Downtown developer files suit over Water Street garage land appraisal

Developer and businessman Mark Brown’s takeover of the company that controls most of the public parking in downtown Charlottesville last August was the sale of the summer, but the saga of the Charlottesville Parking Center acquisition isn’t over. Last week, Brown filed suit against appraiser Ivo Romenesko, who valued one of the company’s key holdings—the […]

Illegal norms: Is the 21 drinking age working?

Americans have an uneasy and contradictory relationship with alcohol—and with how underage drinking laws are enforced. Last week, while Virginia was reeling from another high-profile arrest of a 20-year-old, the Richmond Times-Dispatch published an editorial that urged rethinking the nation’s minimum drinking age of 21. The same day, Mothers Against Drunk Driving sent out a […]

The BRHBA Home and Garden Festival

As Executive Vice-President of the Blue Ridge Home Builders Association (BRHBA), Kristin O’Connell Sorokti might be expected to think that Central Virginia is “a very, very good place” for homebuilders and home improvement buffs. But O’Connell doesn’t ask us to take her word for it. O’Connell invites us to see for ourselves. The BRHBA shows it […]

Being sure the price is right

Experienced REALTORS® will tell you it’s critical to price a property appropriately from the get-go. Research shows overpricing a home and then dropping the price several times often leads to a final selling price that’s less than what you originally should have asked. In fact, the longer a property stays on the market, the lower […]

SRO at Martese Johnson’s first court date

A standing room only crowd of dozens of supporters packed Charlottesville General District Court Thursday morning for Martese Johnson, the 20-year-old UVA student bloodied by Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control agents early March 18. Johnson, accompanied by his attorney, UVA Law School grad Daniel Watkins, stood before Judge Robert Downer for fewer than two […]

Alexis Murphy’s aunt finds inspiration in new career

The death of any loved one can be staggering, but when someone simply vanishes, it can be even more difficult, said Trina Murphy, the great aunt of Nelson County teenager Alexis Murphy who disappeared in 2013 and who is presumed dead, although her body has never been found. After spending the past 18 months seeking […]

Outrage in Orange County: Black history program upsets cop

Orange is the new Black History Month flashpoint following a March 12 high school program titled “Black Lives Matter.” An anonymous deputy called the event “anti-police” and “political” in a Facebook message that went viral, and by Monday, March 16, parents were keeping their children home because of alleged threats of violence. Students at Orange […]