Booming South Side Market Energized by 5th Street Station

By Celeste M. Smucker _ One of the most exciting real estate markets in Charlottesville is the area south of downtown near the new 5th Street Station.  Until recently, this region’s popularity was hampered by residents’ concerns about the need travel to 29 North or to nearby localities like Waynesboro or Zion Crossroads to shop […]

How to Prepare for Stormy Weather

By Marilyn Pribus – Remember that old song, “Don’t it always seem to go, you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone?”  It’s that way with electricity, that invisible, but essential service in today’s home. Hurricanes in summer, ice storms in winter and heavy winds any time can interrupt service. Often lines are repaired […]

The Charlottesville 5: More petitions to remove city councilors

It’s extraordinarily hard to remove an elected official from office in Virginia, especially if she hasn’t been convicted of smoking pot, sexual battery or a hate crime, the offenses spelled out in state code. Nonetheless, for the second time in a year, petitioners are trying to remove a city councilor—or in this case, three city […]

In brief: Solar salvage, dog-meat farm rescue and more

Hot topic In 2012, the Local Energy Alliance Program floated a low-interest loan of $280,000 for Mark Brown to install solar panels on top of the Main Street Arena using a $500,000 grant from the city. Now that he’s sold the building and it’s slated for demolition, some are wondering what will happen to the […]

Climate change: All quiet on the council front

The second City Council meeting of the new year on January 16 was markedly different from council meetings of the past year: no interruptions, no yelling and no profanities, behavior that suspended 2018’s first meeting two weeks ago. Newly elected Vice-Mayor Heather Hill ran the meeting in the absence of Mayor Nikuyah Walker, who was […]

Guilty plea, dropped charges for another KKK rally protester Copy

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] A woman arrested on three charges, including felony assault of a law enforcement officer at the July 8 KKK rally, has pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor. Jordan Romeo was protesting the Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan in Justice Park when she allegedly assaulted a city cop and City Council critic John […]

Know your neighbors takes on a whole different meaning in cohousing

How many cohousers can fit in an igloo? When the snow falls in an intentional community like Peter Lazar’s, the whole neighborhood suits up in their warmest wardrobe and heads outside. It was last winter when the residents of Shadowlake Village in Blacksburg built a mammoth igloo and challenged themselves to see how many neighbors […]

Guilty plea, dropped charges for another KKK rally protester

A woman arrested on three charges, including felony assault of a law enforcement officer at the July 8 KKK rally, has pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor. Jordan Romeo was protesting the Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan in Justice Park when she allegedly assaulted a city cop and City Council critic John Heyden. […]

Kessler harassment charge dropped

A charge against white-rights provocateur Jason Kessler for posting online the address of activist Emily Gorcenski was dismissed January 18. “The victim brought information to us that made her believe Mr. Kessler was not the person who posted information about her,” said Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Nina Antony. She said the case remains under investigation. Outside […]

Opportunities and Resources Abound for First-Time Buyers

By Celeste M. Smucker – Buying a first home is an exciting event and something families look forward to, sometimes for years. Today’s first timers, primarily Millennials, are no exception.  Most want to be home owners and, according to a 2017 article at Business Insider, over 66 percent of them expect to realize this dream […]