South Lawn gets its skeleton

As of this weekend, Jefferson Park Avenue has the outline of the South Lawn stretching above it between West Main and Emmet streets. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, work crews lifted beams into place that will form the base for the South Lawn, a grassy pedestrian bridge that will connect New Cabell Hall […]

County faces worst revenue shortfall in 30 years

County Executive Bob Tucker has worked for Albemarle County for 30 years, and he has never seen a revenue situation as bad as this one. Until this year, the worst year for real estate assessments was in 1991, when they only grew by 2 percent on average. But when assessments came out in January, they […]

Council refocuses on affordable housing

City Council took its annual retreat on September 5 and 6, staying at a hotel in Staunton. The only media there? Charlottesville Tomorrow’s Brian Wheeler, who a few days later reported that Council went through an exercise to re-evaluate its priorities, and councilors agreed that public housing/affordable housing needs the most attention. How much of […]

Your tax dollars, at work

Resides in: Albemarle County Job title: Senior tax clerk. Flowers collects tax payments, sells decals and dog tags. Best of times: Helping those who come to the office with questions. “I really like helping people understand the county’s procedures.” Worst of times: Tax deadlines. “Twice a year, they have to come in here and pay […]

Word problem

Dear Ace: Where did the “Venable” in Venable Elementary come from? Doesn’t that word mean you’re really, really old?—Justin A. Child Justin: It is a curious thing, linguistics. Just a few letters and the entire word can change meaning. Of course, it is even more curious, perhaps, that one does not know the origin of […]

Crozet community center worth the price?

When the Charlottesville Waldorf School moved from Crozet to its new campus off Rio Road in 2007, it left behind an aging building on a nine-acre campus that it occupied for 16 years. Now Albemarle County is trying to decide what to do with the Old Crozet School property and a consultants’ report pegs the […]

Other news in development

Local developer Wendell Wood (United Land Corporation) badgered the Board of Supervisors to make an exception for him and fast track a change to his project for the National Ground Intelligence Center. The supervisors told him to wait or show them a contract that proves the space has to be occupied by January.Will Yancey formally […]

Perriello shows rhetorical flash in Danville debate

Tom Perriello, the Democratic challenger for the Fifth District congressional seat, went on the attack against incumbent Republican Virgil Goode on September 3 during a debate in Danville before a crowd of more than 300. He attacked Goode’s effectiveness as a congressman: “Southside has not been getting its fair slice under Congressman Goode. The numbers […]