Latest chapter: New lease for New Dominion

New Dominion Bookshop owner Carol Troxell’s sudden death in January sent shock waves through Charlottesville’s literary community—and left some wondering what would become of the downtown institution. Established in 1924, one of the oldest businesses on the mall is now in the hands of a new generation. Charlottesville native Julia Kudravetz signed the papers November […]

Kessler calls for Unite the Right redo

It’s a day those living in Charlottesville would rather not relive. That it left three people dead and countless injured, or that it was shut down before it was scheduled to begin last August 12 has not stopped Jason Kessler from planning a second Charlottesville rally—on the one-year anniversary of Unite the Right. While many […]

In brief: August 11 bombshells, sexual harassment and more

What UVA knew Through a public records request, the Chronicle of Higher Education obtained nearly 3,000 documents from the University of Virginia before, during and after the notorious August 11 tiki-torch march through Grounds. “Together, the emails shed light on the mentality of a university administration and a campus police force that were caught off […]

Radical care: Doctors ditch health insurance

Maura McLaughlin still remembers the day in January 2015 she heard about a revolutionary way to practice medicine—like doctors used to do decades ago. Now she spends as much time as she needs with patients, who can come see her as often as they like at a reasonable cost. A key component: She doesn’t take […]

STARS saga: Occupancy request receives a unanimous “no”

When the owner of a Park Street group home for at-risk adolescents went before the Board of Architectural Review November 21 to request permission to increase the number of teens allowed to live in the house, the board opted not to make a recommendation. “It was out of our purview,” says BAR member Carl Schwarz. […]

Beloved barber Kenneth Staples remembered fondly

Charlottesville lost an icon November 18 when Kenneth Staples, owner of Staples Barber Shop, died at age 85. “I would describe Kenny as one of those guys who looked like a duck on water,” says Jim Carpenter, a local photographer and friend of Staples since the early ’70s. “He was so smooth, but underneath, I’m […]

Downtown visitors get a parking break

Some business owners say the Downtown Mall hasn’t been quite the same since shield-wielding white supremacists and neo-Nazis invaded it over the summer, followed immediately by the onset of a pilot parking meter program that required drivers to pay to park for what was once a free space. So what better way to welcome back […]