“They were very secretive about the developments, in fact they were switching people’s flights before they made the announcement that it was pushed back to 6:30pm, if it was to take off at all,” Brandley said.

Brandley’s story is common, as flight delays seem inevitable – especially around the holidays. In December of 2008, over one quarter of flights departing LAX were delayed. And, according to a Dec. 8 press release from the Bureau of Transportation Services, flight delays are only getting worse: “Flights operated by the nation’s largest airlines arrived on time at a lower rate this past October than in either October of last year or in September 2009.”
Data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics for Dec. 2008 indicates that, of the busiest U.S. Airports, LAX actually had the lowest percentage of delayed flights, at 27 percent. The airports with the most delays were Chicago O’Hare, with almost 40 percent of their flights delayed 15 minutes or more, and Salt Lake City International and San Francisco International, each with over a third of their departures delayed.
As passengers find themselves at the threshold of this year’s holiday travel season, is there any hope?
In a word, yes. Kind of.

“There’s a ton of pressure to get that door closed,” said Capt. Mark Merwick, a pilot with Pinnacle Airlines.

The FAA is responsible for controlling the flow of air traffic. It plans daily flight schedules and sets departure times, and any change to the schedule – such as a delay – has a ripple effect on the entire system.
Different factors cause flight delays, and different parties are responsible for them. For example, a weather system or air traffic congestion (both common around the holidays) will cause the FAA to issue a ground hold. The airlines are not responsible for these delays and there is nothing they can do about them. “A lot of times, for a 45 minute delay or so, you put passengers on the plane and you just ride it out,” Merwick said. “But you tell them what’s going on.”
Barring an FAA-mandated delay, Merwick receives a phone call from his base manager if his flight closes its doors even one minute late, regardless of whether they reach their destination on time.

“If we’re out, let’s say, in Richmond, we have 25 minutes from the time that we land and that door opens up to get the passengers off to getting everyone on, the door shut; We have 25 minutes to make that turn or else it goes back on the crew as a crew delay,” Merwick explained.

Kevin Hightower is a collaborative air traffic management (CATM) systems architect at Lockheed Martin. He said that the relatively recent shift in passengers’ priorities – from choosing their preferred airline to choosing the cheapest ticket– has prompted airlines to reexamine their practices. Hightower said,

“If you look at the history of air travel, it used to be that airlines tried to get people to stay with the same airline forever. And that meant taking care of people, making sure they were satisfied, and opening up links or connections between airports based on where people needed to get to.”

Hightower said that the FAA, in addition to safety rules and air traffic regulation, is shifting focus back to the passenger. “The FAA used to be all about safety and strictness and now it’s a little bit more about the person involved,” he said.
Hightower and his colleagues are working to develop a better system of communication between the FAA, the airlines, and the passengers. Hightower explained that collaboration is necessary, as there are a lot of players involved.
In a typical scenario, for example, when the plane closes its doors and pushes back, the airline is in charge initially. Ground control taxis the plane out to the runway, and gets the airline close to departure. Then the tower takes over and officially departs the plane. The plane is then in the terminal area as it climbs to full altitude, and is then considered en route.
The FAA has implemented procedures to reduce delays, such as Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum (RVSM), which reduced the required distance of separation between planes flying above 28,000 feet from 2000 ft. to 1000 ft. RVSM requires special equipment and training, but according to Merwick, “it alleviated a lot of traffic, especially out on the East Coast.” And the FAA is developing the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen), the goals of which are to create a better system of air traffic management.
Within the NextGen system plan, Hightower explains, “there is a piece called collaborative air traffic management – that is the collaboration between the airlines and the FAA.”
Hightower is designing the systems that the airlines and the FAA are going to use for collaboration, which combine surveillance with trajectory planning.

“We developed a system to not only show them what’s going on at the airport but also to help them predict what’s going to happen,” he said.

Right now, there is a big push to get surveillance, which, like radar, communicates a plane’s position. But, Hightower said, “we’re saying go beyond surveillance.”
The positive effects of improved airline-FAA collaboration will be multifaceted, benefiting the FAA and airlines as well as the passengers. The new NextGen system would allow the FAA to be better informed, and in turn to better inform passengers not only of the instance of delays but also the reasons for them. Imagine getting a text message saying that your flight is delayed an hour, and saving you from running across the airport. Or imagine being told before boarding that your baggage will be on the next flight, saving you the moment of panic when the last bag is taken from the baggage claim belt and yours has yet to make an appearance.
The work of Hightower and his colleagues would allow the FAA to focus on planning and minimize delays, but, it would not eliminate delays. In fact, in certain situations, it may do just the opposite. For example, Hightower explained that sometimes it makes sense for the airline to sit at the gate for some additional time if it will enable more passengers to board. As they operate now, some airlines do this but do not have an effective way notifying the FAA. The new system would promote communication among the airline, the FAA and the passengers.

