“Roads?” a famous, fictional scientist once asked. “Where we’re going, we don’t need roads.” When it comes to the Meadowcreek Parkway, however, Albemarle County disagrees. During a recent 10-hour traffic transplant, cars on East Rio Road were directed to a new two-lane bridge that crosses above the Norfolk Southern Railroad. The Virginia Department of […]
Clocking in at just over three hours, the Heritage Theatre Festival’s season-opening production of The Sound of Music is a full night of musical theater. Blessedly, it is also a fully satisfying evening out. Let me say right now that if American musical theater—the kind of showy show where people break into song to move […]
It’s a mistake to open Rob Sheffield’s new book looking for another Love is a Mixtape, Sheffield’s Charlottesville-loaded debut about the sudden, unexpected death of his young wife. In that book a natural tension arises in the disconnect between Sheffield’s corny, pop-obsessed voice and the book’s dark subject. His second book, Talking to Girls About […]
According to Halsey Minor, owner of the Landmark Hotel, the results of the arbitration hearing between him and former hotel developer Lee Danielson, which took place from April 19 to 23 at the Omni Hotel Downtown, favor Minor. Lee Danielson (left) and Halsey Minor, at the groundbreaking for the Landmark Hotel in March 2008. Two […]
In each of the past two years, at least one person has died while walking or riding a bicycle in Charlottesville. During the same time—for the last seven years, in fact—the City of Charlottesville’s Bicycle & Pedestrian Facilities Master Plan has been sitting on a shelf. Could these accidents have been avoided with an updated […]
Hi Ace. Bastille Day is coming up, and I was wondering: Can you, gourmand that you are, explain to us why French toast is neither French nor toast? And what are French fries, really?—She-Don’t-Use-Jelly-in-Charlottesville Why are carrots more orange than oranges? Why is Iceland greener than icy Greenland? Why does time fly like an arrow, […]
The shortest distance between any two points—crosswalk signals, for instance—is a straight line. The same goes for a stroll down Water Street, from the front doors of Second Street Gallery to the rear entrance of CVS Pharmacy. Or, that’s how it worked before the Landmark Hotel. Where the sidewalk ends: Pedestrians, cyclists and drivers alike […]
While some local residents pack cars and make plans for summer vacations, Charlottesville officials remain busy with one of the most important decisions City Council will make all year. The informal process of selecting a new City Manager began in January, when Gary O’Connell announced plans to leave his 15-year post and accept a position […]
By his own estimation, architect Bill Atwood is the sort of guy who puts too many ornaments on the Christmas tree
The proposed Albemarle economic development action plan has been drawing much attention.