of Charlottesville is actually in operation (any week now), their info. will be added to the site as well. For now, interested residents can contact them here.

With yesterday's big announcement, there are now even more opportunities in Charlottesville for caring adults to get involved and make a real impact in the life of a child. Now that's something to brag about.

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. 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. :-)

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, 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.

Hotels & Motels Long Gone

As Dave McNair reported back in November, the old Air-Port Motel on Rte. 29 North (at Proffit Rd.) was recently slated for demolition to make room for a new Walgreen's. (I hear tell they call that "progress.") Here's what the place looked like back in the 1950s:














Well, I drove by the site the other day and sure enough, the Air-Port Motel is now gone. Dustbin of history and all that.

I have dozens of postcards of old Charlottesville hotels & motels (from back in their heyday) and it's sad to see how few of them are left. The ones that are the most interesting to me are the hotels that have been converted to new uses. How many of you have been out Ivy Rd. (Rte. 250 West) and driven by the small retail/office complex now known as "Ivy Commons"? Did you know that for decades it was better known as...













Siesta Motor Court? (Owned for a time, incidentally, by the same H.N. Neeley who used to operate the Air-Port Motel.)

And how many of you have ever browsed in the aisles of the Quest Bookshop on West Main St.? Perhaps you did not know that you were standing in what used to be the ground floor of...




















The Albemarle Hotel -- here pictured in the 1920s. (Description on back says: "A cordial welcome awaits you at THE ALBEMARLE HOTEL. Rates $1.50 to $2.50. Fire Proof--Free Parking. Our Air Conditioned Coffee Shop is widely known as Charlottesville's Smartest and Best Eating Place.")

I could go on -- there are many interesting examples of adaptive re-use around here. I'll post some more sometime. Too bad the Air-Port Motel was not able to meet a similar fate....

10-Miler Training Update

Good news: I completed a 10-mile run today (new personal record) in preparation for the Cville 10-Miler. Bad news: It was at the track. And the streets of Charlottesville hardly resemble a running track. So I either need to use the powers of the Mayoralty to flatten the hills of Charlottesville between now and March 29 (now there's a constructive use for mountaintop removal!) or I better start training on some hilly roads....Either way, I've got my work cut out for me.

Wanna Make an Easy and Honest $500? Here's How

Help find a buyer for my minivan and I'll give you a $500 finder's fee. (Which means, if you buy the van, you get $500 off!)

FOR SALE: 2003 Chrysler Town & Country LX 7-passenger Minivan. Good condition, runs great, 84,000 miles. This is a very reliable family vehicle. Beige exterior with grey cloth seats. Automatic transmission. A/C, AM/FM/CD, power steering, power windows, power door locks, cruise control, dual front air bags, anti-lock brakes, fold-down seats for transporting bulky items. Retails for $10,000+, yours for $9,000 OBO. Call 220-1095 or e-mail cvilledave@hotmail.com.

Peter Kleeman Blows Up Monticello...

...to demonstrate a point about mountaintop removal coal mining.* Click here.

(* I have been assured by Peter than no actual historical landmarks were harmed in the making of his blog post.)

Voting Day

Tomorrow is the Presidential Primary in Virginia. Whoever your preferred candidate and whatever your political affiliation, please go vote. As I told a group of local boy scouts a couple of weeks ago, too many people died for our right to vote for us not to exercise it.

As for me, I'll be stationed at the Clark Elementary School polling place tomorrow from 10am-2pm, handing out fliers for a certain United States Senator (and former community organizer) from the great state of Illinois. Come say hi.