Games pols play

What about all of the completely idiotic and outrageous legislation proposed (and occasionally adopted) by our august elected representatives? They didn’t let us down by only introducing practical, common-sense regulations this time around, did they?

"Patternation" by Reko Rennie; The Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection; Through April 4

If you’ve been seeing pink kangaroos lately, fear not. Your brain isn’t dissolving into a late-winter mush. It’s merely snagging glimpses of Australian artist Reko Rennie’s imitable work about town. If the Aboriginal images stenciled onto construction sites, fluorescent bumper stickers or life-sized kangaroo screen prints brightening up empty storefronts have caught your attention, take […]

Ride or wrong?

In Charlottesville, cyclists spent the last year advocating for safer commuter routes and their fair share of the road. But while local bike culture boomed, elected officials in Richmond failed to reach consensus on a number of bicycle bills. During the recent General Assembly session, three Senate bills and one House bill hit a few […]

Google eyes

Google, says Vaidhyanathan, is “really fabulous for shopping, but it’s not so great for learning. Google limits our fields of vision by filtering out things that might surprise or disrupt or disturb us.”

Cry for help

In 1982, Virginia’s infant mortality rate was a staggering 12.9—the average number of infant deaths per 1,000 live births. The same year, Shawnte Rawlings was born to a 16-year-old mother in Garrett Square, the federally subsidized housing project in Charlottesville now known as Friendship Court. Shawnte Rawlings, 28, lives in the Westhaven public housing project. […]

Digging up Albemarle history

How do you lose a courthouse? It seems a lot more challenging than, say, losing your car keys, and yet Virginia has lost courthouses by the fistful to fire, age and poor record keeping. But in a cow pasture just outside Scottsville, the Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society is working with a team of archaeologists and […]

Rotunda scheduled for a $50 million makeover

Anyone who’s been to UVA in recent months has surely walked away wondering, “What’s up with that black fabric wrapped around the tops of the columns at the Rotunda? Is UVA in mourning or something?” Turns out, it’s part of a much larger effort to completely overhaul the entire building. Stately though it may seem—architectural […]

Water update: Earth-moving decisions

Last week, City Councilor Kristin Szakos broke a 2-2 vote on one of the most contentious elements of the $143 million water supply plan, which was first approved in 2006. In a 3-2 vote, City Council supported the replacement of the existing Lower Ragged Mountain Dam (pictured) with a new earthen structure composed of materials […]

Dorm dilemma

According to Patricia Romer, UVA’s Acting Chief Housing Officer, portions of the project are up to one year ahead of schedule, which translates into an earlier completion, but less available housing now. Overall, the Alderman Road Replacement project will provide an extra 500 beds.