Budgeting for time

Charlottesville City Manager Sam Sanders presented the proposed budget to City Council on March 6, prompting discussion and debate on funding allocations and potential tax hikes. Coming in at 350 pages and $251,526,900 in total revenues and expenditures, Charlottesville’s budget for FY25 is hefty in several ways. However, nothing is final yet. Councilors have until […]

A blast from the past

Everywhere I travel, I look for a retro video game store. But when I moved to Charlottesville, I was shocked to find not a single one—especially because my hometown Richmond has several. Vinyl? Sure. Books? Tons. But vintage games were not available in C’ville. That all changed when Super Bit came to town in November. […]

Bigger portfolio

As Charlottesville considers an ordinance to create a land bank to generate more affordable housing, one government entity is already providing much of that function. In addition to owning and operating hundreds of public and voucher-based units across the city, the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority has been buying more property to guarantee lower rents […]

Dining adventures

Small and unassuming, the original Harry’s Bar in Venice, Italy, has served classic cocktails to celebrities and locals since 1931. The Alley Light restaurant owners, Chris Dunbar and Robin McDaniel, say it inspired Charlottesville restaurateur Wilson Richey when developing their intimate spot on Second Street SW. “Will went to Europe a lot, and … Harry’s […]

Housing more

The University of Virginia’s Great and Good strategic plan helped guide the public institution to recently surpass a $5 billion fundraising goal. One item in the plan calls for the creation of a Good Neighbor program. “Affordable housing is one of the six issues that was identified by the community as being important to work […]

Planting the seeds

Devin Floyd has made his knowledge of, and love for, the Piedmont into a personal vocation by working to restore it in all its ecological diversity. Floyd is the executive director of the Center for Urban Habitats, an environmental education, research, and consulting group that he created in 2012. But its mission really began decades […]

At a distance

Ed. note—This story represents one area family’s perspective on the conflict in Israel and Palestine. Bilal Koraz, a Gazan-born father living in the dense forest of rural Louisa County, says his 11 family members—mostly women, children, and the elderly—have been sheltering in the family home in Gaza. “Every day, all the time, I’m afraid to […]

Upon this rock

By Yasu Shinozaki The neighborhood of Preston Heights is deeply linked to the legacy of one man: Charles Hunter Brown. Brown was one of the first Black contractors in the Charlottesville area and built many of the houses in the neighborhood located between Preston and Grady avenues. He also built Holy Temple Church of God, […]

In brief

Turning the page The University of Virginia Board of Visitors voted March 1 to rename the school’s main library. Now known as Edgar Shannon Library, the recently renovated building’s new name honors UVA’s fourth president and removes the name of its first president, Edwin Alderman. The decision to rename the library comes after years of […]

Wading in

Juandiego Wade never expected to settle down in Charlottesville, let alone be elected mayor. When Wade met with C-VILLE—in a tiny meeting room in an under-construction City Hall building—on a snowy late January morning, the mayor arrived in a heavy winter coat and hat. He had just finished shoveling snow with a neighbor. Despite the […]