Our leaders love to trumpet Charlottesville’s progressive spirit and the world-class quality of its city life. The sales pitch rings hollow in Westhaven, though, where ambitious plans for “urban renewal” have literally fallen apart. Now the Housing Authority hopes to overcome 20 years of neglect with a new version of urban renewal. But can yuppies […]
Our leaders love to trumpet Charlottesville’s progressive spirit and the world-class quality of its city life. The sales pitch rings hollow in Westhaven, though, where ambitious plans for “urban renewal” have literally fallen apart. Now the Housing Authority hopes to overcome 20 years of neglect with a new version of urban renewal. But can yuppies […]
Dear Ace: Can hot air balloons land anywhere they please? We had one land on our field last Friday and it scared my dairy goats silly! When I arrived to see what was going on and ask if they had bothered to get permission, they said, “Oh yes, we have permission.” Well, I don’t know […]
It was past 11pm on Thursday, March 3, and after four hours of deliberation the Charlottesville City School Board remained divided over how to balance the 2005-06 budget due the next day to City Council. Six of the board’s seven appointees were present, along with Dr. Scottie Griffin, the division’s superintendent. The sour atmosphere in […]
Dear Ace: Whatever happened to those yellow bikes that were set up around town for anyone and everyone to use when in need of a little free transportation?—Schwinn Dixie Ah, Schwinn, Ace remembers fondly that age of innocence when the sweet, idealistic liberals of Charlottesville still believed that the concept of community bikes might help […]
In the spring of 1998, Pete Gillen inherited a Virginia basketball team with no stars and no pulse. Regardless, the new coach grinned. He cracked jokes. What else could he do? Charlottesville was then a basketball ghost town. The University had just cast out Jeff Jones, who, after coaching the Cavaliers to the Final Eight […]
Dear Ace: plenty of billboards offer up worthy reading material as I toot around town. However, the one on High Street, near the Riverside, that says something like “Does Martha know too much?” is the one that really leaves me puzzled. Is the advertiser taking a jab at the hard-working hospital named for Mrs. TJ? […]
Dozens of volunteers constantly restock shelves to keep the place bustling and worthy of repeated looks during the sale’s 10-day run, which could raise more than $100,000 for local libraries. As Bill Davis leans against the table next to the basement entrance of the Gordon Avenue Library, a middle-aged woman walks up, smiles and deposits […]
Dear Ace: Everybody knows about Dave Matthews, but what other celebrities live in Charlottesville?—Teenie Bopper Put down that subscription to The Star, Bopper. While Ace is no groupie himself, he understands the need for some to live vicariously through proximity to wealth and fame. How better to keep our minds off of the drudgery of […]
In 1975 there were reportedly 3 million record albums manufactured for sale in the United States. By 2004, that number hit 745 million. More than 10,000 CDs were released by hundreds of artists last year—that’s about 27 CDs per day. The recording industry has been in a boom cycle for the last 30 years, and […]
Checking out the Bookmobile Back to archived page Q: Darling Ace: I keep seeing this big ol’ bus motoring around the city and the county called the “Bookmobile.” Obviously it’s connected to the local library system, but I’m wondering—what does it do? Who uses it?—Bussed a Move A: Book learnin’ always makes Ace’s head spin. […]