Wanted: First-time homebuyers

Let’s just get this out of the way: There are still a lot of homes on the market in the Charlottesville area. A whole lot. According to the third-quarter report [pdf] by the Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors (CAAR), there are 3,471 homes on the market, 479 more than this time last year and three […]

Election Watch 2007: Albemarle County

What a difference a day makesCounty voters may face a clear cut choice on November 6 Election Watch 2007Board of Supervisors: The money race Scottsville Focus on Scottsville DistrictThe issues and candidate profiles A different kind of preachingOn the campaign trail with challenger Kevin Fletcher In a sweltering churchOn the campaign trail with incumbent Lindsay […]

Guitar hero

Since the May 2007 release of Sky Blue Sky, Wilco's sixth proper album, the searing sounds of distorted jazz guitar—courtesy of lead guitarist Nels Cline—have wreaked impressive havoc on the eardrums of the C-VILLE staff. But Cline is only partially to blame for making our heads ring with exquisite racket.

On the road (with Wilco)

"On one of the first nights that we were playing," Shannon Worrell recounts, "I think it was in Charleston, South Carolina, Jeff [Tweedy] came up to me and asked if I was afraid of him. That was one of the first things he said to me. I said, ‘No.’ "He said, ‘Well, sometimes people are […]

Blue skies ahead

1994 Following nearly four years of recording and touring together, the band Uncle Tupelo  (and, notably, the songwriting team of Jay Farrar and Jeff Tweedy—a scruffy, midwestern Lennon and McCartney) disbands. Farrar forms Son Volt; Tweedy and the rest, including bassist John Stirratt, form Wilco. Key track: "Acuff-Rose," a fiddle-driven tune that puts the "country" […]

What's in a Wilco?

According to the "values" listed on their website, Wilco takes care of fans and respects one another. Wilco emphasizes that teamwork is the path to success. Wilco champions integrity. Wilco, dear readers, is a gas station. And, unfortunately, not the basis for the midwestern rock band’s name. They don’t even have Wilco (now WilcoHess) gas […]

Thug life

Sure, it seemed like an innocent mistake at the time (and Lord knows the Virginia Tourism Corporation tried to spin it that way), but the more we consider the recent "Live Passionately" ad imbroglio, the more we think that these Commonwealth-championing flacks might just be onto something. In case you missed it, here’s how it […]

Last stop, Dooms

Ace, I’ve been driving around outside Charlottesville and have noticed some crazy town names. Where do they all come from? Oilville? Dooms?—N. Owta-Towna N.: First, Ace has a question for you: What is this "outside Charlottesville" of which you speak? You mean there are other places beyond our fair city? Ah, he kids, he kids. […]

Correction from September 18 issue

Due to reporting errors, in the story "Traveling fans look for comfort of home" [UVA News, September 18, 2007], there are—regretably—three instances where we need to set the record straight: Gordon Sutton started collegeweekends.com three years after graduating from UVA, not when he was a junior; Oxford Mississippi, and Blacksburg, Virginia, are the towns that […]