One of 10 Communities Nationwide to Test Score Akin to MPG Label for Cars The White House today announced that Charlottesville’s Local Energy Alliance Program (LEAP) was selected to help pilot a new Home Energy Score Program, similar to a miles-per-gallon label for cars, before it is rolled out nationally next summer. LEAP’s Executive Director Cynthia Adams was in Washington, DC, for the announcement today which was attended by Vice President Joe Biden as Chair of the White House Middle Class Task Force, Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality Nancy Sutley, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, and Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan. LEAP will now be one of the first to offer this valuable tool to customers and stakeholder partners in Charlottesville and the surrounding counties of Albemarle, Greene, Nelson, Fluvanna, and Louisa and will help improve the program before it is rolled out nationally. “We know that in the U.S. buildings account for 70% of our electrical and 40% of our overall energy use, and yet until now we have had no practical tool for quantifying the relative performance of these buildings.
Date Archives November 2010
Deal of the Day – Four Bedroom Townhome in Crozet
I reluctantly post this as I rarely post about active homes for sale in Crozet or Charlottesville, but this is an exception. Last sold in 2006 for $315k (asking price was $325k). Now on the market for #219k .
Greene County Schools’ Growth
Harrisonburg City grew by an astounding 4.59%, but we outpaced Albemarle, Charlottesville, Louisa, Madison, Orange, Fluvanna, Rockingham, Staunton, and Nelson.
…I suppose that quite a bit of that growth can be attributed to NGIC/DIA as well as the fact that now that Greene has a Lowe’s and Super Wal-Mart people are more inclined to stay in Greene rather than always have to go to Charlottesville. Also, I’d bet that that Hollymead Town Center – Harris Teeter and Target – derives a fair amount of their traffic from southern Greene County.
…If you want a small farm to keep a pony for the kids or a nice vegetable garden, going north may be the answer.
The Virginia Film Festival is Here
And it’s yet another contribution to why living in Charlottesville is great . I might not be able to attend the Festival this year due to other things (ie: Life), but the Festival permeates Charlottesville in a very good way.
Don’t Call it 4 x 4 – Albemarle County’s Semesterization Experiment
I have talked to quite a few parents and high schoolers about their perceptions and reactions to the block scheduling, and thought it would be useful to ask the opinion of Champion Tutoring for their perspective, and I received this gracious response : Thanks for asking.  … I have been asked before to comment on the block schedule “from a Realtor’s perspective” and here is my comment: From my point of view, the teachers are overworked and not able to teach effectively. … From our personal experience, we are extremely reluctant to miss a day of school, as there is very little chance of ever recapturing what was taught on that day – there is too much information and too little time at school. … Crozet Gazette – Parents Revolt Against WAHS (Western Albemarle High School) 4×4 Schedule Carmen Garcia, the mother of one student at Western and two at Henley (where she serves as PTO vice president), said she called former School Board member Brian Wheeler about the schedule policy change last spring.
George Carlin and Stuff
I’ve had this conversation several times over the past few days with clients – buyers and sellers – about Americans’ need for STUFF. My European clients get this. My American clients tend not to. There’s a few off-color words, but he’s George Carlin !
Real Estate Technology I wanted Five Years Ago is Finally Here – Part 3 – Paperless Transactions
When we were meeting a few weeks ago, they were looking at the faxes I used to send them, discussing the websites I used to put up for them – photos of neighborhoods, areas, houses, etc. and we were talking about how things have changed and evolved since then. When we put my clients’ house on the market a few weeks ago, they were looking back at their files from when they built five years ago.
…In 2011, I am strongly considering not recommending lenders who don’t get this – if their processors, their underwriters etc think that electronic signatures aren’t “real” I am going to have a very difficult time working with them. … Part One – Real Estate Technology I wanted Five Years Ago is Finally Here – Interactive Floorplans Part Two – Real Estate Technology I wanted Five Years Ago is Finally Here – Real Estate Video Part Three – Real Estate Technology I wanted Five Years Ago is Finally Here – Paperless Transactions.