Will Svetz departure derail McIntire plan?

The unmistakable smell of change is dissipating in the air. After Noah Schwartz left as executive director of the Charlottesville Redevelopment Housing Authority, another position within the city has opened up. Mike Svetz is leaving Charlottesville for the spring training town of his beloved Cleveland Indians. Mike Svetz, Charlottesville’s director of Parks and Recreation, is […]

Study turns city schools upside down

The Charlottesville city schools efficiency study was supposed to appease budget hawks and confirm what everyone thought they knew about the school system. Instead, it has unleashed a Pandora’s box of possible changes that has riled faculty, staff and parents. Like many, School Board member Llezelle Dugger thought the efficiency study, commissioned in the spring […]

Twenty years of local news and arts in the spotlight

We’re bigger, older and wiser. Over the past two decades, we’ve sometimes been well ahead of the curve, like when we projected DMB’s rise to the top, and sometimes we’ve been, well, wrong. We’ve captured people saying things they might regret later; we’ve championed the underdog (hello, Congressman Perriello!). Each week, as we celebrate our […]

Veiled realities

In Under the Veil, Iranian-born choreographer Miki Liszt offers an intriguing and deeply personal investigation of what she calls in a program note “the ways in which cultures reveal and conceal women.”

Day 11: Dust in me

Mornin’, bricksters! Whether it’s a good morning is a different topic. Brick Watch was set to get a cup of coffee before work today but was nearly deterred by a looming cloud of dust at the west 200 block.

You be the judge

Dear Ace: What is your rule of thumb?—Digit Bardot Digit: As much as Ace loves to talk about himself (and does so, on occasion), he fears his paltry answer would leave you, dear reader, feeling a bit slighted. So, in an effort to avoid wasting perfectly good column inches, perhaps the bigger question should be: […]

Andy Friedman in a China shop

• Click here for Brendan Fitzgerald’s interview with Andy Friedman. The last year was a rough one for urban cowboys in New York City. First, Robert “The Naked Cowboy” Burck sued Mars Incorporated, manufacturer of M&Ms, after a blue M&M appeared on billboards similarly dressed in white briefs and a bucket hat. Then, Johnny Utah’s—a […]

Turf vs. grass

This spring, high school athletes in Albemarle County Public Schools will receive a belated Christmas gift from an anonymous donor and county supervisors: state of the art synthetic field turf for the football fields. Thousands of students will walk, run and fall on that surface while playing football, field hockey, soccer or lacrosse. Though each […]

Going on the dole isn't easy work

“Unemployment insurance claims can now be filed by telephone. Call 1-866-832-2363. It’s easy, trouble-free and so convenient!” says a flyer advertising the Virginia Employment Commission’s (VEC) filing hotline. I dial. “Due to heavy call volume, wait times will be longer than normal…. To expedite the claim process, you may file your claim online. If you […]