The BoS has yet again postponed construction of the Crozet library, leaving the growing populace with a library the size of a phonebook. It’s ridiculous how many times this project has been pushed back.
[...]The BoS has yet again postponed construction of the Crozet library, leaving the growing populace with a library the size of a phonebook. It’s ridiculous how many times this project has been pushed back.
[...]The Coen brothers have an open casting call in town for their next movie. They want a 12–16-year-old girl.
[...]Under an act of the General Assembly, smoking in Virginia restaurants is illegal, beginning today. Huzzah! (The exception is restaurants that maintain a closed, separate smoking room with an independent ventilation system.) Many restaurants banned smoking after the bill passed last winter, getting a head start on the law, but [...]
One of the Murray brothers, Dr. Latham Murray, died yesterday evening, of causes as yet undetermined. The eight sons of Panorama Farm owners Jim and Bunny Murray—James, Matthew, Christopher, Stephen, Andrew, Thomas, Timothy, and Latham—are pervasive in the community, quietly doing the various good deeds that [...]
The Hook provides a detailed description of the overhauled Jefferson Theater.
[...]
By Karen Blaha, reproduced under CC BY-SA license.
Al Groh is being paid $4.3M to please stop coaching UVA football, CBS-19 (among many others) reports. Just last night the university wrapped up a 3-9 season with a 42-13 loss to Virginia Tech, [...]
Al Groh, asked if his career at UVA is done after getting beat down by VT, read a terrible poem, “The Guy in the Glass.” That would be a “yes.”
[...]The SPCA wants you to foster a dog for Christmas, to give just one dog a home, if only for the holidays. Orientations are next month. Fostering is great!
[...]A UVA student died in a spelunking accident in Utah this morning. He was trapped 150 feet underground for 28 hours. (Via)
[...]Roanoke NPR station WVTF is opening a downtown Charlottesville studio. They’ll have a grand opening of the 1,780 square foot facility weekend after next, and use the facility for conducting interviews. It’s at 216 W. Water St. (here, I think), across from the Ice Park. This is constitutes [...]
A Cessna on its way to CHO crashed near Durham, NC today. Looking at the pictures, it’s tough to believe it, but the couple in the plane walked away unharmed.
[...]There was a 2.7 earthquake in Nelson County, just north of Appomattox at 5:24 this evening. The epicenter was here:
Nobody should have felt it in the Charlottesville area. (And hardly anybody in Nelson.) Earthquakes in the 2.0-2.9 range are so weak that they’re generally not even felt. We [...]
Mayor Norris got engaged and shaved off his beard. When you wonder “who is that chipper-looking handsome stranger?”, look again.
[...]It’s not just Glenmore: Mill Creek’s treasurer has been arrested for embezzlement, too. You only find out who is swimming naked when the tide goes out.
[...]Charlottesville’s Dr. Gregg Korbon told the story of how Brian C. Korbon Little League Field got its name on NPR this morning. John Borgmeyer named this as the best story recorded by StoryCorps here in 2005.
[...]Hollymead Town Center isn’t the paragon of pedestrian friendliness that it’s touted as, Erika Howsare writes in the current C-Ville Weekly. Years after the development went in, Howsare tried to take a stroll to the shopping center from the townhouses that make the place ostensibly mixed-use. It did not [...]
Local filmmaker Eric Hurt has won Organizing for America’s competition to create short films about the paucity of affordable family health care, Brian McNeill writes in today’s Daily Progress. A thousand films were submitted, with a blue-ribbon panel naming this one the best. It was shot at Riverview Park.
Angry protesters are driving away customers to businesses next door to Rep. Perriello’s office, and they’re demanding that Perriello relocate his office to a place where they can more easily picket him.
[...]The Victory Shoes façade has been illegally demolished, Dave McNair wrote in The Hook a few days ago. (Here’s how it looked when the shoe store was still in business.) One of the few remaining examples of art deco architecture in town, the building—just to the left of [...]
Adopt a needy family for Christmas. I’ve done this—it’s guaranteed elevation.
[...]West Main business owns are pushing for a charrette on the history of the corridor, Rachana Dixit writes in today’s Daily Progress. (For those who aren’t familiar with the process, Wikipedia provides a good definition. It’s basically when a bunch of stakeholders get together and try to collaboratively [...]
