words In the American press, most articles about Africa tackle the latest turmoil: oil, civil war, child soldiers, blood diamonds. The American mind has been conditioned to think of Africa as a continent that is either constantly at war with itself or dying from disease. In Vanity Fair’s “Africa” issue, guest editor Bono succeeds in […]
game Marvel Ultimate Alliance was clearly on the minds—and the hard drives—of the guys at Visual Concepts as they constructed this summer-sequel movie tie-in. Switch-between-the-heroes D-pad interface? Check. Set of upgradeable superpowers accessed by pulling the trigger buttons? Yep. A deep, endlessly entertaining superhero romp? Um, not so fast, cowboy—looks like “fun” is the missing […]
Advance Mills Supply was a prime example of the country stores within Albemarle County, but its fate typifies a recent trend. The store—listed as “threatened” by a 2003 report from the Albemarle County Historic Preservation Committee—was demolished this past spring, and other country stores face fire, demolition and neglect. Albemarle County is working on ways […]
Early this May, I got a call from local land baron Wendell Wood. He had just seen a piece of mine in that week’s C-VILLE. It concerned a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request I
On July 17, the city Board of Architectural Review (BAR) will get a look—its third, in fact—at Bill Atwood’s plans for a new mixed-use building on W. Main Street. The new building would sit on the corner of West Main and 10 1/2 streets, the current site of the Under the Roof furniture store. That […]
Earlier this month, Charlottesville Police Chief Timothy J. Longo submitted a proposal to City Manager Gary O’Connell that said, in sum:
On July 1, a new set of Virginia driving laws took effect, including Libertarian-rankling cell phone-usage restrictions and booster seat requirements. But one of the new laws is sure to infuriate and possibly bankrupt thousands of Virginia drivers, starting immediately. Taking its cue from similar measures in New Jersey, Virginia has enacted a set of […]
The controversial Supreme Court case of Morse v. Frederick—infamous for its focus on a banner with the message “BONG HiTS 4 JESUS”—was decided by a 5-4 ruling June 25. The Court ruled in favor of school administrators who suspended a student for refusing to take down the banner. Local free speech advocacy groups, however, are […]
A 62-year-old Latina woman died after she was struck by a vehicle at the intersection of W. Rio and Earlysville roads, police said June 26. Police Sergeant Pamela Greenwood, 35, was on duty, heading north in her police-issue 2007 Ford Explorer, when she struck the woman, identified by The Daily Progress as Esperanza de Jesus […]
In last week’s cover story, C-VILLE reported that a botanical garden might be right around the corner. Turns out, if a local conservationist has his way, it could be closer than that. Rob Sacilotto, owner of Botanique, a nursery for carnivorous and unusual plants, has nearly finished a proposal requested by the Department of Parks […]