All tomorrow’s parties

Does the Tom Tom Founders Festival, now in its 11th year, really need an introduction? The fest’s aged a lifetime in a decade, from its quixotic first years—“like, what even is Tom Tom?”—to its formative middle years, and its wizened old age.  The 2023 version’s vision, “Future Forward,” is appropriately expansive, with ample breadth to […]

More zoning

Our spring of zoning continues this month with more rollout of new rules that will determine what Charlottesville’s future looks like.    “At this point, we are proposing no minimum parking requirement in order to support reuse and redevelopment of sites within the city,” said James Freas, Charlottesville’s director of Neighborhood Development Services. “We fully […]

In brief

UVA team’s dengue fever discovery Dr. Mariano A. Garcia-Blanco, UVA’s chair of microbiology, immunology, and cancer biology, had been in his new lab for only a week when he and his team released groundbreaking findings on the deadly dengue virus—results that could pave the way for an effective treatment against the illness. Dengue virus is […]

A second life for your stuff

Whether you are moving out, moving in together, downsizing, settling an estate, or just tired of the clutter, spring is a great time to get rid of stuff. But do the Earth a favor: Give your castoffs a second life.   Reuse helps both people and the planet. Community advocates point out that lots of […]

Cellular security

A University of Virginia first-year engineering student has developed a smartphone app that enables high school students to more efficiently alert administrators to crises on school grounds.  The Safeline app was built by Alexander Halpern, who designed the software around an anonymous reporting system. Using a map of their school, students can pinpoint specific locations […]

Leah Puryear’s year

For Leah Puryear, the past month has been a whirlwind. After former Charlottesville city councilor Sena Magill abruptly resigned on January 3, citing family needs, Puryear—along with 19 other candidates—applied for the job. On February 21, council unanimously selected Puryear, a former Charlottesville School Board member, to fill the vacant seat. Since then, she has […]

A tale of two developments

In the past few years, developers have filed proposals for some of the last vacant parcels in Charlottesville, pushing the limits of growth. This includes two projects a quarter-mile away from each other on the Rivanna River in an area where the city has never conducted a small-area plan for infrastructure.    Local firm Seven […]

Marking history

In 1959,  7-year-old Charles Alexander (Alex-Zan) walked into Venable Elementary School, accompanied by his mother, Elizabeth Alexander, and fellow classmates Marvin and William Townsend. He was among the first Black students to attend the newly integrated Charlottesville City Schools. On April 8, just down the road from Venable, Alex-Zan celebrated the unveiling of the Black […]

In brief

Just three months into 2023, and the amount of gun violence in Charlottesville has already surpassed that of previous years. The University of Virginia held a panel on Tuesday, March 28, to address the concerns of students, parents, faculty, and community members. University President Jim Ryan, University Police Department Chief Tim Longo, Executive Vice President […]

Humanitarian crisis

On February 6, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck southeastern Turkey and northern Syria, followed by a 7.7 magnitude earthquake the same day—and more than 10,000 aftershocks in the weeks that followed. The devastating quakes killed more than 50,000 people, and left millions homeless.   After helping the University of Virginia’s Turkish Student Association fundraise several […]