The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players

music The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players (TFSP) are, literally, well, a family of slideshow players: Jason, the father, plays guitar and keyboards and sings, daughter Rachel beats the drums and mom Tina Piña adds vocals while she directs the slideshow. The TFSP website contains a succinct description: “We take vintage slide collections we’ve found at […]

“Arbitrarily and capriciously”

What does “mixed use” mean, anyway? The definition of that term, so often invoked in planning discussions, lies at the root of a civil suit percolating in the Charlottesville Circuit Court between the City and developers in the Fifeville neighborhood. Estes Street Partners LLC, led by Richard G. Carter, has filed suit, asking the court […]

Supes warm to mountain protections

“The relatively pristine, wooded character of the County’s high elevations—the blue backdrop of the mountains—defines much of the character of Albemarle County and has served as an inspiration and cultural landmark for residents since colonial times.” So we need to protect it with more zoning—and government incentives. That’s the thrust of a proposal for a […]

Growth moratorium coming here?

This month, the Board of Supervisors in Northern Virginia’s Prince William County—fed up by lagging infrastructure to accommodate its dramatic growth—voted unanimously for a de facto moratorium on approving new residential development. They won’t consider any new rezoning requests for all of 2007.

Words for a new beginning

Al Terek Pettiford reads poetry at his graduation from the New Beginnings transitional re-entry program at the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail. Pettiford, serving time for embezzlement, is one of 14 inmates to graduate from the program,

No charges for cops in Elvis shooting

If Elvis Shifflett was hoping to get vindication for his shooting via the Albemarle Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office or the Charlottesville Police Department, it’s now clear that’s not going to happen. Commonwealth’s Attorney Jim Camblos announced December 13 he would not press charges against the police officer who injured Shifflett, and two days later Police Chief […]

MySpace buddying up to A.G.?

Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell (www.oag.state.va.us) announced early this month his plan to supervise sex offenders in cyberspace, and MySpace (www.myspace.com), one of the most popular social networking sites, is actually cozying up. Superbly coiffed State Attorney General Bob McDonnell is getting cuddly with MySpace, the social networking giant. Together, they’ll try to rid the […]

“Who are you outside of the law?”

Correction Appended O.K., so a night with the Bar isn’t quite as much fun as a night at the bar. But, for a room full of lawyers, at least the Judicial Endorsements Committee spiced things up with one lighthearted question. The occasion was last Thursday night’s Q&A at the Albemarle County Office Building to determine […]

Bowers will reveal co-critics

A judge ruled on December 14 that Dena Bowers had to reveal the names of collaborators on the NAACP report that led to her firing in November 2005. Though Bowers initially refused, fearing those named could also be fired, her lawyer, Debbie Wyatt, confirmed December 15