Matthew Stoss, Author at C-VILLE Weekly

Erin Lunsford shines on Rhinestones, her latest solo effort

Of the 12 songs on Erin Lunsford’s second solo album Rhinestones, the Americana singer-songwriter and frontwoman for Erin & the Wildfire says she cried while writing four of them, especially “Watch Out For Deer.” That one’s stuck with her. “I cry almost every time I play it if I’m with my family,” Lunsford says, “because […]

Matthew Stoss | July 29, 2026

Feature News

How communities and creativity are keeping the presses running, one clever move at a time

It’s possible that one day physical newspapers will be retro-cool and resurge as vinyl records have in recent years. Circulations will be up. Advertising will be bountiful. Bill Watterson will start drawing Calvin & Hobbes again. Until then, newspapers have to make money in new ways if they are to persevere in their First Amendment […]

Matthew Stoss | March 18, 2026

Culture Feature

Inside a local scene built on letters and camaraderie

Beyond the salad bar and hot foods at the 5th Street Station Wegmans, seven people play Scrabble on a rainy Friday night. Their boards are as bespoke as their tiles and tile bags, and people are confused. “This game,” says one would-be detective, passing by, “looks a lot like Scrabble.” “It is Scrabble,” one of […]

Matthew Stoss | December 10, 2025

Feature News

For Marvin Moss, a move to the country grew into a legacy of grants, gardens, and public works

The plan had been to move to the country, renovate an old house, and start gardening. So Marvin Moss bought land in Fluvanna County, restored the 1829 Palmyra manor Glen Burnie, and made plans to plant daffodils. Moss had worked 36 straight years as an Army officer and a congressional staffer. The time seemed right […]

Matthew Stoss | November 5, 2025

Feature News

Campaign life doesn’t leave much room for nuance. Jen Fleisher’s trying anyway.

Even before Jen Fleisher became an official Charlottesville City Council candidate, she was a public figure—or at least a quasi public figure. Not public figure classic, but public figure lite. A Virginia Department of Health official since March 2020, she led the Blue Ridge Health District’s mobile COVID vaccination efforts. Fleisher spoke often with the […]

Matthew Stoss | July 30, 2025

Culture Feature

The Riverside Lunch burger defies convention—and remains a local institution

The Riverside Lunch hamburger thrives in a world outside convention and science. The burgers (gasp!) are unsalted. “We don’t do anything to the meat. Nothing at all,” owner Lee Shifflett says. “When we get it, it’s ground up, and we pat ’em out. That’s it.” It’s a fine March day for culinary heresy, and Shifflett’s […]

Matthew Stoss | March 26, 2025

Culture Feature

At Morningside assisted-living, senior residents are taking back the mic

Every week, Josh Urban motors around Virginia, bopping between 20 or so retirement communities from the hinterlands of the southwest, to the overstuffed stroads of NoVa, and the state capital’s strip-malled suburbs. It’s unclear if there’s a name for what Urban does, and it’s less clear if it has a tax designation, but we’re going […]

Matthew Stoss | February 12, 2025

Culture Food & Drink

An ode to the hotel bar

“What is it,” Luke Barr wonders, “about the hotel bar?” I’m wondering, too, and that’s why I’ve asked Barr, a pro, to vamp about the romance and allure of hotel bars. He’s a former editor at Travel + Leisure magazine and the author of 2018’s Ritz and Escoffier: The Hotelier, The Chef, and the Rise […]

Matthew Stoss | July 10, 2024