Redistricting commission on brink of collapse Virginia’s bipartisan redistricting committee is coming apart at the seams. The bipartisan commission—composed of four Democratic legislators, four Democratic citizens, four Republican legislators, and four Republican citizens—was supposed to create fair, even maps. But the commission can’t agree on anything, and it missed its October 25 deadline to […]
By Kristin O’Donoghue Virginia’s November 2 gubernatorial election is rapidly approaching, and the two campaigns are ramping up their efforts to energize voters. Last Sunday, Democratic candidate Terry McAuliffe hosted a star-studded get-out-the-vote rally at the Ting Pavilion. Voting rights activist Stacey Abrams spoke alongside McAuliffe and DNC chair Jaime Harrison, while Dave Matthews played […]
Map moves ahead The process of rewriting Charlottesville’s Comprehensive plan—and, subsequently, reevaluating the zoning for the entire city—took a major step forward last week, when the Planning Commission unanimously recommended that City Council approve the most recent draft of the Future Land Use Map. The Future Land Use Map shows which areas of the […]
Brick by brick: Transformative, collaborative, and rooted in intersectional and queer feminism, Patrick Costello’s “Ceding Ground II” is more than meets the eye. A slim, snaking wall reminiscent of Thomas Jefferson’s serpentine walls that were designed to hide enslaved workers at the University of Virginia, each brick is an earthy amalgam of native perennial grass […]
More than words: Poetic lyricism, creative ambition, and layered, lush production are alt-folk-pop artist Rachael Sage’s specialties. For two decades, Sage has steadily released over a dozen albums, winning awards and touring with an eclectic mix of artists in the process. Created in lockdown, her new band Poetica has a spoken-word album of the same […]
On fire: Growing up in rural Louisiana, journalist Charles Blow never imagined his life story would one day be portrayed on the world’s most popular opera stage. His memoir, Fire Shut Up in My Bones, a treacherous story of dysfunction and abuse, opened the 2021-22 Metropolitan Opera season. The adaptation by Grammy Award–winning jazz musician […]
By Chris Martin Based on the astonishing number of bakers and bakeries in Charlottesville, the city appears to have a voracious appetite for carbs. A quick search on Google lists almost 30 area bakeries, cake spots, bagel makers, patisseries, and farmers’ market stands that offer a wide variety of floury treats. What follows is a […]
By Julia Stumbaugh To the average Charlottesvillian, a pair of Jordans probably looks like sneakers. To local engineering student Mylz, they are one crafting knife and an airbrush away from a work of art. SpeedyCustomz, Mylz’s online shoe design and customization business, began with a permanent marker on a friend’s Vans, and evolved into elaborate […]
Joy of cooking: Are you a great cook and a fierce competitor? Can you handle having your culinary creations judged down to the smallest leaf of parsley? The immersive stage show MasterChef Live brings past MasterChef and MasterChef Junior contestants together to take on live cooking challenges and demonstrations—and its family-friendly, interactive format means the […]
Center stage: Live Arts welcomes audiences back inside the theater with Every Brilliant Thing, a story about depression that’s both deeply touching and laugh-out-loud funny. After his mother attempts suicide, a 7-year-old boy writes her a list of all the things that make life worth living, from ice cream to Kung Fu movies. As he […]