American Buffalo

stage It starts like a pot of water placed across the warming coils of an electric stove: A few basic and, here’s the key, unassuming, ingredients are put under pressure, set boiling and bouncing off one another until they erupt, each reaching up and over one another for the surface of some black, burning container […]

The Virginia Quarterly Review

words While many North Americans are familiar with South America through traveling or lineage or other means, the majority, it seems, view it as nothing more than a reflection of a surface name. And it’s not only the complex history of that distant continent that feels so, well, distant. What is its current identity? What […]

Ex-NGIC employee pleads guilty

In February 2006, Mitchell J. Wade pleaded guilty to influencing congressmen—most famously Randy "Duke" Cunningham—in order to procure contracts for his defense contracting firm MZM, Inc. As part of the plea, Wade also admitted to bribing Department of Defense (DoD) officials, including an employee of the local National Ground Intelligence Center (NGIC). On October 9 […]

Local elderly get punk'd

As if getting home repair work done wasn’t stressful enough, with that oh-so-ambiguous "arriving between the hours of 8 and 4" business, a recent scam makes judging the credibility of contractors another headache. A few weeks ago, police exposed a series of frauds in the city and county that targeted elderly residents. In these cases, […]

Driver fees challenged across state

Previous coverage: Rutherford challenges abusive driver feesCharlottesville judge upheld fees, Institute will appeal As The Rutherford Institute prepares for its appeal in the Charlottesville Circuit Court challenging the constitutionality of Virginia’s abusive-driver fees, other legal challenges across the state are also playing themselves out. The challenges come at a time when state lawmakers are facing […]

Setting the bar too high

Back in 2002, the UVA athletics department drew up some lofty 10-year goals for its 25 intercollegiate sports teams. This year, top donors to the athletics program received an update on those goals. Said Athletic Director Craig Littlepage in the introduction: "We can recruit the best prospects and ensure that they achieve academically, we can […]

No action on rural "protections"

Previous coverage: Supes try to delay rural "protections" voteThose up for re-election concerned about details, constituents Wyant credits the tractor factorCounty moves forward with rural-area restrictions Supes warm to mountain protectionsBut can’t even discuss extension to all rural areas, yet Mountain overlay proposals irk landownersExtend restrictions county-wide, some say Mountains of info on viewPublic informed […]

Wood must wait with NGIC expansion

Wendell Wood's efforts to build 180,000 square feet of office space and a 120-unit apartment building adjacent to the National Ground Intelligence Center met with another road block at the October 9 Planning Commission meeting.

Real estate market, minus 170 jobs

Fluvanna County leaders got a shock last month when Furniture Brands International’s Creative Interiors announced that it planned to close its doors in Carysbrook next month, taking its 170 jobs with it. The closing comes at a time when the county’s economic prospects are slim. It also comes at a time when the area’s real […]