“We’re going to say 30-45 minutes out, you can start getting people on board, the pilot knows exactly when he’s going to leave – which may or may not be on time- but they know the exact reasoning why up front.”

So can passengers expect great reductions in delays this holiday season? Probably not. But they need to keep in mind that all parties involved – the FAA and the flight crew- have a vested interest in timely departure. Perhaps passengers can take comfort in knowing that the FAA has new plans in the works. According to Hightower, the program could potentially be implemented within 2 years, once the FAA decides to get started.

For Airports with over 10,000 flights in December 2008, which day of the week has the worst delays? One more reason to hate Mondays…

*KEY FOR AIRPORT CODES:

To view the percent of flights delayed in December 2008 for all major airports, click here

We analyzed flight departure data using MS Access and then ran numbers, sorted, and filtered in MS Excel. Data was obtained from www.bts.gov.
From the BTS Site: “Airline on-time data are reported each month to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) by the 18 U.S. air carriers that have at least 1 percent of total domestic scheduled-service passenger revenues, plus two other carriers that report voluntarily. The data cover nonstop scheduled-service flights between points within the United States (including territories) as described in 14 CFR Part 234 of DOT’s regulations.”

The future success of our children starts well before they don their first backpacks. Studies show that 85% of human brain development takes place before the age of 5 and local government is investing time and efforts to better provide early for young people’s future success.

Two years ago, the state of Virginia mandated data collection regarding early childhood experience and education. The data suggests a strong correlation between early childhood experience and the ability to meet kindergarten benchmarks. With the data-induced focus on pre-school preparation, the need for parent education and at-home skills training is crucial. And the training must be appropriate and accessible to families of different economic, cultural and ethnic origins.

Newly released U.S. Census Bureau data indicates that nationally, more than one-quarter of stay-at-home mothers are Hispanic. The 2000 Census data for Virginia. indicated that 4.7 percent of the state population was Hispanic, and the 2005-2007 American Community Survey estimated that 6.7 percent of Virginians were Hispanic. This data suggests an almost 50 percent increase in the Hispanic population of Virginia in fewer than eight years. Groups like Smart Beginnings, in response to the growing Hispanic community, are tailoring their outreach to mothers and families in these communities.
Smart Beginnings was started in 2007 as an initiative of the Charlottesville/Albemarle Partnership for Children and was funded through a grant from the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation, as well as private and public contributions. United Way is the program manager and fiscal agent for Smart Beginnings and is also a participant.
The goals of the Smart Beginnings program are to foster private and public collaboration towards the creation of an effective system of child and family services, to disseminate information to families that promotes school readiness for children age 0-5 years, and to develop more child care and education systems for children under the age of 5.

Miriam Rushfinn is the director of the Smart Beginnings grant in the Charlottesville/Albemarle region.

Rushfinn said, “We have found a pretty strong correlation – and this has been found nationally as well – between quality early learning experiences and how well children do by academic benchmarks in kindergarten.”

For almost three years outreach to the Hispanic community has been an ongoing goal of Smart Beginnings.

“We know that we have an increasing Latino population and that often times there are language barriers or cultural barriers to helping get their children ready and accessing resources,” Rushfinn said.

Maria Williams works with The Arc of the Piedmont (a local community service organization) and Smart Beginnings funds its infant development project. Williams contributes to the Smart Beginnings initiative working part-time as the parent/infant educator. She works with disadvantaged Hispanic families one -on -one in their homes and also organizes “mothers groups” meetings.
Reaching the disadvantaged / low-income mothers in the Charlottesville/Albemarle Hispanic community presents challenges. Many families lack means of transportation, lack telephone and/or internet connections, and may feel isolated or intimidated as a result of language barriers, cultural differences or illegal immigration status.
The mothers groups have been highly successful, according to Williams and Rushfinn, providing transportation for the mothers, childcare, workshops, classes and lessons covering diverse topics. While children are exposed to English songs, vocabulary and books, as well as provided plenty of play time, their mothers learn about issues such as discipline, nutrition, immigration law and self-care, such as budgeting time and setting limits for themselves. And they regularly receive English language training.

