Campus spaces we love

Though consistently ranked at the top of the heap, UVA doesn’t cut it for some ambitious college students who want more than Mr. Jefferson’s manicured lawns, neoclassical architecture and renowned professors. So where can they go to get away from the whole “public school” feel of things? The law school, of course, and its crowning […]

Should payday lending be illegal?

Two lawyers went head-to-head in a panel discussion at UVA Law School’s Caplin Pavilion Wednesday, November 1. One, Jay Speer, the executive director of the Virginia Poverty Law Center, said pay-day lending is predatory and should be outlawed; the other, Michele Satterlund, an attorney who represents payday lender CheckSmart, said her company is simply fulfilling […]

Plan proposed to replace streams, wetlands

In its efforts to provide enough fresh water for the next 50 years of area growth, the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority (RWSA) is inching closer to working out the details for expanding the Ragged Mountain Reservoir. At a November 2 meeting, RWSA unveiled and explained the so-called mitigation plan, required to offset the loss […]

Family affairs: Besançon update

If you’ve been feeling a little more continental lately, it’s not just your imagination. On October 20, Charlottesville formalized its union with Besançon, our longtime unofficial sister city in France. Besançon Mayor Jean-Louis Fousseret was on hand to sign a charter recognizing the alliance, though he apparently couldn’t quite get the hang of the sister […]

Exploring campus black history

In 1936, “Jefferson’s University” so wanted to maintain its segregated self that it implemented a unique admissions policy for dealing with black applicants. Its forward-thinking solution? The best and brightest African American minds were paid to go anywhere but UVA—”anywhere” usually being a blacks-only college, according to a new weekly tour of UVA’s African American history.

Developers talk affordable housing

“The real answer to solve our affordability problems for our mainstream workforce lie in our for-profit developers.” So thought Dave Phillips, CEO of the Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors, following an August affordable housing info session with various nonprofit groups at the County Planning Commission. To give the County the developers’ perspective on affordable housing, Phillips organized a similar work session on October 24 with local developers Vito Cetta, Josh Goldschmidt and Don Franco.

Chain reaction

Dear Cy: Oh, Ace sure does hate being hassled by The Man! And, ever the libertine, he certainly understands your deep-seated desire (or narrow-seated desire, as the case may be) to flout the laws of the land, and to pedal wherever your heart leads you. Yes, Cy, you and Ace are the last cowboys-he free men of the range who spit in the eye of authority and invite all others to eat our dust.

Groovers and shakers

“Charlottesville”? Sometimes it seems like they may as well call it “Musicville.” From eager bards lining up at open-mic nights to secretive electronica geeks hunkering in basements, this town has more than its share of musicians. With many would-be stars orbiting the community, perhaps it’s natural that someone would serve as a center of gravity. […]

Piercing Questions

A: That’s a pretty sharp question, Needling (sorry, Ace couldn’t resist). But seriously. Ritualistic piercing has been a part of the “body modification” menu since at least 1979, when Fakir Musafar, known in some circles as the “father of the modern primitive movement,” presented his personal piercing work at the first International Tattoo Convention. On […]

Growing up in public

When Joy Johnson moved into Westhaven, the City expected public housing residents to follow the rules, not help make them. With little else besides willpower and her own commanding voice, she has given residents unprecedented influence in the notoriously raucous world of Charlottesville housing politics. As an activist, Johnson has relished her role in the mix, but as a mother, she is ambivalent about the challenges her family has faced as a result.