Open and honest: County campaign encourages frank discussions about alcohol

Albemarle County Project Director Alex London-Gross is leading a county-wide campaign to reduce drinking and driving, and is encouraging parents to talk to their kids. “Talk to them about everything: what’s going on, who their friends are, what they’re doing after school,” she said. “One of the best preventative factors is knowing you can have […]

Native plant symposium encourages nurseries to go local

Native plants are hard to find, so gardeners don’t buy them. Nobody buys them, so suppliers don’t stock them. Nobody sells them, so farmers have no reason to grow them. It’s a vicious circle that Albemarle County staff is trying to remedy. Four months after the county published its native plants online database, Water Resources […]

Ragged Mountain Dam construction halfway complete, opponents still unhappy

This time last year, opponents of the new earthen dam at the Ragged Mountain Reservoir were hoping that a pending lawsuit would stall the long-debated project. Now, after thousands of hardwood trees were wiped out and the water level was lowered for construction, the barren, canyon-like dam site is bustling with engineers and machinery, and […]

Rent hikes force local businesses out of Barracks Road Shopping Center

Local merchants at Barracks Road Shopping Center are trying to stay optimistic about their future. But mom-and-pop shops are dropping like flies at the city’s oldest shopping mall. Lloyd’s Hallmark, after more than 40 years at Barracks Road, closed in January to make way for PeachMac, an Apple resale store. Peace Frogs, Shenanigans, and Lynne […]

iPad app created by eighth grade French students has already gone global

The use of tablets and laptops in middle and high schools has created controversy in Charlottesville city schools, but St. Anne’s-Belfield School French teacher Karine Boulle has reason to rave about iPads. After 17 sessions of intense writing, translating, and coding, Boulle’s class of eighth graders completed 2Lingua Kids, a bilingual iPad app that teaches […]

Law school enrollment dropping nationwide, and UVA Law is no exception

Law school applications and enrollment numbers are dropping at UVA, and tuition, in response, continues to rise. Faced with the prospect of paying off a six figure loan tab in a brutal job market, students are re-evaluating whether or not a law degree is still a worthy investment, and experts expect nearly a dozen schools around the country […]

City makes Section 3 position permanent with eye to moving redevelopment forward

City Council voted unanimously last week to permanently fund its Section 3 coordinator, a previously temporary position that bridges the gap between the city and the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority. Despite differing opinions on where the money should come from, city officials agree that the position—currently held by Tierra Howard—is essential for the Housing […]