Take a bottle, shake it up

Three months after the bulk of the Kluge Estate Winery & Vineyard sold at auction for $6.2 million, Donald Trump has his name attached to a part of Albemarle County. His son, Eric, has a wine business to call his own, and has begun to spruce up the new Trump Vineyard Estates, slated to open […]

To bypass, or pass by?

If majority rules, then which majority will decide the fate of the Western Bypass? The $200 million-plus roadway was conceived decades ago and shelved in 2002, but was recently revived by Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) officials and four Albemarle County supervisors, and awaits a vote from the Charlottesville-Albemarle Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) that will […]

Smoke 'em out

Down in Texas, there’s a three-tier system for judging good barbeque. If the restaurant’s logo contains an animal, it’s good. If the logo shows an anthropomorphic animal (a cow in a chef’s hat, for instance), the ’cue is even better. And if you come across a restaurant wherein the logo has an animal cannibalizing itself […]

Stand and be counted!

Violent crimes per 1,000 residents   Albemarle: 1.14 Charlottesville: 5.91 State average: 2.27 Population within one mile of a park/grocery/school Albemarle: 57-70 percent Charlottesville: 95-99 percent Metropolitan Planning Area: 70-80 percent Median household income Albemarle: $64,206 Charlottesville: $38,369 State: $60,316 Residential density Rural area: 0.08 dwellings per acre Urban area: 0.92 dwellings per acre Location […]

An unmovable feast

Imagine a bigger Charlottesville market—one that expands from its current location between South and Water streets into an adjacent lot. Now imagine that Downtown market site surrounded by new housing, retail and office space. That vision is precisely what the City Market Task Force recommended to City Council in a work session last Thursday night. […]

Political capital

Though anecdotal evidence might suggest otherwise, Virginia’s economy is actually doing quite well—especially when compared to the nation as a whole. Our unemployment rate is currently 6 percent, compared to a dismal national average of over 9 percent, and, according to a recent study released by USA Today, Virginia’s economy is now the 10th largest in the country.

Speed is colorblind

The first thing you notice is the noise. A constant stream of stuttering engine rattle, like the choke of a stalling lawnmower: the very sound of internal combustion. And then down on the asphalt, a foot drops and the rumble whips into a roar, the kind that hits your solar plexus first and then shoots […]

Stellar Hoax; Borrowed Beams of Light; Speakertree Records/World Records

 Stellar Hoax, the first full-length album from Borrowed Beams of Light, is loosely based on the Voynich Manuscript, a mysterious 15th century text that has yet to be deciphered. Don’t worry, though—this record isn’t esoteric or contrived. It’s a glistening and catchy collection of tunes that have arrived just in time to serve as a […]

Another Moonscape?

Much like the Hollymead Town Center development, the new project at the intersection of Hydraulic Road and U.S. Route 29 North will displace significant amounts of soil and vegetation to make way for 1.2 million square feet of retail, commercial and residential space. But unlike Hollymead, Edens & Avant, developers for The Shops at Stonefield, […]

Eau de Charlottesville

For most of the year my commute to work is uneventful. I see a bookstore, a hamburger joint, lots of people, a coffee shop, some restaurants, and then my office. Then summer comes. There’s a wet, dusty blast from Daedalus Bookshop as its owner sets up shop for the day. The choking trek past the […]