President George W. Bush has assented to participate in the Miller Center’s ongoing presidential history project, The Daily Progress reports. Every president since Carter has been interviewed—along with hundreds of administration officials—for their Presidential Oral History Program, which has used that extraordinary level of access to create an [...]
The Cavalier Daily is scaling back the number of issues they’ll publish each year, they announced in today’s lead editorial, going from 136 down to 131, or thereabouts. It’s a financial decision, a result of decreased advertising revenue, so they’re eliminating five Friday papers, the day that generates the [...]
My brother’s second “deer hunting for locavores” class starts on Sunday, and there are still slots available. It’s $50, with neither experience nor a rifle of your own required.
[...]Albemarle financial situation is worsening, the the $4.7M shortfall now up to $5.7M.
[...]This is a fun audio profile of erstwhile Toscano opponent R.B. Smith. Also, I like to say “erstwhile.”
[...]Democrats have won all of the Charlottesville elections, unsurprisingly. Delegate David Toscano easily defeated independent challenger R.B. Smith, James E. Brown bested independent Paul Best in the sheriff’s race, and Mayor Dave Norris secured reelection while ticket-mate Kristin Szakos joined him in defeating independents Bob Fenwick and Paul Long. [...]
Both Republicans running for the Albemarle Board of Supervisors have won: Duane Snow in the Samuel Miller district and Rodney Thomas in the Rio district.
Snow was in a three-way race against Democrat Madison Cummings and independent John Lowry, all vying for a seat vacated by [...]
A PAC called “Albemarle Citizens Against Racism” political action committee just registered yesterday, according to the Virginia Public Access Project, with the stated goal of defeating Rodney Thomas. (He’s the Republican running against incumbent David Slutzky in the Rio district in today’s election.) In violation of state campaign [...]
I’m kind of excited about “Secretly, Y’all,” a new storytelling collective. On Nov. 15, a bunch of strangers will get together and tell stories on a theme of “crazy,” in the style of “The Moth.”
[...]There are all sorts of elections on Tuesday. Statewide, we’ve got the governor’s race (Democrat Creigh Deeds vs. Republican Bob McDonnell), the lieutenant governor’s race (Republican Bill Bolling vs. Democrat Jody Wagner), and attorney general (Democrat Steve Shannon vs. Republican Ken Cuccinelli). There are also a pair of House of [...]
An ostensible baron and director of crappy 70s TV shows has been charged with stealing stuff from the Antiquer’s Mall. Let’s keep an eye on this story—I think it’ll be fun.
[...]Bryan McKenzie, seeking reaction to Rep. Perriello’s move towards supporting the health care reform bill, interviews only Perriello’s political opponents. Get this: they oppose his move.
[...]
The USPS Distribution Facility on Airport Rd.
As many people forecast, the USPS intends to scale back significantly their new processing facility on Airport Road, Bryan McKenzie writes in the Progress, moving that work to [...]
Three months after breaking the story that coal lobbyists forged letters to Rep. Tom Perriello, Brian McNeill headed up to Washington D.C. to cover a congressional hearing investigating the scandal. He was sent up to cover the story for the Daily Progress; Media General sent him up, rather [...]
Patricia Kluge is trying to sell her estate for a laughable, ridiculous $100M. She’ll be lucky to get a fifth of that.
[...]
[A pair of reviews of local films, courtesy of Matthew Farrell. -Waldo]
Mantra
a film shot in Charlottesville
written/directed by Brian Wimer
As we snowball to financial, social, moral, and material apocalypse, a storyteller can offer us the modest comfort that if everything’s not going to be precisely OK, [...]
Earlysville’s Marit Gay just completed a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. Go Marit!
[...]Lawrence Halprin, the architect who designed the Downtown Mall, has died.
[...]A Fluvanna BoS candidate owes $50k in back taxes to the county. That’s gotta be awkward.
[...]Stonehaus has taken over and is looking to lease out the Jefferson School as “Jefferson School City Center.” $13/sq. ft. The leasing packet has details (1.3MB PDF). Somehow this isn’t what I expected.
