Tracking Sandy: On armchair reporting in a disaster

Fourteen months ago this week, I spent a long night hunkered down with my laptop in a middle school gym on the Jersey Shore as Hurricane Irene, roaring like a freight train overhead, made landfall a few miles to the south. At the time, I was the editor of a local news website covering a […]

What’s coming up in Charlottesville the week of 10/29

Each week, the news team takes a look at upcoming meetings and events in Charlottesville and Albemarle we think you should know about. Consider it a look into our datebook, and be sure to share newsworthy happenings, too. It’s the coast and Northeast U.S. that will bear the brunt of Sandy’s wrath today and tomorrow, […]

UVA study testing ultrasound surgery treatment on Parkinson’s patients

Researchers at UVA have embarked on a new study to determine whether an advanced, noninvasive surgical procedure could help alleviate some of the debilitating symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. Dr. W. Jeffrey Elias, a UVA neurosurgeon, is overseeing the placebo-controlled, FDA-approved study, which is treating patients with focused ultrasound waves. Treatments involve pinpointing a trouble spot in […]

From sign theft to voter fraud, silly season takes a turn for the crazy

Allegations of voter fraud, intimidation, sign theft, and other reprehensible electoral doings are about as common at this time of year as Halloween decorations. As Election Day approaches in Virginia, the flapping and hollering has started to get pretty intense—and the misbehavior pretty serious. Last week, the Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office arrested a young man […]

Dumler plans to fight forcible sodomy charge

A week after his arrest hit local media, Albemarle County Supervisor Chris Dumler said he intends to plead not guilty to the forcible sodomy charge against him and remain active on the Board of Supervisors. Dumler’s press statement, released Thursday morning by Payne, Ross and Associates, said he will “offer a vigorous defense, and will […]

Green happenings: Charlottesville environmental news and events

Each week, C-VILLE’s Green Scene page takes a look at local environmental news. The section’s bulletin board has information on local green events and keeps you up to date on statewide happenings. Got an event or a tip you’d like to see here and in the paper? Write us at news@c-ville.com. Funds for farms: In the wake […]

Ivy Creek Foundation hosts last plant walk of the year

“Plants are a lot like people—they have their redeeming qualities even when they’re hard to tolerate,” Tony Russell said as he gestured at an invasive vine winding its way up a willow oak tree. Russell is a member of the Virginia Master Naturalists, and has been an active volunteer with the Ivy Creek Foundation and […]

Archaeologists dig up James Madison’s threshing machine, find human story

Archaeologists at James Madison’s Montpelier have spent the last three years excavating bits and pieces of the president’s world, searching for clues about his life on the plantation. A team led by archaeologist Dr. Matt Reeves—working with a grant from the National Endowment for Humanities for a study of slave communities—spent years digging up layers […]

Virgil Goode to debate Tuesday with other third-party candidates

Virginia’s own Virgil Goode is taking the stage for a debate tonight with three other third-party presidential candidates in a token nod to—I mean, late-in-the-game look at America’s alternative options in the race for the White House. Goode, the former Republican (and before that, Democratic) 5th District representative who narrowly lost to  Tom Perriello in […]