What I did over my summer vacation

All work and no play? Hardly. Matt Foley, a life guard at Mint Springs Lake in Crozet, pans the surface of the water while kids paddle around. Of the 11 lifeguards on duty this summer, half were Western Albemarle High School students …

Rufus Wainwright, with Neko Case and A Fine Frenzy

music While the sound of A Fine Frenzy frontwoman Alison Sudol’s dipping vocals and romping piano lines were a pleasant treat as I raced past Bashir’s Taverna towards the white gates at the Pavilion, I was concerned that I was a bit late. When I caught sight of a waifish redhead dressed in black beneath […]

Sarah White and the Pearls

The upstairs portion of the Outback Lodge is a combination ski lodge and video arcade—a pinball machine and foosball table lay at opposite ends of the space, and a moose head hangs on a wooden wall, facing the L-shaped bar.

Truman Sparks, with Pterodactyl and the Cinnamon Band

music On Wednesday night, the rock gods bestowed a shower of riffs and feedback on Charlottesville. At Atomic Burrito, The Brimstone Howl and The Points whipped out gritty garage numbers. The Tea Bazaar reverberated with the psychedelic sounds of Phantom Family Halo. The powers that be, however, led me to Belmont’s "jazz and blues lounge," […]

These Things Ain't Gonna Smoke Themselves

words It’s not too much of an exaggeration to say that every Thursday afternoon, the C-VILLE editorial staff holds its collective breath. That’s when Emily Flake sends in her latest "Lulu Eightball" comic, and it becomes clear what perverse subversions—or whatever you want to call them—we’ll be printing in the following week’s paper for all […]

Virginia mortgage foreclosures increase

Frances Anderson had lived in her house just outside Albemarle County for 27 years when Mike Hall of Aggressive Mortgage Corporation called her. After talking to Hall three or four times over the phone, Anderson, a 78-year-old widow, signed a mortgage that Hall said would save her a bundle of money. But come March, Anderson […]

Commission denies W. Main rezoning

The Charlottesville Planning Commission denied an application August 14 to rezone property at the corner of W. Main Street and McIntire Road for which a nine-story building is planned, citing the project’s lack of affordable housing. The proposed high-rise would contain 79 condo units and four retail establishments with more than 180 parking spaces on […]

Commission approves plans for coal tower

Coran Chapshaw’s plan for a mixed-used development around downtown Charlottesville’s trademark coal tower is one step closer to reality. At an August 14 meeting, the city Planning Commission unanimously approved an application for a preliminary site plan for the project. The coal tower, a longtime landmark, is now becoming a focus of residents’ worries about […]

Correction from August 14 issue

Due to a reporting error, an article in last week’s Courts & Crime News [“Local ‘Jailed’ Artists Given Cash, Sent to Prisons”] incorrectly stated that BAMA Works, the charity organization founded by the Dave Matthews Band, is currently a private funder of the inmate art program developed by Lindsay Michie Eades and Rose Hill. Eades […]

Timeline: the search for the serial rapist

November 25, 2002 Charlottesville police confirm genetics links in five rape cases since 1997 and warn the public about a "serial rapist."April 30, 2003 An official sketch of the suspect, compiled from previous drawings and descriptions, is released. April 14, 2004 Charlottesville police temporarily suspend "DNA dragnet" following a lawsuit filled by a black male […]