[...]It’s been a bad last few days here in Charlottesville.
Mother, North Garden farmer, raw milk advocate and local food activist Kathryn Russell died in a car accident on 29S on Thursday night. The owner of Majesty Farm and VICFA board member was crossing 29 on Plank Road [...]
The Democratic challenger to Delegate Rob Bell sent out a mailing earlier this week comparing him to a cheating husband, Brian McNeill writes in the Progress. Cynthia Neff’s glossy, 8.5″x11″ one-page mailer shows a bouquet of roses on one side, with large text reading: “It’s like a cheating [...]
Google Maps is showing county property boundaries. Bravo, Google and county GIS folks! (Via DP)
[...]Black students in Albemarle County high schools are graduating at a lower rate this year than last year, Rachana Dixit and Brandon Shulleeta report in today’s Daily Progress. Of the class that entered ninth grade in 2004, 5.4% of black students dropped out. Of the class that entered in [...]
With President Obama OKing medical marijuana, my reading of Virginia law tells me that it’s now legal right here in Charlottesville.
[...]VDOT has withdrawn their idea for a new Culpeper -> 64 running along eastern Albemarle. Perhaps they weren’t aware that Keswick residents have both money and power in spades?
[...]Mohawk is shutting down their Waynesboro factory, leaving 120 people out of work. That’s terrible news for W’boro.
[...]Over a million dollars in goods have been sold at the farmer’s market this year. Very impressive!
[...]General District Judge William G. Barkley has found Forest Lakes Arby’s owner Tom Slonaker in clear violation of the county’s zoning regulations, Tasha Kates wrote in yesterday’s Progress, fining him $1,000 per violation. For years Slonaker has festooned his business with advertisements for Arby’s and another, unlicensed business that [...]
The Albemarle Planning Commission is set to oppose rezonings in the vicinity of Glenmore, Connie Chang writes for Charlottesville Tomorrow, because there’s simply not the road capacity to handle the traffic between there and Charlottesville. That’s good news for supporters of common sense. Traditionally, developers get to build whatever [...]
‘Tis the season for harvesting and eating giant puffballs. I’ve given out a half dozen so far, and people really seem to like them.
[...]Albemarle BoS chair David Slutzky is toying with a significant overhaul to county taxation policy, Brandon Shulleeta writes in today’s Daily Progress, although he says it’s nothing more than idea, one that he’s not even sure that he’d vote for. The county provides a significant real estate tax cut [...]
Got stinkbugs? You’re not the only one. Remember that the annual lady beetle invasion is due sometime in the next two weeks, too.
[...]It’s the 50th anniversary of the Ivy tornado. I’ve heard stories about this, but never a proper story, and certainly never photos. (Via The Hook)
[...]Albemarle is looking for board applicants for JABA, Natural Heritage Committee, Pantops Advisory Council, Public Recreation, and Route 250 W. Task Force. They get very few applicants. Hey, you: Less whining, more getting shit done.
[...]It may be cheaper to build a new dam than repair the existing one, Rachana Dixit wrote in yesterday’s Progress. The Rivanna Water & Sewer Authority’s executive director says that the engineers studying what to do with the dam figure that the cost of repairs would exceed the [...]
This month is the fiftieth anniversary of the crash of Piedmont Airlines Flight 349, which went down on Bucks Elbow, near Sealeville north of Crozet, on October 30 1959. The Buckeye Pacemaker, a DC-3, travelled low over AHS, where fans at the football game that evening heard it [...]
County teachers aren’t likely to get their annual pay raise next year, Brandon Shulleeta reports in the Progress today. That’s already the case for state employees, who aren’t getting any raises for performance or cost of living increases, and with Albemarle facing the same economic conditions, it looks like [...]
Swine flu is sweeping through county schools. It’s basically like any other flu in its effects, but it sure is contagious.
[...]Matthew Broderick and Annette Benning will be at this year’s Film Fest. Also, Norman Jewison and John Waters (!).
[...]City Council has passed a resolution apologizing for its role in Massive Resistance, Rachana Dixit writes in today’s Progress. The vote was unanimous. Copies of the resolution will be sent to the dozen men and women who were the first students to cross the color barrier fifty years ago.
