John Casteen, version 20.0

When former UVA President Robert M. O’Neil met in Madison Hall with the man who took his job 20 years ago, the controversy of the moment—and when you’re a university president, there is always a controversy of the moment—was a typically rogue pronouncement by Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli. He had effectively told state higher ed […]

The naked truth about Virginia’s flag

 Way back in our very first column we promised that, at some future date, we would explore the obscure origins of our commonwealth’s dominatrix-themed flag (which features, as we so amusingly put it, “a half-naked virgin stomping on a chain-wielding dead guy”). Three years and three months later, it looks like that time has finally […]

Starlight access

Worry not, young skywatcher. To quote Oscar Wilde, “We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.”

Ken Boyd is a man with a plan

 After 17 years of working his way up the political ladder, Kenneth C. Boyd is arguably at the height of his influence, both as a Republican and as a local government leader. The GOP-dominated November elections exchanged two liberal-leaning Albemarle County supervisors for two Republicans who were aided in their campaigns by Boyd, and ushered […]

Local elementary schools must follow NRA's Eddie Eagle program

 As of July 1, any public elementary school in Virginia that opts to teach gun safety will need to know the name of Eddie Eagle, 22-year-old mascot of the National Rifle Association’s GunSafe Program. However, at least one school in Albemarle County has known his name for years. The General Assembly recently approved a version […]

Scottsville town councilor takes on marijuana issue

 When the first issue of Scottsville Weekly landed on April 16, it caused an immediate stir. Seven candidates for town council were asked where they stood on a number of issues, including whether they support legalizing marijuana. As one might imagine, the remainder of the questionnaire fell on deaf ears when five out of seven […]

Separation anxiety

Dear Ace: I called my trash removal company today and they’re telling me that I don’t need to recycle, but that if I put all my trash in the receptacle, they’ll separate the recyclables from the garbage. This just seems too good to be true. What’s really up with trash removal and recycling?—Doubting in Fluvanna […]