February might not be a time for many UVA sports fans (www.virginiasports.com) to think about football: The men’s basketball team is hovering near the top of the ACC standings; the baseball team is ranked in the Top 10 in preseason polls; and the No. 1 lacrosse team is getting set to defend its national title. […]
“It’s the death of humanity,” local activist John Salidas exclaimed, and as he did so, he leaned in, giving his already harsh assessment an extra push. His pale eyes burned. Tara Rowan Boyd, general recipient
Albemarle County (www.albemarle.org) recently released its 2006 building report that shows 575 new building permits were issued in 2006. The results are the lowest number for residential construction since 1995, when 569 building permits were issued. Nine Year Comparison of New Albemarle Residential Dwelling Units The 2006 numbers are down 44 percent from 2005. Those […]
Congested traffic is an issue for anyone who lives in Charlottesville, but for those that stand to be affected by the development of Biscuit Run and the 30,000 increased vehicles per day it promises to deliver, the dilemma is one of invasion and threat to quality of life. To head off this expected infringement, a […]
Both City and County governments have been working on adding new tools to allow them to address two hot-button issues: adding affordable housing and substracting rural development. Several City leaders have been pushing for an ordinance that would give developers increased density in exchange for affordable housing; in the County, Supervisor David Slutzky has championed […]
Only one bill regulating the payday lending industry has survived the 2007 legislative session. Passed by the Virginia Senate and awaiting House debate is State Bill 1014;
This time of year, the item dominating the agendas for local school boards (www.ccs.K12.va.us; www.k12.albemarle.org) tends to be the annual budget funding request. After the school board wrangles over their priorities, it forwards the request to local government, which has final say. Contentious issues in the County have included the ol’ “living wage” issue: Some […]
Local schools have got less than one month left to make their nominations for the Emily Couric Leadership Scholarship. Unlike other scholarships, this one, open to girls from 11 Charlottesville and Albemarle area high schools, doesn’t award young women who keep their noses in the books—it awards women who get up and do. Named for […]
Charlottesville’s ties to its sister cities will soon grow more, um, concrete. The image above is a rendering for a “sister city” sculpture, designed by former director of strategic planning, Satyendra Huja. It already has the approval of the Board of Architectural Review and now awaits word from City Council (www.charlottesville.org). The current plan is […]
On Saturday, November 20, 2004, John and Irene Powers drove up the long, wooded drive to their daughter’s secluded apartment outside Manassas. Two nights before, they had seen her at Outback Steakhouse,