A tequila with local ties and the fastest-growing spirits sector

River Hawkins knows tequila. More to the point, he knows mezcal. When you’ve gone deep down the wormhole of tequila’s smokier, more bracing brethren, Hawkins says, tequila is almost too sweet. “I think of it as a dessert drink,” the Bebedero and Mejicali owner says of the typically 80 proof liquor—without a trace of irony. […]

Women hunters give chase to give back

With eyes closed and mouth open, I hear deer everywhere. It’s just before sundown on the day after Christmas, and we’re clustered in a hunter’s blind beside an old privy in a field flanked by woods, waiting for a deer to tiptoe into view. The forest floor, littered with dry autumn leaves, is crackling. The […]

Project Censored’s list of buried stories hits half-century mark

Half a century ago, Peter Jensen launched Project Censored, in part as a response to how the Watergate break-in was covered. Richard Nixon didn’t censor the initial reporting, but he didn’t have to. The press simply didn’t cover it with any serious scrutiny until well after Nixon was elected. The story didn’t reach the American […]

Five reasons UVA football fans should stay excited for 2026

Scott Stadium has an official capacity of 61,500. That’s why it was noticeable to both University of Virginia football Coach Tony Elliott and his players that home crowds averaged fewer than 39,000 fans in 2024. “We need them,” Elliott said last October of the fans missing from those 22,000 empty seats. “We need folks to […]

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 […]