How to act like a man

In the roughly 25 years since his death at age 50, Steve McQueen has enjoyed a vibrant afterlife in the American pop consciousness. Including memoirs by two ex-wives, biographical treatments have come out at a pace of at least one every three years. Remakes of his movies—Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger’s turn at The Getaway […]

News in review

Tuesday, October 19 Bush’s beady eyes A tour bus featuring a giant picture of President Bush and the line “Yes, Bush Can! ’04” rolled into town today, coming to a halt at an environmentalist rally near the UVA Rotunda. Two men in suits emerged from the bus to loudly voice their support for the President. […]

News in review

Tuesday, October 12 No such thing as a free ambulance Many city governments must factor rescue and emergency medical services into annual budgets. Not here in Charlottesville, where the all-volunteer Charlottesville-Albemarle Rescue Squad (CARS) gets the job done with zero tax dollars. CARS is the busiest volunteer squad in the country, having responded to more […]

Wal-Mart’s everyday low wages

When Melissa Howard joined the Wal-Mart store in New Castle, Indiana, in 1992, she received a blue vest, a red, white and blue nametag, six bucks an hour, and the title of “electronics department manager.” Howard hoped to climb the corporate ladder, accept greater responsibility and take home a fatter paycheck.  So she worked diligently […]

News in review

Tuesday, October 5 New supe’s tests examined In their fourth public meeting in one week to address new standardized testing, Charlottesville school administrators convened this evening with nearly three-dozen attendees at the Friendship Court meeting room. Under discussion: the “Flanagan” tests, the first major instructional initiative by new city superintendent Scottie Griffin. Acknowledging that the […]

Man on a mission

Charlottesville Police Chief Timothy Longo Sr. is no slave overseer. But he knows the specter of the slave patrol colors the way some people see police officers.  In early September, Longo addressed about 15 people attending this fall’s Citizens Police Academy. The annual 10-session class trains neighborhood residents in the basics of police work. In […]

News in review

Tuesday, September 28 Serial rapist is black As of today, local cops can stop scrutinizing Latinos or white men in their search for the serial rapist. (Police reportedly sought DNA samples from two Latino men as part of the DNA dragnet.) Confirmation that the serial rapist is indeed a black man came yesterday, when police […]

All the news that’s fit to gag

www.alternet.org In Minot, North Dakota, in 2002, a train derailed at 1:30am spilling 200,000 gallons of deadly gas. All six commercial radio stations in the area were owned by Clear Channel, and all six were fully automated. As a result, the stations weren’t switched over to the emergency broadcasting frequency and the news wasn’t properly […]

Eat your heart out!

Who doesn’t love to eat? O.K., who besides Mary-Kate Olsen doesn’t love to eat? We’re so lucky we live in Charlottesville, where therestaurants rival Volvos for per capita representation. It’s like an open invitation for a long-term love affair. To help you organize yourmany food choices, the always-hungry staff of C-VILLE went on a hunt […]

News in review

Tuesday, September 14 Presidential hopeful on Grounds Paying his first-ever visit to “Mr. Jefferson’s University,” Libertarian Party presidential candidate Michael Badnarik, who will be on Virginia’s November 2 ballot, smoothly courted a crowd of about 200 college students—and a few other types—in a balloon-decorated campus auditorium this evening. Befitting a self-declared defender of the Constitution, […]