The three candidates vying for the Samuel Miller BoS seat held a debate last night, Brandon Shulleeta writes in today’s Progress. (Or, at least, I assume that it was a debate and it was last night. Due to what I assume is some unfortunate editing, the articles makes no [...]
The candidates for the Rio BoS seat held a debate last night, Bryan McKenzie writes in today’s Progress, with the two candidates highlighting a sharp difference in their philosophies of leadership. On the question of how a supervisor should figure out what side to support in dealing with hot-button [...]
Rachana Dixit had a commendable story in the Daily Progress a couple of weeks ago that I was remiss in not mentioning at the time, “What did McIntire really want?” There have been a lot of efforts to divine the intent of Paul Goodloe McIntire in donating land [...]
U2 is playing Scott Stadium Thursday night, so stay far, far away from town. UVA is doing stuff to deal with traffic, but 50,000 people is 50,000 people.
[...]VDOT is recommending a couple of new connecting roads, Sean Tubbs writes for Charlottesville Tomorrow.
The first is a chunk of the western bypass, extending “Leonard Sandridge Drive” (the exit to the bypass that UVA built recently, near the law school) on the other side of the bypass, running across [...]
The city planning commission isn’t going to regulate yard sales after all, Sean Tubbs writes for Charlottesville Tomorrow. They were considering requiring permits in response to homeowners holding never-ending “yard sales” that really amount to unlicensed businesses selling quasi-junk in an area not zoned for businesses, and also [...]
One month ago BoS candidate Rodney Thomas was interviewed by Lisa Provence for The Hook. In the context of highlighting his local roots (versus those of his opponent, incumbent Democrat David Slutzky), Provence wrote:
Rodney Thomas has lived in Charlottesville all his life. He went to Lane High School and [...]
Albemarle County school superintendent Pam Moran has recommended against consolidating three southern elementary schools, Henry Graff reports. The school board is debating whether to consolidate or renovate three schools—Red Hill, Scottsville, and Yancey. The school board has been waiting on a recommendation from staff, which they may or [...]
UVA professor Deborah Eisenberg has won a MacArthur “genius grant.” It seems like somebody here wins about every year.
[...]In the latest C-Ville Weekly they’ve rounded up some really enjoyable memories of the twenty years that they’ve been publishing. Owner Bill Chapman recalls the highlights, with staff rounding up the highs and the lows (”Gail Force,” anyone?) in the years gone by. Look closely in the [...]
The Hook has a montage of tiny nude photos in its current issue, Liza Palka points out for CBS-19. The article is about UVA students who wound up in Playboy (such as in their “Girls of the ACC” feature) and how their future careers panned out. (Which turns [...]
The county budget is in rough shape, Rachan Dixit writes in today’s Progress. Sales tax and personal property tax revenues are down 6.6% and 4.8% respectively, leaving Albemarle with a $4.7M shortfall. That’s worsened by the governor’s recent budget cuts, leaving the county $600k short on expected state funding. [...]
The Albemarle County School Board is trying to decide whether they should shut down Red Hill, Scottsville, and Yancey elementary schools, Brandon Shulleeta writes in today’s Daily Progress. All three are in need of some significant infrastructure repair, and it’s not obvious whether they should each be renovated, or [...]
It’s been over a decade since the UVA baby switch. (New to town? See Time’s 1999 story. The whole thing is too complicated—and bizarre—to explain here.) The UK’s Daily Telegraph has done a followup story on the two girls, who are now fourteen years old. Callie Conley [...]
Some local folks are remaking the legendarily-awful Plan 9 from Outer Space. (Via)
[...]
It’s been five years since Gray Television launched CBS-19 and ABC-16 here in Charlottesville. (Here’s the original cvillenews.com story.) If asked, I would have guessed it’d been, like, a week and a half. We were all relatively fresh off the C-Ville Weekly / Hook split then, [...]
The state prison system is once again allowing Books Behind Bars to operate. The Rutherford Institute got involved, which probably helped.
[...]The Progress has gone to the new, narrower page size that’s become more common. Remember when the Post got narrower a few years ago? Same deal.
[...]
