The mosque on 10 1/2 Street, tucked behind Team Tires, doesn’t look like the traditional Islamic house of worship—no domes, no minarets, no glazed tile floors. Like other houses in the neighborhood, the mosque is a folky abode with a wide porch that on most Sundays accommodates a colorful mound of children’s footwear—shiny basketball high-tops, […]

Richmond, Virginia – a history lover’s dream. Did you know the city introduced America to the first canned beer, the Marlboro Man and Pat Benatar? n “Pat Benatar? No way! I’m a huge Pat Benatar fan,” gushes history buff Rob Bell, surprised to learn that the songstress behind “Love is a Battlefield” began her music […]

“It gets a little crazy around this time,” says Alex Hawkins, a registered nurse, as he calmly uncradles the receiver. At 5pm on Monday, December 29, the clinic is about to open for the night. Hawkins fields calls from Charlottesville’s sick and uninsured, telling them that, unfortunately, tonight’s appointment schedule is booked solid. He adds […]

The ’Fraidy cat Award for Music Appreciation –UVA President John Casteen For his apology regarding the Cavalier Pep Band Despite holding three degrees in English, UVA President John Casteen must have never learned the definition of the word “joke.” Maybe he’s never seen the “Award-Winning Virginia Fighting Cavalier Indoor/Outdoor Precision Marching Pep Band,” either. But […]

The Potter household wakes up about 7am. A hissing blue flame licks the bottom of a silver teakettle, aromatic coffee brews in a French press. John Potter stands beside his eldest son, Max, peering skeptically at the boy’s Grape Nuts. “How much maple syrup did you put in there?” he asks. The bedheaded 10-year-old, clad […]

Here in Charlottesville, Pinto is more than just rock `n roll. He’s blues, country, hip-hop, reggae, disco–hell, he’s even church music. In fact, anytime you hear crisp, clear amplified sounds anywhere in the area, chances are you’re hearing Pinto’s handiwork. Since he moved to Charlottesville four years ago, Pinto has become the area’s foremost technician, […]

On a recent afternoon, Sharon Tate turned her GMC pickup onto a rutted dirt road branching west off Route 29, and knocked on the door of a white cottage. The door opened, and a stooped man looked up from his walker and beckoned Tate inside. Sitting at a kitchen table strewn with Tylenol bottles and […]

The urban symphony  Asleep like the dead in a womblike curl of blankets, the silence is perfect. Snoring is the only sound, like a tree falling in the woods over and over, except no one is awake to hear it. Then at 6am my alarm clock honks, honks, honks, prying my eyes open. I go […]

On May 9, 2002, Rob Schilling sat at his home computer and created a pair of posters lettered with the words "Thank You." With his wife—and constant companion—Joan, he then spent the sunny Thursday afternoon standing on the corner of McIntire and Preston, waving the signs and smiling at rush hour traffic. Two days earlier, […]

At the height of its short career, Danielson and Rolph’s company, D&R Development, held more than $10 million in Mall property. Onlookers credit two of their projects in particular––the Charlottesville Ice Park and the Regal Cinema building––for catalyzing the Mall’s evolution from a shell of empty buildings to an urban streetscape where people live, work […]