In brief: Hot fun at Foxfield, close shaves and more

Keeping score at Foxfield The 40th annual running of the horses and the donning of sundresses and hats by UVA students for heavy day-drinking took place April 29 and drew more than 12,000 race fans. With the temperature soaring to 90 degrees, it’s no surprise there were more medical emergencies than usual. Thirty-eight people sought […]

Sunny skies ahead: Solar investments are paying off

Burnett Commons homeowner Jarrod Markley’s March electricity bill —which tallies energy used in a four-person household and to charge his electric car—was only $10. He has the sun to thank for that low cost. The $18,000 grid of solar panels installed on his roof last winter supplies 94 percent of his annual electricity use, he […]

Mountaintop removal: Groups argue its definition

In an April 27 telepresser, a number of environmental groups discussed Dominion’s alleged plans to decapitate 38 miles of ridgelines in Virginia and West Virginia to make way for the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline. About 5.6 of those miles are atop Roberts Mountain in Nelson County. Moderated by the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, spokespeople from […]

Pharmacy farewell: Meadowbrook closes to make way for CVS

For many of its longtime customers, the letter arrived April 24 announcing the demise of Meadowbrook Pharmacy after more than 60 years at the corner of Barracks Road and Emmet Street. And the sadness at the loss of one of Charlottesville’s two independent pharmacies was not assuaged with news that a CVS would be opening […]

Circle theory: Two roundabouts in Crozet’s future

Every few years, the idea to put a roundabout at difficult intersections pops up—and usually disappears. Charlottesville’s former mayor and longtime delegate, the late Mitch Van Yahres, was a big roundabout fan, and he supported the one installed at the airport, one of the few bandied about from the early aughts that actually got built. […]

Feeling blue: Local diner set for closure

  On a recent Sunday morning, a crowd of Blue Moon Diner patrons could be seen hovering outside the side door of the self-proclaimed “best little breakfast, sandwich, burger, dinner, live music, arm wrestling, vinyl record-playing, family-friendly neighborhood bar and activist spot” with menus in hand. Lovers of the eatery, a Charlottesville institution, are shoveling […]

Eaglets’ landing: Nest could slow preservation development

When David Mitchell bought 120 acres 10 years ago off U.S. 250 in Crozet, he wanted to maintain much of its rural character and planned a subdivision with 13 clustered homes, with his own on a 60-acre preservation tract on the banks of Lickinghole Creek Basin. But he wasn’t the only one who found the […]

In brief: Angry scientists, alt-right lingo and more

Science, not silence At least 500 STEM-lovers came out to IX Art Park on Earth Day for the city’s satellite March on Science. C’ville Comm-UNI-ty hosted the event. Stonefield death nets $100 fine Franklin Pollock Reider, 75, was convicted of reckless driving April 24 for hitting pedestrian Bonnie Baha, 57, a California businesswoman who was […]

Insurance denied: City footing Lee statue, parking garage legal bills

Since 2016, Charlottesville has faced a larger-than-usual number of high-profile lawsuits, and in at least two cases, its insurance carrier won’t be picking up the tab. And while the carrier hasn’t seen the most recent suit, filed by Albemarle County over the Ragged Mountain Natural Area April 20, that litigation could join the Lee statue […]

Pig-killing couple convicted of animal cruelty with no jail time

  In a two-day trial that ran into the early-morning hours on April 22, a 12-person jury convicted a Fishersville duo of animal cruelty and maliciously killing a pig by stabbing it in the neck at least 31 times. Aymarie Sutter, 27, was employed as a veterinary assistant at the Charlottesville Albemarle SPCA on July […]