Is city just a county cut-through?

While it’s one thing to complain about Charlottesville traffic, it’s quite another to figure out how to manage it—and that was at the heart of a City transportation work session on January 18 with City Council and the Planning Commission

Compromise road plan on table

At long last, Republicans in Richmond (www.vagop.com) unveiled a transportation spending plan on January 18, finally reaching compromise after a long stalemate. A special session solely devoted to the issue couldn’t get the job done last year, largely because of conflicts between Republicans in the Senate, who were interested in raising taxes, and Republicans in […]

State fruit and other silly bills

Should the Ginger Gold apple, a variety native to Central Virginia, be named our official State fruit? Some say “why not?” We’ve already got a State shell (the oyster shell) and a State bat (the Virginia big-eared bat). But apple growers say the General Assembly (www.legis.state.va.us) shouldn’t play favorites, and fans of other apple varieties […]

Recycle this!

Finally, city residents will be able to add plastic bottles like these to the curbside recycling pile. After some haggling with the recycling service, City Council will pay an additional $22,218.36 per year to get plastics and corrugated cardboard recycled—and apparently, that’s a bargain. Starting February 5, give up your plastic Diet Coke bottle collection […]

“Beyond the Frontier: The Photography of Peter Eve”

gallery Just like the United States, Australia lives with a messy history of contact between its Aboriginal people and the Europeans who arrived later. When this relationship erupts into art, if anything, more questions arise—as with Peter Eve’s photographs of the Kimberley region, paired with paintings by Aboriginal artists from that area. Bold portraits like […]

The Complete Reprise Recordings

cd The country-based awe shown to Gram parsons sometimes makes us ignore the influence of R&B and blues on his writing, even though his choice of cover songs proves James Carr touched him as deeply as George Jones. Despite his lethal habits, the temporary Byrd and Flying Burrito Brother leader was smart enough to sense […]

In Tenebris, with Andsvara, and the Opposite Sex

music With all the mesh shirts, laced corsets and school girl skirts favored by women in the local goth scene, I could have easily been distracted at Outback Lodge on January 6. But not even all that exposed flesh could take my attention away from In Tenebris, the night’s headline act. The band offers a […]

Site unseen

Dear Ace: I hear that the City of Charlottesville keeps getting awards for its website, yet I cannot even locate basic recycling info on there. What’s the deal with these contests? Are they a field of one?—Marie Internette Dear Marie: You heard right. This fall, www.charlottesville.org was given the Pinnacle Award by the National Association […]

Women’s rights challenged once again

Some State lawmakers are dead set on restricting women’s access to contraceptions and abortions, introducing legislation year after year to do just that. To explain the 2007 versions of bills introduced by the usual suspects in Richmond, the local group Left of Center called in