Carol Diggs, Author at C-VILLE Weekly

News

It’s a wonder: Blue Ridge Tunnel trail opening is more than a century in the making

It’s dark. It’s damp. It’s cold. And it’s so cool. The newly opened Claudius Crozet Blue Ridge Tunnel trail lets you walk under the Blue Ridge—under Rockfish Gap, under I-64, under the Appalachian Trail and Skyline Drive. More than 700 feet above, drivers sweep through forested hillsides while you peer at walls of hewn rock […]

Carol Diggs | November 25, 2020

News

Ash disaster: Local ash trees face their own pandemic

As if COVID-19 weren’t enough, central Virginia is fighting another plague, only this one—the emerald ash borer—threatens our trees. The beetle may look like a tiny jewel— it’s a bright metallic green, small enough to sit on a penny— but it’s been scything down local ash trees like a malevolent Paul Bunyan. “No ash tree […]

Carol Diggs | October 14, 2020

C-BIZ

Recipe for success: Vu Noodles’ survival story

Those who work in business can tell you that success requires hard work, adaptation, and some smiles from fate. Julie Vu Whitaker, founder and driving force behind Vu Noodles, can attest to all three. In 2013, after 20 years as a social worker, Whitaker decided on a career shift. “[While] I still loved it, I […]

Carol Diggs | August 28, 2020

Culture Living

Eyes to the sky: Young birders build their skills

Dusk. A cold fitful breeze. Quiet except for our footfalls on dry leaves. Far above, a hawk glides, dark against the twilight sky. “Cooper’s,” says Theo after a swift glance. Theo is leading our group along the Rivanna Trail in search of woodcocks. It’s sunset in spring—courting time. Theo picks a spot on the border […]

Carol Diggs | July 29, 2020

C-BIZ

What dreams are made of: 5 stories of locals turning their passion into their business

If thinking about your passion keeps you up at night, while your job leaves you snoring, it may be time to see if you can make a living doing what you love. The Charlottesville area is home to plenty of small business entrepreneurs— and dreamers. Albemarle County, and much of central Virginia, has a self- […]

Carol Diggs | April 25, 2020

C-BIZ

Dollars & sense: The Tax Ladies bring a personal touch to financial services

Libby Edwards-Allbaugh, co-founder and co-owner of The Tax Ladies, thinks being a woman in a male-dominated industry is a strength. “This is such a traditional, conservative field,” she says. “The people in accountancy often lack people skills; I felt I could set a more personable tone.” The Tax Ladies, which she and partner Treat Jackson […]

Carol Diggs | April 25, 2020

News

In kind: Making our city a little brighter, one good deed at a time

Whether you think in terms of “random acts of kindness” or “points of light” or “it takes a village,” all around Charlottesville there are people who go out every day and do their part to make this city a more human place. It’s not their job, but it’s their work. While we, as a community, […]

Carol Diggs | February 5, 2020

C-BIZ

It’s a match: A little green helps grow local businesses

For small business, money is manure– it fosters growth. Charlottesville’s Office of Economic Development has launched an innovative program to provide financial fertilizer for budding businesses, encouraging them to put down roots here in hopes they bear fruit– i.e., tax revenues and jobs. The new program, called Cville Match, uses funds from the Charlottesville Economic […]

Carol Diggs | December 24, 2019

C-BIZ

It takes a network: PVCC program connects people with jobs—and the resources to help them succeed

This area’s affordable housing crisis is often in the news, but what about the other side of the issue–a sustainable income? Businesses can do their part by hiring local residents, who with some assistance or training could step up to a better-paying job. The challenge is, how to find those people, match them with the […]

Carol Diggs | December 24, 2019

News

Lending a paw: Local groups harness the power of animal therapy

Tamera Mason, an EMT working at Augusta Health’s emergency room in Staunton, lives with a life-threatening medical condition: In July 2015, a yellow jacket’s sting set off an extreme autoimmune reaction that devastated her hormonal systems and caused Addison’s disease, which affects the adrenal glands’ ability to produce cortisol. When Mason’s body goes into Addisonian […]

Carol Diggs | October 30, 2019