“The beauty of this group is that the moms start bonding and they feel comfortable sharing their experiences,” Williams said.

Williams remembers meeting a lot of “lonely moms” when she first began working with Smart Beginnings two and a half years ago. The mothers groups have aided in alleviating some of the feelings of isolation.

But, Williams said, “We haven’t reached everybody,” and there is still more work to be done.

Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening is the language and literacy assessment tool used in Virginia and children are assessed for benchmark abilities in the fall and spring of their Kindergarten year. Such assessments have proved that there is a correlation between the early childhood experience of children and their abilities to meet the benchmarks. As Smart Beginnings continues its efforts, the program remains grounded in facts and numbers.

“We certainly respond to what we see as the needs of the community as determined by both the public schools and community service providers,” Rushfinn said.

The Virginia Early Childhood Foundation funds nearly 20 collaborative Smart Beginnings initiatives statewide. There is a long way to go, as public preschool space is limited, and only a handful of daycare facilities are accredited, but significant strides have been made towards the creation of what Smart Beginnings calls “ready children.”

Patrick Allen, host of the radio show Subculture Shock and lead singer for the band Silent Muse, works hard to promote and sustain the Charlottesville Goth scene.   

By: Christina Rogers

Patrick Allen is not tattooed. He has no piercings. He does not always wear black. And yet, he is a prominent figure in the gothic subculture of Charlottesville.  As the host of Charlottesville’s radio show Subculture Shock which airs on WNRN from 10 p.m. to 12 a.m. on Sundays, Allen, 28, exposes listeners to the multifaceted Goth genre of music.

“I’m putting this wide variety of music out there and saying ‘Hey – get into this. Enjoy this. Like this,” Allen said.

Music is an integral part of the gothic subculture. The presence of radio shows like Subculture Shock, Allen believes, makes it easier to maintain a Goth scene. The shows generate interest and sustain it. 

Finding a Place to Fit in

Born with V.A.T.E.R. Syndrome, a disease affecting the major organs, Allen underwent various medical procedures at a very young age. His parents divorced when he was two, and his mother moved him and his younger brother from Utah to Charlottesville. Overweight, with poor hand-eye coordination and a lack of what he calls “social tact,” Allen did not fit in with his peers. By high school, with no friends to speak of and a general apathy towards school, he pursued his love of Goth music and began to acclimatize to the Charlottesville Goth scene.

“Honestly, for me, the whole ‘getting into Goth’ – to sound new-agey for a moment – was like finding myself,” he said.

By the time Allen was 21, he had started his band Silent Muse and his commitment to the Charlottesville Goth scene had crystallized. He wanted not only to participate in the Goth scene but also to contribute to it. As a result of his experience as an adolescent outsider, Allen had grown committed to making sure that young people had a place where they could feel accepted. He began working the doors for Goth club events, and eventually became an event promoter and club DJ for the prominent Charlottesville Goth clubs Club Umlaut and The Dawning.

Working Hard to Survive and Thrive

As both a promoter and a DJ, Allen makes sure that he brings musical variety to the clubs. Chad VanPelt works closely with Allen as a club promoter for The Dawning, as host of the electro industrial radio show The Core at WNRN, and as guitarist in Silent Muse. He emphasizes the significance of the role of club promoters and DJs to the survival of the Charlottesville Goth Scene.

“Without someone to fill those roles, and to fill them as enthusiastically as Patrick does, things just don’t get moving.  You can have a multitude of people interested in a certain style of music, but if there’s no one to help organize then things just don’t happen,” VanPelt said.

Sav Vas, a fellow Club Umlaut promoter, meets weekly with Allen to coordinate efforts. Sav Vas says that, to keep the scene going, “you have to actively go after it.”  Promoters such as Sav Vas, VanPelt, and Allen donate time, effort, and even their own money occasionally, to doing just that.

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The gothic subculture and has outlasted many other non-mainstream movements. What makes the gothic subculture’s survival unique? Listen to a podcast interview with Dr. Michael Bibby in which he discusses the endurance of the gothic subculture.  Dr. Bibby is a professor with the English department at Shippensburg University and co-edited the book Goth: Undead Subculture with Lauren Goodland.

