Ancestral Ace

Dear Ace: I was wondering if you’re up on any of the Atkins genealogy from the area? My ancestors came to Surry County, VA on the “Gods Giffte” in 1623, and another ancestor, Ida Atkins, purchased 400 acres in Albemarle County on the banks of the Rivanna around 1740. Any connection?—H.B. Atkins Would that Ace […]

Following NEA stint, Cox returns to architecture faculty

In 2007, following a stint on City Council that included a term as mayor, Maurice Cox took a break from the University of Virginia architecture faculty to become design director at the National Endowment for the Arts. An outspoken advocate of urban planning, increased density and improved public transit options while on Council, Cox leaves […]

Church/state divide falling for the sake of teenage porn

Sure, Thomas Jefferson was fervent about a “wall of separation between church and state”—but little did he anticipate the “shadows of the Internet” that would later haunt his beloved Virginia. Last week, state Attorney General Bill Mims announced a partnership with the faith-based community “to protect Virginia’s children.” “There are shadows on the Internet,” said […]

Stop saying that!

Each November, the New Oxford American Dictionary celebrates one new word that’s garnered serious cultural currency in the past year. In 2008, it was “hypermiling,” or to maximize gas mileage through extreme driving practices. This year, “unfriend”—deleting a friend on a social networking site—got the neologistic nod. Every year new words are welcomed with pomp […]

Split 7"; Invisible Hand/The Alphabet; Funny/Not Funny Records

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Invisible Alphabet Show. The format of today’s program will be 45 revolutions-per-minute 7" vinyl, that tried-and-true audio format introduced 60 years ago by RCA. We’ve got two contestants, each staking their claim on one side of this shiny black record. Both will have approximately four minutes to deliver a […]

Twenty years of local news and arts in the spotlight

Ice, ice, baby—too cold? Too much? It’s been about 14 years since we received a winter wallop like the snow-smacking we got last weekend. And when C-VILLE revisited our coverage of the blizzard of 1996, we found that our city deals with nearly two feet of the fluffy white stuff the same way it did […]

UVA profs' favorite books of 2009

Like building a tolerable “best of” list, finding the perfect holiday gift can be confusing. That’s why C-VILLE asked UVA faculty to tell us about their favorite book that came out in 2009. Read on, and happy holidays. Marianne Baernholdt, Nursing Little Bee, by Chris Cleave (Simon & Schuster) “In Britain where it was first […]