The happy start of Slutzky's trade plan

David Slutzky pins the conception of a local transferable development rights (TDR) plan to an April lunch at Lord Hardwicke’s. Phasing, the primary effort to preserve the rural areas of Albemarle County then on the table, was clearly dying on the vine. So he turned first to a group with “a dog in the fight” […]

County planners get royal treatment

“I never thought we’d say this…” Planning Commission Chair Marcia Joseph paused and a smile pursed her lips. “…but can we turn up the volume on Mr. Cox?” Laughs scattered throughout Lane Auditorium. The subject of Joseph’s jab was architect Frank Cox, who came to represent the New Era Properties investment group (rumored to include Coran Capshaw and Biscuit Run developer Hunter Craig).

Spivey out on $50,000 bond

Judge Paul M. Peatross decided former Charlottesville High School Choir Director Jonathan Spivey, indicted on seven counts of sexual abuse while in a custodial role, is not a flight risk and granted him $50,000 bond on December 8. But, Spivey is barred from leaving the state, having direct or indirect contact with any of his […]

A strange man in the house

It was a warm day Friday, April 7, and Leon Mann was doing some yard work at his home in the Ashcroft subdivision east of Pantops, when he got a phone call. Removing his shoes to step inside his house, Mann picked up the phone and heard his next-door-neighbor’s frantic voice on the other end. […]

The profits of tracking sex offenders

After Lorenzo Townes served 32 years for a string of sexual offenses, including the rape of a 10-year-old girl, he spent two years at a treatment center, then appealed and was granted his release. Four months later, he was arrested for raping a 12-year-old girl, according to The Washington Post. Many states are grappling with […]

’Tis the season for theft

Is it just us, or do the holidays make everyone just a bit desperate? Whether it’s accepting a New Year’s date with the guy named Wilbur from your meditation class or breaking down in tears when the lady in front of you buys the last Jingle Beanie, it’s amazing how the season of joy can […]

Tenured and tenured-er

The resignation of Arts & Sciences Dean Ed Ayers after five years in UVA’s administration (www.virginia.edu) prompts the question—how long do University top dogs stay, and when is it time to roll over? You can’t touch this: John Casteen outpaces other elite university presidents by almost 3 to 1. If administrators at comparable universities are […]

Cadaver tissues common in transplants

In September, a hospital reported a patient in Minnesota had gotten a rare bacterial infection from a knee surgery that used a tendon from a donor cadaver. The Centers for Disease Control launched an investigation of thousands of tissues used in transplant surgeries supplied by Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation (MTF), the tissue bank that sold the […]

Liberal group comforts GOP defector

A lifelong Republican, Joel White wandered into the Starr Hill Gallery on Tuesday evening, December 5. Was he “Dem,” or “Dem Curious”? Neither, exactly, judging from his brief voting record (he sat out the November election and voted red two times before), but the 25-year-old transplant from Columbus, Ohio, was certain that the monthly meeting […]