Legal front: Lawsuit filed to halt removal of General Lee statue

Nearly a dozen citizens filed a not-unexpected lawsuit and an injunction today in Charlottesville Circuit Court to stop the removal of the statue of General Robert E. Lee and any further tampering with Lee and Jackson parks, both donated by Paul Goodloe McIntire. The plaintiffs include descendants from the park donor and the sculptor, as […]

Up Close and Personal: The 2017 Virginia Festival of The Book

By Ken Wilson –  Up and down Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall on a recent Saturday morning, the literati were looking. At New Dominion Bookshop, the oldest bookstore in town, dating back to 1924, a woman was checking out the Lit Crit section.  At the Blue Whale, where original prints, antiquarian maps, and rare volumes sit alongside […]

Curb Appeal Sets Homes Apart

By Marilyn Pribus –  You’ve probably heard the term “curb appeal” that often hovers over discussions of the marketability of a property, but just what is it? “Curb appeal is an individual preference,” declares REALTOR® David Sloan of Sloan Manis Real Estate in Charlottesville, “but I think of a home that is well-landscaped, with a […]

Where’s Tom? The case of the missing congressman

Craig DuBose made his appointment February 1 to meet with Congressman Tom Garrett in the congressman’s Charlottesville office March 6. Heather Rowland made hers February 10. Both constituents called to confirm their appointments before showing up at Garrett’s Berkmar Crossing office, and both were dismayed to learn Garrett wasn’t there. “I was disappointed,” says DuBose, […]

Is Hedgerow a no-go? County pushes for biking park that bikers don’t want

The Albemarle County Board of Supervisors has made it clear that, though Charlottesville’s City Council has voted to allow mountain biking at Ragged Mountain Natural Area—a city-owned park located in the county—they don’t like it one bit because county regulations prohibit activities like biking that could pollute the reservoir. As an alternative, the supes are […]

Bummer crop: Warm temperatures worry farmers

Last month was the warmest February on record with an average temperature of 47.7 degrees, based on numbers from the McCormick Observatory dating back to the 19th century. While many are happy to ditch their winter coats early, a nice day this early in the season is a nightmare for some farmers. “It’s really going […]

Lynn challenges Landes—again

White Hall resident Angela Lynn is tossing her hat into the 25th District ring, most of which lies in Augusta County, so it’s no surprise that gerrymandering was the first issue she talked about during her announcement in front of the Albemarle County Office Building March 7. Democrat Lynn, who challenged incumbent Steve Landes, R-Weyers […]

John Lowry is doing things differently in second supes run

This is not John Lowry’s first Albemarle Board of Supervisors rodeo. He ran for the Samuel Miller District seat in 2009, and lost to one-term Republican Duane Snow. Lowry, 69, is doing a few things differently this time around. For one, he’s seeking the GOP nomination at the party’s mass meeting in May rather than […]

In Brief: Members only, additional candidates emerge and more

More candidates emerge Charlottesville School Board member Amy Laufer announced a run for City Council February 27, and former Albemarle School Board chair Ned Gallaway wants the Democratic nomination for Albemarle’s Rio seat. BOS Chair Diantha McKeel seeks a second term representing the Jack Jouett District. And Angela Lynn again will challenge Weyers Cave Delegate […]

‘Insufficient’: Kessler petition to oust Bellamy thrown out

  Jason Kessler chastised reporters on his way into court today and spoke disrespectfully to the special prosecutor who requested that Kessler’s petition to remove Vice-Mayor Wes Bellamy from office be dismissed because it lacked enough signatures. Kessler, who burst into the local spotlight after he discovered unsavory tweets Bellamy made before taking office in […]