Albemarle road race

Both candidates for the county Board of Supervisors’ Rivanna District—Democrat Cynthia Neff and incumbent Republican Ken Boyd—agree that northern Albemarle needs a bypass around 29N. They simply don’t agree on the definition of “bypass,” a word that may well define their race for Boyd’s supervisor seat.

Play

“Hey B, wanna go to a park?” “No, I wanna stay home.” “All day?” “Yeah, all day!” “No, c’mon. We gotta get out of the house, it’s super nice out.” [Silence, as B goes back to his toys and I try to figure out another approach.] “Hey B, wanna go to the river and see […]

The King and I; The Paramount Theater; Saturday, July 30

If you’re wondering why Ash Lawn Opera chose this year to produce Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classic musical The King and I, with its dated themes of conformity and imperialism, look no further than the 20 or so local kids in the cast. Ah, the children, each wrapped in bright silks, collectively looking like a bag […]

Getting their feet wet

Despite an unexpected power outage that threatened to postpone the debate, seven Democratic City Council candidates defended their visions for the future of Charlottesville before a sizable crowd at Jackson P. Burley Middle School on July 20. Asked about whether he would support a dredging-only plan for the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir (pictured), candidate Brevy […]

The show must go on

In what Meadow Creek Parkway opponents are calling a victory, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers withdrew a permit last Wednesday for key components of McIntire Road Extended (MRE), one of the two city portions of the Meadow Creek Parkway (MCP). The permit, which allowed for the creation of a sewer crossing and culvert, was necessary for construction of the long-debated roadway.

On the road again

When the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) voted to earmark $230 million for a 6.2-mile Western Bypass in Albemarle County and Charlottesville that’s been stuck in the planning queue for decades, the obvious question was: Why now?

No charm offensive

As our increasingly dysfunctional federal government limps toward a deal to raise the U.S. debt limit, I think we all can agree that no one is going to leave this messy process covered in glory. But if there is one grating personality that rises head and shoulders (and teeth and hair) above the rest, it’s […]

Free speech is the new black

For this year’s photo contest, we called for local people, places and things. We got a lot of places, a solid pile of things—and not many people. Of the people we did get, an overwhelming portion were children, and while children have faired well in past contests (see winners for 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009), […]

Bumpy ride

Will 2011 mark the beginning of a rebound for the local real estate market? A few recent numbers suggest so. For some local experts, shifts in the behavior of both buyers and sellers point towards a more stable and calculated market.

Red dirt alert!

Just when you thought the stretch between Hydraulic and Barracks roads couldn’t get any busier, a popular shortcut between the two roads closed July 5 for construction. The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) closed the southbound lane of Georgetown Road, which sees a daily average of roughly 16,000 cars, for a pedestrian-friendly makeover that will […]