General Assembly Update (1/8/11)
The following is a list, presented in random order, of things that I would like to see occur in 2011. In 2011, I hope that:
- The City and the owners of the Amtrak property on West Main Street find a way to pave the station’s parking lot;
- Charlottesville and Albemarle County mount a serious effort to consolidate selected services and plan together for the future, both for economic efficiency and to bring a higher level of service to their citizens;
- Teresa Sullivan and the many new leaders at the University of Virginia succeed in their quest to chart a path to remain the flagship institution of higher education in the Commonwealth and one of the best public universities in the nation;
- Tom Perriello secures a position worthy of his talent, integrity, and energy that will assist the nation as we seek to maintain our competitive edge in an increasingly challenging international environment;
- City Manager Maurice Jones and County Executive Tom Foley succeed in overcoming the fiscal challenges brought on by the economy and by a state government that continues to provide inadequate support;
- Construction begins anew on the Landmark Hotel located on the City’s Downtown Mall;
- The state finds a way to support expanded passenger rail and shores up support for the phenomenally successful Lynchburg-Charlottesville-DC route;
- The City implements what has been its plan for 40 years-completing the Meadowcreek Parkway;
- Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli abandons his fishing expedition to obtain emails from UVA faculty and staff related to climate change and understands what the scientific societies of some 50 individual countries have concluded: that the planet is warming, due in large part to human activity, and that this poses a threat to economic activity and quality of life across the globe; and
- We restore civility and bipartisanship to a political process that otherwise prevents the United States from being all that it can be. I wish you and yours the happiest New Year.
Sincerely,
David
