SURROUND SOUND 2005

Two thousand and five was a lively year for music in our town, with CD sales down again, live music taking place at the theater level while struggling in the clubs, and being in a band, at least around here, seeming to be as much about music as about fame.   One rock band that has been […]

Here it comes!!

Growth. The word alone is enough to start an argument. We need more! We need less! Hardly anyone seems to think things are just right as they are.    Despite all the concern about growth, no one seems to know exactly how much new development is in store for Charlottesville and Albemarle County. But after poring […]

Herb appeal

Dear Ace: I heard Virginia has a new No. 1 cash crop. Whatever happened to good old-fashioned Jamestown tobacky?—Mary Jane Noes Dear Mary: Ace knows Virginians love tradition, especially in Mr. Jefferson’s neighborhood. But tobacco, the mainstay crop of the Commonwealth since the 1600s, has been steadily declining and this year a new top crop […]

Presents of mind

Come December, postmodern girls like Cool Honey realize that, frankly, they have better things to worry about than tribal alliances, which require commitment (at most) or a choice (at least) to celebrate either Jesus, the miracle of the oil lamp or Rama’s arrival. As if she wasn’t already overextended by the prospects of dry winter […]

Wheeling and dealing

Hey Ace,Where do these people get off charging me taxes for my car? What’s the big idea?—Axl Rhodes Dear Axl: So, here in America, we pay taxes. It’s part of this little deal we have with the government where we give them some money and they give us free enterprise, private property rights and other […]

Fowl Play

’Tis the season to eat turkey. In honor of the holiday, and in deference to giving turkeys everywhere a voice of their own, C-VILLE’s resident turkey interpreter Nell Boeschenstein sat down with Tom “the Angry” Turkey for some heavy-hitting reporting, and to pluck Tom’s birdbrain for some sweet morsels of tender turkey wisdom. Needless to […]

Shades of faith

Dear Ace: Effort Baptist Church in Fluvanna County has just painted their chapel bright purple with green trim. Is anyone in the neighborhood as upset as I am? Why did they do it?—Blinded By the Light Dear Blinded: This is not the first time Ace has dealt with a bad paint job. Ace’s neighbor once […]

The wiz of biz

Dear Ace: I hear Darden is 50 years old. Who the heck was Darden anyway?—M.B., Eh? Dear M.B.: The Darden Graduate School of Business at UVA is indeed celebrating the half-century mark in much the same manner that Ace celebrated his 21st birthday: with two years of festivities taking place in more than 50 cities […]

High tension on Little High St.

“There’s going to be no drama,” said Richard Collins, address-ing a crowd of about 40 people, mostly from the Little High Street neighborhood association.    Collins, an expert in “environmental negotiation,” hoped for civil discussion, but that hasn’t been the tone so far between Little High Street residents and officials at Region Ten. A simple case […]