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Enduring over time

“I think one of the reasons the Goth scene has survived for as long as it has is it’s really good at adapting,” Allen said.

Surviving has not always been easy. Economic struggles have led to the loss of certain venues and decreased attendance at events. Allen says people need to remember that sustaining the culture takes work, and that they should not take the existence of clubs and events for granted.
Despite the loss of venues and of “prime time” weekend nights, the Charlottesville gothic subculture is still alive. VanPelt said, of his work with Allen,

“Goth doesn’t make money in this town; what we do we do for the love of the music and the people.”

 Allen and his fellow promoters have embraced the weeknight schedules and continue to host regular events regardless of the ebb and flow of attendance. They also plan fundraising events for different causes throughout the year, such as Race for the Cure and the AIDS Walk in Washington, D.C.

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View an audio slideshow about the Charlottesville Goth club scene and the recent HIV/AIDS benefit event at Outback Lodge which raised money for the AIDS Walk in Washington, D.C.

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In addition to fundraising, promoting the clubs and performing with Silent Muse, Allen hopes to continue hosting Subculture Shock as long as there remains an interest from listeners. And, he says,

“If, one day, people stop coming to Goth clubs and stop listening to the show, I will hang up my hat and I will be a little sad, but I will be able to look back at what I’ve done and be proud of it.”

By: Lauren Boehnlein, Maureen Linke, Christina Rogers

In response to the growing popularity of Virginia farmers markets, Gov. Tim Kaine has designated August 2-8 as Farmer’s Market Week. Richmond shoppers recognize the importance of purchasing local produce. 

 Lakeside Farmers Market in Henrico County has only been in operation for two years. However it has seen a steady increase in its customer base and vendors since its opening in 2008.

“It supports our community and it’s good to keep things regional. Anytime you can support those around you it’s a good thing” said Jen Poe, a Lakeside Farmers Market customer.

 Poe, like many customers, shops at the

 “People are starting to realize that it’s here, that we’ve since started to establish ourselves, people have started coming out,” said Market Coordinator Julia Dunville.

 This farmers market is open two days a week and hosts about 10 to 15 vendors per marketing period. Vendors bring their goods to the market from areas around the state including Henrico, Hanover and as far as Warsaw in Northern Virginia.

What Sets Lakeside Apart from the Rest

 
 There are many other farmers markets in the Richmond area, including the 17th Street Farmers Market that is located in Shockoe Bottom, which has over a 100 year history in the Richmond area. But there are certain things that set Lakeside apart from all the rest.
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Evelyn Allen has been coming to the 17th Street Farmers Market for over 65 years. View the audio slideshow to hear Evelyn talk about her childhood memories of 17th Street Farmers Market.

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“The 17th Street Market has evolved into things that are more than just produce market, they do the whole festival approach to it,” said Peter Francisco, the owner of the Lakeside Farmers Market. “What makes us different than almost any other market is that we are produce only.”

 Francisco says that the market is regulated by a provisional use permit from Henrico County that states that they cannot sell arts and crafts or prepared or processed foods.

 
 In addition to being a produce only market, Lakeside strives to give back to the community and the local economy.

 “We sell strictly things that come off the farm. If it is a processed item, like baked goods, they are regulated by the Virginia Department of Agriculture.”

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Listen to a podcast interview with Yasmeen Bey, co-owner of Tea Co. and vendor at Lakeside Farmers Market. She shares her thoughts on how farmers markets contribute to the local economy.

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“We focus on economic redevelopment … we are privately owned,” said Francisco. “17th street is funded by the Economic Development Department of Virginia.”

Additionally, the Lakeside market strives to incorporate a more educational aspect to their market. A couple weeks ago, an agricultural extension agent came to show customers how to safely preserve and can foods.

 “We try to have something of value like that, while it may not be a big production, but people can talk to vendors to get information,” said Sharon Francisco.

Virginia farmers markets offer a variety of local produce not available in grocery stores.

“They have things that you can’t buy anywhere else,” said Wayne Moffett, a shopper who frequents both the downtown and Lakeside farmers markets.

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Lisa Granger, owner of The Fat Goat restaurant in Richmond, and chef Jeff Mosca support the local comminity by purchasing and serving locally grown food. View the audio slideshow for more of their insight.

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The number of Virginia farmers markets has doubled since 2005, and there are more than 170 statewide. Locals who previously shopped only in grocery stores are taking notice.

