Pole vault Teacher surmounts her Mormon upbringing to teach burlesque – and other dance moves The pole juts seven feet straight into the air from atop a 4’x4′ wood-and-ceramic-tile platform. A lithe, limber Brooke Shields lookalike in 5" heels, stockings and tight gym shorts and matching bra, swings suggestively around the brass fixture. She crooks […]
In American Motel, a short film by local writer and director Alexandria Searls, a man uses a piece of string to illustrate for a young woman the various connections, or "lines," in life. Gently, he wraps the string around her neck, her feet, a lamp on the wall, etc. Then he tugs. "Pull on one […]
Smart guy UVA’s Eric Turkheimer makes sense of race, class and IQ Guess what? Children in poor families face more obstacles in their intellectual development than children from wealthy families. Sounds like common sense, you say? Maybe, but this apparent no-brainer is being hailed as big news in psychology’s ivory tower. The November issue of […]
We know a lot more now about the dangers and disasters of U.S. empire building in Iraq—the ongoing bloodshed on the ground, expansion of terrorist activities, the huge budget-busting costs of occupation, the stretching and undermining of the military and the increased sense of fear and insecurity that many Americans feel as a result of […]
Grounds swell Officials give UVA props for the North Grounds Connector Road The 1.3 miles of eastbound lanes on the Route 29/250 Bypass between the exits for Route 250 and for Barracks Road are as mundane as roads get around here. Two blue rectangular highway signs indicate food (Taco Bell, Ruby Tuesday’s and Arby’s) and […]
Tuesday, September 21 Water, water everywhere About 75 residents gathered tonight at Monticello High School to hear new RWSA director Thomas Frederick outline five different options for expanding the region’s water supply, including projects to expand local reservoirs, dredge sediment from the South Fork Rivanna reservoir, and pipe water from the James River. This winter, […]
Wheels keep on turning The City tackles traffic from signals to bikes to gnarly street crossings Mixed signals Whenever City and County officials talk about traffic, the message is always an ode to regional cooperation. The traffic problem is bigger than any one jurisdiction, they say, so Charlottesville and Albemarle have to work together for […]
Reflecting the past New African-American newspaper dusts off a 70-year mission When Thomas J. Sellers founded the Reflector, a weekly newspaper for African-Americans published in Charlottesville between 1931 and 1935, he wrote that his aim was not to cover all the news but to "reflect the progress of our community and Race." Seventy years later, […]
Eyes on the prize As they consider housing, libraries and rising costs, can Jefferson School’s guardians stay on task? After a year of meeting several times a month, the Jefferson School Task Force may have to go back to the drawing board. This month, the group is supposed to finish planning for the future of […]
Labor Day is a bittersweet holiday, a day off for many but also the occasion to bid summer goodbye. Out with the cool of ice cubes on the tongue, in with the earthiness of pumpkin in the belly. So long, head-in-the-clouds; hello, nose-to-the-grindstone. But before we all break out our flannels, remember that summer’s end […]