McCormick Observatory is a historic landmark on par with the Rotunda and Alderman Library, but unlike those UVA icons, it’s easy to miss. At the end of a narrow, winding road up Mount Jefferson, the 120-year-old domed structure is like some archaic ruin far from civilization. Indeed, little has changed at the observatory, home to […]
McCormick Observatory is a historic landmark on par with the Rotunda and Alderman Library, but unlike those UVA icons, it’s easy to miss. At the end of a narrow, winding road up Mount Jefferson, the 120-year-old domed structure is like some archaic ruin far from civilization. Indeed, little has changed at the observatory, home to […]
Dear Ace: At a buffet the waitperson only brings beverages and takes away the plates. Is a 20 percent tip recommended or do you leave less at a buffet?—Phoebe Buffet Dear Phoebe: Here at C-VILLE the tipping wars have definitely been a topic of conversation. Any conscientious Rant observer will remember the battle that continued […]
Elvis famously crooned “I can’t help falling in love with you” and millions of hearts beat a little faster. What has been unknown until now is the never-recorded refrain to that chart-topping song: “Yeah, but I can help falling in love with you, pal.” Aah, unrequited love. It sucks. Even more so around Valentine’s Day. […]
Yo Ace, Whatever happened to Yente the Matchmaker? I’m tired of the bar scene, personal ads don’t work, and now I’m the president of the Lonely Hearts Club. Where’s a matchmaker when you need one? Doesn’t anyone understand?—Anna Tevka Anna: Ace had always assumed that all of you out there in reader land understood Ace’s […]
History matters a lot in this town, where people speak of “Mr. Jefferson” as if the third president were still running the show up at Monticello. This reverence for the past is perhaps most fiercely expressed in the debate over how Charlottesville ought to balance preservation of the old with construction of the new. The […]
Ace: Jefferson Park Avenue maintains the same name even though it makes two sharp turns to the left. Can you help decipher why JPA runs as it does?—Street Cred Cred, confusing street maps have long been a contentious issue for Ace, who has often found himself lost when trailing a case down Main Street, which […]
Ever since the first cave dweller lifted the first flint to chisel an image onto a cave wall, there’s been a critic standing behind him saying, “That’s not funny.” Here at C-VILLE, we understand the impulse to second guess other people’s work. In sympathy, we’re turning the choice of our new comic strip over to […]
Ace: I was tooling around on Water Street the other day when I noticed a sign for a fallout shelter on the back of the Bank of America building. What’s up with that? Part of our homeland security strategy?—Ducken Cover Ducken: Wait, we have a homeland security strategy? Ace thought the government was just engaged […]
David Toscano is in for a change of pace. Until now, the former City mayor has mastered the art of compromise in Charlottesville, Virginia’s haven for left-leaning, latté-drinking, Volvo-driving Democratic voters. This week, however, the new 57th District delegate is one of 140 legislators in Virginia’s General Assembly. While the General Assembly is in session […]
Hey Ace: What, in your opinion, transpired to make patrons of the Court Square Tavern the focus of the cannon in front of the courthouse? Don’t mean to stir up any trouble, but it does seem to be rather odd that a Southern city would have its courthouse cannon facing south. Is there something we […]