“It’s our first time here, we came by because we wanted to see what was available,” said shopper Jane Phillips. “We are actually checking out two today to do a comparison. I feel like fresh food is healthier and supporting the community we live in are reasons everyone should start shopping at the farmer’s markets if they don’t already.”

Farmers Market Week in Virginia

 
 According to the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS), farmers markets help to keep Virginia’s economy strong by helping to sustain working farms. Additionally, the site states that farmers markets in the state have a $55 billion dollar impact on the Virginia economy and have provided over 350,000 jobs.

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Listen to a podcast interview with Tom Winston, a third generation farmer, who believes that purchasing local produce is vital not only to the economy but also to the health of the community.

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Throughout the week, various markets and organizations state-wide are holding various events to celebrate.

“Somebody is going to come do some onsite cooking with some of the produce,” said Dunville.

The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services are sponsoring an Eat Local Recipe Contest in conjunction with Virginia Grown. The only stipulation of the contest is that contestants must use as many locally grown and produced products as possible.

Additional Hyperlinks:

Eat Local Chief Recipes

Local Harvest

1708 organizes juried exhibitions biennially. FEED is collection of 17 pieces ranging from large-scale installation to HD television to painting and photography, and offers the community a diverse artistic experience that is both accessible and relevant. Selected from more than 300 submissions, the work of contemporary artists Jarod Charzewski, Cari Freno, Christine Gray, Mang Geul Han and Ross Sawyers transforms the white, square gallery space into a textured, whimsical, powerful multi-media laundry hamper.

About the work

The gallery window frames the large installation by Jarod Charzewski, who layers articles of clothing into piles that are reminiscent of a 3-D topographic map. Brightly colored shirts, sweaters, and even rogue Santa hats and Scream masks lay in color-coordinated piles. Visually, the effect is beautiful – soft, rolling hills of Crayola colors. Conceptually, the piece is a harsh display of prodigal spending, excessive acquisition, and waste.

“I have to plan things spatially in any way that I can,” Charzewski said.

He worked with a digital model of the gallery floor plan to design his installation. He then bought his clothes by the pound from a Goodwill warehouse.

“I was blown away by the sheer quantity of stuff,” he said.

Clothing from eight Goodwill stores filled the massive warehouse, and it was only a 1 day shipment. Anything that did not sell was destined for landfill.

Charzewski refers to current US spending trends as “an epidemic,” and sees great danger in the spending habits of shopaholic Americans.

“People can replace things with conscious freedom,” he said.

It is that consciousness that Charzewski hopes to inspire in his viewers.

Both Cari Freno and Bang Geul Han have chosen video as the medium through which they speak. Freno’s HD stills of self-examination in nature and Han’s exploration of sexuality are framed within TV screens and add a glowing, technological dynamic to the room.

Next to the other artists, Christine Gray’s work seems more traditional both in style and in media (oil painting on panel/linen, sculpture) though current in subject matter. In her painting Glow-Lure Tears for Moth Mass, for example, insects are tragically moving towards the light of a false exit to a constructed cave. Gray explains that her creatures are “being drawn up to the heavens as if for redemption, but actually it’s a death trap.”

Through her paintings, Gray hopes to assuage an anxiety that she believes is the result of the modern-day perception that culture and nature are separate.

“There is no separation between culture and nature,” she said, “the collapse of the two categories is what my work is based on.”

Ross Sawyers presents a different sort of collapse as he brings to light the haunting reality of housing developments which spring up increasingly close to one another and of the ever-increasing number of foreclosed or abandoned homes. Through a series of photographs taken from small models and then blown up to three, four, or five feet in dimension, Sawyers captures the simultaneous tension and peace of the empty spaces he creates.

Sawyers works from his surroundings, and his models are inspired by the buildings he sees “walking to work or going to the grocery store.” He likes constructing and photographing models because, he said, “I can do with them what I want.”

His models have been inspired by his environment in both Seattle and Southern California, but “they are a little bit skewed or exaggerated,” as he pushes them past the confines of reality.

Furthering the mission

Rob McAdams hopes to continue to find ways to bring the highest quality of national and international contemporary art to the public.

“Even though we’ve been around for 30 years, there’s still a lot in the community who don’t know about us.”

Through the efforts of the board, the gallery director, artists, and supporters, 1708 hopes to continue to find ways to engage the community and expose people to all facets of contemporary art.