Saturday, September 05, 2009
Editorial: Short takes
Quick views on some of the week's news.
From the RoundTable blog
Read the latest entries
A real downtown grocery, maybe
The ambitious new owners of a downtown Roanoke building could bring a much-needed amenity to the heart of the city: a real grocery store.
All due respect to the pair of convenience stores on Campbell Avenue, but the growing number of downtown apartment- and condo-dwellers need more than a place to pick up a six pack of beer, a candy bar or a lottery ticket.
The four partners who bought 16 W. Church Ave. want to give it to them. The investors hope to bring a grocery store, pharmacy, health-focused food court and a fitness center to the building, which is currently home to the Downtown Sports Club.
Right now, the partners -- the president of Spectrum Design and three employees of the architectural and engineering firm -- have only hope and a building for which they paid $425,000. They plan on renovating the building to accommodate their vision and seek out tenants.
The growing number of downtown residents, along with its many daytime inhabitants, wish them well.
A DMV visit just got even more inconvenient
The Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles announced that, beginning this month, several of its customer-service centers -- including those in Lexington, Staunton and Altavista -- will be closed on Saturdays.
The move is part of statewide cost-cutting efforts, and we suppose that makes sense.
But here's an idea: Instead of shutting down on the one day of the week many people can afford to go wait in line for several hours, how about closing on a weekday instead?
At the very least, Saturday hours should be available once or twice a month.
DMV visits are inconvenient and unpleasant enough without making people sacrifice pay to make the trip.
New talent at the Taubman
After months without an executive director, Roanoke's Taubman Museum of Art has a new leader -- who has his work cut out for him.
David Mickenberg takes over from Georganne Bingham, who stepped down in May, just six months after seeing the museum project through from fund raising to construction to a dazzling opening in November.
Since then, attendance has been disappointing, and the museum has raised the price of admission and trimmed expenses with two rounds of layoffs -- results that the Taubman's board of trustees attributes to the long, steep recession.
If the national economy is in the midst of a slow turnaround, as many economists say, the Taubman needs to be poised to take advantage of the rebound. Mickenburg is touted as having strong management and fund-raising skills and past success at boosting museum attendance. Already, he is talking about ways the Taubman might build interest and gain wider recognition.
He sounds like an excellent fit.
