What to Expect in 2003

Architecture and politics. To anyone acquainted with Charlottesville’s history, it’s a familiar combination. In 1996, Maurice Cox joined the ranks of those who wed the two disciplines in the name of the greater good. That’s the year Cox, an architect and UVA professor, was first elected to City Council. Last July, Cox, who is now […]

Operation: Health Care

“It gets a little crazy around this time,” says Alex Hawkins, a registered nurse, as he calmly uncradles the receiver. At 5pm on Monday, December 29, the clinic is about to open for the night. Hawkins fields calls from Charlottesville’s sick and uninsured, telling them that, unfortunately, tonight’s appointment schedule is booked solid. He adds […]

Best and Brightest

Q: Ace, driving down the 250 Bypass the other night I was blinded by the parking lot lights of our new neighbor, Best Buy. Isn’t there a City code that prevents light pollution? Who approved them or were they missed in the process? Put your investigative skills to work and let us know!—Dazed & Confused […]

Where credit is due

With the holidays approaching, William was short on cash. This was not a seasonal problem for the 45-year-old Scottsville resident, who moved to the area from another state about one year ago. Though William has a job, he says it pays less than the one he previously held. The smaller paychecks have been rough for […]

Come sale away

Q: Ace, now that the holiday shopping season is over, everywhere I look there are huge sales going on at all the big stores. What gives? I know this happens in the retail industry every year at this time, but I don’t know why. Why?—Bill Sayles A: As you noted, Bill, with the last week […]

Cheap Shots ’03

The ’Fraidy cat Award for Music Appreciation –UVA President John Casteen For his apology regarding the Cavalier Pep Band Despite holding three degrees in English, UVA President John Casteen must have never learned the definition of the word “joke.” Maybe he’s never seen the “Award-Winning Virginia Fighting Cavalier Indoor/Outdoor Precision Marching Pep Band,” either. But […]

Safety ‘Net

An auction barker’s drawl and a musty smell fill the cathedral-like main room of the Boxer Learning building on the Downtown Mall. Two years before this bright Thursday afternoon, during the dot-com’s heyday, Gen-X employees could be found in the building breaking up the workday with a game of ping-pong. But in the lean days […]

Think outside the big box

With the spring 2004 start of construction on Albemarle Place, the big box conquest of 29N marches on. The complex, slated for the northwest corner of Hydraulic Road and 29N, will be a 1.9 million-square-foot retail behemoth. Once it’s completed, shoppers will be able to literally live on the development’s grounds, which could include a […]

Think outside the big box

With the spring 2004 start of construction on Albemarle Place, the big box conquest of 29N marches on. The complex, slated for the northwest corner of Hydraulic Road and 29N, will be a 1.9 million-square-foot retail behemoth. Once it’s completed, shoppers will be able to literally live on the development’s grounds, which could include a […]

Murder Ink

When UVA student Andrew Alston was charged with the murder of Walker Sisk on November 8, the tail ends of news stories in the Richmond Times-Dispatch and The Daily Progress cited another recent case of a UVA student to be charged with murder. “That’s me, the last paragraph,” says convicted murderer Jens Soering from a […]